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November 7, 2015
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I’m wanting to help a friend evaluate and sell a few guns for an estate and this rifle is a bit of a puzzle to me.
Serial number 118497, T/D, 25-35, half round, half magazine, pistol grip, “deluxe” oil finish wood, checkering, engraved with gold inlay. I did not remove the wood to check for grade markings or assembly numbers. Engraving seems to be very good work but apparently it doesn’t letter as engraved, still waiting for the e-mail from Angela or Jesi @ CFM. I think they wanted to study on it a bit.
Found a few odd things that push me towards a non-factory engraving job. The barrel blue has a reddish color that may be correct but just doesn’t look right. The muzzle face is blued and has had some pitting partially polished out (see pics). The engraving appears to be signed on the lower right side of the receiver panel. First character is either unreadable or simply stray marks. Second character appears to be a “G” or “Q” and the remaining characters appear to be “AWA”. Outdoor pics not available today, could not get good image of signature. Rear Marble sight is not correct and the butt plate and other areas are highly polished. The engraving looks like a factory pattern but I haven’t seen enough to be a good judge of this type of work but it seems very good to me. Signature sounds familiar but that happens a lot these days.
What do we have here? I no longer have the rifle in hand but can send more pics and high-res pics to an e-mail.
Beautiful rifle< I have one similar ser#442502. I,ve had it a long time and when I purchased it ,I won,t say who from but He was promoting it as a factory correct ,94. Being in the un letterable range It could be hard to disprove but the old saying prevails”if it looks to good to be true it probably is., and it was . Luckily We agreed on a mutually acceptable price and I did buy it, it,s still a beautiful ,94 for display. Here are a few observations on Your gun in My humble opinion, from the photos You provided. The very first thing is the engraving does not letter nor does the inlay or gold trim, I just can,t imagine that as factory correct. The bbl. blueing is not a factory color, the screws ,I can see, have been turned indicating this gun has been apart, which would be very unusual for a piece in this condition. I see a few other marks that look to have been finished over. It is still a nice restoration and enhancment job and makes for a beautiful display gun.
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
Beautiful rifle< I have one similar ser#442502. I,ve had it a long time and when I purchased it ,I won,t say who from but He was promoting it as a factory correct ,94. Being in the un letterable range It could be hard to disprove but the old saying prevails”if it looks to good to be true it probably is., and it was . Luckily We agreed on a mutually acceptable price and I did buy it, it,s still a beautiful ,94 for display. Here are a few observations on Your gun in My humble opinion, from the photos You provided. The very first thing is the engraving does not letter nor does the inlay or gold trim, I just can,t imagine that as factory correct. The bbl. blueing is not a factory color, the screws ,I can see, have been turned indicating this gun has been apart, which would be very unusual for a piece in this condition. I see a few other marks that look to have been finished over. It is still a nice restoration and enhancment job and makes for a beautiful display gun. P.S. Oh yeah and the corners on the oct. bbl. are not sharp and have been sanded at one time.
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
I do believe your assumptions are correct. I have never seen a “Wild Boar” depicted on a Factory Winchester Engraved gun, but that doesn’t mean a genuine one exists, but I doubt it. Also the barrel engraving does not look factory to me at all, especially around the caliber marking.
Sincerely,
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
From looking at the pictures the color of the receiver & barrel are wrong and the engraving is not Winchester. Posting higher resolution pictures in better light would help.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
November 7, 2015
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Thanks, gentlemen. Good observations. I really liked the boar on the left side of the receiver but can’t say I’ve ever heard of another. Haven’t heard back from CFM but I don’t think there’s much chance the engraving is factory; they were wanting to look at something a bit closer before they wrote it up. The T/D, half-round barrel, half mag, checkered & oiled stock do letter so it was an interesting rifle even before the apparent restoration. The wood is a bit more worn than the rest of the rifle but I didn’t want to tie up the bandwidth with more pics.
I must admit, at first glance the quality of the engraving sure got my attention. I wanted it to be something that my eyes were trying to tell me it wasn’t. I may be able to use it for eye candy at the upcoming TGCA show, may even find it a new home. Must admit, I have no idea where to price it. Any suggestions?
Mike
Mike,
The serial number on that rifle is not listed in the ARMAX survey as one of the (336) engraved Model 1894 Rifles. Furthermore, the purple tint to the bluing on the barrel and the blued muzzle face are positive signs that it has been refinished by an amateur.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
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Thanks, Bert. I knew there were very few factory engraved 1894’s but had no idea the number was that small. Do you think they will reprint that survey anytime soon?
Better question; are you and Larry going to print more copies of the Red Book or are you working on the next edition?
Mike
Mike,
There is no need to print additional copies of the Red Book at this time, as there is still an ample supply available. The WACA book store was just very recently resupplied.
Work on the 5th edition is going slow at this time. At some time in the not so distant future, a more concerted effort will be made to get it moving at a faster pace.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
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Thanks! Graham has misplaced his copy and I won’t loan him my travelling copy. 
The friend that showed me this 1894 may decide he needs one as well. Good to hear they’re readily available again. Do you know if the Cody gift shop has them back on the shelf?
Mike
Mike,
No, the Cody gift shop does not have a new supply… yet. I am working on it, but my free time is very limited these days (and will be through the end of the year).
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
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Bert-
I’d love to slip up to Cody and do a little arm-twisting for you, lol. They have a very good book selection other than this obvious shortcoming. I’d rather buy from the WACA store anyway. Only problem is we have some pretty cool stuff and Trish would need a BIG box for my order.
Mike
November 7, 2015
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I’ll be putting this rifle on my table this weekend at the TGCA show. I’m probably going to price it at $5000, does anyone think that will be out of line? I think it will be great “eye candy” but it has a few minor mechanical issues in addition to the non-factory engraving and finish. I’ll be selling it for an estate and they have no clue about the history of the gun. I think it would make an awesome display piece for a casual collector.
Mike
TXGunNut said
Thanks! Graham has misplaced his copy and I won’t loan him my travelling copy.
Mike
Mike,
In addition to the WACA Store, I have a large supply of The Red Book for sale on eBay . I’m helping Larry sell the many copies in stock we have here in California. Check it out, and shipping is free. Glad to get these books into as many hands as possible. I also have them on my table at the Reno, Las Vegas and Denver Shows. The quickest way is eBay, and it ships next day.
Bill
November 7, 2015
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Thanks, Bill. I recall you mentioning that a little while back. I told my friend Graham you had some but he found where his better half hid his copy.
No offers on the engraved gun at the TGCA show but it worked great as eye candy. More than a few Winchesters at the show but only a few WACA members. Maybe I need to take some membership applications next time. I think Jesi had some but a few more won’t hurt.
Mike
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