First lever gun! - Winchester Model 1894 Deluxe

I inherited a gun collection from my brother. Sold some of the handguns. Got a Henry repeating rifle just like this one. I think it is a .40 caliber. NEVER been fired. Has a beautiful handmade Mexican tooled scabbard too. Took it to a gun dealer to sell but after about two weeks he returned it. Told me nobody wanted to pay what it is worth. I'll probably never fire it. Not a huge rifle fan. Have a few collectible shotguns also.

View attachment 82429
That is not a shooter.
 
very nice gift overkill! before the big flu hit i got a new 22lr henry lever action carbine at a very attractive price. it was the gun shop’s floor display model. i wasn’t in the market for it but after noticing its low price and handling it, and thinking it over, i returned the next day for it. being chambered in rimfire it is good to go at a local indoor shooting range. i’m not a hunter so 22lr works for me. too bad that i don’t have a convenient outdoors shooting locale. it is my first and only lever action rifle. i kind of scoffed at the henry advertisements touting their products as the most shooting-fun a civilian can enjoy, but i’m a convert now. i imagine that a lever action rifle chambered in 22wmr would be an excellent piece for all-around use: still a rimfire for indoor shooting ranges and gun-regulated locales, not terribly priced ammo, but with more oomph for small game hunting and protection.
Henrys are very high quality rifles.
 
Nice looking rifle. I hope it shoots as nice as it looks. The receiver metal and woodwork reminds me of a Ruger #1, another lever action classic.
 
It looks like many of the Winchester rifles / 101 shotguns are made by the same company that makes the Browning Citori shotguns.
They may be imported by Browning (like the run of Japan made Model 12 Winchester a while back)

Looking at the contact info for Winchester and Browning on the web page shows the same phone number and Morgan UT zip code.
Looking at the address in Google Earth shows the same location

275 Winchester Avenue
Morgan, UT 84050
800-333-3288
801-876-2711


Browning
One Browning Place
Morgan UT 84050
800-333-3288
801-876-2711
 
Beautiful rifle and a great gift from your wife. Don't let being made in Japan (Miroku Corp) concern you. Miroku in Japan has been building quality firearms for Browning Arms / Winchester for years. My main hunting rifle is a Browning A-Bolt II in 300 WSM that is extremely well built, handy and a superbly accurate hunting rifle.

Congratulations on a great looking rifle!
Hi.
I agree. Miroku make fine firearms. A hunting friend of mine has a Miroku in .243. It is 'just' a Browning A-Bolt in Miroku livery. It is a great Rifle. The Japanese make some sweet Rifles. The Howa is another example.
 
Hi Overkill.
You have some really nice guns. You have taste. You also have a Grand Cherokee SRT so that makes me even more envious :D.

Way back, my Wife bought me a very nice Lew Horton, Smith and Wesson 629 for Christmas. Then a CZ75 for my Birthday. We are lucky to have such great Women in our lives. My Pistols of course were taken by the Police.

Do you hunt?
 
It looks like many of the Winchester rifles / 101 shotguns are made by the same company that makes the Browning Citori shotguns.
They may be imported by Browning (like the run of Japan made Model 12 Winchester a while back)

Looking at the contact info for Winchester and Browning on the web page shows the same phone number and Morgan UT zip code.
Looking at the address in Google Earth shows the same location

275 Winchester Avenue
Morgan, UT 84050
800-333-3288
801-876-2711


Browning
One Browning Place
Morgan UT 84050
800-333-3288
801-876-2711
Yes, Winchester/Browning are the same company.
 
Hi Overkill.
You have some really nice guns. You have taste. You also have a Grand Cherokee SRT so that makes me even more envious :D.

Way back, my Wife bought me a very nice Lew Horton, Smith and Wesson 629 for Christmas. Then a CZ75 for my Birthday. We are lucky to have such great Women in our lives. My Pistols of course were taken by the Police.

Do you hunt?
Just varmint, I planned to hunt deer but COVID screwed that up and then my surgery. I have a nice deer rifle, which I think you've seen, my Remington 700 5R Milspec.
 
I have a feeling this post is going to cost me some $$. Also I'm going to dredge up an old Japan-Winchester story from a decade ago you may find amusing. I sure do and I need to write it down before I get old. ;)

I've had a 1954 '94 (decently worn but good), also an '80s XTR model (fabulous gun - as good as the pre-64 IMO). Traded both off in the past and missed it. I do love the fact Miroku still has these in production and I'm sure they are excellent, no bias.

Ok, so last night I couldn't sleep (SAD, solstice, etc.) and went down a search rabbit-hole because of your thread here and I found a '50 gun. Well, worn - won't be cheap. BUT I can strip, steam, and refinish the wood. And I have a local refinisher who offered me a free bluing job for feeding him some biz in the past. Hmm, might be able to make this work....

So curse your eyes @OVERKILL , because I don't have extra money for this now. But a nice '94 is just must; they are one of the most satisfying firearms ever made.

Oh - rando memory coming back which goes to Japan and Winchester. And I got a picture of it!

Like 10 years ago, I lived in Redmond WA and I kept a horse at a stable on the edge of town - back when a working guy could afford that. Nice summer days I could ride up the river to Woodinville and tie-up at the Red Hook Brewery, next to the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. Great days. Got a super-nice late fall day, too, that year. Besides these kind of rides, I also took my horse into the mountains all over Washington all the time. So I had some magnum handguns for bears and cougars I had to carry, as well as gun-break the horses. This particular time, I was experimenting if I could carry the 1954 '94 on my (relatively) smaller gaited horse just because I loved that '94. NOT because it was more practical for bear or cougar defense. I experimented with different ways to tie the scabbard to the tack, how it rode, interfered with the horse, etc.

I got to the Red Hook brewery and went in for a beer, tied him up to their hitching post. They had not one but two really nice long wooden ones; lots of horses around that area, and trails. I was alone so I sat by a window to keep an eye on him, it was a busy weekend day. I remember I got into a conversation with a couple who had rode in on their Harley. I was about done and saw outside this group of five or six people hanging round him, taking pictures, but not leaving - but being respectful and not messing with him. I should go check. I went out and figured they must have been aficionados of fine Spanish horses or unusual South American tack, and we would have an interesting conversation. Wrong.

When I got there, they were all Japanese, and surprisingly not fluent in English (or me in Japanese). But one guy kept pointing down low where I had strung the scabbard at the time (I was experimenting with different rigging, remember). He just kept pointing and saying, "Winchester!" "Winchester!"

I had to laugh because I had SO mis-read the situation! Apparently the lever-gun has a massive appeal in Japanese culture. They didn't give a farthing about the horse but were just amazed a horse was tied up to a hitching post, Winchester slung in a scabbard, all open and legal-like. And all in what looked like to them (I guess) liked civilized America (this was Woodinville, WA, not for example Cody, WY*). Once I figured out the score, I pulled out the gun, opened the action. I didn't even have any ammo in the gun or with me, this was just a riding exercise to fit the scabbard. I offered them the gun to examine but no one would touch it, very politely declined. I've spent a little time in Japan before (lot more in Korea), I interpreted that as a cultural fascination and identity, but a modern aversion to embracing that. I won't go more into that angle.

OK, I do have some pics of that day, though not the actual encounter at the Red Hook Brewery. Really pretty day and I had my DSLR w/me and some different lenses, which was what was in that blue/black bag tied to the cavalry bags and behind the cantle.

OK - found the date (on the photos). Was 11/3/2010:

IMGP1106.PEF.jpg



Or better down here, messed with the gaited horse's shoulder action too much above:
IMGP1107.PEF.jpg



That's not the hitching post at Red Hook, that's the one in a public park in Redmond where we did some testing in the arena before riding up to Woodinville.

Anyway, pardon my indulgence but the nickname of the Winchester 1894 ought to be the "Polariod" of guns - because they make memories. ;)

You are going to love that gun.

* No offense to anyone from Wyoming. I in fact love Cody, WY. Night Rodeo 4-ever!
 
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a very nice Lew Horton, Smith and Wesson 629 for Christmas. My Pistols of course were taken by the Police.

Do you hunt?


Please tell me you don't mean one of the early 3" 629 Lew Hortons? That would make me cry. One of the best handguns I've owned.

Please tell me this is not what they took and crushed/flame-cut/de-mil'd. :(

IMGP5381.jpg


Now in a parallel experience, my ex-wife was English. We met in the US and she stayed here. Our first Christmas together, I gave her a) an 8-week old miniature Dachshund, and b) a S&W model 15, but accurized and matte hard-chrome plated by APW/Cogan. They are in Louisiana now, but then they were in Florida and only a few miles from my parents' house, easy walk-in transaction! This actually back-fired as when we went to the range togehter, she quickly could out-shoot me with that revolver vs. my clunky (at the time) 1911. So I quit giving her handguns for Christmas and stuck to more Dachshunds. ;)

She later gave me an amazing Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon clays gun one Christmas, which is actually what sparked my interest in this thread because his wife had also such excellent choice in firearms. ;)
 
Please tell me you don't mean one of the early 3" 629 Lew Hortons? That would make me cry. One of the best handguns I've owned.

Please tell me this is not what they took and crushed/flame-cut/de-mil'd. :(

View attachment 82695

Now in a parallel experience, my ex-wife was English. We met in the US and she stayed here. Our first Christmas together, I gave her a) an 8-week old miniature Dachshund, and b) a S&W model 15, but accurized and matte hard-chrome plated by APW/Cogan. They are in Louisiana now, but then they were in Florida and only a few miles from my parents' house, easy walk-in transaction! This actually back-fired as when we went to the range togehter, she quickly could out-shoot me with that revolver vs. my clunky (at the time) 1911. So I quit giving her handguns for Christmas and stuck to more Dachshunds. ;)

She later gave me an amazing Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon clays gun one Christmas, which is actually what sparked my interest in this thread because his wife had also such excellent choice in firearms. ;)
Hi.
Yes, that is the exact same revolver i had. A stout charge of Hercules 2400 and a Nosler 240 grain would set car alarms off on the outdoor range. Was it an 'L' frame grip and not the usual 'N'? Over 20 years now since they were taken from me so memory is sketchy at best.

It is probably melted down now. A crying shame.

Apologies to 'overkill' for my trip down memory lane and swerving his topic slightly off line.
 
Just varmint, I planned to hunt deer but COVID screwed that up and then my surgery. I have a nice deer rifle, which I think you've seen, my Remington 700 5R Milspec.
Hi.
Yes, you posted some pics of your Rem 700. A very nice piece of kit, as are all your rifles. Let's hope Remington get back to producing some quality again.

Good luck on getting started with the Deer hunting. It is a while since i have done any. Covid has interrupted things here too.

Will the new 30-30 be used for Deer or will it be range use only? You would cry if you damaged it out in the field.
 
I have a feeling this post is going to cost me some $$. Also I'm going to dredge up an old Japan-Winchester story from a decade ago you may find amusing. I sure do and I need to write it down before I get old. ;)

I've had a 1954 '94 (decently worn but good), also an '80s XTR model (fabulous gun - as good as the pre-64 IMO). Traded both off in the past and missed it. I do love the fact Miroku still has these in production and I'm sure they are excellent, no bias.

Ok, so last night I couldn't sleep (SAD, solstice, etc.) and went down a search rabbit-hole because of your thread here and I found a '50 gun. Well, worn - won't be cheap. BUT I can strip, steam, and refinish the wood. And I have a local refinisher who offered me a free bluing job for feeding him some biz in the past. Hmm, might be able to make this work....

So curse your eyes @OVERKILL , because I don't have extra money for this now. But a nice '94 is just must; they are one of the most satisfying firearms ever made.

Oh - rando memory coming back which goes to Japan and Winchester. And I got a picture of it!

Like 10 years ago, I lived in Redmond WA and I kept a horse at a stable on the edge of town - back when a working guy could afford that. Nice summer days I could ride up the river to Woodinville and tie-up at the Red Hook Brewery, next to the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. Great days. Got a super-nice late fall day, too, that year. Besides these kind of rides, I also took my horse into the mountains all over Washington all the time. So I had some magnum handguns for bears and cougars I had to carry, as well as gun-break the horses. This particular time, I was experimenting if I could carry the 1954 '94 on my (relatively) smaller gaited horse just because I loved that '94. NOT because it was more practical for bear or cougar defense. I experimented with different ways to tie the scabbard to the tack, how it rode, interfered with the horse, etc.

I got to the Red Hook brewery and went in for a beer, tied him up to their hitching post. They had not one but two really nice long wooden ones; lots of horses around that area, and trails. I was alone so I sat by a window to keep an eye on him, it was a busy weekend day. I remember I got into a conversation with a couple who had rode in on their Harley. I was about done and saw outside this group of five or six people hanging round him, taking pictures, but not leaving - but being respectful and not messing with him. I should go check. I went out and figured they must have been aficionados of fine Spanish horses or unusual South American tack, and we would have an interesting conversation. Wrong.

When I got there, they were all Japanese, and surprisingly not fluent in English (or me in Japanese). But one guy kept pointing down low where I had strung the scabbard at the time (I was experimenting with different rigging, remember). He just kept pointing and saying, "Winchester!" "Winchester!"

I had to laugh because I had SO mis-read the situation! Apparently the lever-gun has a massive appeal in Japanese culture. They didn't give a farthing about the horse but were just amazed a horse was tied up to a hitching post, Winchester slung in a scabbard, all open and legal-like. And all in what looked like to them (I guess) liked civilized America (this was Woodinville, WA, not for example Cody, WY*). Once I figured out the score, I pulled out the gun, opened the action. I didn't even have any ammo in the gun or with me, this was just a riding exercise to fit the scabbard. I offered them the gun to examine but no one would touch it, very politely declined. I've spent a little time in Japan before (lot more in Korea), I interpreted that as a cultural fascination and identity, but a modern aversion to embracing that. I won't go more into that angle.

OK, I do have some pics of that day, though not the actual encounter at the Red Hook Brewery. Really pretty day and I had my DSLR w/me and some different lenses, which was what was in that blue/black bag tied to the cavalry bags and behind the cantle.

OK - found the date (on the photos). Was 11/3/2010:

View attachment 82693


Or better down here, messed with the gaited horse's shoulder action too much above:
View attachment 82694


That's not the hitching post at Red Hook, that's the one in a public park in Redmond where we did some testing in the arena before riding up to Woodinville.

Anyway, pardon my indulgence but the nickname of the Winchester 1894 ought to be the "Polariod" of guns - because they make memories. ;)

You are going to love that gun.

* No offense to anyone from Wyoming. I in fact love Cody, WY. Night Rodeo 4-ever!
Great story! Thank you so much for the share!
 
Hi.
Yes, you posted some pics of your Rem 700. A very nice piece of kit, as are all your rifles. Let's hope Remington get back to producing some quality again.

Good luck on getting started with the Deer hunting. It is a while since i have done any. Covid has interrupted things here too.

Will the new 30-30 be used for Deer or will it be range use only? You would cry if you damaged it out in the field.

It'll just be used at the range most likely, the Remington is by far a more practical deer gun IMHO, at least for the type of hunting I plan on doing (tree stand).
 
Very nice rifle! I’ve always loved the Winchester 94’s.

I grew up plinking with a 9422. Started deer hunting with a model 94 30/30. My grandpa even has a model 9422M which is not really rare but kind of hard to find.
 
Nice lever action carbine OVERKILL. (y) I bought a Marlin 336T (T for "Texan" with no pistol grip stock) in .30-30 back in 1976 for get this ... $88.88 "on sale". Has the 20 inch barrel. Marlin shortened the barrel to 18 inches a few years after that. Still have it today. Here's what it looks like ... this is not mine, just one exactly like it.

 
Love your levergun!

We need more levergun pics; Top is Browning M71 .348 Ackley Improved. Bottom is Winchester M94 Centennial in 30-30.
IMG_0625small.jpg
 
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