Model 1894 Winchester question

[David LaPell]

A friend of mine called me with a question about his Model 1894 Winchester rifle. The serial number puts it at 1926 and it is the full length version with an all round barrel. It has a trapdoor in the crescent buttplate, but he is not sure about it being factory. The hole for the cleaning rod measures slightly over 6 inches. I had read that the rifle only had 4 sections of rod but how can 4 sections equaling 24 inches in length work on a 26 inch rifle? Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

 

[s&wchad]

Trapdoor buttplates are extremely rare on a Model 1894 or 94 rifle. I've only seen a couple that lettered and neither had the rod. 1926 is twenty years to late to letter.

FWIW, I do have a Model 1876 rifle with a 28" barrel (standard) that has a factory rod in the butt and the five segments are just shy of 7" each.

I'd pull the buttstock and buttplate and look for assembly numbers.