Make: Winchester
Model: 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine (SRC)
Serial Number: 162846
Year of Manufacture: 1899 (Winchester Serial Lookup pg. 9)
Caliber: .25-35 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)
Action Type: Lever Action with Side Loading Gate fed by Half-Length Tubular Magazine
Barrel Length: 20” Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a beaded blade pinned in a slotted base fixed to the barrel above the muzzle. The rear sight is a V-notch with flip-ups for different distances integral to a mount dovetailed to the top rear of the barrel. The upper tang is drilled, tapped and installed with a fully-adjustable mount with a flip-up aperture sight.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth wood featuring a banded forend, straight grip, straight comb, and carbine-style buttplate. The wood shows light to moderate nicks, scratches, and compressions, as well as some minor handling and storage marks. There are some areas of darkening in the wood either due to age or exposure. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 12 7/8” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The stocks are in Very Good Plus overall condition.
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is gray and the rifling is well-defined. There is stubborn fouling and erosion in the bore. In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 7 or 8 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This carbine retains about 80% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. Most of the balance is finish wear in the receiver with light oxidation and patina forming in the flats. There is some other scattered more minor wear and minor oxidation. There are some scattered light nicks and scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are sharp. 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 properly. 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: This carbine comes with a letter from the Cody Firearms Museum confirming this carbine’s configuration and original shipment date from the warehouse in December 1902.
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 1899 and chambered for .25-35 WCF. The gun shows honest wear consistent with its age, but retains strong mechanics. Whether you're looking to add to your Winchester collection or want a trusty Model 94 in .25-35 WCF for coyote hunting, this is a nice carbine for any collection.
RIFLE