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,
Page 9 Summer 2012 consistent with Winchester assembly standards. Winchester’s reputation for frugality suggested that this Model 94 carbine variant was made up from left-over or excess parts inventory. With this in mind, Gogan hypothecated that the barrel used was probably a rejected Model 95 carbine barrel that had been cut down to a Model 94 barrel profile. By the time a follow-up article was published in 1989 by Mr. Gogan in ”The Winchester Collector”, a total of 12 similar examples had been unearthed. He segregated these into three distinct Model 94 variant groups: 20” barrel with pinned front ramp sight 22” barrel with pinned front ramp sight 20” barrel with dove-tailed front ramp sight These 12 Hybrids all had the following features: 1. All had standard Model 94 receivers with sling ring studs. 2. All had standard Model 94 carbine furniture. 3. All had standard Model 94 full (6 shot) magazines. 4. All had standard Model 94 Winchester 44A rear sights. 5. All were in 30 W.C.F. caliber. 6. All of the barrels exhibited the standard Model 94 roll-die markings. 7. All had a barrel twist of 1 in 10 inches. 8. All had a rifle style magazine retaining band dovetailed to the bottom on the barrel in lieu of the carbine style front barrel band. 9. All had integral forged front sight ramp bases 11/32” in length with two variations: a ¼” width with pinned sight blade or 3/8” nominal width with a dovetailed sight blade. The 1 in 10” barrel twist corresponding to the Model 95 calibers of .30-06, .30-03 and .30-40 together with the ramp front sight anomalies were seminal clues pointing to the Model 95 origin. The fact that the 24” barrel Model 95 NRA Musket had just recently been removed from the Winchester product line further supports the Model 95 barrel availability thesis. After careful examination, it was concluded that the barrels used on each of these unique carbines were indeed modified Model 95 barrels and the examples were given the name “Model 94/95 Hybrids”. To date, approximately 50 of these Hybrid carbines have been identified. The first variant group, those carbines with 20” barrels and a pinned front ramp sight, was made using Model 95 carbine barrels. To accomplish this, the barrel was shortened 2” at the breech-end and re-chambered for the .30 W.C.F. cartridge. The barrel was turned down to Model 94 specifications and marked with the standard Model 94 roll-die. The musket sight screw holes holding the original Model 95 carbine rear sight were filled and a new dovetail slot was milled 2 ¾” forward of the receiver ring. This spacing is 3/8” further forward than on the standard Model 94 carbine and was apparently done to avoid the rear Model 95 sight mounting hole. The filled original front sight mounting hole is visible on these variants. The rear is covered by the Winchester 44A carbine rear sight. Since the forged front sight ramp precludes use of the standard Model 94 front barrel band, the magazine is held in place utilizing a rifle style magazine tube retaining band. This variant accounts for about 25% of the known Hybrids. The second variant group, those carbines with 22” barrels and a pinned front ramp sight, was made using 24”
Page 10 Check Us Out at www.WinchesterCollector.org Model 95 NRA musket barrels. To accomplish this, the barrel was shortened 2” and re-chambered similar to the 20” variant. This variant also exhibits the original Model 95 rear sight mounting holes which are either plugged or filled with filler screws. Here the dovetail slot for the rear sight was milled 3 1/16” forward of the receiver ring which is 11/16” further forward than on the standard Model 94 again apparently to avoid intersecting the front Model 95 sight mounting hole. Use of the barrel mounted magazine retaining band is required due to the forged front sight ramp. This variant also accounts for about 25% of the known Hybrids. The third variant group, those carbines with 20” barrels and a dovetailed front ramp sight, was made using surplus Model 95 sporting rifle barrels. These examples may have either a forged or silver soldered front sight ramp depending on the original length of the barrel. The rear sight spacing on this variant was set 3/8” further forward than the standard spacing to match the spacing in the first variant group. Obviously the sporting rifle utilized a dovetailed rear sight and no mounting holes are therefore evident on these variants. This variant accounts for the remainder or 50% of the known Hybrids. The serial numbers of the Model 94/95 Hybrids range from 1014894 to 10335961. This corresponds to a Model 94 receiver manufacturing period of January to November 1928 according to Winchester Polishing Room Serialization Record Books. Similarly, all of the barrels examined, within the Hybrid group, carry “28” stamped on the bottom of the barrel beneath the fore-end which would indicate a 1928 assembly. We now know the “when” and the “why” concerning this interesting group of special carbines. The 94/95 Hybrid project, together with ongoing parts clean-up that extended the assembly of the Model 95 into 1933, marks the end of trail for the “Medicine Gun for Lions” rifle. The last year that the Model 95 was listed in the Winchester catalog was 1934. 1 An earlier example has a 1911 dated rifle frame and one later example, 1085593 is thought to actual have been a misread serial number.
Page 11 Summer 2012 Serial Number Barrel Length Bbl. Drilled at Rear Sight Bbl. Milled w/ Dovetail Front Sight Year Mfg’d * Bbl Stamped w/ Year 578,4451 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1911 1928 1,014,894 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,024,455 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,025,016 20” Yes (fwd) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,025,210 ? ? ? ? 1928 - 1,025,214 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,025,339 20” ? ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,025,460 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 1928 1,025,506 20” ? ? Pinned 1928 - 1,025,936 20” Yes Yes Pinned 1928 1928 1,027,124 20” No ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,027,816 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,027,817 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,027,955 20” Yes (fwd) Yes Dovet’l 1928 - 1,028,070 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,028,299 20” Yes (fwd) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,028,788 2 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,029,502 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 1,029,742 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,029,940 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,030,775 20” ? ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,030,982 20” ? ? Pinned 1928 - 1,031,010 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,403 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,481 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 1928 1,031,698 20” No ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,760 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,778 20” No ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,811 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,847 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,907 3 20” No No Pinned 1928 - 1,031,911 20” No ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,031,999 20” No ? ? 1928 - 1,032,143 20” No ? Dovet’l 1928 1,032,291 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,032,358 ? ? ? ? 1928 - 1,032,377 22” Yes Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,032,579 22” Yes ? Pinned 1928 - 1,032,618 22” Yes (rear) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,032,663 22” Yes (rear) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,032,697 22” Yes Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,032,795 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,032,813 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,032,846 20” No No Dovet’l 1928 - 1,032,942 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,033,180 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,033,259 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1928 - 1,033,422 20” Yes (fwd) ? Pinned 1928 - 1,033,539 22” Yes (rear) Yes Pinned 1928 1928 1,033,596 22” ? ? Dovet’l 1928 - 1,085,593 4 20” ? ? Dovet’l 1932 - 1 Barrel & magazine not original to this receiver 2 The remnant of a caliber date (03) is evident on the bottom of the bbl. Originally a 30-03? The 30 W.C.F. stamp appears forward of the 03 mark. 3 1 turn in 12” rifling twist 4 Probably misread serial no. Believe it should be 1,035,593 * Barrel dates per PRB
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