The flat sided Winchester Model 1895 was John M. Browning’s final lever action design for Winchester. This model did away with the tube magazine in favor of a box magazine suitable for the use of modern ammunition with pointed “Spitzer” bullets.
Exhibition grade examples of this model are quite rare.
Fast Facts
- The Winchester Model 1895 was John Moses Browning’s last lever action design for Winchester.
- The Model 1895 featured a strong rear-locking action suitable for the then new smokeless powder cartridges, and the magazine was a box type fitted underneath the action. This enabled the safe use of pointed “spitzer” ammunition.
- The Model 1895 action was first made with flat action sides, but this was changed after about 5,000 had been made to a scalloped design.
- An engraved special production flat side Winchester Model 1895 is being offered at the Rock Island Auction’s Premier Auction in August 2026.
John M. Browning’s Winchester Model 1895 is most commonly associated with U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. The rifle was recommended to Roosevelt by a companion of famous professional hunter W.D.M. Bell named Garrit Forbes.
Roosevelt’s pair of Model 1895’s he took for his 1909 Africa safari were chambered for the 405 Winchester cartridge, and his son Kermit who accompanied him took another Model 1895 in that chambering and a second in 30-03.
It was Roosevelt’s extolling the praises of the Winchester Model 1895 in 405 Winchester that ensured the fame of both rifle and cartridge: Roosevelt having said of it “the Winchester .405 is, at least for me personally, the “medicine gun” for lions”.
This fame has lasted through to the present day and Winchester still offer the Model 1895 in 405 Winchester, 30-40 Krag, or for the popular 30-06: so we can assume that John M. Browning’s design has convincingly withstood the test of time.
The design of the Model 1895’s action began in a flat sided style for the first approximately 5,000 rifles, before Winchester decided to improve it by making the action sides scalloped. After that Winchester made around another 420,000 Model 1895’s both for military contracts and civilian sales. So the flat side Winchester Model 1895 examples are a rare breed.
Even more rare of course are the special order engraved examples among those around 5,000 flat side receiver Model 1895’s.
One example is this February 19, 1897 completed rifle chambered for the 38-72 cartridge. It was originally fitted with a 30 inch half octagon barrel, plain trigger, and Lyman hunting front sight.
The 38-72 was designed for the Winchester Model 1895 and was listed in early Winchester advertising as the 38-72-275 along with the 40-72-320, and the 30 Army (i.e. 30-40 Krag).
The 38-72 delivered a 275 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1,480 fps with energy of 1,337 ft/lb.
The 38-72 was destined for obsolescence and Winchester made few rifles in this chambering. Ammunition was manufactured up until 1936.
The special order rifle has a number of optional extra features, the pistol grip stock, rather attractive special wood stock, shotgun buttplate, fancy checkering, factory No.9 engraving, and scrolls with gold band on the barrel.
The rifle appears to have been prepared by Winchester for exhibition at trade fairs such as the Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles in Belgium, or the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition in Nashville, Tennessee, both in 1897.
The rifle is believed to have done a number of exhibitions before being returned to the Winchester factory in 1900 for a bit of a refreshing before it crossed the pond to Europe and was shown at the Exposition Universelle, in Paris, France.
The rifle returned to the factory once more in 1905 or later. It has been fitted with a Lyman beaded blade front sight, four-leaf “express” rear sight with three folding leaves, and a Lyman peep sight mounted on the left of the receiver.
This rifle is being offered for sale by Rock Island Auction at their Premier sale at time of publication.
The condition of this rifle is described by Rock Island Auction as follows:-
“Very fine as factory refurbished for exhibition display, retaining 90% plus of the blue finish, 95% plus of the vibrant case colors on the hammer, and all of the bright gold inlays with the balance a plum brown or smooth grey patina, a few patches of very light surface freckling, a patch of light surface spotting on the bottom from of the magazine, and crisp engraving. The wood is also fine with scattered minor dings and scratches, much of the factory varnish, and well-defined checkering. Mechanically excellent.”
You can find the sale page if you click here.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
