Went to a small gun show yesterday and found a like new Winchester 94AE in .357 mag. I have a bunch of revolvers in 357 and in 38 Special so I've been looking for a lever action to go along with them. These things are super hard to find nowadays and pricey when you do. I was surprised to see this guy sitting on someone's table. He wanted 9 bills for it but we talked a bit and he took 800 for it. Yeah, I know, too much money but damn, I really wanted it.

It's in really nice shape. The blue is shiny without a scratch anywhere as is the wood. It has that cross bolt safety but someone disabled it as it is there (see the pic) but non-functional. That's just fine with me. The wood is a lighter color than I prefer but I will work on that when winter settles in.

When I got home I had just enough time to walk behind the barn and fire off a half box of 357. It cycled and ejected everything just fine, that was good but I didn't have time to try out any 38 specials. I think I read somewhere that the Model 94 does not play too well with the 38's. We will see. I might have to make up some special loads...anyone have info on that? Tell you what, my old eyes just don't do well with that Buckhorn sight. I wonder if there is a way to put on a red/green dot sight? I really don't want to put a scope on her as I like the weight of the rifle as is and it will spend quite some time in the brush.

Anyways, here are a few quick pics:

Very nice looking rifle.

I have also been looking for a Winchester 94 or a Rossi 92 in 357. Like you said, they are getting pretty hard to find. And when you do find them, they are more than I want to spend.

You can never go wrong with a good lever action.

Thanks. Yeah, it's some crazy pricing right now. I was also interested in the Rossi 92 but they are as scarce as everything else.

That's a nice rifle, and you did really well for $800. Yeah, it's too much, but it's probably $200-$400 less than the going rate these days. I was just looking at one of those in .44 on GunBroker the other day in far worse shape than yours and it went for $905 (plus tax, fees, shipping, transfer, etc). The .357s also tend to demand a bit of a premium over the .44s. You did good.

Nice Winchester. I have it's 44 Mag big brother. Gave $325 for it new back in 1999.

This shortage of lever action guns makes no sense. Marlin, Winchester, Henry, Rossi and others have been making them for decades. The slim number available is obviously pushing the prices up. I guess thats good if you are a seller.

Anyways, it's a great little rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Bob C.:
Nice Winchester. I have it's 44 Mag big brother. Gave $325 for it new back in 1999.

I have a '94' in 44 mag as well. I paid $175 for it in 1980. It's a great brush gun for deer or Black Bear. Maybe now is the time to sell it since I no longer hunt. Something to think about.

Jim

If you want to keep using iron sights but have something far more useful for tired eyes, I recommend the Marbles rear bullseye peep style sights. They fit in the current dovetail and are much easier and faster to see the front sight centered in the circle, then trying to find it in the right place with the buckhorn. Brownells sells them.
http://www.marblearms.com/rear-sights.html

I'd say $800 to $900 is the going rate for these. It may be more than we want to spend, but it is the market price. Marlin 1894s are the same or even $100 more, depending on the variant. The cowboy versions or any with an octagon barrel are more than plain carbines.

They are super-fun rifles.

Is it walnut? If I had to guess, I'd say that one isn't, but it is hard to be sure from a photo.

quote:

Originally posted by inspcalahan:
If you want to keep using iron sights but have something far more useful for tired eyes, I recommend the Marbles rear bullseye peep style sights. They fit in the current dovetail and are much easier and faster to see the front sight centered in the circle, then trying to find it in the right place with the buckhorn. Brownells sells them.
http://www.marblearms.com/rear-sights.html

Thanks for the link. I did a little digging and found that Marbles in fact makes the standard front sight and the rear buckhorn sight for Winchester. Go figure. I looked at that rear peep sight and it is something I am considering.

jHE888: Well, the Winchester description for this rifle says that it is black walnut. But, I agree that it sure doesn't look right. It may be the light stain and varnish. In any case I will most likely refinish what is there later on.