Winchester's 1894(94's) vs 1895

[Newly O'Brien]

Why did Winchester's 1894/94 rifles suceed in popularity far beyond Winchester's 1895?

Thanks,
Newly O'Brien

[dave hall]

Have you ever pick a 95' up there heavy .If I had to hunt in the old days for food I would want the 94' great cals and light.I love the 405,but I would never buy one in a 95' Winny.I'm sure theres a company reason for it.This is my reason. Dave

[35Rem]

One thing, the 1895 isn't too easily scoped, which became popular in the 1900's.

The 1894 definately has a more traditional lever action look to it than the 1895.

Probably more than anything, WWI introduced a lot of folks to the bolt action rifle in the same cartridges.  Hard to say that an 1895 is better than the 1903 springfield.

I like my 1895.  It's a repro made in 1995.  Not too heavy, balances quite well actually.  Don't forget it's a John Browning design.

[insanelupus]

I've hunted with both a '94 and an 1895.  More so with the '94 and hope to take a black bear with my 1895 this spring.

The 1894 is lighter weight, better balanced and smooter to operate.  In comparison the 1895 is heavier, the balance is farther back (in the action rather than at the joining of the action and barrel) and the 1895 I've hunted with (second model) has a much stiffer action. 

That being said, I prefer the .30-40 to the .30-30 for bigger game.  I think that in the west, the 1895 just wasn't around long enough to become as popular as it could have before bolt guns started to become the rage.  It certainly saw more use in the Western half of the U.S. than the eastern half.  Back east, the preference was for the 1894, namely because the caliber easily could be matched to the game (.30-30 WCF, .32 Winchester Special, .38-55 WCF) and the handling characteristics, as well as the longevity of it's use leant itself well to the region.  Just my opinion though.

[SHOOTER 72]

the model 95 was produced by winchester to handle higher pressure cartridges then the 94 or 92 could handle . it also has a internal box magazine that allows for pointed bullets unlike the 94 or any other lever action that had been made up till that period in time which was better ballistically than flat or round bullets . i think by the time winchester discontinued the model 95 in the late 1930's  people were no longer looking for big bore lever actions . winchester brought out the model 71 around this time and that only went into the mid 50's . that is when the bolt action was gaining popularity and scopes were starting to be used . the model 94 was cheaper to produce and winchester sold them cheaper than the 95 so that could be a good reason also .

[S.S.]

I read somewhere a long time ago that the 1895 was an attempt at a military
contract, thus the non-tubular mag design. I have seen a version with a bayonet
that looked like a British 1888 Lee-Medford blade. I have also seen a Full Stocked
Version. I think the Russians even bought up some in 7.62x54.  www.rarewinchesters.com/gunroom/1895/model_95.shtml

[Blackhawk44]

The military came later.  Browning designed the '95 to handle the higher pressure rounds that were coming into common use, even though it was introduced with blackpowder rounds.  The first attempt at miltary sales (10,000 to US Army) came in the 1898-1900 period, but was slower to reload than the Krag.  By the time of the other major military sale (293,00 to Russia) stripper clips had come into common use and the '95 was updated with a clip adapter screwed across the receiver.  This worked well, but by this time, bolt actions were cheaper to produce and simpler to maintain in the field.   

[SHOOTER 72]

and the 1895 was history !

[S.S.]

I would love to have one though !
Especially in 7.62x54 Russian.