Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Winchester 94 in 45 Colt?

I would like to purchase one of these and would like to get as old a model as I can that is still a shooter. Can anyone give me a history lesson or link that would tell me the years which this cartridge was offered?

The 45 colt is not a traditional lever action chambering, either in the Win. 94 or the 92. I believe it was first chambered in lever action rifles from Marlin and winchester in the 1980's or 90's.

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.

In cowboy action circles the '94 in a pistol caliber is not thought of very highly. '92's for CAS shooting are bad enough, the '94 is a beginner's trap (nightmare). As new CAS shooters progress, they trade up and away from the .45 Colt model 94. In pistol calibers, the Marlin is well thought of, but even they need some tweaking. The CAS top gun is the Uberti '73 clone.

For high pressure loads, the '73 clone isn't strong enough, so the Marlin defaults to number one. A Marlin in a pistol caliber is OK.

For hunting and high pressure loads, the .45 Colt is OK. For CAS, where low pressure loads are used, the .45 Colt leaves a lot to be desired. Due to the relatively thick case walls, low pressure loads don't expand the case against the chamber walls, creating a seal. These rounds are famous for blow back of hot gases into the shooter's face.

My original .45 Colt Marlin Cowboy was retired from CAS and became a 'diller killer. I put blanks in the sight slots, mounted a Bushnell Holosight and loaded 300 gr. cast and jacketed bullets to 1,500+ fps with 4227. NO blow back with those loads. Deadly on 'dillers. That gun's second life is more interesting (and successful) than it's first...

IMHO,

DF

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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