Many early product boxes were art. Some remain so as others have moved away to less expensive packaging. Too bad.....most everything I grew up enjoying are no longer worthy of concern.

Early comic books, gold and silver age, are an examples of art. Not anymore.

I'll not get into my reasons as the subject is too subjective.

Question to veterans like Red Ryder and Shooter 13......Any experience with Skinner Peep Sights? I sure INTEND to use the stock sights for my new Winchester 94 Sporter. I will stick with them if possible. I also will make darn sure they can be put back on if the rifle is sold later by one of my family. They sure will have some rifles to choose from and I would think they will sell the surplus. Since my current fleet mostly scoped bolt actions which can hold MOA and they are sighted in based on what the specific rifle was intended for. This Model '94 in contrast was bought almost exclusively due to my passion for western movies and I want it to be as 1894 to 1930s as possible. I am a pretty good shot with iron sights and have done very well just recently with offhand unsupported shooting....but mostly this rifle I admit is pretty much like a walking stick.....portable nostalgia.

Again it is the very first 30-30 I have ever owned. All the Native American rifles I held (four) from Battle of White Bird Plains and Little Big Horn were 1866 Winchesters in my memory, or one was a Henry??? That was in 1970 when I was in the west working with Native Americans every day.

I work in a farming operation that is very diverse and we are building some stuff that is very well done.
I do think American industry is slipping and have seen this sine I was in my 20s have studied our balance of trade and many other details that many could not be bothered with. I did not get to be an Army Colonel without applying myself but it does make you very aware where the USA is heading and our relative productivity.

We have been very concerned with packaging, imagery, and promotion of our work in our business (and have a reputation of helping others whose work we admire) and do think that Your collective comments are both astute and certainly make me think Winchester Owners Forum is on a good track. I have also learned more than a little here and a couple of other similar sites.

Lastly I do admit that the current 1894's are NOT easy to get, quite expensive, and in contrast I have seen a Crazy Horse Winchester 1894 (although he and Sitting Bull had 1866s!) that was beautifully done
and came in a box that was adorned with art work that made me think I needed one of those. Of course I don't need one of those......even the brass upholstery tacks were positioned to hold meaning according to the Lakota Tribesmen. That is a tradition that too seems lost today. I for one think their spirits still linger and enrich our lives.

Well Davey, I can't partner with you on scopes and peeps as I have never scoped or peeped a lever. I could probably get to like a tang peep. Some firearms are meant to be enjoyed via iron sights. Levers are the some.

Colonel, 06, I presume, is a kick-ass rank. In the Coast Guard as your know, an 06 is a Captain. Very powerful rank with due respect up and down the chain.

Thank you for your service to what is now an America in trouble.

My brother Kermit (named for Teddy Roosevelt's son) was a Coast Guard Captain. Half of his rifles are from Japan like a .257 Weatherby Magnum built by Hoya. He and I own a farm in the Southern Tier of NY.
His homes are Washington and Hawaii. I was only a 06 Colonel for a very short time. Unless one has a rank for three years it reverts to the next lower rank upon retirement. So it really is LT. Colonel in my case. The BEST WORK I ever did was as a Captain. Come to think of it....the awards I won were mostly when I was a SP4!

I have EVERY intention of using iron sights on this 94 Winchester. The tang peep sight is out as the rifle has a nice tang safety which is not very highly rated by many, but I think it is OK. Looks nice.....Still have yet to get the rifle in my possession. I am supposed to pick it up today now.....that keeps getting delayed by my local store. Until I shoot it on our rifle range here at this farm I don't know how it will work for me. I do know my Winchester 9422 was such a problem I finally put a red dot sight on it and then it was a cinch to hit anything out to 50 yards and fast to use. Since my concept with this new rifle is that 1894 to 1930 time frame I need to stay with iron sights. Skinner peep sights for the 94AE are supposed to require not drilling or tapping. If I can get by with the buckhorn I will.

No experience with peep sights Davey...sorry I can't help.

Here are some photos of my new '94 Winchester Sporter 30-30. Also shown in two of the photos is a 1894 1923 built 25-35 with a asking price of $2,400 which comes in about a pound heavier with almost everything else being the same. Shows the Winchester 1894s have shed a little weight over the years. One of the photos shows the cartridges I am using at present. I already know this rifle is accurate! One of the photos shows my local gun dealer in his store holding both 1923 Winchester 94 and this one built in April 2015 in Miroku. Another photo shows the curved rifle style buttplate on the new rifle. Note the straight American Walnut with a oil finish. Every customer there at the store said they would take that stock over a new Browning '81 .308 Lever Action despite the fact that the Browning was less money and a more modern effective caliber.

As much as anything the Browning design looked odd to them and the high gloss varnish stock looked "wrong". Personally I was very impressed with the Browning '81 Lever Action but the very nicely figured stock was not very attractive with the high gloss varnish. Last photo I have posted is detail of the laser checkering 18 lines per inch of the forend. Doing some pretty fancy checkering myself the W on the Miroku '94 Winchester would be by hand pretty close to extremely difficult. Overall I was extremely impressed with my new rifle! I admit I looked at at least 250 Winchesters before I bought this and about 100 Henrys, 30 Ubertis and ten Marlins. I also would like to see the current Winchester "Short Rifle" available in checkered style as well as no checkering like it is now.

The other photos mentioned in my last post. My 1973 Winchester 9422 with a laser red dot sight. And the new '94 Sporter in 30-30, The close up of the curved butt plate and buttstock showing the straight grain American Walnut with nice oil finish. Last photo is the 18 lpi fore-end with the Winchester W, very attractive!

Excellent narrative and pic share Davey. You did good with choosing those Winchesters.

Good post Davey...liked the pics too !!

One of my next steps with the new '94 Winchester 30-30 Sporter is to lighten the trigger pull. We will do that in house as we are pretty well set up to do most things mechanical, and we do some gunsmithing work already. It is 4.5 pounds approx. now (not measured, inferred from reviews of the rifle) and I will reduce it to 3.0 pounds or a tiny bit less. Once the adjustment is made though it is difficult to add to go back to stock (I Think?) if ever needed if the rifle was sold. Personally I think the rifle COULD have come to the customer that way but lawsuits have pushed it a little too stiff. Marlins I tried were heavier than that.