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In a few weeks I’ll be heading up north to hunt for a Whitetail buck. Each year I choose one of my vintage Winchesters to bring home the meat. Hunting with a century old Winchester lever gun adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the hunt. I have finally made my choice for this year … a Winchester 94, Saddle Ring Carbine, serial number 933115, circa 1921, chambered in 30 W.C.F. I’ll be using my hand loaded cartridges, with 170 grain Hornady JFP bullets.
I’ve taken two nice Whitetail bucks (each just over 200 pounds live weight) with a different Winchester carbine (circa 1954)) before. Both were one-shot kills. Despite the canon’s they use today, the 30 W.C.f. (30-30) does the job just fine.
Here is a photo …. Model 94 SRC.
Killed 4 deer in my trips to the Western Slopes of Colorado. One with an old 30-30 SRC, two with a late M92 44-40, and the last one was a long shot with a Remington US 03-A3 service rifle in 30-06. Never had a desire for a modern scoped rifle. Back in those days, we actually went into the Quakies and hunted the deer. Scope was useless. Deer days are over now, but there were 2 in my backyard yesterday. They like the weeds. Big Larry
mjuarez0829 said
I’d be afraid of scratching that beauty!
No worries on that account … I hunt alone, and when I move through the forest, it is extremely slowly and silently.
November 7, 2015
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Yes, she’s pretty but she’s probably taken her share of game over the years. I wish I knew which of my old Winchesters I’m taking hunting this year. Spent the weekend at my brother’s S TX lease repairing Harvey damage, brush is very thick so that will be a factor when selecting a rifle.
win38-55 said
Despite the canon’s they use today, the 30 W.C.f. (30-30) does the job just fine.
Of course it does…but it won’t earn you bragging rights on You Tube like this:
What isn’t shown are the ones that got away wounded.
That is a very nice carbine! I also noted the tang sight. Does the rear barrel sight create any confusion when using the tang sight? Is the rear sight a standard folding carbine sight with ‘U’ notch?
GMC(SW) - USN Retired 1978 - 2001
Roundsworth said
That is a very nice carbine! I also noted the tang sight. Does the rear barrel sight create any confusion when using the tang sight? Is the rear sight a standard folding carbine sight with ‘U’ notch?
I myself am not a fan of the tang sights. If you have the standard rear sight, it usually gets in the way and you have to knock it out to use the tang type. I doubt the poster is going to knock that sight out and take a chance at denting the bbl. My M1885 has a special order Mid Range Verneir tang sight and it is totally useless with the bbl. sight in place. It also has the Globe front sight, which is also useless with the bbl, mounted sight. The M1894 carbine is a brush gun, not a target rifle, and making snap shots with a tang sight is pretty hard. I might say that most all tang sights are aftermarket. They seldom show up on factory letters. A 1921 vintage rear sight would have the “U” notch. Many of these Carbines have the 3 leaf Express sight. Big Larry
November 7, 2015
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I’ve heard you could use the barrel sight for short range and the tang sight for longer ranges but in my case the range is generally too short to worry about elevation issues and my presbyopic eyes appreciate the peep sights at all distances. For an effective and humane vintage hunting rifle I’ll install a Marble tang sight, carefully remove (and label!) the barrel sight and install a blank in the dovetail. A couple of the rifles I’ve bought this year had period (but not original) tang sights already installed. Ten years ago I was a sucker for a nice piece of wood, today a tang sight catches my eye. 😉
The rear sight on my carbine is the standard ladder sight with the wide ‘V’ notch. In it’s normal position it is sighted for 50 yards, the tang sight is sighted for 100 yards so there is no interference, and both are perfectly centred (very important). I am 63 years old and, unfortunately, the sights on a carbine are very blurry for me. The tang sight solves this problem. I think a tang sight takes a few sessions to get used to, at least that was the case for me, but once one gets accustomed to them, I would not want to be without one. Although the tang sight is my sight of choice for target work, it is even more important to me when hunting, to place the bullet exactly where I want it on the animal at longer distances, and for quicker target acquisition. That post and hole more rapidly brings the entire sight picture into line. John Taylor was a professional hunter in Africa during the early to mid-1900’s, taking literally thousands of animals, including a very large number of dangerous game. Here is what he says about aperture or peep sights ….
“Men out here (and in many other places) have a notion that these are only suitable for target work. But the peep-sight is by far the best and quickest of all iron backlights for use in open country. Use the largest possible aperture and have the sight mounted as close to the eye as you safely can … Those who haven’t used the peep-sight may think that I make too much song and dance about it, and that it’s really not worth the trouble of having it mounted on doubles, particularly if it can’t be carried ready for instant use. Let me assure you it is well worth it … The peep-sight’s only real disadvantage is said to be that it cannot be used in a bad light; yet I have on more than one occasion killed animals with the aid of the peep-sight when it was so dark that I couldn’t use the open sights at all. But then I always insist on extra large apertures on all my peep-sights, and have them mounted close to the eye–as close, that is, as one safely can.” (J. Taylor, ‘Sights, Sighting and Trajectories, African Rifles and Cartridges, 1948, 220-221.)
Regarding his point about peep sights in low light, I hunt with a smaller aperture in good light, and a larger hole at the beginning or end of the day. In the brush where I may have less time to acquire the target, I prefer a larger aperture for more rapid acquisition.
win38-55 said
I am 63 years old and, unfortunately, the sights on a carbine are very blurry for me.
Open sights became that way for me when I was still in my ’30s. And it’s so much easier to be aligning only the front sight and the target, because you don’t even have to think about the peep, if you’re using it properly; assuming the aperture isn’t too small! Lyman catalogs always advised customers to use the largest aperture the sight afforded when hunting, folding down the disk on the #1 sight & unscrewing the eyecup on the #2 sight.
Kirk,
Beautiful rifle and the best of luck on the hunt. We will be waiting for photos of success!
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
When you are saying “largest aperture” are you saying the hole in the disc or the disc size itself. Also what diameter hole is best for hunting/target? Peter
Eagle said
When you are saying “largest aperture” are you saying the hole in the disc or the disc size itself. Also what diameter hole is best for hunting/target? Peter
Well, there are all kinds of peep sights, going back to cross-bows, but if we’re talking about the tang sights most commonly found on Winchesters, we’re talking about Lymans. (Actually, I think Marbles made a better sight, but that doesn’t alter the fact that Lymans are found more often.) No doubt what William Lyman (who wrote extensively about this subject) would say: the ‘biggest hole” is best.
Many target shooters, at least the “winners,” would have disagreed, but they possessed superior eyesight to start with–or they wouldn’t have been “winners”! However, after much shooting with “pinhole” apertures, I agree with Lyman; but then MY eyesight has been inferior from birth.
If I am checking the accuracy of a particular handled, I use the smallest aperture on the Lyman, or a pin-hole screw-in aperture on a Marbles. For hunting, I want the biggest hole that will still give me some degree of sharpening of the front sight.
April 26, 2015
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Eagle said
When you are saying “largest aperture” are you saying the hole in the disc or the disc size itself. Also what diameter hole is best for hunting/target? Peter
I’m not sure if your question has been answered to your satisfaction. It is the size of the hole or aperture, not the outer diameter of the disc. Aperture size depends on the shooter’s preference but, generally speaking, use the largest “hole’ size when hunting and the smallest when shooting stationary targets. I hope this helps, BK
Deer season ended here today, and no buck fell into my freezer. The rifle I chose to hunt with this year is a Model 1894 .38-55, DOM 1896, 28″ octagon, full magazine, Lyman tang, folding rear barrel sight. My 63-year-old eyes appreciate tang sights. No deer this year, but the rain was warm, the woods were wetly quiet, and I was carrying a fine rifle. Going to hunt elk with it later this month.
Last year, a buck did fall into the freezer. Model 1894 .32 WS, Takedown, DOM 1902, 26″ octagon, full magazine, tang, .32 WS barrel sight. I thought the .32 Special sight might interfere with my sight picture, but it didn’t. The buck whirled, I raised the rifle. Front sight on neck. Downed buck. The barrel sight didn’t register in mind during the sighting.
Most of the Winchesters I shoot have a blank or a folding sight between the front sight and the tang sight.
Wishing all of you carrying your Winchesters good luck and good Karma this year.
November 7, 2015
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I had really hoped to hunt with a vintage Winchester this year but due to circumstances beyond my control I’m not planning on taking any of my older Winchesters to the field this year…at least on the initial hunt. 
The very early 1894 in 38-55 that I scored in Cody is ready to go so it may go on a later hunt. My primary rifle will wear the Winchester name but since it’s a Super Grade M70 made in about 2009 it’s actually a US-made FN rifle, IMHO. Very nice rifle, just not a vintage Winchester.
Since my brother and I won’t be distracted by jobs during hunting season I think we’ll (hopefully) be making lots of trips to his lease, will hopefully have the honor of taking an old Winchester to the field sometime this season.
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