Very low serial number, first full year of manufacture, antique Winchester Model 1894 octagon barrel rifle in rare and desirable .32-40 caliber with the extremely early serial number 3861. According to the Winchester records housed at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, this low number indicates a manufacture date of 1895. When the Model 1894 rifle was introduced in late1894 it was chambered only in the black powder loaded calibers of .32-40 (.32 caliber bullet with 40 grains of black powder) or .38-55. Once Winchester perfected barrel steel that would withstand the new smokeless powder pressures along with copper jacketed bullets instead of lead slugs, the revolutionary, and still popular, .30 WCF (also known as the .30-30 Winchester cartridge) was introduced. This occurred sometime in 1895-1896. This fine rifle comes with a Winchester factory letter from the Cody Museum which verifies all aspects of the rifle plus indicates the serial number was applied March 20, 1895. Additionally the letter states that this rifle was received in the warehouse April 5, 1895 and shipped august 23, 1895 to order number 18697. Only the first 1,674 rifles were produced in late 1894. Within a few years Winchester was still producing some .32-40 rifles, as this was still an accepted black powder round of the day, but the trend was to the new smokeless powder cartridges and the .32-40 began to see limited production numbers. To find one of the very earliest production octagonrifles in .32-40 caliber is very difficult. This rifle shows thinning aged blue on the standard 26” length octagon barrel and lovely aged soft blue on the full magazine. The barrel retains all the clear and sharp early Winchester address stampings. The upper tang behind the hammer also retains the correct very early markings “MODEL 1894” over “WINCHESTER” over “PAT. AUG. 21, 1894.” The receiver reveals a lovely dark aged plum/blue appearance and fine blue on the loading gate. The bolt on top of the receiver shows a nice aged blue also. Sights consist of the original standard buckhorn rear sight complete with intact elevation bar and a bead front sight. All screw heads are excellent which is a good indication that this rifle has not been taken apart or worked on. The walnut stock and forend is nicely reddish-brown hallmark Winchester color. The stock and forend show good wood to metal fit, indicating that the stock has not been sanded or refinished. The action is tight and the bore is a bit darkwith good rifling all the way through. The Model 1894 was a popular rifle with lawmen, sportsmen andespecially with the Klondike Gold Seekers in Alaska beginning in 1898. Many consider this Jonathan Browning designed rifle to be the finest and most modern tubular magazine lever action rifle Winchester ever produced. A rare opportunity to acquire a classic, very early production and historically significant Winchester with very fine appearance. It would be difficult to find a Model 1894octagon rifle with a lower serial number. Additionally, the .32-40 caliber was the least produced of all the 1894 calibers that were offered. This rifle recently came out of Arizona. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.