Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Value of winchester 94 in 30 wcf please....?

My brother in law just inherited a nice 30 wcf lever action. Serial number 12052xx. Apparently it was made in '42 according to a website I found. I'm not an expert in grading guns but the bluing is mostly there but getting light on the edges like the reciever, loop, bands etc. NO rust or pitting and the wood looks pretty nice with no major dings.
Can anyone tell me about how much this gun might we worth and are there any "guesses" as to how much these old Winchesters might go up in value as the years go on? Thanks Don

Does it have flat sides on the barrel band? Prices have gone Sky high after Winchester closed but are rapidly coming back down to earth with the economy tanking. Who knows what the future holds. It's probably appreciating better than most 401K's. As far as value goes it could range from $800-$2000+ depending on the condition of the metal, wood and bore. Are the screws buggered, is it complete, original etc.
How about some photos?

The gun is now 50 miles away. I'll probably have to spend more time looking it over. I didn't notice anything special about the barrel bands and didn't look at the condition of the screws or sites. I just did a quick look over and got the serial number so I could check it later for model year.
From what I understand there were alot of these made but this is towards the early side of production?
I really wasn't guessing it would be worth that much $$$--even on the low end but realize that between Winchesters recent faultering and the economy tanking there will have to be a "settling out" of prices sometime in the next few years.

The 1894 Winny has to be one the longest production runs of any firearm. From 1894 and still being made or cloned. IMO Winchester died in '64. So yours is not an early production gun but if it has the flat barrel band it maybe slightly more desireable. IIR production was limited from the early to late 40's.

Unless it is really in near-mint or above condition, I'd say $500-600 at best. The correction on Winchesters seems to have already happened around here.

No doubt Cabela's gets or at least asks top dollar but here is a link to one. If you left click each of the photos then maximize you can get full size images for comparison. This should at least give you some idea of condition. The thing about winchesters is that a little more condition can bring a lot more $.


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/c...623870_win1894_egf.jsp?hierarchyId=11931

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Stetson's price estimate is very close. As He said, condition is everything. How does it compare with the one pictured in the Cabela's link? Your being some five years older than the one pictured would be worth as much or more. Your carbine was made about 1938-39 I would guess and much too early for a flat band model.
The published date of mfg. is off by several years. The Museum in Cody can possibly give you the correct year of mfg.
Check to see if there is a "W" stamped just below the serial number. The W is believed to indicate a factory re-blue due to a brief time of bluing issues. It does not effect value.

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I just did a quick peek on the SN but I'm showing '42 as a DOP as well. Not that it's an absolute by any means. If it is pre-war then all the better IMO.
Here's an on line SN check site I've found to be fairly accurate.
I'm not sure the Cody Firearms Museum does SN checks for firearms outside of the range that can not letter unless you are a member but it sure wouldn't hurt to ask.

http://www.savage99.com/dates.htm

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Sorry, that link is inaccurate just like the rest of them. George Madis compiled a DOM list years ago and got it wrong but the list is still in use anyway. The list shows 14,579 were made in 1894 (first year) when in fact only 1647 were produced. I have serial number 1240XXX that the list says was made '43 to '48. Wrong, Cody records show July, 1940. So the list is a ball park guess but totally accurate.

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Would you mind sharing how you are getting SN searches from Cody for that DOP range? I've called several times in the past and was always told as they show that they only have records to 353999 for '94's. I've had several '92's letter and have yet to have a DOP differ from the Maddis list but all of those were pre -1899 as well as one very early 1894.

http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/CFMSerialNumberList_2008.pdf

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I am a collector of the Mod 94 and have lettered several guns that did not match the DOM list. I have never tried a Mod 92 so I have no first hand knowledge of that model's list. You are correct about the letters for the 94 ending about 354,000. Later records were destroyed.
If serial number records are available at Cody you will have to talk to Jesi in the Records Office (307-578-4031 or cfmrecordsbbhc.org).


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It would indeed be nice if the CFM offered SN searches beyond their records but that has not been my experience and AFAIK you need to be a member for SN searches. Letters can be purchased on an individual basis however this gun is well out of the SN range to letter.
In either event this surely shows just how much variance there is from model to model even within the Winchester line and the different experiences two collectors can have.

I believe that if you check your rifle, you will probably find it not to be a Flatband model. Your rifle was probably made in 42 like you said, and I have one that is in the same ser# range of 120xxxx, made around 42 and it's not a Flat Band. Pre-64's are basically worth what someone will give at the moment. I just purchased the one I am describing for $450.00 including tax. Mine is a little roughter then the one in the link to Cabelias, but it's pretty close. I normally would not have bought it, but I had a weak moment and I like the long forend on it, and it had solid wood, and a very slick action, the dealer even let me cycle some shells through it, to make sure it worked OK.

I recently purchased a very slick Flat Band model with very good bluing, for the same price of $450 at a recent gunshow, from an individual. It would have normally went for a little more. This gun is in the lost ser#'s of the mid to late 40's. I believe that is when most of the Flatbands were made probably 43 or later on up through 47 or 48, but I am guessing. And post war or late war 94's probably are not as well finished as pre war or early models. My older gun has much better wood to metal fit, then the later FlatBand of around 1946 or 47 that I have.

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How is it that guns with serial numbers of 1,200,XXX were made 2 years AFTER guns with 1,240,XXX ? I would think that higher numbers would be made at later dates.

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So when was the fire that destroyed the records post 35?xxx ?
At what point are the records intact and researchable ( without being a Cody member ) ?

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The records are available at Cody up to just under 400,000. All shipping records after that number are lost. I don't when the fire actually occurred. We also know that the Date of Mfg. list that are in use are inaccurate because of verified shipping dates from outside sources. We know that guns in the 1,33X,XXX range were shipped to Canada in 1943. We know that guns in the 1,240,XXX range were shipped in the summer of 1940. So how would 1,200,XXX have sat in a corner for 3 or 4 years to be shipped in 1942? It is possible but I cannot believe it unless verified.

Another strange fact, That same incorrect DOM list show the highest numbered 94 made in 1894 was serial number 14,579. The factory records at Cody show the highest assign SN was 1674 but the highest number shipped was SN 1380. Who do you think is correct?

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I would venture ( someone else's ) guess , that while working on whatever Winchester was for the war , that lever guns were not much of a priority and the assorted parts were warehoused for the most part. Bins and crates may have come out of storage backwards ( higher #s last to go in and first to come out ) A receiver made in '40 could very well not have been matted with barrel , stock ect. and shipped out for several years.

But like I said , just a guess someone else made and it seemed to make sense the way they wrote it.

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You are talking about a few guns being out of sequence, indeed that did happen. I'm talking about the DOM list being incorrect which has nothing to do with guns getting misplaced at the factory.

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