Page 8 Check Us Out at www.WinchesterCollector.org The Model 94/95 Hybrid Carbines by Rick Hill Following World War I, Winchester began a slow downward spiral that culminated in filing for voluntary receivership in January of 1931. In 1919 Winchester Repeating Arms Company reorganized its business model to help pay down short term debt occasioned by rapid expansion during WWI. This reorganization brought in Kidder, Peabody & Company in a substantial ownership position and propelled the new company, now named the Winchester Company, into a broadened product offering through the acquisition of several hardware and sports related manufacturing firms. This expansion scenario resulted in the merger of the Winchester Company with the Associated Simmons Hardware companies in August, 1922, to form the Winchester-Simmons Company. The new business model proved to be unsuccessful with Winchester-Simmons posting an operating loss of $6.1 million in 1927. Winchester needed to improve operating efficiency and began to look at modifying both the firearms product line and operating methodology. In 1925 the Model 54 was successfully introduced beginning the demise of the Model 1895. The Model 1895 had, since its inception, sold a steady 350 to 400 units per month up until the advent of WWI. Military sales to Russia greatly increased the production of the Model 95 in the 1914 to 1916 timeframe; but after the war, when surplus arms became available to the shooting public, sales of the Model 95 dropped below 300 units per month in the 1918 to 1924 time period. Winchester produced only 463 Model 95s in 1925 when the Model 54 came to market and plans were made to curtail Model 95 production. Assembly of the Model 95 amounted to only 1,763 units in 1926, 270 units in 1927, and 409 units in 1928, according to Winchester Polishing Room Serialization Record Books. In 1985 Art Gogan, Winchester collector, author and member of the Winchester Arms Collectors Association, published a short article in the Association journal “The Winchester Collector” which examined a uniquely different Model 94 carbine that had recently come to the attention of Winchester collectors. The feature distinguishing this carbine from standard carbines of the period was a short, integrally forged, ramp sight base rather than the simple “lug” front sight traditionally found on Model 94 carbines. This carbine also had a rifle style magazine retaining band dovetailed into the bottom of the barrel similar to those seen on Model 1892 carbines in the smaller .25-20 and .32-20 calibers rather than the traditional front barrel band positioned forward to the front sight. The barrel twist on this carbine turned out to be 1 in 10 inches versus the standard twist rate of 1 in 12 inches associated with the .30 W.C.F. caliber Model 94s. Gogan was convinced that the work was factory-quality,
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