New Winchester 94's For 2010

[pietro]

Jeff Quinn, of Gunblasts online magazine, posted this elsewhere:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2009

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The Winchester Model 94™ Returns.

Morgan, Utah –Winchester Repeating Arms is excited to announce the return of the Model 1894 lever action rifle to its line of firearms for 2010. This reintroduction of the most popular rifle in history will be offered in two Limited Edition models that will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Oliver F. Winchester’s birth in New England in 1810. A Model 1894 Custom Grade and Model 1894 High Grade will be offered in 30-30 Winchester caliber.

The Model 1894 began at the workbench of John M. Browning, being the first sporting rifle to use smokeless powder. It has been said that the Model 1894 has taken more deer than any other rifle in the world, and with over six million sold, has become by far, the most popular rifle in history. What better way to welcome back the timeless Winchester® Model 1894 than with a tribute to Oliver F. Winchester.

Model 1894 Custom Grade. Only 500 Custom Grade rifles in sets with the High Grade model will be offered. This rifle will have an exquisite 24” half-round, half-round octagon deeply blued barrel. A buckhorn rear sight is matched with a Marble’s® gold bead front sight. The Custom Grade model has Grade IV/V walnut with a rich, high gloss finish. Deep scroll engraving covers both sides of the blued receiver. An early Winchester Repeating Arms crest graces the left side of the receiver, with the right side bearing the words, “Two Hundred Years, Oliver F. Winchester,” and the dates “1810 – 2010”, in gold. The barrel is deeply polished, with the signature of Oliver F. Winchester in gold on the top of the bolt. “One of Five Hundred” is inscribed in gold on the barrel of the Custom Grade rifle.

Model 1894 High Grade. The Winchester Model 1894 High Grade also honors and commemorates the 200th anniversary of Oliver Fisher Winchester’s birth. This

model is deeply embellished with delicate scroll work, with Oliver F. Winchester’s signature in gold on top of the bolt. The left side of the receiver bears an early Winchester Repeating Arms crest. On the right side are the words, “Two Hundred Years, Oliver F. Winchester,” and the dates, “1810—2010.” The fancy Grade II/III walnut stock is enhanced with a high gloss finish and is delicately checkered, complementing the fine embellishments on the silver nitride receiver. The High Grade model is also chambered in the timeless 30-30 Winchester caliber with a deeply blued half-round, half octagon barrel. A buckhorn rear sight is fitted with a Marble’s gold bead front sight. 500 of the High Grade model will be sold as a set with the Custom Grade. The remaining limited quantities will be sold individually.

Delivery of these two commemorative rifles will begin starting in the 2nd quarter of 2010. Both models have 8 round magazine capacity, 42” overall length, 10” rate of twist with average weight at 8 lbs. The Model 1894 Custom Grade rifle has a Suggested Retail of $1,959.00. The Model 1984 High Grade rifle Suggested Retail is $1,469.00.

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[Hardcast416taylor]

For those prices I`ll be using my old 94`s alot longer. I thought Winchester got out of producing those "Commeratives" by the truck load for us collectors that had no collector value by the sheer number produced. If they can make this "limited" number for the price shown, why can`t make everyday models for about 1/4 of that price be made?Robert

[redneckdan]

If they can make this "limited" number for the price shown, why can`t make everyday models for about 1/4 of that price be made?Robert

Cause that would make too much sense. The more and more I learn about the manufacturing sector the more I believe that 'making money' is no longer the goal of those at the reins of the major corporations now a days. Either that or they are so far out of touch they have no idea what their consumers want.

[oldhickory]

I hate commeratives...Why not just make a hunter/shooter grade rifle at a price we can afford?

[square butte]

Do you think they are Miroku?

[Limey]

.....and not only with a price we want to pay or can offord but with a fit, finish and performance that you are not frightened to take out and shoot on any day of the year....come rain, snow or shine......

I see and read about so many guns with super dooper wood, and fab dabby dozy engraving that cost the best part of a fortune to buy.....

...I just wonder how many of those top grade guns actually go out and shoot and hunt in all winds and weathers rather than being just a wall decoration or a gun cabinet queen?.....

Don't get me wrong, I love guns....but the market place seems to be drifting ever more towards ''better grade this that or the other for no other purpose than swankism'' and it seems to be losing sight of it's core clients wants and needs.....a gun that shoot's great, made of materials appropriate for the task in hand for many years to come and at a price that is realistic for Joe Average to part with.

With so many pressures on legal gun ownership around the world ''the trade'' should be doing everything in their abilities to make guns accessible to the next generation of shooters.

....this is just my opinion....

Safe shooting,

Limey

[StarMetal]

I talked to Winchester yesterday. The new ones are made by Miroku. They said the standard 94 will come along in 2011.

Joe

[Ajax]

thats sounds promising
but we will see how they are priced.

Andy

[Lead Fred]

Ill stick with my 1967 94

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I've probably owned twenty or thirty over the last forty years, different calibers; and none post-63. I'm down to a 1920's 26"bbl 25-35 that a great uncle by marriage bought new, and a same era 32 Special. They are handy, and that is about the best thing you can say about them; compared to a Marlin 336.
I expect they will be waaaaaaaaaaay over-priced, have a clunker safety and 12lb trigger pull like the last iteration, and most likely made in Japan.

Stick with American Made Marlin, and get the quality of design and manufacture you are paying for. Side eject, scope mount top, 45-70; what else is there to say? Oh yeah, stainless steel and laminate or synthetic stocks.



Rich

[jlchucker]

It was Winchester's habit to run a commemorative for each time that George Washington or some other historic figure got up off the outhouse stool! Until Winchester went out of business most of these had zero collector value. Lots turned out to be good shooters, though--if you could stand to look at them.

[badgeredd]

Winchester like so many others just shows us what mis-management and the loss of the market view will do. Too bad IMHO but inevitable.

Recently Ruger went through a major reorganization and market view and seem to be getting their company back in line with reality.

Edd

[Don McDowell]

Always get somewhat of a bit of the chuckles with all the Marlin lubbers grousing about Winchester.
First off Wincheseter never quit manufacturing firearms. They did suspend production on a few models, but have now started them back up.

Food for thought. There's nearly 7 million 94's out there somewhere, There's almost as many made by USRAC from 83 to the time they stopped production, as were made by Winchester, and Winchester/Olin from 1895 to 1983.

Quite frankly I'm glad they're making 94's again. Don't want one of these commeratives, but am hoping dearly they make a 25-35 in working clothes soon.

[TooManyMisses]

If I can afford one I will get the 2011 just to have a pair 100 years apart, I have my great grandfather's 94 made in 1911. Bore looks like a stove pipe but still shoots reasonably well.

TMM

[fecmech]

I have a 94 .357 angle eject and they really buggered that trigger on those. Fit and finish on the lever and link is terrible and the gun double fed all the time. Got it working ok now thanks to David R's welding skills and have the trigger halfway decent now but I'm on the lookout for an old 94 beater to rob the half-cock hammer and trigger out of. If the gun didn't shoot so well I would have sent it down the road long ago. I would not buy a new 94 for any reason.
As for the Marlins I don't know. A friend bought an 1894 c in .357 and right out of the box it would not feed even .38's reliably, his first act was to send it back to Marlin. They fixed it but who needs that on a new gun. My clays shooting buddy bought a 39A new and it came with a 7.5 lb. trigger and what felt like sand in the action. I took it apart for him deburred the action and lightened the trigger to 2.5 lbs. I know you are not going to get 2.5 lb triggers on factory .22's but 7.5 is way over the top! I'm just glad I can do this stuff, I'd really be P.O.'d if I had to send these things to a gunsmith. That's if you can find a good one.

[Leadforbrains]

I hope they bring it out in .32 Winchester Special.

[pietro]

[we will see how they are priced.]

Well, I don't know what anyone's expecting in the way of the pricing the standard Model 94's will have in 2011, but I do know that the days of new/$400 Winchester 94's have long gone the way of the Dodo Bird - and IMHO to think otherwise is wishful thinking, and not reality.

.

[Don McDowell]

Well if you look at the Grade 1 they have a 1400 ish msrp, that tells me the street value on a working 94 is probably going to be somewhere around 600.

[pmeisel]

I was interested when I saw the topic. Then I saw commemorative....

I might pick up a used rifle. Or a Mossberg 464. Not interested in what they plan to offer from Winchester.

[MtGun44]

I hope they don't have the totally messed up firing pin lock and darned thumb
safety of the Win 92 and 1886s that came from Miroku ! I have a Extra Lite 86 and
it took forever to get the darned thing reliable due to these "safety improvements".

The hammer is so light due to the huge side cutaway for the thumb safety to
block it that there is marginal energy in the hammer blow, plus the hollow firing pin
with an internal latching system absorbes some more of the already short impact
energy. Some Extra Lites were OK, many were not. Even now, with it working
fairly well (most of rebound removed) the firing pin indentations are very, very light
and extremely small diameter. Used to get unreal vertical stringing (how about 18"
tall by 2" wide groups at 100 yds?) nearly certain they were due to crappy weak
ignition. Now things are a lot better.

Hate to see them "improve" the 94 the same way. . . . . . .

Bill