In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.

Another Winchester 94 ?

Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
edited February 2008 in Ask the Experts
I just bought one from the original owner in great condition with a SN-1338792. Most of the searchable sites give a date range of 1943 to 1948. Can anyone narrow this down further? I'll try and post pics later.
Thanks!
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yes... 1942 is positively the year it was manufactured.

    WACA Historian & Life Member

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    DSCI0016-1.JPG
    DSCI0012-1.JPG
    DSCI0011-1.JPG
    DSCI0009-1.JPG
    DSCI0003.JPG
    DSCI0002.JPG
    DSCI0018-1.JPG
    DSCI0015-1.JPG
    DSCI0014-1.JPG
    DSCI0013-1.JPG
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    OK, edited again... I now need to see clear well lit pictures of the superposed proof mark stamps on the frame ring and on the barrel.

    WACA Historian & Life Member

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    OK..........I'll take some & post tomorrow.
    Thank You!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • kimikimi Member Posts: 44,719 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Target: It looks like your carbine is what Robert C. Renneberg has classified as a Variation II, Type 6, noted as being commonly known as a "Pre-War" model. Now, you might like to know that there is a considerable difference in value between a "Pre-War" model which you have that fits the Blue Book of Gun Values,(BBGV), "Eastern Carbine" description better than it does the BBGV's description of "Model 1894 1940-1964 Production Carbine" when Renneberg's description is taken into account. This despite the fact that your carbine was made within the dates of the latter BBGV description.
    What's next?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    OK......Here are a few more pictures. The only other marking that I could find is the # 40 stamped in front of the trigger. So, from the previous post, is this considered an "Eastern Carbine"?
    101_0600.jpg
    101_0607.jpg
    101_0611.jpg
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No. it is not an "Eastern" Carbine. It is a standard production pre-war Sporting Carbine.

    There are two stamped markings that you have not posted pictures of yet (and they are what I was asking for in my last request).

    Winchester stamped a superposed "WP" (in an oval) on the top of the frame ring (just behind where the barrel screws into the frame), and another on the top of the barrel just forward of the frame ring. It is very important that I see clear and well lit pictures of both those marks. If possible, please take the pictures outdoors in natural lighting.

    WACA Historian & Life Member

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Outdoors!!!! It was 11* below zero here this AM[:D]!!!

    I think I have what you want now. I'll admit, I'm a total greenhorn in the Winchester world. Could you explain the significance of the proof marks? What features designate an "Eastern Carbine"?
    101_0615.jpg
    101_0620.jpg
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Brrrr...!!! This is definitely one of those times where I really like living in the great Pacific Northwest[^]. It was a balmy 44 degrees this morning when I left for the office.

    The Proof marks indicate that Winchester tested fired the gun and it passed subsequent post firing inspection.

    The reason I wanted to see the proof marks, is that if that gun had ever been refinished, I can detect that fact by looking at the proof marks. Based on the superb overall condition of the bluing on your Carbine, there was a strong possibilty that it had been refinished... it is very very seldom that you will find a 65+ year-old Winchester Model 94 Carbine in virtually unused condition. After viewing the pictures of the proof marks, I am very pleased to say that your Carbine is 100% factory original, and in near 100% graded condition. I know a few collectors who would love to get their hands on it (and would likely pay very good $$$$ for it). The only negative I see is the missing front sight hood, and that is a very minor issue. Depending upon the individual collector, it could be worth anywhere from a minimum of $1500 to as much as $1800.

    Damn fine Model 94 Carbine![^]

    WACA Historian & Life Member

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Target-PanicTarget-Panic Member Posts: 44 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks Bert!
    You are a wealth of knowledge!!!

    Now the story behind this gun. I had a client named Bill who passed away a few years ago, he was in his upper 80's when he died. I still call on his wife quite regularly, and have a great relationship with her. They were "outdoors" type people, and I always share my deer hunting stories with her( she's now 88). A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that she once shot two deer in the same day with her old Winchester that Bill bought for her. I asked her what happened to it, and she said that it was in her upstairs closet with Bill's Marlin and her .22. She invited me to go take a look, and I had all I could do not to run up those stairs! When I opened the closet there was the 94, a Marlin 336RC, and the 62A that I asked about in another post. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the condition of these guns. She told me that she only hunted with it a couple of times, and that they saved all of their old hunting licenses too! I then looked through the licenses, to find out that the last time that they hunted was 1977. So, those guns have been sitting in that upstairs closet for over 30 years!!! I then joined her back at the kitchen table, my hands trembling at this point, and asked her if she'd ever consider selling these guns. "Sure" she said, " I have no kids to leave them to, and I'm too old to hunt anymore." I made her, what I thought was a very fair offer, and she almost acted like it was too much, but accepted. As I cased up the guns, and loaded up the old boxes of shells, she said that she was really happy that I was ending up with her guns, and that Bill would have been happy too! I just thought that you might enjoy this story.
    Thanks Again!
    George
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Target-Panic
    Thanks Bert!
    You are a wealth of knowledge!!!

    Now the story behind this gun. I had a client named Bill who passed away a few years ago, he was in his upper 80's when he died. I still call on his wife quite regularly, and have a great relationship with her. They were "outdoors" type people, and I always share my deer hunting stories with her( she's now 88). A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that she once shot two deer in the same day with her old Winchester that Bill bought for her. I asked her what happened to it, and she said that it was in her upstairs closet with Bill's Marlin and her .22. She invited me to go take a look, and I had all I could do not to run up those stairs! When I opened the closet there was the 94, a Marlin 336RC, and the 62A that I asked about in another post. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the condition of these guns. She told me that she only hunted with it a couple of times, and that they saved all of their old hunting licenses too! I then looked through the licenses, to find out that the last time that they hunted was 1977. So, those guns have been sitting in that upstairs closet for over 30 years!!! I then joined her back at the kitchen table, my hands trembling at this point, and asked her if she'd ever consider selling these guns. "Sure" she said, " I have no kids to leave them to, and I'm too old to hunt anymore." I made her, what I thought was a very fair offer, and she almost acted like it was too much, but accepted. As I cased up the guns, and loaded up the old boxes of shells, she said that she was really happy that I was ending up with her guns, and that Bill would have been happy too! I just thought that you might enjoy this story.
    Thanks Again!
    George


    Thanks for sharing the story behind the guns. Take good care of those Winchesters while they are in your hands... they are only going to get more valueable with time.

    WACA Historian & Life Member

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.