FALL 2019
cas. Close is not
good enough for
Cimarron, and the
company’s preside
Mike Harvey, insis
shapes, markings and
finishes on the guns
that he imports.
The Cimarron
1894 Carbine is as
produce.Yousee,in1964,Winchester
madeproductionchangestoitsModel
1894 toreducecosts.Manyconsiderthe
pre-1964modelssuperiortothosemade
af ter1964.WiththisCimarronversion,the
color-casehardenedfinishontheleverand
hammercontrastsnicelywiththebeautiful
high-polishbluingontherestofthemetal.
Thewood-to-metalfitisverygood,and
thewalnutforendandbuttstockhavethe
attractivehigh-gloss,reddishbrownfinish
thatWinchesterwasknownfor.Thestock
alsohasthecorrectblued-steelbuttplate.w
AsI mentionedbefore,thecarbinehas
a round,20-inchbarrel,whichispaired
witha full-lengthmagazinetubethat
holdsfive.30-30Winchestercartridges.
Thebladefrontsightismountedina
dovetailonthebarrel,andtherearsight
isa ladder-styleunitmarkedforshooting
outtoanoptimistic 900 yards.
Thetriggerpullonmytestriflewasnice
withnocreeporovertravel.My35-year-old
RCBStriggerpullgauge
goesto5 pounds,andthe
triggerbrokejustafterthe
needlepassedthe5-pound
mark.Finally,thecarbine
is extremelyeasytocarry
becauseitweighsjust
6.85poundsunloaded.
erformance
For the range evaluation,
I tested the Cimarron
1894 Carbine with three
different .30-30 loads:
Winchester’s150-grainSuper-X
ammo,Federal’s150-grain
Power-Shok soft points and
Hornady’s 160-grain LeveRevolution FTX
ammo. The latter uses a pointed bullet with
a special elastomer Flex Tip to provide
superior velocity and accuracy while still
being safe for use in tubular magazines.
To familiarize myself with the new
Cimarron carbine, I fired two shots with
the Winchester load off-hand at 15 yards,
which printed like snake eyes in a 0.5-
inch group approximately 1-inch high.
Backing up to 20 yards, my best twoshots
of three clustered into 1.13 inches. At 25
yards, still shooting off-hand, the best
three shots of five with the Federal load
went into 0.88 inches. Of course, my eyes,
now over 75 years old, don’t like iron
sights as much as they used to, so it was
time to go to the bench, where I used a
rifle rest to stabilize my shots. I quickly
depleted the rest of my ammo supply by
tackling targets at both 25 and 50 yards.
At 25 yards, three of the Federal rounds
went into 1.75 inches, with the best two just
0.5 inches apart. The Hornady LeveRevolution
load put three shots in a 1-inch group, with
the best two only 0.63 inches apart.
Moving back to 50 yards, I fired my
last four Federal rounds from the bench,
and the best three clustered into a group
measuring 1.25 inches in diameter. The best
group of the day at 50 yards came with the
Hornady LeveRevolution load, with three
shots producing a 1.25-inch cluster and the
best two shots only being 0.75 inches apart.
At 50 yards, all of my shots were
dead-on for windage but approximately 6
inches high. This was most likely due to
my problem seeing the front sight clearly.
But in the end, the
Cimarron 1894 Carbine
did its part. It ran reli-
ably, digesting every-
thing I fed it, and pro-
duced reasonable groups
downrange. All while
looking like an authentic
Winchester from the
days of yore. What more
could you want? For
more information, visit
cimarron-firearms.com
or call 877-749-4861. ✪
Cimarron 1894 Carbine
OA Length: 38 inches • Weight: 6.85 pounds (empty)
Stock: Walnut • Sights: Blade front, adjustable rear
Action: Lever • Finish: Blued • Capacity: 5+1 • MSRP: $1,247
SPECIFICATIONS
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 53
The walnut stock and
forend have a high-gloss finish,
and all of the wood-to-metal
junctions are well executed.
