I have two of them. As already mentioned, the 94 is designed for rifle cartridges and the 92 is designed for handgun cartridges. I suppose market dictated the 94 be adapted after the 92 line was dropped. It's a long sloppy throw for a handgun cartridge, but I have had no problems with feed or function on factory originals.
I'm not the avid collector that some of these folks are, so better information may be coming. As I recall, the 94 in .44 mag came out in the late 60s about the same time Winchester was fooling around with those nasty inventment cast receivers. They looked almost like enamel covered pot metal... nasty. I think that probably hindered sales a bit.
The earliest factory 94 in .45 colt I remember was about 1984. That's after AE (angle eject - 1982?). Crossbolts came along in 1992? So you may be able to find a pre-crossbolt safety model. A pre crossbolt non-AE should be harder to find. Pre 1964 (usually deemed superior workmanship)to my knowledge should be impossible to find as a factory original in .45 colt.
Strider is correct on most points but the dates are a bit off but close. The Angle Eject is first seen on Big Bone models only, in 1983 and introduced on all models 94 in 1984. The 45 colt first appeared in the 94 in 1985. And yes, the cross bolt safety was introduced in 1992 with serial numbers starting at 6,000,000.
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