Thread: 30 30 Winchester

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Here is a web site that tells your gun's birthday:

http://www.cowichanbay.net/winchesterguns/serial94.html

My oldest Winchester 94 was made in 1971 and I paid $65 for it brand new....I have others that were made later. The 94 was changed at some time to allow an angle eject since the top eject interferred with scope mounting. Marlins are bottom eject (CORRECTION, they are side eject). I only have one Marlin right now, it has a completely different weight and feel than the Winchesters.

Model 94s were never made in Japan to my knowledge. The Nippon company that made shotguns for Winchester was Mikoru (sp?)

You should first inspect the gun very closely and clean it. If you have any doubts, take it to a gunsmith for a checkup. Then, go check out the sighting of the scope....if it's been stored for any time, the alignment needs to be checked. When Winchester finally quit, they had made over 7.5 million of these things...quite a record.

mike in tucson

Thanks Mike
When I pick it up I'll run the serial numbers. I think I might have confused the Japanese manufacture of the winchester .45-79 not a 30-30. But this rifle is mint, no marks or corrosion, wood stock perfect. Very nice lever action, I wish my truck was this clean!

I think you will find the 30:30 a good deer hunting rifle as long as you keep the range under 150 yds. I personally find the 150 grain cartridges much more accurate and flat shooting and, if you place your shots well they will kill just as efficiently as a a .308 out to that range.
I have both a Winchester 94 and a Marlin 336 in that caliber and actually prefer the Marlin (side ejecting, Mike) since the scope can be mounted much lower and I find the lever action much smoother. Then again, I have never tried the angle ejecting Winchester so perhaps it is different.
Incidental, Mike, I have never seen a bottom ejecting Marlin. Which model has that feature?

This model 94 must be pretty new. The scope looked to be mounted normal, and it had a top tang safety. The finish on the wood was darker walnut. I've always liked the history around the Winchester 30 30. I got a chance to tour the Buffalo Bill Cody Historic Museum several times in Cody Wyoming, including 2 years ago. They have a whole wing devoted to the Winchester rifle. Must have the largest collection of Winchester lever actions in the world! Worth the time to see if you are around Cody Wy. Also have 4 other museums celebrating western art and plains indian culture inside. Plus they raffle a car every year. I think it was a classic mustang or cobra when I was there two years ago. Great place.

Restorod - have you ever used the HORNADY® LEVEREVOLUTION® CARTRIDGES ? They claim good accuracy to 250 yards.

No, I haven't tried those. I might worry about killing power at those ranges since it does drop off with normal cartridges after 150 or so. Then again, in the terrain I hunt, a 150 yd. shot is a rarity.....most of my shooting is under 100 yds.
Still, they might be worth looking at if I decided to hunt in a different area...if they are even available in Canada.

Resto....my bad...I also have a Marlin 336....a 336RC to be exact, serial number K233xx. It is a side eject....it's oldtimer's I guess that makes me twist the truth; I am bottom eject, the Marlin is side eject.

It is listed as being made in 1953 per this Marlin lookup web page:

http://oldguns.net/sn_php/marlinlookup.php

mike in tucson