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10
LOT 3007
Outstanding and Highly Desirable First Year Production Winchester
Model 1894 Lever Action Rifle in .38-55 W.C.F. with “10 O’clock”
Screw Frame and Factory Letter - Serial no. 1326, 38-55 WCF cal., 26
inch octagon bbl., blue finish, varnished walnut stock. Manufactured in
1894, this is an outstanding example of a first year production Model 1894
rifle with the highly desirable “first model” frame featuring the
“10 o’clock” screw on the receiver. These early production
Model 1894s often saw hard use in the American West,
much of which still remained very “untamed” well
into the 20th century, leaving very few surviving
examples available to collectors in any condition,
let alone the fantastic condition this rifle is in.
These early First Model ‘94s laid the foundation
for what would become one of the most
popular and renowned hunting rifles of all
time, as well as Winchester’s most successful
sporting rifle, with over 7,500,000 produced.
The included factory letter lists the rifle in
.38-55 caliber with an octagon barrel and
plain trigger as received in the warehouse
on January 2, 1895 and shipped from the
warehouse on 24 January 1895 under order
number 6587. The receiver on this example
is a “first model” featuring an extra screw
on either side which has become know
as a “10 o’clock screw” by collectors
due to its position in relation to the
loading gate. These receivers are
sporadically seen into as high as
the 6000 serial number range as
the factory used up receivers in
no particular order. This rifle has
the Winchester charcoal blue
finish on the barrel, magazine,
forearm cap, receiver and
bolt. The extractor and loading gate cover are fire blue. The hammer,
trigger, lever and crescent buttplate are color casehardened. The stock
and forearm are straight grain American walnut with a varnish finish.
The barrel has a Lyman folding combination front sight with white
bead and a standard sporting style buckhorn rear sight with serrated
edges and screw-adjustable center piece. The upper receiver tang is
factory drilled and tapped for a rear sight. The hammer spur has the
early fancy border. The top barrel flat is roll-stamped “-MANUFACTURED
BY THE-/-WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A.-”
in two lines ahead of the rear sight. “38-55” is roll-stamped on the top
barrel flat between the rear sight and the receiver. The upper receiver tang
is roll-stamped with the first style marking: “MODEL 1894./-WINCHESTER-/
PAT. AUG. 21. 1894.” in three lines. The serial number is roll-stamped across
the bottom of the receiver just behind the forearm. Winchester introduced
the Model 1894 in November 1894, and the early production rifles were
chambered only for the .32-40 and .38-55 cartridges.
CONDITION: Excellent. The barrel and magazine have 95% plus of the
original blue finish with some scattered and very insignificant traces of
age discoloration and some very minor edge wear. The factory legend
and caliber markings are crisp. The forearm cap, receiver and bolt retain
97% plus of the original blue finish with only very minor handling
wear and traces of age discoloration. 90% of the fire nitre blue finish is
present on the loading gate cover and extractor. The hammer, trigger
and lever have 95% of the fiery case colors. 90% of the case colors
remain on the crescent buttplate. The stock and forearm are excellent
and retain 90% of the original varnish finish. The finish has dulled
slightly on the upper right side of the stock near the comb, but
the balance of the stock and forearm show little finish wear. The
stock and forearm have minimal storage and handling marks.
Mechanically excellent. This is an outstanding example of a first
year production Model 1894 Lever Action Rifle with the desirable
“10 o’clock” screw frame. These very early Winchester Model
1894 rifles are almost never found having survived in incredible
condition like this, with this example surely being one of the finest extant!
Estimate: 25,000 - 40,000