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I bought an 1894 Winchester in 30 wcf, ser#3783xx puts it in 1906 I believe, it has an 20 inch octagon barrel with rifle buttplate. the odd thing is the hammer, trigger, loading gate,butt plate, and the mag tube holder are all it seems to be gold or brass plated, all of the gold shows a lot of wear. what the heck do I have?
Please post complete serial number only.
Your Model 1894 was manufactured very late in the year 1907. Unfortunately, a previous owner completely refinished it, and added the plating aftermarket.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
thanks but the Winchester dates of manufacture puts it in late 1906
I kinda figured someone had modified it, already knew it was reblued
but I think it was worth the 6 hundred I paid, beautiful rifle
[email protected] said
thanks but the Winchester dates of manufacture puts it in late 1906I kinda figured someone had modified it, already knew it was reblued
but I think it was worth the 6 hundred I paid, beautiful rifle
If you are referring to the Winchester DOM information found at – http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/faq/date-your-firearm.html you are using a bad source. The information they have listed in the .pdf table is not accurate! I highly recommend you carefully read the first paragraph of that document. That website is actually owned by the Browning Arms Company, and it does not contain the correct information from the original Winchester factory serialization records that are in possession of the Cody Firearms Museum.
I highly recommend that you use the look-up tables that are available here on the WACA website – https://winchestercollector.org/dates/
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
[email protected] said
but I think it was worth the 6 hundred I paid, beautiful rifle
Without me being too much of a jerk…we were all novices once and you don’t want to repeat the same mistake.
No, not worth anything near $600. No, not a beautiful rifle. Poorly refinished, improperly plated, original barrel cut from the original 26″.
Get lots of good books and read, read, read! Study known examples of quality original rifles and obvious refinishes right on this very forum. Some very nice rifles are in the signature section of frequent posters to this forum.
And, ask lots of questions…especially before reaching for your wallet.
And…never shoot the messenger! (I apologise for being the bearer of bad news).
mrcvs said
(I apologise for being the bearer of bad news).
The Truth…sometimes it hurts.
mrcvs said
No, not worth anything near $600. No, not a beautiful rifle. Poorly refinished, improperly plated, original barrel cut from the original 26″.
Not to mention that the wood appears to have been severely sanded down.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
well I like it and I think it is well worth the money I paid, sorry if it doesn’t meet the expectations of all you purists. I am gonna get my 600’s worth out of it in pleasure and as I was only seeking information about make and year I didn’t need to be ridiculed. don’t think I will bee back to visit a bunch of jerks
There definitely IS a market for gaudy guns–every month there’s a new one featured in a full-page Rifleman ad, usually some Win or Colt repro tarted-up with gold plating and laser-cut engraving; someone, I presume, is buying them, as these ads have been going on for many yrs.
Maybe WRA shares some of the responsibility for creating this market with their endless series of so-called Commemoratives.
clarence said
There definitely IS a market for gaudy guns–every month there’s a new one featured in a full-page Rifleman ad, usually some Win or Colt repro tarted-up with gold plating and laser-cut engraving; someone, I presume, is buying them, as these ads have been going on for many yrs.Maybe WRA shares some of the responsibility for creating this market with their endless series of so-called Commemoratives.
AMEN! And they never disclose the foreign country of origin of these so-called “historic Winchesters”.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
November 7, 2015
Offline
[email protected] said
well I like it and I think it is well worth the money I paid, sorry if it doesn’t meet the expectations of all you purists. I am gonna get my 600’s worth out of it in pleasure and as I was only seeking information about make and year I didn’t need to be ridiculed. don’t think I will bee back to visit a bunch of jerks
Oops, asked for opinions and got a painful reality check. Suspect we’ve all had at least one experience like that. I’ve kept most of my “mistakes”, I bought them because I liked them and still do.
Yes, the OP asked as to what the heck he had. I stated that he shouldn’t shoot the messenger, but he overpaid for a seriously compromised firearm. He needs to research first and learn a whole lot more prior to forming out any money.
Unfortunately, he had his mind made up prior to asking about his firearm. Some folks thin they are right and refuse to have an open mind and learn from their mistakes. If he overpays on his next purchase, his stubbornness will cost him yet again.
mrcvs said
Yes, the OP asked as to what the heck he had. I stated that he shouldn’t shoot the messenger, but he overpaid for a seriously compromised firearm. He needs to research first and learn a whole lot more prior to forming out any money.Unfortunately, he had his mind made up prior to asking about his firearm. Some folks thin they are right and refuse to have an open mind and learn from their mistakes. If he overpays on his next purchase, his stubbornness will cost him yet again.
you are the jerk I was talking about, everyone else is ok
[email protected] said
you are the jerk I was talking about, everyone else is ok
Excuse me? Who is the jerk?
Overpay for an absolute piece of junk an insist you are correct and refuse to learn from your mistakes?
I have been collecting this stuff for over 30 years. How long have you been collecting this stuff?
I have an extensive library of books relating to firearms and reloading. Do you?
I am not afraid to ask questions. I have made mistakes in the past, too, but as I gained experience, I have attempted to maximize my purchase of quality firearms at reasonable (relative) expense and minimize the purchase of extensively modified or overpriced firearms.
And, when I seek advice, sometimes I am wrong or realize that I might have made a mistake. I accept my mistake and learn from it and don’t call the person providing advice due to their greater level of expertise a jerk due to stubbornness or pride.
If you think you own a gem that you purchased at a bargain basement price, congratulations on your purchase. Perhaps you have beginner’s luck. I could indeed be wrong in my assessment of your firearm, as I don’t know everything, either. So, feel free to post an extensive discourse on the merits of your firearm and I promise not to call you a jerk.
I paid what I wanted to for it and I have been into firearms for about 50 years, the gun shot great yesterday and I have no regrets. sure I paid too much, knew that when I got it but I traded a pistol for it I had about 300 in and I didn’t get hurt, the shop was asking 595.00. I just wanted to know if it left Winchester in the configuration, less plating, that it is now. I will find out when the person gets back from vacation at the cody museum as you all suggested. I just didn’t like my rifle being trashed even if it isn’t original. all I wanted was some simple info. guess I shoulda left the purist forum alone. sorry for calling you a jerk but I get irritated very easy when it comes to my firearms which I have 65 of ranging from 18 1911 style pistol to 12 smith and Wesson revolvers. I only got the 94 because I was given 3 30 cal ammo cans full of 30-30 and I needed something to shoot them in and wanted an older gun. good conversation piece at the range and the cowboy action shoot
[email protected] said
but I think it was worth the 6 hundred I paid, beautiful rifle
dwade,
Let me actually be the first to say “welcome to the WACA Forum”. You will find all kinds of personalities and opinions here are and more than welcome to accept or ignore any and all that you choose to. Nobody here is God and opinions will definitely vary depending on the question asked and the subject item. Regarding the value question you asked, the quoted reply of yours is really all that matters at the end of the day. Do you feel that what you purchased with your money was worth it? If so then it is valued as such. It really does not matter if anyone else agrees with you. Now, if your question is “can I resell said item fairly easily and recoup the investment or make money” then the answer may be different. For most of us here we tend to discuss what any particular Winchester be valued by a reasonable number of fellow Winchester collectors. But that does not in any way imply that everyone here will agree to the penny that any valuation is set is cement. It always comes down to your money, your likes, your needs. Your enjoyment of owning and using something is never going to be something that is easily quantified in a monetary sense.
You will not be able to confirm the originality of the 20 inch barrel configuration since there are only ledger records for the first 353,999 Model 1894 rifles which were manufactured. Your SN is beyond that range. What is the distance from the receiver face to the center of the rear sight dovetail? What is the length of the fore end wood? We can also check the placement of the magazine retaining band relative to the muzzle. It should be as shown in the attached photo.
Stick around. Ask lots of questions. Pick and choose who you want to respond to. I think you will find some fun here.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
November 7, 2015
Offline
Well said, Michael.
And dwade, I’d like to join Michael in welcoming you to our forum. Serious collectors do tend to be purists, as you say, but that helps them recognize the best specimens as well as the less desirable (to the collector) Winchesters. My preference is the 70% guns that look like they’ve been there and done that. It’s been hard for me to adjust my preference to the higher condition, original guns but that is where the money is. I’ve gotten some very good info from folks here on this forum and if you’ll read mrcvs’ first post you may find that he gave you some very good advice. The books he mentioned are important, the problem with my growing library is that I’m mainly learning just how little I know about Winchesters.
I chuckled when you wrote that you bought the 94 to shoot up all that ammo, sounds like something I’d do. I really enjoy shooting and hunting with old Winchesters, it will be nice to have another shooter around here.
[email protected] said
“I bought an 1894 Winchester in 30 wcf, ser#3783xx puts it in 1906 I believe, it has an 20 inch octagon barrel with rifle buttplate. the odd thing is the hammer, trigger, loading gate,butt plate, and the mag tube holder are all it seems to be gold or brass plated, all of the gold shows a lot of wear. what the heck do I have?”
———————-
—“What the heck do I have?” seems to be your original question. “What the heck” you have was more than adequately answered by mrcvs.
——————-
I kinda figured someone had modified it, already knew it was reblued
but I think it was worth the 6 hundred I paid, beautiful rifle”
———————-
“well I like it and I think it is well worth the money I paid, sorry if it doesn’t meet the expectations of all you purists. I am gonna get my 600’s worth out of it in pleasure and as I was only seeking information about make and year I didn’t need to be ridiculed. don’t think I will bee back to visit a bunch of jerks”
“you are the jerk I was talking about, everyone else is ok” —You point at mrcvs.
Dwade, do you notice that you labeled more members than just mrcvs as being a jerk?
You didn’t ask about the year, though when your error in the date was pointed out to you as a courtesy, you corrected the member who offered you the true year of manufacture. The “make”–it is a Winchester Model 1894.
I agree, you are a tad touchy about something.
Without me being a “jerk,” I’d venture to suggest that you are enamored with the added glitz to your Winchester. Perhaps you were posting in order to show others how fetching your firearm is in its present configuration, and expecting folks here to compliment you on your gun’s make-over, and in addition to that, tell you what a dandy price you snagged it for.
Your entrance into this forum is tarnished with the inaccuracies in your posts and definitely darkened by the insults you have leveled on members. These members are experts regarding all facets of Winchesters. We are fortunate they share their wisdom with us; such a generous gift. And unlike you, they form their responses in a conscientious, kind, and respectful manner.
I’d further suggest–and if you perceive that I, too, am being a “jerk,” well, I don’t really care what you think of me–I suggest you owe these members an apology.
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