Remington 700 vs. Winchester 94

History

Ask any hunter to name the most famous bolt-action rifle of all time, and chances are they’ll say the Remington 700. The company claims that more 700s have been produced than any other bolt gun since the rifle’s introduction in 1962, and I don’t know anyone who would disagree.

The Remington 700 traces its roots all the way back to the M1917 Springfield, which was used extensively in World War I. The Remington Model 30 took its cues from this military rifle, and the Remington Model 721 was an updated version of the Model 30. But neither rifle did well commercially against Winchester’s Model 70, so Big Green went back to the drawing board. They came up with the Model 700, which was cheaper to make but still maintained tight tolerances and high quality.

The 700 was an immediate success, and its various configurations have been widely adopted by hunters as well as American military snipers, whose M24 and M40 rifles are based on the Model 700 design.

Features

The Model 700 has been offered in so many barrel, stock, and trigger configurations that it’s tough to summarize the rifle’s many potential features. Rifles boast capacities of three, four, and five rounds in blind internal box and hinged floorplate magazines, and many companies produce stocks that can accept detachable magazines.

The heart of the 700 is the action, which Remington has claimed is the strongest on the market thanks to its “three rings of steel” (bolt head, receiver, and barrel) that enclose the cartridge prior to firing. Other features of the action include dual opposing lugs, a c-clip extractor, and a plunger ejector. While various companies offer aftermarket triggers for the 700, Remington has partnered with Timney Triggers to provide upgraded versions of their factory triggers.

Availability

You can still purchase a factory-new Model 700 from Remington (now operated by the holding company RemArms). These are available in 14 variants featuring different barrel and stock options, and can be found in the $600 to $1200 range. Used Remington 700’s are ubiquitous–meaning, you could throw a dart blindfolded in a gun store and probably hit one. Many gun makers have also used the Remington 700 action footprint to produce stocks, triggers, receivers, and barrels, so finding aftermarket accessories for a 700 is a piece of cake.

History

The Winchester Model 94 was another John Browning brainchild, and it has since become one of the most famous lever-action hunting rifles in American history. Its success was due partly to its excellent design, and partly due to its ability to fire the then brand-new smokeless powder cartridges. Smokeless powder could propel a bullet faster than black powder, and the 94 was the first rifle that could handle these higher-pressure cartridges, including the .38/55, the .32/40, and the .30/30.

Incredibly, the Model 94 has been in continuous production since its introduction. Winchester presented the 1,000,000th model to President Calvin Coolidge in 1927, and today the company has sold more than 7.5 million rifles.

As with several of the classic deer rifles in this competition, manufacturing changes make some 94’s more valuable than others. In this case, Winchester’s decision in 1964 to replace billet forged receivers with sintered ones and cut corners on smaller parts make pre-’64 rifles more desirable.

Features

The Model 94 has been offered in a variety of iterations, but original models featured a 26-inch round, octagon, or half-octagon barrel and could hold eight cartridges with one in the chamber. It weighed about 7.75 pounds, making it much lighter than the muzzleloading rifles of the time.

Firearms have come a long way in the last 130 years, but the 94’s classic lines have remained the same. Current production models are fitted with 20- or 24-inch round barrels with seven or eight-round tubular magazines, and weigh between 6.5 and 7.5 pounds. While some models incorporate modern advancements like recoil pads and are drilled and tapped for scope rails, Winchester still offers the classic carbine and rifle models. These also benefit from metallurgical advancements and adjustable rear buckhorn sights, but they retain the straight-gripped stock of the original.

Availability

As of this writing, Winchester lists five 94 models on its website, including the famous Carbine saddle gun along with the rifle-length Sporter. MSRP’s on these rifles range from about $1,200 to about $2,200.

Venturing onto the used market opens up an entirely different can of worms. Some of the most expensive guns ever sold have been highly collectible Model 94s, so if you’re interested in investing in firearms, that’s a potentially lucrative place to start. If you just want to own a 94 for the sake of owning it, and you don’t care too much about investment value, you can pick one up for as little as $900 (with some shopping around). But you’re more likely to pay at least $1,200–if not more.