Winchester 94 30-30 Pre-64.
- Thread starter granpa_jo
- Start date
30-30remchester
New member
Welcome grandpa, your model 94 fall into the "war years" guns. During WWII most civilian gun production stopped though many were assembled from parts on hand. Keeping track of the serial numbers in these years was less important than building arms and ammunition to keep the world free. In 1942 the last serial number recorded was 1,250,000 range and started to be accurately recorded after the war at @1,500,000 range in 1949. This is according to an early serial number book authored by the renounded Winchester researcher George Midas. Since his book was first published more accurtate war dates have been discovered. Sounds like you have a family keeper and it should never be altered in any way. How about a few pictures?
Sorry some of the pics are blurry, don't have a camera except on my phone.
http://imgur.com/a/qqcA1
The patina on the receiver area looks kind of rusty.
http://imgur.com/a/qqcA1
The patina on the receiver area looks kind of rusty.
30-30remchester
New member
That is a good looking unaltered old Winchester. It is good seeing unaltered guns with some charactor. The recievers on old model 94's had a high nickle content, thus the bluing was the first to go. You can clean up some of that thick discoloration by using 0000 steelwool heavily soaked in WD-40. This will help and wont damage.
Pathfinder45
New member
Nice vintage Winchester.
To my tastes, these war-time Winchesters are some of the nicest of the '94 carbines. The serial # on mine is 1291xxx, and looks about the same as yours. Does your Winchester have any markings on the upper tang behind the hammer? Congratulations on your inheritance. I hope you will cherish it always and keep handing it down in the family. To me, the much touted pre-64's don't go far enough back. If you will notice, the hammer on your rifle should be checkered. Sometime around 1949 or 1950, I believe, they changed to a serrated hammer and shortly thereafter shortened the forearm. No doubt this saved the company time and money without sacrificing reliability. But the esthetics were affected, for me anyway. If it were my rifle, I would go over the receiver and any other rusty spots with very fine steel wool being careful not to damage the wood finish. I'm not sure what Winchester used to finish the wood back then but I would like to know. I had to refinish my buttstock and had very good results using teakwood oil. If you reblue or refinish yours you should know it will decrease its value. Someone before me had cut the stock short and put a recoil pad on mine, so it cost me less to buy it because it had been altered. So I felt free to fix it as tastefully as I could. But original is always preferable with vintage Winchesters. I still need an original metal buttplate to complete my repairs. If you feel the need for a recoil pad, use one of the slip-on kind that doesn't alter the gun. Again, congratulations on your inheritance. They don't make them like they used to and probably never will again. Pathfinder
To my tastes, these war-time Winchesters are some of the nicest of the '94 carbines. The serial # on mine is 1291xxx, and looks about the same as yours. Does your Winchester have any markings on the upper tang behind the hammer? Congratulations on your inheritance. I hope you will cherish it always and keep handing it down in the family. To me, the much touted pre-64's don't go far enough back. If you will notice, the hammer on your rifle should be checkered. Sometime around 1949 or 1950, I believe, they changed to a serrated hammer and shortly thereafter shortened the forearm. No doubt this saved the company time and money without sacrificing reliability. But the esthetics were affected, for me anyway. If it were my rifle, I would go over the receiver and any other rusty spots with very fine steel wool being careful not to damage the wood finish. I'm not sure what Winchester used to finish the wood back then but I would like to know. I had to refinish my buttstock and had very good results using teakwood oil. If you reblue or refinish yours you should know it will decrease its value. Someone before me had cut the stock short and put a recoil pad on mine, so it cost me less to buy it because it had been altered. So I felt free to fix it as tastefully as I could. But original is always preferable with vintage Winchesters. I still need an original metal buttplate to complete my repairs. If you feel the need for a recoil pad, use one of the slip-on kind that doesn't alter the gun. Again, congratulations on your inheritance. They don't make them like they used to and probably never will again. Pathfinder
rqcardwell
Inactive
30-30 Model 94 Serial #
Thanks to this site, I was able to determine that my great grandfather's Model 94 30-30 Rifle was made in 1927. Awesome Thanks!
Thanks to this site, I was able to determine that my great grandfather's Model 94 30-30 Rifle was made in 1927. Awesome Thanks!
rqcardwell
Inactive
Value?
I am having it cleaned and restored.
It shoots great and accurrate and has the leather strap which seems original to me. Serial number is 9982##
I am having it cleaned and restored.
It shoots great and accurrate and has the leather strap which seems original to me. Serial number is 9982##
Safety check
With an unloaded rifle pointed in a safe direction, place the hammer on the safety notch (aka half cock) and squeeze the trigger. The hammer should not drop, and it shouldn't move the hammer any more than just a very little bit either.
A rifle like these will fire if the hammer falls from the safety notch.
I have seen several vintage rifles that are worn to the point that they are unsafe.
With an unloaded rifle pointed in a safe direction, place the hammer on the safety notch (aka half cock) and squeeze the trigger. The hammer should not drop, and it shouldn't move the hammer any more than just a very little bit either.
A rifle like these will fire if the hammer falls from the safety notch.
I have seen several vintage rifles that are worn to the point that they are unsafe.