Make: Winchester
Model: 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine (SRC)
Serial Number: 381510
Year of Manufacture: 1907 (Winchester Serial Lookup pg. 9)
Caliber: .38-55 Winchester Center Fire (WCF), AKA .38-55 Ballard
Action Type: Lever Action with Side Loading Gate fed by Full-Length Tubular Magazine
Barrel Length: 20” Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade pinned in a slotted base fixed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a V-notch with a flip-up ladder sight and V-notch slider dovetailed to the top rear of the barrel.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut featuring a banded forend, a straight grip, a straight comb, and a carbine-style buttplate. The wood shows scattered light nicks, scratches, and compressions, as well as some minor handling and storage marks. There are some areas of darkening. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 13” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has contact wear and spots of discoloration. The stocks are in Very Good Plus overall condition.
Type of Finish: Blue and Case Color
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright and the rifling is sharp. There is some stubborn fouling but no erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 9 or 10 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This carbine retains about 90% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows patches of thinning, contact wear, and some minor handling marks. There are scattered nicks, scratches, and scuffs. The screw heads are well-defined. The markings are clear. Overall, this carbine is in Very Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammer has a half-cock safety and the lever safety functions correctly. We have not fired this carbine. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: The Model 1894 was another Winchester lever action rifle designed by gunmaking genius John Moses Browning, and it became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was the first commercial sporting rifle to sell over 7 million units, and was also the first commercial American repeating rifle built to be used with smokeless powder. It was introduced in 1894 in two black powder cartridges, the .32-40 and .38-55 Win. rounds, but by August 1895 Winchester had developed a different steel composition that could handle higher pressures, and the .25-35 and .30-30 WCF chamberings were introduced. As R.L. Wilson relays in his excellent reference work “Winchester An American Legend”, Winchester’s announcement of the Model 1894 in their November 1894 catalog certainly proved prophetic: “We believe that no repeating rifle system ever made will appeal to the eye and understanding of the riflemen as this will and that use will continue to warrant first impressions.”
This is a Winchester Model 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine made in 1907 with a 20” round barrel chambered in .38-55. The .38-55 Winchester Center Fire cartridge, also known as .38-55 WCF and .38-55 Ballard, was introduced in 1876 by Ballard. It was used by Marlin Firearms from 1876 onward for various single-shot target rifles and their 1893 lever-action rifle. It was later offered by Winchester in their Model 1894. Winchester continued to use the round in various rifles until about 1940, and has used it in a few commemorative editions of rifles since then. This example is in Very Good condition with about 90% of its metal finish remaining and wear consistent with a carbine that has seen use in the field over the last century, likely with much of it using black powder based on the bore. This is an honest carbine for its age and still retains strong mechanics. It would be a nice addition for the Winchester collectors, as most of the SRCs we see are chambered for one of the .30-30 family of cartridges.
RIFLE