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Years they manufactured the XTR series of Model 94??

Don't know if this helps. I 'believe' Winchester introduced the XTR series all in the same year. I believe that may have been about 1978. Here is a Thread which 'may' help you. It seems to be the Model 70 in that model and there's all kind of condfusion and off point blow-by. Good luck. I have on PDF many Winchester catalogs from 60-81. If you don't get an answer in next day or two, I'll try to check further.
May I ask the matter of your particular interest or condern. If there's a part two to your question I'd like to focus more on such rather than a wide search.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12979330/all/winchester-m70-xtr

Best!
John

Don't know if this helps. I 'believe' Winchester introduced the XTR series all in the same year. I believe that may have been about 1978. A Thread which 'may' help you. I've only glanced briefly at it.

It seems to be the Model 70 in that context garnering the inquiry there and with all kind of condfusion and off point blow-by. Good luck. I have on PDF many Winchester catalogs from 60-81. If you don't get an answer in next day or two, I'll try to check further.

May I ask the matter of your particular interest or condern. If there's a part two to your question I'd like to focus more on such rather than a wide search.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12979330/all/winchester-m70-xtr

Best!
John

I remember that thread. It was a good one. We had a good discussion of the model 70 XTR's. Since then, I've added a few XTR's to the stable:

XTR FWT 22-250:


XTR Sporter 300WBY made in '86, I believe. Replaced the factory stock recently with a Pacific Research:

That rifle has been fun to play around with. Nice and light, like my pre 64 300WBY and 338WM in Brown PoundR stocks:


And something the OP may appreciate. A 1978 (I believe) XTR Big bore 94:


My grandpa loved lever actions and this was one of his favorite rifles. I can see why. It is a beauty and fun to shoot. As far as the lever action XTR rifles go, they were made from 1978 to 1989. But only the XTR designation was dropped in 1989. They continued to make these lever action rifles until 2006, when USRAC went under for the last time.. So, to answer the OP's question, that would be 1978 to 1989.

Just wanted to know what years. Interested in one as I like the checkering jobs they were using.

Will probably look far an AE model when ready so that will be approximately midway through the XTR years of manufacture.

What barrel lengths would have been available and what sub-models available as well?

78-83 for the standard XTR .30-30's. After that they were AE's. I have no interest in those. I have one in like new condition that was made in 79. I was in high school when they came out and thought they were beautiful when I saw one on the rack at Brezees Dept. store. Unfortunately I couldn't afford one at the time so settled on a lightly used standard model. As I remember the XTR's retailed for about 50.00 more than a standard model at the time. The one I have has been treated with kid gloves and only shot a few times at the range so far. That will change this fall as I've decided it needs to kill some deer. It shoots very well. Every bit as accurate as my pre 64.

Big Bore XTR, AE XTR, and BB AE XTR are the ones I know of for sure. I would guess there were likely more.

Not the greatest eyes is the reason I think I would prefer the AE for ease of scope mounting when the time comes that iron sights are no longer usable for me.

I think the AE's look like hell. If I want a scope on a lever I'm gonna put it on a Marlin. The best thing about a 94 is it's handling/carryability. A scope ruins that. I'm 62 years old with fading eye sight myself but can still use a peep effectively.

👍🏻

You know a good option for somebody that can't use irons anymore might be a mini reflex sight. There are mounts available to mount them either on the barrel using the dovetail slot or on the reciver using the receiver sight holes. They're small, weigh next to nothing and don't fugg up the handling like a scope. I mounted one on my XTR this summer {Holosun 407cx2} and so far am liking it. Gonna give it a try this deer season. I've still got my receiver sighted pre 64 ready to go and can always take it off the XTR if it doesn't work out. I used the barrel mount so the Williams receiver sight and fiber optic front are still on the XTR and Zero'd.

] I think the AE's look like hell. If I want a scope on a lever I'm gonna put it on a Marlin. The best thing about a 94 is it's handling/carryability. A scope ruins that. I'm 62 years old with fading eye sight myself but can still use a peep effectively.[/quote]

I am 68 , Blackie and my eyes are getting better don't even need to wear my glasses to drive. My 30-30 94 carbine has a Williams rec sight and my 7-30 Waters as well as my 307 are AE's. Right now the 24" barreled 7-30 has a nice slim and trim M8 4x leupold . The 307 will get a low power variable. I know you don't need the ability to shoot long where you hunt but I do and both the AE's have that potential with there chambering and used in low light conditions. I still have 2 94's that are barrel sights only. It just isn't a one size fits all world..mb

Yeah I rarely need to shoot more than 75 yards where I hunt most of the time. When I go someplace with more open ground I have a Marlin .30-30 with 1-4 Leupold and several scoped bolt actions.

Around here 95% of my shots are probably 30 yards and closer the way I hunt anymore. I like irons but having worn glasses since 8 years old and every few years my Rx changes it forces me to face reality.

I worry about low light shooting but looking back over the last 6-8 bucks only 1 has come at first light and the rest from 10 AM until about 2 PM.

I don't worry much about low light. Very rarely have I needed to shoot one at first or last light. Up until the last couple years, our legal hunting hours were sunup to sundown and not a minute before or after anyway.The fuggin deer are out there all day long. If I needed to rely on shooting one in the dark, I wouldn't be much of a hunter.

Herter's has a mixed reputation of mediocre quality gun product sales, complete rifles & components. The firm was "opportunistic"! Making deals where it could and often passing along 'deals' to the public. I've never owned a Herter's ID'ed rifle. But I've encountered them and never one particularly objectionable other than maybe bit 'plain Jane' bit clunky. As noted, they used actions that fell within their radar grasp. Of Zavastas, they sold actions, barreled actions & complete rifles. Many of these were follow on production to the earlier "Yugo" military intermediate actions.

To my mind they were all decent guns. The reference to BSA, I believe were the BSA-original designed actions. Such, rather BSA's "Parker Hale" excursion into the Spanish "Santa Barbara" commercial mauser actions of which my opinion is considerably lesser.

Most of the American market commercial bolt HP rifles of the mid/latter sixties reflected traces of Weatherby stock styling, by now of "another era" and little appeal. Herter's was no worse and in some instances better in terms of also offering the ever popular classic European stock style. I think that the Firm had a good, viable marketplace and the impression that their products were no worse than many other commercial sellers!

Just my take!
Best!
John

To each their own... I've never been an XTR fan. I like the classic lever lines or full departure. The XTR seemed a pregnant compromise. It also reflected a backing away from the Winchester 88 Series which never produced the hoped for sales figures despite being a really decent rifle. The problems with the 88 were two. It's association with the semi-auto Model 100 and its checkered functionality history, and as not being a Winchester "classic" style. Exactly the "right stuff" which made the Model 88 a potential success with its lever functionality and the .308 Win chamber pressures, didn't accommodate the "classic Lever". The XTR as a successor "compromise" was just that and to me, it didn't achieve either the capabilities of the 88 nor the return to "lever classic" genre. It was a "Tween"! The 1886 was waiting in the wings as the perfect Classic for the heavier rimmed rounds, but simply left in just that manner... Hanging! Only in latter eighties, Browning begin to exploit!

The XTR apparently did achieve reasonable popularity and not suggesting the figures lying. But that as Marlin had moved from 336 Model to 1895 Model by simply upsizing in original format, Winchester's 'other road'. If the aesthetics don't bother, it's surely a decent rifle. For us, perhaps small group of purists, it doesn't work in any sense "classic".

Just my take!
Best!
John

Only the big bore 94 XTR's have the "pregnant" receiver. My XTR .30-30 is the same size as a standard 94. The only diiference being the higher gloss blue and checkered stock and forend.

The AE. M94 7-30 does not have the beefed rec either...mb

Looked at some over on GB.

Hope if/when I find one it's about half or a little more than what they are asking.