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I have this old winchester 94, believe it was made sometime in ’41, and its got a lot going on. It has these really interesting/ cool swivel sling attachmentments that look like they were very professionally done, especially in the stock. It is a W marked rifle, meaning it was probably re-finished at the factory, but does anyone know what the numbers by the trigger correlate to? Mine has a 14. It also has an old Williams peep sight and a rear sight blank installed. Last and maybe least, there is a circle/ target marking on the left side of the stock by the lever, I have not been able to find anything on this marking. I know a few factory rifles were made in this time range with receiver\’s drilled and tapped for sights, were there also examples of sling attachment being done at the factory? Thank you. rn
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The serial number will tell us the precise month & year it was manufactured.
Winchester stopped stamping the “W” marking on the bottom of the receiver frame in early February 1941, and the “W” does not indicate a factory refinish (that is an urban myth). The “W” stamp was first used on the Model 94 in February of 1939, and it was discontinued in early February 1941. Its purpose was solely as a quality control test for the new bluing formula that Winchester had changed to (Du-light).
The “14” stamped near the trigger is an inspection stamp applied after the gun was fully assembled and inspect for fit & finish.
The Williams receiver mounted peep sight was added after the fact by a previous owner. When Winchester drilled & tapped the receiver and mounted a sight in that location, they installed a Lyman No. 56 peep sight. Receiver mounted peep sights were very rarely special ordered on the pre-WW II Model 94 Carbines because the upper tang was factory drilled & tapped to install a Lyman No. 1A tang sight.
In the year 1941, if someone special ordered a Model 94 Carbine with a sling & attachments, Winchester installed the same sling mount as those found on the Model 64 Deer Rifle, the Model 71 Special, and the Model 70 rifles. The bases are fully inletted into the butt stock, and the front was attached to the rear barrel band. The sling attachment used was the QD (Quick Disconnect) type.
The marking on the left side of the stock was also put on the gun by a previous owner, reason is unknown.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
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