Antique Winchester Model 1894 octagon barrel rifle in rare and desirable .38-55 caliber with the early serial number 113587, which according to The Winchester Handbook by George Madis, indicates a manufacture date of 1898. 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 (.38 caliber bullet with 55 grains of black powder). 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. In 1898 Winchester was still producing some .32-40 and .38-55 rifles, as these were still the accepted rounds of the day, but the trend was to the new smokeless powder cartridges and the .32-40 and .38-55 began to see limited production numbers. To find one of the very early production octagon rifles in .38-55 caliber is very difficult. This rifle shows fine 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 and a Winchester blade front sight. The walnut stock and forend are the 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 forend shows minimal handling while the butt stock shows only slightly more wear probably from being carried in a saddle scabbard with the butt stock exposed more to the elements. The left side of the forend cap only lacks the retaining screw- easily replaced. The action is tight and the bore shows good rifling all the way through. The Model 1894 was a popular rifle with lawmen, sportsmen and especially 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. The rifle weighs 7lbs 4oz. Serial Number: 113587. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.