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Winchester Model 1894

Type	Lever-action rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States
Wars	Indian Wars Spanish–American War Mexican Revolution World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	John Browning
Designed	1894
Produced	1894–2006 2011–present
No. built	7,500,000+
Specifications
Mass	6.8 lb (3.1 kg)
Length	37.8 in (960 mm)
Barrel length	20 in (510 mm)

Cartridge	.30-30 Winchester, .32-40 Winchester, .38-55 Winchester, .25-35 Winchester, .32 Winchester Special, 7-30 Waters, .307 Winchester, .356 Winchester, .375 Winchester, .357 Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 Colt, .450 Marlin, .410 bore
Action	Lever-action
Muzzle velocity	2,490 ft/s (759 m/s)
Feed system	9-round (26" barrel), 8-round (24" barrel) or 7-round (20" barrel) internal tube magazine
Sights	Notch rear sight, post front sight. Peep sights also available.

Not to be confused with Marlin Model 1894.

The Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally chambered in either the .32-40 Winchester or the .38-55 Winchester. Two metallic black powder cartridges. It was later the first rifle to chamber the smokeless powder round, the .30 WCF (.30 Winchester Center Fire, in time becoming known as the .30-30 Winchester) in 1895. In 1901, Winchester created the new .32 Winchester Special caliber with production of rifles starting in 1902.

The Model 1894 was produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1894 to 1980 and then by U.S. Repeating Arms under the Winchester brand, until they ceased manufacturing rifles in 2006. Reproductions are being made by the Miroku company of Japan and imported into the United States by the Browning Arms company of Morgan, Utah. The Model 1894 has been referred to as the "ultimate lever-action design" by firearms historians such as R. L. Wilson and Hal Herring. The Model 1894 is the rifle credited with the name "Winchester" being used to refer to all rifles of this type and was the first commercial sporting rifle to sell over 7,000,000 units.

One Model 1894 is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Arms & Armor department.

Overview

The Winchester Model 1894 was the first commercial American repeating rifle built to be used with smokeless powder. The 1894 was originally chambered to fire 2 metallic black powder cartridges, the .32-40 Winchester and .38-55 Winchester. In 1895 Winchester went to a different steel composition for rifle manufacturing that could handle higher pressure rounds and offered the rifle in .25-35 Winchester and .30-30 Winchester. The .30-30 Winchester, or .30 WCF (Winchester Centerfire), is the cartridge that has become synonymous with the Model 1894. Starting in 1899, the Model 1894 was also chambered in .32 Winchester Special.

The Model 94's combination of potent firepower in a compact, lightweight, comfortable-to-carry, and quick-shooting package has made it an extremely popular hunting rifle, particularly for white-tailed deer in the dense forests of the Eastern United States, where most game is killed at relatively short distances. As a result, it was the first sporting rifle to sell over 7,000,000 units. The millionth Model 1894 was given to President Calvin Coolidge in 1927, the 1½ millionth rifle to President Harry S. Truman on May 8, 1948 and the two millionth unit was given to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

The United States government purchased 1,800 commercial Model 1894s with 50,000 .30-30 Winchester cartridges during World War I. These rifles in the 835800 to 852500 serial number range were marked atop the receiver ring with a flaming bomb and "U.S." The rifles were intended for United States Army Signal Corps personnel stationed in the Pacific Northwest to prevent labor strike actions from interrupting manufacture of Sitka spruce lumber for framing the fuselage and wings of military aircraft. The rifles were sold as military surplus after the war. To release Lee–Enfield rifles for infantry use, the Royal Navy purchased approximately 5,000 .30-30 caliber Model 94 rifles in 1914 for shipboard guard duty and mine-clearing. France purchased 15,100 Model 1894 carbines equipped with sling swivels on the left side of the buttstock and barrel band, and with metric gradations on the No. 44A rear sight. These French carbines were issued to motorcycle couriers, artillery troops, trench railway personnel, and some balloon units. Some of these rifles acquired Belgian proofmarks when sold as surplus through Belgium. Examples captured from the United Kingdom by the Wehrmacht were designated the Gewehr 248(e).

Winchester rifle models as used in the Mexican Revolution

The Winchester 1894 was used again in World War II in the hands of the Canadian Pacific Coast Militia Rangers who were issued them to defend the west coast of Canada from Japanese invaders. Winchester '94s were also provided to the British Home Guard in the early years of WWII.

The Model 94 over its long history included the Winchester Model 55, produced from 1924 through 1932 in a 24-inch (610 mm) barrel, and the Winchester Model 64, produced from 1933 through 1957 in 20, 24, and 26-inch (660 mm) barrel lengths. From 1964 through 1980, a version of the Model 94 carbine was also sold by Sears as the Ted Williams Model 100, as part of Sears' marketing arrangement with both Winchester and the retired baseball star.

In mid-1964, the manufacturing of the 94 was changed in order to make the firearm less expensive to produce. Those made prior to 1964 are referred to as the "pre-64" models, and these earlier versions command a premium price over post-change rifles. The limited number of early-1964 production models produced prior to the changeover are considered quite desirable, as they are considered by many to represent the ending of an era.

The Winchester 1894's design allowed the cycling of longer cartridges, than the Winchester 1892 rifles and carbines could permit. When the lever is pulled down, it brings the bottom of the receiver with it, opening up more space and allowing a longer cartridge to feed without making the receiver longer. The mechanism is complex but very reliable. Complete stripping of the action is a multistage task that must be accomplished in precise sequence. However, it is rarely necessary to completely strip the action. The largest cartridge that the 1894 action can accommodate is the .450 Marlin, which was chambered in some custom rifles and the short-lived Timber Carbine on a beefed-up 1894 "big bore" receiver.

Decades after the Winchester 1892 was phased out of production, the Winchester 1894 Models were manufactured in typical revolver calibers such as .38 Special/.357 Magnum, .44 Special/.44 Magnum, .45 Colt, .38-40 Winchester, and .44-40 Winchester. Typically, the tubular magazine is able to hold 9 to 13 rounds of these handgun calibers. The magazine capacity depends on the length of the barrel, as the under barrel tubular magazine typically covers the entire length of the barrel.

Handgun calibers are preferred by modern-day Cowboy Action Shooters as it allows one type of ammunition for both rifle and handgun. A typical combination would be an 1873 Colt (Colt Peacemaker or clone) and a Winchester 1894 capable of shooting the same type of ammunition. The 1894 action, designed for smokeless rifle rounds, is much stronger than the action of the Winchesters (Models 1866, 1873, 1876) that were based on Benjamin Henry's toggle-link system, and can easily handle modern high-pressure revolver cartridges such as the .44 Magnum.

From 1984 to 1997, the Model 94 angle eject 20" barreled carbine and 24" barreled XTR rifle were offered in 7-30 Waters (an improved .30-30 case necked down to a 7mm bullet). In 2003, the rifle was offered in .410 shotgun and named the Model 9410.

As of 1983, the Winchester 1894 holds the record for best-selling high-powered rifle in U.S. history.

U.S. production ceased in 2006. At the time there were 14 versions of the Model 94 in the Winchester catalog. In 2010 Winchester Repeating Arms reintroduced the model 94 in two Limited Edition models to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Oliver F. Winchester's birth in New England in 1810.

Design changes

Winchester 94 (1966) .32 Winchester Special

Three major changes have been made in the design and construction of the Winchester 1894, since World War II. All of these major changes are tied to Winchester's corporate leadership and direction. The first and largest came in 1964, after the 1963 resignation of gun enthusiast John M. Olin from the presidency of the company he founded, Olin Corporation. The second came in 1982, after Olin's 1981 sale of the Winchester factory to its employees, who formed the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (USRAC). The third came in 1992, after the 1989 bankruptcy of USRAC and its subsequent purchase by FN Herstal, which sought to market Winchester firearms worldwide.

1964

Upon Olin's retirement, Olin Corporation's new chief executives sought to maximize company profitability, giving corporate preference to its flourishing chemical business over gun production, which was unprofitable and labor-intensive. As a result, Winchester ceased machining both the receiver and many small parts of the Model 94 out of solid steel billet as of 1964. Sintered steel was used on the receiver, stamped sheet metal for the cartridge lifter, and hollow rather than solid steel roll pins used in the action. While the rifle's function, safety, and accuracy were not adversely affected, the changes—in particular the sintered receiver, which was as strong as its solid-steel predecessor but which did not respond well to a traditional blued finish—were conspicuous and came as Winchester made even more fundamental changes to its flagship Model 70 bolt-action rifle. Taken together, they were seen as a retreat from quality production across the company's whole range, seriously damaging Winchester's reputation for making quality firearms in the process. In response, many sought out rifles made before 1964 (popularly referred to as "pre-'64" rifles), which command a markedly higher resale value on the gun market to this day.

1982

One of the drawbacks of the original Model 1894 action in relation to competitors like the Marlin Model 336 was that the Winchester ejects cartridges from the top of the receiver and over the user's shoulder, rather than to the side. A top-ejecting firearm cannot mount a telescopic scope on top of the receiver—the most convenient location for the shooter—without interfering with cartridge ejection. A scope for such a firearm must instead be mounted either far forward on the barrel (where it must be specifically designed for the purpose), or offset to the side of the gun (which creates problems due to parallax). Both options seriously degrade the usefulness of a scope for such a rifle.

This was not a major concern when the gun was originally designed; the most common upgrade to guns of the pre–World War II era was the installation of a peep sight to the rear of the receiver, which maximized the accuracy potential of the factory-installed iron sights. Winchester had long had mounting holes pre-drilled in the receiver of the gun to accommodate such a modification, and it was by far the most common upgrade installed on the Model 1894 for most of its history. Nevertheless, consumer tastes changed in the years after World War II as high quality scopes became both widely available and affordable. Commercial acceptance of the new scopes was likewise rapid, and by the 1970s the ability to use receiver-mounted scopes on hunting rifles had become expected by most gun buyers. With the competition able to mount scopes on its receivers without difficulty, this shortcoming was blamed for falling sales. In response, Winchester changed the design of the action in 1982 to angled cartridge ejection, which ejects fired cartridges at an angle that allows the rifle to function while fitted with a conventional receiver-mounted scope.

1992

Despite these changes, U.S. Repeating Arms did not flourish, declaring bankruptcy in 1989. It was subsequently purchased by Belgian arms maker FN Herstal, which set about improving the whole Winchester line, instituting modern CNC methods of production at Winchester's factory while also seeking to expand the sales and marketing of Winchester rifles worldwide. This effort would culminate in two major changes to the gun in 1992: the reintroducing of now-CNC-machined parts and solid pins back into the action, and the elimination of the traditional half-cock safety notch on the hammer in favor of a cross-bolt safety, which enabled the gun to be sold internationally.

Though the increase in build quality was noted at the time, it was the conspicuous presence of the new safety that generated the strongest opinions. It was widely reviled by American consumers and gun writers alike as a "lawyer" safety, who said it detracted from the overall look, feel, and operation of the rifle. FNH and Winchester responded in 2003 by moving the safety to the tang behind the receiver, which largely quelled the controversy. Both the last Model 1894s to leave the New Haven factory before American production ceased in 2006 and the new Model 1894s produced in Japan since 2010 by Miroku Corp. feature these tang-mounted safeties.

References

^ Wilson, R. L. (2008). Winchester: An American Legend. New York: Book Sales, Inc. pp. 96–103. ISBN 978-0-7858-1893-9.
Herring, Hal (2008). Famous Firearms of the Old West: From Wild Bill Hickok's Colt Revolvers to Geronimo's Winchester, Twelve Guns That Shaped Our History. Montana: TwoDot. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7627-4508-1.
Henshaw, Thomas (1993). The History of Winchester Firearms 1866-1992. New York: Winchester Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8329-0503-2.
Canfield, Bruce N. (2008). "Drafted: The U.S. Military Contract Winchester Model 1894 .30-30 Carbine". American Rifleman. 156 (2). National Rifle Association of America: 62.
Canfield, Bruce N. 19th Century Military Winchesters March 2001 American Rifleman p. 77
Mercaldo, Luke & Vanderlinden, Anthony Winchester Lever-Actions go to War June 2015 American Rifleman pp. 53–54
Guus de Vries (2011). Captured Arms / Beutewaffen. S.I. Publicaties BV. ISBN 978-9078521068.
The model number 55 was used twice by Winchester, first as a Model 94 variant introduced in 1924, and, later, as a short-lived single-shot/auto-eject hybrid .22-caliber rifle that self-cocked the bolt each time it was fired). Henshaw (1993) p. 84
^ Gun Trader's Guide (22 ed.). Stoeger Publishing Company. 1999. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-88317-212-4.
Zidock Jr., Alex (1994). "Winchester Model 94". Popular Mechanics. 171 (5). Hearst Magazines: 50–52. ISSN 0032-4558.
Venturino, Mike (1998). "Slingin' Lead". Popular Mechanics. 175 (4). Jay McGill: 76–79.
Frank C. Barnes, ed. Stan Skinner (2003). Cartridges of the World, 10th Ed. Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-605-1.
Renneberg, Robert C. (2009). Winchester Model 94: A Century of Craftmanship (2 ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-4402-0391-6.
Wallack, LR. "Sixty Million Guns". 1983. In Gun Digest Treasury, Harold A. Murtz, editor, DBI Books. 1994 p. 190 ISBN 0873491564
Shideler, Dan (2010). Gun Digest 2011 (65 ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-4402-1337-3.
^ Schoby, Michael (2007). Hunter's Guide to Whitetail Rifles. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8117-3359-5. OCLC 70167703.
Murtz, Harold A. (2005). The Gun Digest Book of Exploded Gun Drawings: 975 Isometric Views. Iola, Wis.: Gun Digest Books. pp. 978–979. ISBN 978-0-89689-141-8. OCLC 849907703. Retrieved 17 June 2014.

External links

Manual
Winchester Model 1894 Classic Gun Review by Chuck Hawks
Winchester Pre '64 Model 94 Classic Gun Review by Chuck Hawks
Winchester 1894 Legacy review by Jeff Quinn
Winchester Lever Action Development: Model 1894
Small Arms of WWI Primer 055: French Contract Winchester 1894 on YouTube

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Winchester firearms and cartridges

Rifles

Lever-action	Henry rifle Model 1866 Model 1873 Model 1876 Model 1886 Model 1892 Model 1894 Model 1895 Model 53 Model 55 Model 64 Model 65 Model 71 Model 88 Model 150 Model 250 Model 255 Model 9422
Bolt-action	Model 1878 Hotchkiss Model 1895 Lee Navy Model 1900 Model 1902 Model 1904 Model 43 Model 47 Model 51 Imperial Model 52 Model 54 Model 56 Model 57 Model 58 Model 59 Model 60 Model 60A Model 67 Model 68 Model 69 Model 70 Model 72 Model 75 Model 121 Model 131 Model 141 Model 320 Model 325 Model 670 Model 770
Pump-action	Model 1890 Model 1906 Model 61 Model 62 Model 62A Model 270
Semi-automatic	Model 1903 Model 1905 Model 1907 Model 1910 Model 30 Model 63 Model 74 Model 77 Model 100 Model 190 Model 290 Model 490
Full-automatic	Olin/Winchester FAL Model 1917 WAR
Falling-block action	Model 1885

Shotguns

Pump-action	Model 1893 Model 1897 Model 1912 Model 25 Model 42 Model 1200 Model 1300
Lever-action	Model 1887 Model 1901 Model 9410
Single-shot	Model 20 Model 36 Model 37 Model 37A Model 41
Double-barrel	Model 21 Model 24 Model 96 Model 101
Semi-automatic	Model 1911 SL Model 40 Model 50 Model 59 Model 1400 Model 1500 SX-1

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