My daughter’s fiance inherited a 1894 serial #137xxx it has a full octogon 24 inch barrel. The serial number indicates a 1897 manufacture date. The barrel is marked 32 WS (Winchester Special). Searches on the interwebs state that 32 WS was not avaiable until 1899. So is this a super-rare gun or could this be a barrel swap or something else??? Not selling the rifle just trying to get it properly identified.

Thank you
Jim L

Pictures are always helpful
The receiver was made late in 1898
I thought the 32 ws was introduced in 1902 in the 1894 model

Without seeing it I'll say rebarreled

But you can always get a letter from the Cody museum to verify