Winchester 94 30-30 Pre-64.

granpa_jo · January 1, 2012, 02:06 PM

I recently inherited a winchester model 94, with a serial number of 1354964, and I believe it to be from 1946, could someone confirm this for me? I'm new to firearm serials, and I'd really like to know the age of this beauty.

Thanks!

rtpzwms · January 1, 2012, 02:13 PM

go here

Hawg · January 1, 2012, 02:19 PM

Wrong forum.

30-30remchester · January 1, 2012, 02:46 PM

Welcome grandpa, your model 94 fall into the "war years" guns. During WWII most civilian gun production stopped though many were assembled from parts on hand. Keeping track of the serial numbers in these years was less important than building arms and ammunition to keep the world free. In 1942 the last serial number recorded was 1,250,000 range and started to be accurately recorded after the war at @1,500,000 range in 1949. This is according to an early serial number book authored by the renounded Winchester researcher George Midas. Since his book was first published more accurtate war dates have been discovered. Sounds like you have a family keeper and it should never be altered in any way. How about a few pictures?

granpa_jo · January 1, 2012, 03:42 PM

Sorry some of the pics are blurry, don't have a camera except on my phone.

http://imgur.com/a/qqcA1

The patina on the receiver area looks kind of rusty.

30-30remchester · January 1, 2012, 06:28 PM

That is a good looking unaltered old Winchester. It is good seeing unaltered guns with some charactor. The recievers on old model 94's had a high nickle content, thus the bluing was the first to go. You can clean up some of that thick discoloration by using 0000 steelwool heavily soaked in WD-40. This will help and wont damage.

PetahW · January 3, 2012, 11:33 AM

I wouln't touch it with anythin except an oily rag & take it huntin/shootin !

.

Pathfinder45 · January 8, 2012, 01:19 AM

To my tastes, these war-time Winchesters are some of the nicest of the '94 carbines. The serial # on mine is 1291xxx, and looks about the same as yours. Does your Winchester have any markings on the upper tang behind the hammer? Congratulations on your inheritance. I hope you will cherish it always and keep handing it down in the family. To me, the much touted pre-64's don't go far enough back. If you will notice, the hammer on your rifle should be checkered. Sometime around 1949 or 1950, I believe, they changed to a serrated hammer and shortly thereafter shortened the forearm. No doubt this saved the company time and money without sacrificing reliability. But the esthetics were affected, for me anyway. If it were my rifle, I would go over the receiver and any other rusty spots with very fine steel wool being careful not to damage the wood finish. I'm not sure what Winchester used to finish the wood back then but I would like to know. I had to refinish my buttstock and had very good results using teakwood oil. If you reblue or refinish yours you should know it will decrease its value. Someone before me had cut the stock short and put a recoil pad on mine, so it cost me less to buy it because it had been altered. So I felt free to fix it as tastefully as I could. But original is always preferable with vintage Winchesters. I still need an original metal buttplate to complete my repairs. If you feel the need for a recoil pad, use one of the slip-on kind that doesn't alter the gun. Again, congratulations on your inheritance. They don't make them like they used to and probably never will again. Pathfinder

rqcardwell · January 25, 2012, 02:23 PM

Thanks to this site, I was able to determine that my great grandfather's Model 94 30-30 Rifle was made in 1927. Awesome Thanks!

rqcardwell · January 25, 2012, 02:25 PM

I am having it cleaned and restored.

It shoots great and accurrate and has the leather strap which seems original to me. Serial number is 9982##

Gbro · January 25, 2012, 04:31 PM

With an unloaded rifle pointed in a safe direction, place the hammer on the safety notch (aka half cock) and squeeze the trigger. The hammer should not drop, and it shouldn't move the hammer any more than just a very little bit either.
A rifle like these will fire if the hammer falls from the safety notch.
I have seen several vintage rifles that are worn to the point that they are unsafe.

1BadF350 · January 26, 2012, 07:22 AM

My dad's 94 is serial number 13582.

Cal .38-55., 26" round bbl, checkered pistol grip, factory Lyman type flip up rear sight.

Gbro · January 26, 2012, 09:58 AM

YUUUUUUUUP!,
That's a Pre-'64, like 71 years before

Please tell us you also have papers with it!

Scorch · January 26, 2012, 12:03 PM

1BadF350, your Dad's Model 1894 was made in 1894. As a first year of production rifle, that makes it somewhat desirable and, depending on condition, somewhat valuable. Got pics??

1BadF350 · January 28, 2012, 08:53 PM

No I don't have pics. No he doesn't have paperwork.

1BadF350 · February 1, 2012, 03:10 PM

Dad sent me some pics so I just started my own thread.

January 1, 2012, 02:06 PM	#1
granpa_jo Junior Member Join Date: January 1, 2012 Posts: 3	Winchester 94 30-30 Pre-64. I recently inherited a winchester model 94, with a serial number of 1354964, and I believe it to be from 1946, could someone confirm this for me? I'm new to firearm serials, and I'd really like to know the age of this beauty. Thanks!

January 1, 2012, 02:19 PM	#3
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	Wrong forum. Last edited by Hawg; January 1, 2012 at 05:59 PM.

January 8, 2012, 01:19 AM	#8
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	Nice vintage Winchester. To my tastes, these war-time Winchesters are some of the nicest of the '94 carbines. The serial # on mine is 1291xxx, and looks about the same as yours. Does your Winchester have any markings on the upper tang behind the hammer? Congratulations on your inheritance. I hope you will cherish it always and keep handing it down in the family. To me, the much touted pre-64's don't go far enough back. If you will notice, the hammer on your rifle should be checkered. Sometime around 1949 or 1950, I believe, they changed to a serrated hammer and shortly thereafter shortened the forearm. No doubt this saved the company time and money without sacrificing reliability. But the esthetics were affected, for me anyway. If it were my rifle, I would go over the receiver and any other rusty spots with very fine steel wool being careful not to damage the wood finish. I'm not sure what Winchester used to finish the wood back then but I would like to know. I had to refinish my buttstock and had very good results using teakwood oil. If you reblue or refinish yours you should know it will decrease its value. Someone before me had cut the stock short and put a recoil pad on mine, so it cost me less to buy it because it had been altered. So I felt free to fix it as tastefully as I could. But original is always preferable with vintage Winchesters. I still need an original metal buttplate to complete my repairs. If you feel the need for a recoil pad, use one of the slip-on kind that doesn't alter the gun. Again, congratulations on your inheritance. They don't make them like they used to and probably never will again. Pathfinder

January 25, 2012, 02:23 PM	#9
rqcardwell Junior Member Join Date: January 25, 2012 Posts: 2	30-30 Model 94 Serial # Thanks to this site, I was able to determine that my great grandfather's Model 94 30-30 Rifle was made in 1927. Awesome Thanks!

January 25, 2012, 02:25 PM	#10
rqcardwell Junior Member Join Date: January 25, 2012 Posts: 2	Value? I am having it cleaned and restored. It shoots great and accurrate and has the leather strap which seems original to me. Serial number is 9982##

January 1, 2012, 02:13 PM	#2
rtpzwms Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2010 Location: OTS Posts: 1,035	go here

January 1, 2012, 02:46 PM	#4
30-30remchester Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2009 Location: mountains of colorado Posts: 977	Welcome grandpa, your model 94 fall into the "war years" guns. During WWII most civilian gun production stopped though many were assembled from parts on hand. Keeping track of the serial numbers in these years was less important than building arms and ammunition to keep the world free. In 1942 the last serial number recorded was 1,250,000 range and started to be accurately recorded after the war at @1,500,000 range in 1949. This is according to an early serial number book authored by the renounded Winchester researcher George Midas. Since his book was first published more accurtate war dates have been discovered. Sounds like you have a family keeper and it should never be altered in any way. How about a few pictures?

January 1, 2012, 03:42 PM	#5
granpa_jo Junior Member Join Date: January 1, 2012 Posts: 3	Sorry some of the pics are blurry, don't have a camera except on my phone. http://imgur.com/a/qqcA1 The patina on the receiver area looks kind of rusty.

January 1, 2012, 06:28 PM	#6
30-30remchester Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2009 Location: mountains of colorado Posts: 977	That is a good looking unaltered old Winchester. It is good seeing unaltered guns with some charactor. The recievers on old model 94's had a high nickle content, thus the bluing was the first to go. You can clean up some of that thick discoloration by using 0000 steelwool heavily soaked in WD-40. This will help and wont damage.

January 3, 2012, 11:33 AM	#7
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	I wouln't touch it with anythin except an oily rag & take it huntin/shootin ! .

January 25, 2012, 04:31 PM	#11
Gbro Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,084	Safety check With an unloaded rifle pointed in a safe direction, place the hammer on the safety notch (aka half cock) and squeeze the trigger. The hammer should not drop, and it shouldn't move the hammer any more than just a very little bit either. A rifle like these will fire if the hammer falls from the safety notch. I have seen several vintage rifles that are worn to the point that they are unsafe. __________________ Gbro CGVS For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18

January 26, 2012, 07:22 AM	#12
1BadF350 Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2005 Location: Ashburn, VA Posts: 915	My dad's 94 is serial number 13582. Cal .38-55., 26" round bbl, checkered pistol grip, factory Lyman type flip up rear sight. __________________ "I actually don't know what a barrel shroud is, I think it's a shoulder thing that goes up." Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) Author HR:1022, when asked what a barrel shroud is and why it needs to be regulated.

January 26, 2012, 09:58 AM	#13
Gbro Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,084	YUUUUUUUUP!, That's a Pre-'64, like 71 years before Please tell us you also have papers with it! __________________ Gbro CGVS For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18

January 26, 2012, 12:03 PM	#14
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	1BadF350, your Dad's Model 1894 was made in 1894. As a first year of production rifle, that makes it somewhat desirable and, depending on condition, somewhat valuable. Got pics?? __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

January 28, 2012, 08:53 PM	#15
1BadF350 Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2005 Location: Ashburn, VA Posts: 915	No I don't have pics. No he doesn't have paperwork. __________________ "I actually don't know what a barrel shroud is, I think it's a shoulder thing that goes up." Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) Author HR:1022, when asked what a barrel shroud is and why it needs to be regulated.

February 1, 2012, 03:10 PM	#16
1BadF350 Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2005 Location: Ashburn, VA Posts: 915	Dad sent me some pics so I just started my own thread. __________________ "I actually don't know what a barrel shroud is, I think it's a shoulder thing that goes up." Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) Author HR:1022, when asked what a barrel shroud is and why it needs to be regulated.

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