[2001SportTJ]

Just picked up a new '94 Winchester today to go with my Grandfathers that he left me when he passed away a few years ago. The one I picked up today is an unfired Buffalo Bill commemorative edition chambered in 30-30. These were only made in 1968 and are pretty hard to come by. My grandfathers rifle is pretty unique also, I have never seen another one like it. It has a "button magazine" and only part of the barrel is octagonal and the rest is rounded and it is chambered in 38-55. I am not too sure about the history of this one and can't find too much information about it. If anybody knows anything about it or can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated.

[2001SportTJ]

[oldsoldier]

Start here: http://www.winchestercollector.org/

There are several places on the internet where you can check the serial number of the rilfe to determine build date. My computer died a while back and I lost the links but they should be too hard to find.

I have a 1895 Winchester left to me. A search on the internet shows that based on the serial number it was built in 1897.

[oldsoldier]

Found it. Do a serial number check here. http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/index.cfm/

[2001SportTJ]

Originally Posted by oldsoldier

Start here: http://www.winchestercollector.org/

There are several places on the internet where you can check the serial number of the rilfe to determine build date. My computer died a while back and I lost the links but they should be too hard to find.

I have a 1895 Winchester left to me. A search on the internet shows that based on the serial number it was built in 1897.

Thanks for the info... going to go search now.

[2001SportTJ]

Hmmmm, I cant get the link to work from either page.

ETA: I just e-mailed the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. I hope they will respond back and have some information for me.

[smokeross]

Too many pics there of the B.B rifle and not enough of the old one. The barrel is called 'half round/half octagon', Not rare, but not as many as the full octagon. Oddly enough, the earlier 94's were harder to get in a round barrel, but people tend to like the octagons more now when collecting. What you have is a special order rifle. The combination of features tells that story. Back when your rifle was manufactured, the buyer could mail in a post card describing what they wanted. Winchester finally came out with standard features for the most part, but a custom rifle could still be ordered with certain limited features. It is definitely a cool rifle that you should be proud to own. Don't ever sand the wood or do anything silly like reblueing it.

[2001SportTJ]

Originally Posted by smokeross

Too many pics there of the B.B rifle and not enough of the old one. The barrel is called 'half round/half octagon', Not rare, but not as many as the full octagon. Oddly enough, the earlier 94's were harder to get in a round barrel, but people tend to like the octagons more now when collecting. What you have is a special order rifle. The combination of features tells that story. Back when your rifle was manufactured, the buyer could mail in a post card describing what they wanted. Winchester finally came out with standard features for the most part, but a custom rifle could still be ordered with certain limited features. It is definitely a cool rifle that you should be proud to own. Don't ever sand the wood or do anything silly like reblueing it.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking that it must have been some type of special order. Here's a few quick pictures I took of my Grandpa's gun. It has definitely been used, and shows it's age. My Grandpa used to hunt with it and it is the gun that my father and my uncle learned to shoot with.

[smokeross]

That old gun still looks good. The wood hasn't been sanded, and only one buggered screw. The barrel must be 26". Measure it to the opening in the receiver. The tang screw isn't correct. The gun may have had a tang sight at one time.
Send it on up. I'll give it a good home.