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Antique Winchester caliber info

martinphoto1
Put your thinking caps on guys....this is a stumper I think only a serious Winchester scholar would know....I haven't been able to find get a firm answer.

Winchester introduced the .32 W.S. caliber cartridge in the spring of 1902, but I have a model 94 .32 W.S. w/ the correct special rear site especially made for and usually fitted to these configured rifles, but the s/n of this rifle places it's yr. of mfg. as 1898. The gun is 100% original, guarenteed!
Now I know the factory assemblers just picked up parts out of the bins of which ever was on top, but 4 yrs. in a bin seems like a long time. Do any of you experts have better info about which yr. this cartridge first appeared on the 94?

Thanks....Marty
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9 comments

Date Votes
  • firstharmonic
    I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I remembered reading about this cartridge in "Cartridges of the World", by Frank C. Barnes - great book, by the way. So I took a moment to look. According to Mr. Barnes, the .32 Winchester Special was "Introduced in 1895 for the then new Winchester Model 94 lever action" (Barnes, p. 48). If he is correct, your model 94 makes sense.



    If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day,

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  • martinphoto1
    Perfect...thanks for that info from the Barnes bk. I feel allot better about this gun now!
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  • Bert H.
    Cartridges Of the World is INCORRECT about the introduction date for the 32 Winchester Special (WS) cartridge![V] I have most of the original catalogs from that era, and they clearly show that the 32 WS was introduced in June of 1902. The actual cartridges that were introduced in August of 1895, were the 30 W.C.F. (aka 30-30) and the 25-35 W.C.F.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
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  • only winchesters
    Hello martinphoto1: Well, "The gun is 100% original,guarenteed"[:D] Unless you bought it from the estate of the person who assembled it, NOTHING is guaranteed!

    To answer your question, is it possible for a receiver to be on the shelf for 4 or 5 years before Winchester assembled it into a gun. That would be a possibility, but the odds are against that, but it is possible.

    It's also possible that the gun was returned to the factory, and a rechamber/barrel replacement work was done. And yes Winchester, could have reblued the receiver to match the new barrel. You could remove the forearm, and magazine tube, to look at the year stamp on the bottom of the barrel, or your only other option would be to have the gun lettered through Cody. They would also know if it was rebarreled. Regards Dave
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by only winchesters
    You could remove the forearm, and magazine tube, to look at the year stamp on the bottom of the barrel...

    Regards Dave


    Hello Dave,

    That is not a true statement... Winchester never stamped "year" manufacture date on the bottom of a Model 1894 barrel... at least not on any of them made before about mid to late 1930.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
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  • only winchesters
    Good morning all: If there was a "year stamp" on the barrel it would tell you when the barrel was most likely installed. Such as, if there was a "34" stamped on the breech end, then one can conclude the original barrel was replaced, in 1934 or 35 possibly, or later.

    It was just a suggestion as where to start. Then again the "stamping" or roll die markings on the barrel can tell you quite a bit too. Since those where forever changing. Especially pre-war to post war.

    But I believe the best way to determine the originality would be through Cody.

    Regards Dave
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  • Iconoclast
    Just to reiterate one of Bert's points - Cartridges of the World is a good basic reference for the identification of cartridges, but there are many factual errors in the details of dates, types of firearms, etc. which have been documented over the years. Even though these mistakes have been given the publishers with supporting evidence, AFAIK, those luminaries have never deigned to make corrections and each succeeding edition perpetuates the errors (as well as introducing a few more).

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)
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  • firstharmonic
    Iconoclast,
    Wasn't aware of the errors in the Barnes book. Thanks for the heads-up.



    If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day,

    how come nothing is free yet?
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  • heavyiron
    This is an interesting case of errors in references for cartridge and rifle information.

    I use Cartridges for Collectors constantly as a source of information about both cartridges and the weapons that fired them since I am an amatuer cartridge collector. I too have been the victim of factual errors in the Barnes reference and wasn't aware of this contradiction until just now.

    I have two Barnes editions - the 1st edition being dated 1965 and the 10th edition (the latest) which was printed in 2003. The 1st edition evidently is incorrect and states the introduction of the 32 Win. Special was in 1895. The 10th edition is corrected and states the introduction of the 32 Win Special was in 1902.

    For grins, I consulted another reference entitled aptly enough, Cartridges by Fred Datig. Datig also incorrectly states the indtroduction date of the 32 Win Special as 1895. This isn't surprising since Datig uses the Barnes reference, 1st edition, as a reference in his book. Just goes to show how an error can be perpetuated over time if not corrected. Good to see the most recent Barnes reference has also been corrected.

    Martinphoto1 - I hope you are able to get to the bottom of the information needed to verify your rifle.

    Regards,

    Heavyiron

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    "If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix
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