Okay, must be because this is a long range forum but the advice you are getting is a little short on detail. You have a Winchester 1894 chambered in 30 WCF (precursor name to 30-30) that was made in 1895. The 30-30 was always designed to be a smokeless powder cartridge. The only reason they went from 30 WCF to 30-30 was to fit the common naming conventions of the day for Black powder. That and there were still lots of old timers that loaded the 30-30 with black powder, which produces lower pressure but needs a lot more cleaning, becasue that was the only powder they could buy.
1895 was the first year of production for the model 1894 in 30 WCF thus your rifle should have a fair amount of collector value if it is in good, untouched condition. Whatever you do, do not refinish the wood or metal. When the model 1894 was first released the gun was chambered in 32-40 and 38-55, both old black powder rounds, despite the fact the model 94 action was specifcally designed for smokeless cartridges at much higher pressures than the Winchester 1992 action.. None of these had Nickel Steel barrels in 1894 and few in 1895 unless special ordered, and were not marked with the Nickel Steel, NS or NS proof marks. In the 38-55 and 32-40 even some of the barrels made into the 1900s were not Nickle Steel. From the first release of the 30 WCF, all of their barrels were made in Nickle Steel, as were all 32 Specials, the smokelss version of the 32-40, when they came out about 6 years later. If you don't see that on the barrel, it is probably under the forearm where it should be marked NS right near the receiver, as will the proof mark. The reason the 30 WCF was delayed was due to issues machining the much tougher Nickle Steel barrels, which was also why Winchester kept issuing 32-40 and 38-55 for so long without the NS barrels.
Since you have had the gun checked out by a good gunsmith it should be safe to shoot. That said, unless you really want to use it, there really is not much upside to shooting it, especially if it is in highly collectable condition. That issue aside, if you do want to shoot it, do NOT use Trailboss, it does not make low pressure loads in the 30-30; even at only 1100 fps they make almost 29,000 CUP of pressure . Trail Boss behaves very differently in straight wall or nearly straight wall cartridges. Have a look at the high pressures it produces in the 45-70, whereas in a bottle neck cartridge it produces far lower pressure.You are far better off with 4198, 15 grain starting load with a 170 grain bullet will give you about 1400 fps or 17 grains of H4895 for about 1350 fps. Both of these produce very mild pressures of about 15,000 CUP, well within the pressure limits of even the Black powder 1894s.. A 170 grain bullet at 1400 fps means you can use cast or jacketed bullets, they will kill fine and both are very easy on the gun.
I have a couple of 1894s made in 1895 and 1896 and despite them being highly collectable I still shoot and hunt with them so I don't actually take my own advice because I am a firm believer that guns are made to be shot, not just stuck in a display case. Let us know how you make out.
1895 was the first year of production for the model 1894 in 30 WCF thus your rifle should have a fair amount of collector value if it is in good, untouched condition. Whatever you do, do not refinish the wood or metal. When the model 1894 was first released the gun was chambered in 32-40 and 38-55, both old black powder rounds, despite the fact the model 94 action was specifcally designed for smokeless cartridges at much higher pressures than the Winchester 1992 action.. None of these had Nickel Steel barrels in 1894 and few in 1895 unless special ordered, and were not marked with the Nickel Steel, NS or NS proof marks. In the 38-55 and 32-40 even some of the barrels made into the 1900s were not Nickle Steel. From the first release of the 30 WCF, all of their barrels were made in Nickle Steel, as were all 32 Specials, the smokelss version of the 32-40, when they came out about 6 years later. If you don't see that on the barrel, it is probably under the forearm where it should be marked NS right near the receiver, as will the proof mark. The reason the 30 WCF was delayed was due to issues machining the much tougher Nickle Steel barrels, which was also why Winchester kept issuing 32-40 and 38-55 for so long without the NS barrels.
Since you have had the gun checked out by a good gunsmith it should be safe to shoot. That said, unless you really want to use it, there really is not much upside to shooting it, especially if it is in highly collectable condition. That issue aside, if you do want to shoot it, do NOT use Trailboss, it does not make low pressure loads in the 30-30; even at only 1100 fps they make almost 29,000 CUP of pressure . Trail Boss behaves very differently in straight wall or nearly straight wall cartridges. Have a look at the high pressures it produces in the 45-70, whereas in a bottle neck cartridge it produces far lower pressure.You are far better off with 4198, 15 grain starting load with a 170 grain bullet will give you about 1400 fps or 17 grains of H4895 for about 1350 fps. Both of these produce very mild pressures of about 15,000 CUP, well within the pressure limits of even the Black powder 1894s.. A 170 grain bullet at 1400 fps means you can use cast or jacketed bullets, they will kill fine and both are very easy on the gun.
I have a couple of 1894s made in 1895 and 1896 and despite them being highly collectable I still shoot and hunt with them so I don't actually take my own advice because I am a firm believer that guns are made to be shot, not just stuck in a display case. Let us know how you make out.
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