1894 short barrel / takedown question
Hi Guys. Just acquired a Winchester 1894 and have a couple questions. The gun (serial No. 353,082) is a takedown, 32 special with a 20 inch octagon barrel and crescent butt plate. Very nice gun with the 32 special rear sight and a marbles no. 3 front. Takedown is tight and functions well. The gun (mostly) appears original. Still a good bit of original blue and unmolested wood. The action is excellent and everything functions fine. Bore is very good and it's already proving to be very accurate.
So here's my question. I bought the gun assuming that the barrel was shortened. The price was too good. My suspicions appear correct but I wanted to run it past the experts. Everything looks right but the tape measure says otherwise. Muzzle to center of the front dovetail is 1 1/16 inch. I understand it should be 15/16. The barrel is 20 and 5/16" from muzzle to front of the bolt. I know it should be closer to exactly 20 inch but was not certain if the takedown feature altered the way the barrel should be measured. Forend length is 9 3/8". So, any chance this is not a shortened gun. I'm thinking about cleaning it up and possibly putting on a different front sight but I don't want to mess with an original gun. I know that I can order a letter to confirm the features of this gun and will do that if the experts think it would be worthwhile.
On a side note. I've been struggling to raise/lower the 32 special rear sight on the gun. Anyone know if there's a trick. Don't want to force it.
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Added: I should clarify that my I am wondering if the gun was originally manufactured as a "short rifle" with a 20 inch barrel or if it started out with a 26 inch barrel and was cut after being purchased. Thanks.
So here's my question. I bought the gun assuming that the barrel was shortened. The price was too good. My suspicions appear correct but I wanted to run it past the experts. Everything looks right but the tape measure says otherwise. Muzzle to center of the front dovetail is 1 1/16 inch. I understand it should be 15/16. The barrel is 20 and 5/16" from muzzle to front of the bolt. I know it should be closer to exactly 20 inch but was not certain if the takedown feature altered the way the barrel should be measured. Forend length is 9 3/8". So, any chance this is not a shortened gun. I'm thinking about cleaning it up and possibly putting on a different front sight but I don't want to mess with an original gun. I know that I can order a letter to confirm the features of this gun and will do that if the experts think it would be worthwhile.
On a side note. I've been struggling to raise/lower the 32 special rear sight on the gun. Anyone know if there's a trick. Don't want to force it.
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Added: I should clarify that my I am wondering if the gun was originally manufactured as a "short rifle" with a 20 inch barrel or if it started out with a 26 inch barrel and was cut after being purchased. Thanks.
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On an 1894 rifle, the muzzle to center of front sight dovetail should be 15/16 inch. Carbines were more like 1 1/4 inch to the center of the sight post (no dovetail). That said, my decades of experience with thousands of Winchesters has taught me that nothing was ever 100% with Winchester.
To raise or lower the 32 Special sight, pinch the ears between your thumb and finger and pull backward. You should hear a small click. Now raise or lower. When it is where you want, push forward and hear another click locking it back in place.0 -
Thanks for the information Truthful. Still struggling with that sight. I'm guessing that I'm doing something wrong yet as I've tried pulling back on the ears of the sight about as hard as I dare and still haven't got them to move. Any tricks I'm missing.
Also, forgot to mention in my initial post that the gun has a half mag.0 -
Hose the sight down with the P tube on WD40 let it soak for a day or 2. 
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I am confused. You say the barrel has maybe been shortened, and yet your measurement seem to say the reverse. What should be a 15/16 space is 1.25. and the 20 and 5/16 barrel should be closer to 20. Does that not suggest it is longer? 0 -
I've had the gun for less than a day and just shot a 5-shot group of 1.35'' at 50 yards with my first reloads - gotta like that! I'll try some wd-40 on the sight and see if that loosens things up. Most of these guns started out life with a 26 inch barrel. If shortened, I'm assuming that was the case with this gun. The measurement are close to correct but not quite right. Thanks for the input. 0 -
According to Reneburg's book the front sight on all rifles should be 1.00" and this is exactly what I have on the two rifles I have currently .This is muzzle to center of dovetail.
I think generally barrels on rifles usually are slightly over on length. The spec you have given I would say is well within original dovetail locations .A nice clear picture though may provide more info.0 -
The only way to know for certain the original configuration of your rifle is to confirm it with Cody. And if there is a chance it's original, and it were mine, I'd do that before messing with it.
If you know someone who is a Cody member or a member of the Winchester Arms Collector Association maybe they would request a serial number search for you. Members of each get a certain number of "searches" free. Once that number is exceeded a s/n search is still less expensive than a factory letter, and those searches include all the same info as a letter. Of course if you want the letter after the search you still pay full boat for the formal factory letter.
Finally, you could consider joining one of those or organizations.0 -
quote:Originally posted by metalsmitty45
According to Reneburg's book the front sight on all rifles should be 1.00" and this is exactly what I have on the two rifles I have currently .This is muzzle to center of dovetail.
I think generally barrels on rifles usually are slightly over on length. The spec you have given I would say is well within original dovetail locations .A nice clear picture though may provide more info.
Bob Renneberg and I are very well acquainted, and in recent years, we have worked together to increase the published information for the Model 1894/94, 55, and 64. That stated, I can emphatically state that the correct dimensional distance to the center of the front sight dovetail is precisely 15/16" (.9375), not 1.0". The bottom forward edge of the dovetail cut is exactly .75"0 -
quote:Originally posted by critter3030
Hi Guys. Just acquired a Winchester 1894 and have a couple questions. The gun (serial No. 353,082) is a takedown, 32 special with a 20 inch octagon barrel and crescent butt plate. Very nice gun with the 32 special rear sight and a marbles no. 3 front. Takedown is tight and functions well. The gun (mostly) appears original. Still a good bit of original blue and unmolested wood. The action is excellent and everything functions fine. Bore is very good and it's already proving to be very accurate.
So here's my question. I bought the gun assuming that the barrel was shortened. The price was too good. My suspicions appear correct but I wanted to run it past the experts. Everything looks right but the tape measure says otherwise. Muzzle to center of the front dovetail is 1 1/16 inch. I understand it should be 15/16. The barrel is 20 and 5/16" from muzzle to front of the bolt. I know it should be closer to exactly 20 inch but was not certain if the takedown feature altered the way the barrel should be measured. Forend length is 9 3/8". So, any chance this is not a shortened gun. I'm thinking about cleaning it up and possibly putting on a different front sight but I don't want to mess with an original gun. I know that I can order a letter to confirm the features of this gun and will do that if the experts think it would be worthwhile.
On a side note. I've been struggling to raise/lower the 32 special rear sight on the gun. Anyone know if there's a trick. Don't want to force it.
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Added: I should clarify that my I am wondering if the gun was originally manufactured as a "short rifle" with a 20 inch barrel or if it started out with a 26 inch barrel and was cut after being purchased. Thanks.
Based on what you have stated above, the odds are very high that it has been cut down from 26". The forend stock on the majority of 20-inch barreled Model 1894 Short Rifles was 8-3/8" in length. What is the barrel diameter at the muzzle?0 -
Thanks to everyone for the input. Haven't heard anything to change my mind that the barrel was almost certainly cut down from 26 inches. Makes me feel a little better about using it as a shooter. I have no plans to clean or modify it in any way that would further take away from it's originality - just in case.
Bert - The diameter at the muzzle averages about .742 inches. Thanks for the information.0
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