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Winchester 94 made for Sears/ JC Higgins

Wehrmacht_45
I have a chance to pick up a Winchester 94 in 30-30 that was made for Sears under the JC Higgins label. I know the collectibility of these is much lower to almost non existent compared to Winchester stamped guns. That I do not care about. I am looking for a hunting and shooting lever gun.

What I want to know is if there are any changes that were made to these as far as parts go, like there were on the Sears shotguns(1200,1400) which had a differently machined stock and reciever.

Also were any corners cut in production? I assume these are post 64 guns, but do not know for sure as I am not a big lever gun buff.

As
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • lcdrdanr
    I do not have a Sears Lever Gun and I suspect even if I did there could be variances between different models or even years of manufacture.
    I do have a Sears Model 53 Bolt Action made by Winchester and it is identical to a Model 70 in every respect I have worked on to date. I also have a Sears Model 200 Shotgun which is supposed to be the same as a Winchester Model 1200 but it has an obvious difference in the shape of the receiver where it mates to the stock.
    I have noticed no difference in function, reliability or durability with any of my "store brand" bolt actions and pump guns, I also have several Sears models manufactured by Marlin but I do not have any first hand experience with lever guns. In fact, I consider a couple of my Sears brand guns to be superior in fit and finish to any comparably priced firearm of current manufacture.
    I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a Sears Model 54 by Winchester or the Sears Model lever action made by Marlin and identical to the 336 if the price were right.
    Dan R

    Dan R
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  • BUCKAWHO
    Hi...I believe that Sears sold rifles made by Winchester under the Ted Williams name, or just the Sears name. I believe that JC Higgins rifles made by Winchester were sold by Montgomery Ward. The same applies to scopes made by Weaver. BT
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  • badsbsnf81
    JC Higgins and Ted Williams were store brands for for Sears.

    Western Field was a store brand for Montgomery Ward.

    Foremost was a store brand for JC Penny

    Revelation was a store brand for Western Auto

    The main differences from the normal maker's product was usually in finish and/or wood. T
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  • BigLoop22
    Wehrmacht_45,

    I think the biggest differences between the Sears & the Winchester-branded guns is basically cosmetic. The most noticeable thing about the Sears rifle is usually the oddball barrel band & forend wood arrangement: a mixture of carbine & rifle parts, but not exactly like a regular Winchester's parts. I believe everything else is standard Winchester.
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  • Bert H.
    Can you post (or send me) pictures of your J.C. Higgins marked gun? I would like to see the left side of the receiver frame.
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  • Wehrmacht_45
    Well the wood on the gun is kind of beat so I was thinking of getting a replacement set if I buy it.

    The fact is I cant buy a Winchester 94 for 225 bucks, but if the wood wont cross over, then I will most likely pass.

    There are a couple Sears marked Winchester 94's on the auction side and are in similar configuration to the one I am looking at. It does look as if the barrel bands and perhaps fore end are different. I wonder if I can switch out those parts for the standard ones.
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  • Bert H.
    OK, I looked at three of them on the auction side... all of them were Post-63 manufactured guns, the forend stocks and end caps are significantly different than a traditional Winchester Model 94, the barrel is either longer, or the magazine tube is shorter than a Model 94, and the sights are different. Oddly, all three of them were drilled & tapped for both a receiver peep sight and a side mount scope.
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