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June 26, 2013
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Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve had an interest in collecting the Model 1894 Spruce Guns and memorabilia over the years. I thought it might be of interest to the collecting community to share what I have gathered so far. Much of it I have framed and hanging in my gun room, but were difficult to photograph since the items are behind glass. For those of you that don’t know about the Spruce Guns, Rick Hill published an excellent article in the Summer 2005 edition of the Winchester Collector magazine pages 15-20 (link below). Bert, I believe you already have both carbines in your survey, but in the case you don’t they are serial numbers 838422 and 849681.
https://winchestercollector.org/magazines/200506/16/
Don
April 15, 2005
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Don,
I do not have “818422” but do have 838422.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
June 26, 2013
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Bert H. said
Don,I do not have “818422” but do have 838422.
Bert
Sorry Bert. Listed the wrong serial number in my initial post. SN 838422 is the correct one.
Don
February 18, 2024
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Super nice collection of items Don, thanks for sharing with us. Must of been fun to track it all down. Learn something new everyday!
Bob
April 15, 2005
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deerhunter said
Bert H. said
Don,
I do not have “818422” but do have 838422.
Bert
Sorry Bert. Listed the wrong serial number in my initial post. SN 838422 is the correct one.
Don
Thanks for the update.
I currently have (290) of the Spruce Guns documented in the survey. The survey grows by 4 – 6 new entries per year.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
June 26, 2013
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That’s great Bert. A little over 16% is a pretty decent chunk. Any chance you could send me an updated list? I would love to have one for my records.
Thanks,
Don
April 15, 2005
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deerhunter said
That’s great Bert. A little over 16% is a pretty decent chunk. Any chance you could send me an updated list? I would love to have one for my records.Thanks,
Don
Check your email…
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
June 26, 2013
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Bert H. said
deerhunter said
That’s great Bert. A little over 16% is a pretty decent chunk. Any chance you could send me an updated list? I would love to have one for my records.
Thanks,
Don
Check your email…
Thanks Bert. Appreciate it!
June 26, 2013
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Pwog said
Super nice collection of items Don, thanks for sharing with us. Must of been fun to track it all down. Learn something new everyday!Bob
Thanks Bob. It did take quite a few years and a lot of looking to track all this stuff down. But it’s the thrill of the hunt that makes this hobby fun and challenging, right? Cool pieces of history to display that not a lot of “normal people” even know about.
Don
May 14, 2025
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Well, I joined just for the purpose of replying to this thread lol. I too collect SPD and 4L items, and along with my Winchester, I have a hundred plus items, mostly soldier letters, photos and postcards. I also have two SPD dog tags, one from a soldier in one of the armed squadrons at Vancouver.
I’m jealous of the 4L membership cards, I chased one on eBay until I decided $250 was already more than I considered healthy to pay. Here are a few of my items. I’ll be displaying many of them on May 18 in Olympia at a lecture on the SPD I’m giving
May 23, 2009
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That is a nice collection.
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
June 26, 2013
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Wow! What an awesome collection. I really l like the 54th Spruce Squadorn medallion. I’ve never seen another like that one. What a great group of photos and documents as well. What is the serial number of your model 1894 Spruce Gun? Bert, our resident expert, is conducting a survey of the 1894 Spruce Guns and I’m sure he would appreciate adding yours to the list. Anyway, welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your collection. Very cool pieces of history that not a lot of folks know about.
Don
May 14, 2025
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I’m too lazy to go check my serial, but I know the gun made it to the survey when it was on GB a couple years ago.
The watch fob from the 54th is one of my favorite items. Lucky eBay score.
I’ve got 3 squadron panoramic photos and one panoramic photo of the cutup plant, and have been doing extensive archival study on the Winchesters, and their subsequent replacement with Krags. I’m chasing some possible leads for what I hope will be serial numbers, but that remains to be seen. I do have some documents that are rarely, if ever discussed in the constantly repeated common history of the guns. I have about two binders full of letters, photos and postcards. I’m also working on some academic projects to make Spruce Production history great again. I collect guns, but not Winchesters, but I love local history, and this is as good as it gets! If anyone around Olympia wants to make my presentation Sunday, I’ll be displaying my gun and much of my collection too.
July 14, 2016
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Fantastic collection Don! Very impressive effort! And Openwire, also well done.
The hunt for accoutrements and provenance is almost as fun as the hunt for the Winchester.
A spruce gun is next on my list but finding one down here in Aus may be quite the task. That being said, I have found a PCMR 94 carbine, DCP marked 94 and a French Contract 94 here so you just never know.
Thanks for sharing gents.
Chris
A man can never have too many WINCHESTERS...
May 14, 2025
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Here are a few more items in my collection.
The dog tag is from Private Benjamin Guard who was in the 6th Squadron, one of the ten armed squadrons at Vancouver. The Aviation Section, Signal Corps marking on the tag shows he enlisted before early summer of 1918, before the formation of the Air Service.
The rest are various letters, photos and postcards chosen mostly at random from my collection, as well as a contractor magazine from the Siems-Carey Corporation.
The picture of me with wooden guns is a rare image of a Winchester outside of Vancouver. You can zoom in and see one with the soldier on the far right. This is from the 137th Spruce who were stationed at Monarch Mills in Portland. The rest of the men have dummy guns for drill purposes. 
May 14, 2025
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Chris D said
Fantastic collection Don! Very impressive effort! And Openwire, also well done.The hunt for accoutrements and provenance is almost as fun as the hunt for the Winchester.
A spruce gun is next on my list but finding one down here in Aus may be quite the task. That being said, I have found a PCMR 94 carbine, DCP marked 94 and a French Contract 94 here so you just never know.
Thanks for sharing gents.
Chris
I want to get the DCP and French 94’s just to have the WWI trifecta. I probably have the largest collection of Spruce Production material in private hands, and it’s a hoot to look for. I’ll try to photograph my panoramic photos later
July 16, 2025
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Anyone looking for a Model 1894 Spruce Gun, there is one up for auction at Witchers Auction in Wynne, Arkansas. The auction is July 17th, it can be accessed online. I am not a gun expert, but it looks legit. Serial number is 843118.
April 15, 2005
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Model1894 said
Anyone looking for a Model 1894 Spruce Gun, there is one up for auction at Witchers Auction in Wynne, Arkansas. The auction is July 17th, it can be accessed online. I am not a gun expert, but it looks legit. Serial number is 843118.
It is an authentic Spruce Gun (I had previously documented it in the survey).
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
July 16, 2025
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I was thinking of bidding on it, but I have no idea of its value. The bid is $650 now, what do they usually go for?
April 15, 2005
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Model1894 said
I was thinking of bidding on it, but I have no idea of its value. The bid is $650 now, what do they usually go for?
Approximately 3X what an otherwise identical standard Model 1894 SRC sells for. That stated, that gun has several issues that will keep it from bringing top dollar.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
