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Winchester 94 barrel markings

9NickS
94BarrelMarking2.jpg
I have a winchester 94 Rifle ser# 13,000. I was told the barrel has been changed. Does anyone know what these markings mean? These are the only markings on the barrel. Thanks
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Comments

12 comments

Date Votes
  • tsr1965
    9NickS,

    Hello, and welcome to the forums here on Gunbroker.com.

    According to the serialization thread near the top of the column

    http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=245213

    Your rifle was made sometime during the 1896-1897 time frame. If I am not mistaken, and I am sure Bert H will be along to make any corrections needed, those rifles were marked 1894, not 94. That was atleast on the tang of the action, and i am not sure of the barrel.

    If your rifle is serial number 13,000, then it is a bonafide antique by law.

    Best
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  • kimi
    The P in an oval was the Winchester mail order proof mark. The marking on the right side of the barrel was as I recall implemented in the early 1920s - I seem to think it was about 1922. This being the case the bottom of the barrel might well show the mark such as 22, which would indicate the year. Bert should be along shortly and add some information for you.
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  • Bert H.
    Hello Nick,

    Serial number 13,000 was manufactured in the latter part of the year 1895 (14222 was the last one serialized in 1895).

    The barrel on your Model 1894 is approximately 40-years newer than the rifle, and it was installed by someone outside of the factory.
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  • Brad Weber
    You still think so?
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  • kimi
    quote:Originally posted by Brad Weber
    You still think so?



    Welcome to the forum. If you are directing your comment to me in reference to my comment regarding the marking on the right hand side of the barrel my answer is yes. I have personally verified a model 1894 that had been re-barreled with this marking that dated the barrel to 1922. I cannot say at this time, for sure, exactly which year Winchester implemented this marking in this location, but now you know that at least one example was manufactured in 1922.
    Have a good day Brad Weber.
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  • Brad Weber
    I was referring to Bert thinking it was outside fitted when the folks that worked at Winchester said that if it has the WP then it was factory installed.
    Oh, thanks for the welcome but I've been here for a while now but I just read, usually.
    Brad
    http://www.winchestercollector.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4108&sid=b0f8b52e740390b9a30cb0b8e9a8ccbc
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by Brad Weber
    I was referring to Bert thinking it was outside fitted when the folks that worked at Winchester said that if it has the WP then it was factory installed.
    Oh, thanks for the welcome but I've been here for a while now but I just read, usually.
    Brad
    http://www.winchestercollector.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4108&sid=b0f8b52e740390b9a30cb0b8e9a8ccbc


    Yes, I still do believe it is an outside fitted barrel. Winchester would not have installed a 1930s vintage barrel on an 1895 vintage gun without also marking the frame ring with a proof mark. I have seen just way too many (P) proofed barrels on old Winchesters to believe that Winchester intentionally installed them. Without any concrete proof (documentation) of who actually did the rebarrel work, you will never convince me (or most other knowledgable Winchester collectors) that it is anything other than a mail order barrel.
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  • kimi
    quote:Originally posted by Brad Weber
    I was referring to Bert thinking it was outside fitted when the folks that worked at Winchester said that if it has the WP then it was factory installed.
    Oh, thanks for the welcome but I've been here for a while now but I just read, usually.
    Brad
    http://www.winchestercollector.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4108&sid=b0f8b52e740390b9a30cb0b8e9a8ccbc


    You're welcome Brad. It would have been installed outside the factory in my opinion too in that the proof mark signifies a mail order proof. Bert could be right on with his estimation that it is a 1930 era barrel in this specific case, but Winchester started using the marking on the right hand side of the barrel long before the 1930s, as I have indicated with my personal dis assembly and inspection of one that dated to 1922.
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  • Brad Weber
    I've been sitting on the fence about this one for quite some time now. I've read and read, though I do struggle with some of the things I read, about how these double proofs happen and I am more and more leaning towards them being factory installed. There are collectors that agree with me also but frankly I'm still not sure. I have learned to resist saying "never" and "always" when we talk gun manufacture and I have learned to respect Bert's opinion. He uses facts and as he pointed out, where is the documentation? Proof so far seams to be eye witness account. I'm still waiting to see.
    Brad
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  • moretoys
    Brad Weber, the PROOF you look for is in the pictures. What everyone is saying is the oval with P inside is the factory stamp put on a "shipped out" barrel.
    Now if you scroll back up to the pics you will see that O-P stamp in the upper left corner, just ahead of the W-P proof mark
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  • we_dig_it
    Nothing is set in stone when it comes to old Winchesters....
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  • Brad Weber
    I don't see it that way. I do see a barrel that was perhaps originally proofed and marked for shipment but there is no documentation to prove it was sent out. It seems that Winchester had a lot of these barrels made in advance to be shipped on order. If some of these barrels were never shipped and installed later on at the factory, then the markings become more clear. It is stated by past employees of Winchester that if the barrel has the WP proof mark then it was factory installed. This barrel has the WP proof.
    Brad
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