Winchester 94 with interesting stamp…

[Redthies]

One of my friends acquired a 1943 Model 94 with a factory looking stamp on the receiver. Anyone seen this before?

[Sir Henry]

It is a variant of Commonwealth military cartouches. This is how you would read it. It would have been stamped by an armorer at the military unit and not at the factory.

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https://enfield-stuff.com/Pages/2-codes ... _govt.html

Scroll about halfway down under overview.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1894

[markiver54]

Interesting read.

[Hatchdog]

Very cool, the good ole 94 defending the Canadian Pacific Coast.

[JEBar]

fascinating .... our Model 94 was made in 1941 and never had the opportunity to serve in the military ...

[Redthies]

I know of the Coast Rangers, and their use of Model 94s as there is a guy here looking for pieces of memorabilia regularly. That’s really great info. Thanks so much Sir H! I wouldn’t have known where to look.

My friend will be thrilled to know this as he is a history buff, but knows nothing at all about guns. He came into this one in strange circumstances, but he had an interest in things of “the old west” as his parents were pioneers in his area. They moved there in the 1920s when the area was largely missionaries and homesteaders. He has also shown an interest in CAS events, since he and his lady have a side business in vintage clothing etc, and he said “maybe when I retire I’ll dress up like a cowboy and go shooting”. I said, man, have I got you covered… He’s now on a Cowboy Action Shooting deep dive.

I should add that since he is not a gun guy, I did try to get him to let me have the rifle as he owed me a “token” of some sort after I picked up a ‘67 C20 pickup and put it on my car trailer and drove it over 4 mountain passes and 10 hours total to deliver it to his house. In the end, he gave me a Savage Model 11 in .223 and a Thompson Center .50 Hawken. Neither of which I have any interest in, but maybe I can trade them for another lever gun. I guess I should have tried harder for the 94! I sent him the info, and a link to the history of the Rangers (which said they were issued .303s) and said he better leave that 94 to me in his will…

[Redthies]

So this story deepens… The .223 is basically a useless cartridge to me. There are no communists or isis fighters in my neighborhood, so I don’t need one to shoot people, and it is not powerful enough for the size of deer we have so other than shooting paper it’s not my thing.

But, one of my best employees has 3 young boys that he wants to teach to shoot and it’s perfect for his kids. Out of the blue, his uncle drops off a Model 94 to him, which isn’t really his “thing”. (I bet you know where this is headed!)

He brings out the ‘94 and I am looking it over with first thing being serial number to see if it’s pre 1964, and low and behold, it’s the same year as my buds gun above. Probably 1943 or early 1944. Both are 133xxxx serial numbers. Mine is not a Coast Ranger gun though. (Yes, I said “mine”. We made a trade. It’s not perfect, but I’ll take a War2 era Winchester over a plastic stock .223 Savage any day of the week!

[Redthies]

Now I’m on the hunt for a rear barrel band. I found a bunch of places that sell them (Numrich, Midwest, Homestead) but all are out of stock. I did find one that might work on fleaBay, but I’m sure the dreaded Canadian billing address on my visa will cause the seller to not ship to my US address. ITAR has everyone in a panic over things that are clearly not “articles of war”. Governments are spoil sports

[BigAl52]

Not to mention its a levergun. Much cooler than any bolt gun. Plus it doesnt have any of those tacticool additions to it

[Centaur]

Oh the stories that old 94 could tell. Pretty slick trade, I’d say.

[Redthies]

I’m sure happy about it! I often wonder how my 1911 model 94 came by all its nicks and bruises. I know the story on one, but I’ve only owned it for 38 years.

[Redthies]

Ok. I’ll admit it. I was enjoying my third adult beverage of the evening when the swap occurred, and while I noticed that someone had re-varnished the stock at some point, and “colored outside the lines”, what I didn’t notice covered by the extra golden brown goo, was a C with a tripod stamped on the receiver!!!!

I got myself a PCMR gun too! Damn, that makes me so happy! I am home now and was looking at it with my glasses on () and a bit more light and behold, coolness!

To be honest, I’m kind of glad I didn’t spot it when we were trading, because I would have probably gone a bit crazy! I would have felt bad trading straight, but it’s done, and I know he cares nothing about the history aspect. He’s just happy to have a rifle his kids can shoot…

[Redthies]

How would you guys suggest I go about getting the finish off the receiver without damaging the metal? I did the same job on my 1911 Model ‘94, but it was 30 years ago and can’t remember what I used.

[Sir Henry]

Russians varnished everything on the old 91/30’s. As a collector of old military arms I left the history alone. Some of the Commonwealth countries in cold wet climates did the same thing. I’m betting that firearm was varnished by the company armorour back during WWII.

[Sir Henry]

If you do choose to remove it first take the wood off the rifle and then pour boiling water over the metal. It should come right off and will of course remove all oil and dirt so you will need to put a light coat of your favorite oil.

[Redthies]

Well that makes sense. It looks like it was painted with a live chicken, and if it were the armorer, he would have had a big stack of them to do, and wouldn’t have taken any real care to not get it on the metal parts. I like your point on leaving it be.

My next task is finding that rear barrel band, and given that any one I’m likely to find will be blued, would you know any tricks to getting it looking closer to the gray/brown of the receiver and barrel?

[Hatchdog]

What a great story.

“ It looks like it was painted with a live chicken”

Instant classic!

[Sir Henry]

Look for other small cartouches in the metal and wood. They may appear as dings or blemishes and filled in with varnish.

[Redthies]

What a great story.

“ It looks like it was painted with a live chicken”

Instant classic!

Glad you like my humor!

I talked to a guy at the Colville gun show last Saturday who had a few old (1930s) Model 94s. I told him about my friends gun and referred to it as a “spruce gun”, and said they were worth an extra $1,000 over a same condition pre-‘64 gun. I’m very happy to hear that, but it doesn’t matter much as I won’t be selling it.

[Hatchdog]

What a great story.

“ It looks like it was painted with a live chicken”

Instant classic!

Glad you like my humor!

I talked to a guy at the Colville gun show last Saturday who had a few old (1930s) Model 94s. I told him about my friends gun and referred to it as a “spruce gun”, and said they were worth an extra $1,000 over a same condition pre-‘64 gun. I’m very happy to hear that, but it doesn’t matter much as I won’t be selling it.

I almost went to the Colville gun show now I wish I had to meet you. Maybe we’ll do that at the fall show. I have always liked that show as it gets away from all the AR’s and Poly guns that overwhelm the Spokane show. Many years ago I bought a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem with lots of components there for a good price.