By Shane Jahn

This Model 94 was brought home shortly after WWII by my grandfather, who gifted it to his father. Chambered in .30 WCF, it was carried many miles horseback and used for hunting white-tailed deer by both men and my aunt, who passed it down to me.

Famed firearms designer John Browning’s gun design genius continued to shine with the advent of the Model 94 Winchester. History states the M94 was the first rifle to chamber the .30 WCF, more commonly known these days as the ever popular .30-30 Winchester. This .30 caliber round released in 1895 was the first to be propelled by smokeless powder along with the somewhat less popular .25-35 Win. The original chamberings of the M94 the previous year were both black powder cartridges in .32-40 Winchester and .38-55 Winchester. The old .32-40 isn’t seen much these days but the .38-55 still has a following and is currently cataloged in M94 lever guns from Winchester and Cimarron Firearms. Henry Repeating Arms offers one of their good lever action rifles in this cartridge as well. 

The M94 is timeless in its design with a sleek profile and thin receiver. Its origins and place in history directed the 94 Winchester to be used with iron sights. These rifles and carbines rise smoothly to the shoulder. Once there the sights naturally point to the target. I’ll submit the M94 is one of those guns that “fits” just about everyone. These guns handle well and are easily portable by hand. Their light weight and fit profile allow them to ride naturally in a saddle scabbard horseback, the same way so many were carried in the early days. A 20-inch carbine version will weigh just over 6 pounds while a 26-inch gun tips the scales at about 8.

Winchester’s M94 is still one of the most popular sporting rifles in our history, if not the number one. Over the past 131 years the M94 has been offered in multiple configurations. The most recognizable is probably the carbine version with the 20-inch barrel, full length magazine tube and shotgun-style buttplate. These guns have been made in numerous barrel lengths and contours of round, octagonal and in combinations of the two, and that’s just the beginning. Buttplates came in crescent, carbine, and shotgun styles with straight and pistol grips. Checkering, special wood, set triggers, special sights, takedown rifles, various magazine lengths, and the list goes on! Factory standard models alone provide the collector with enough options to keep one busy amassing specimens. 

Factor in special runs, custom options and commemoratives and the M94 will keep the most ardent gun collector busy searching for these fine rarities for a lifetime! The current numbers are a little unclear, but I’m told there have been upwards of 8 million Model 94’s produced since the beginning.

Besides those cartridges listed above, the M94 has been chambered in a few others like the .32 Winchester Special, 7-30 Waters, .444 Marlin and .450 Marlin. Pistol calibers in .357 and .44 Magnum have been offered, as well as the venerable .45 Colt. The M94 has even been made in a .410 bore shotgun configuration. The M94 Big Bore, with its beefed-up receiver, was once offered in the .307 Winchester, .356 Winchester and the .375 Winchester. 

The .30-30 is still popular and to tell you the truth, there isn’t much that can’t be done with that old cartridge by employing a good bullet at the appropriate range. It is a true hunter’s cartridge, and the Model 94 is a classic hunter’s rifle. For the devoted who enjoy getting as close as they can to wild game, then sneaking up just a little closer, the .30-30 in a M94 is all that’s really needed to collect a variety of game animals.  

While it is widely known for its sporting purposes, the M94 was once highly popular among lawmen. Old photos of Texas Rangers depict them with these Winchester lever guns. Joaquin Jackson carried a slicked-up M94 .30-30 through much of his career as a ranger and it’s the carbine he’s holding in the famous Texas Monthly cover photo of him. At one time Joaquin owned a large collection of fine Model 94’s. Up until just a few days ago our long-time Brewster County, Texas Sheriff Ronny Dodson carried a Model 94 in .30-30 in his patrol truck. When I asked if he was still carrying it, he informed me that he just swapped it out. What type of rifle took its place you might ask? Another new lever gun, of course! Colonel Jeff Cooper was also fond of the Model 94. All of this is to say that the M94 is not only a fine sporting rifle, but also a great candidate for a fighting rifle for personal defense as well.

Today shooters can still buy a brand new M94 from Winchester Repeating Arms. Quality imports of this model from Cimarron Firearms, Taylor’s & Company and Uberti are also available. With millions out there it takes little effort to find the Model 94 you are looking for on auction sites like GunBroker.com. A quick search just pulled up over 600 of the famed lever guns in various configurations and calibers. There’s a reason why it was, and still is, so popular. Those of us who are fortunate to already have them know why. For those of you who don’t, what are you waiting for? It’s time you experienced the well-designed features of the Model 94 lever action. These guns are wrought with history. They’ve seen battles, fought outlaws, and have been carried by cowboys and outdoorsmen for over 130 years. They’ve provided protection from man and beast and supplied countless families with nutritious wild venison. It’s flat, easy to carry and chambered in cartridges with plenty of power that will get the job done. The classic Model 94 is iconically American.   

A row of good Model 94’s. Top to bottom, the first three are in .30-30. First is Cimarron Firearms Trapper. Next, a Pre-64 followed by my grandad’s old M94. My great grandfather carved a void in the stock and had an arrowhead glued in there for years before it fell out. The Big Bore in .375 Winchester is at the bottom.