Got a 1966 M94 30-30 for B-Day!

[czvz]

My Lovely Wife got me a M94 30-30 for my B-Day today.  By running the serial #, seems to have been made in 1966.  It's in excellent condition... bluing near 100% on the wear areas on the lever action.
My question is should I keep it?  Is there any inherent problems with this vintage?  I don't know alot about these "New Fangled Repeaters" that use "Smokeless Powders" So give it to me straight and Simple.  I can return it if in the opinion of my esteemed colleagues this gun/vintage is a clunker.
Thanks
CZVZ

[Bigeasy]

Your rifle is an early "post 1964" model.  There was a noted drop in fit and finish, and to some extent, quality on post '64 rifles.  That said, your rifle's value is as a shooter.  Provided it works properly, and is reasonably accurate, you have a fine shooting and hunting weapon that sounds to be in very good condition, and should work fine for its intended purpose.  Sure beats a shirt and a pair of socks for your Birthday...

Larry

[hillbill]

heck yea id keep it! those are fun guns to shoot and hunt with!

[jlchucker]

We often hear negatives about those post-64 Winchesters.  As Hillbill just said though, they are "fun guns to shoot and hunt with".  There are positives as well as negatives.  First, while the fit may not be perfect, Winchester continued to use walnut for stocks and forearms in most of their 94's.  Many have decent grain, too The checkered steel buttplates are the same as they'd furnished for a couple of decades at least .The barrels were made back then by Winchester, in-house, by people they'd employed for years and on machinery they'd been using for years--these guns are good shooters.  While lots of the squawking about this particular vintage takes place (and with that tin lifter it's justified), these guns can be good, utilitarian keepers made in the USA. 

[spruce]

I've got a very early post 64 (made in 1964 as a matter of fact) that I bought new when I was young and didn't know anything about "pre" and "post" Winchesters.

It's killed quite a few deer over the years and I still regularly shoot it and I'm sure after I'm gone somebody else will be shooting it some more.  Of course the finish on the receiver is mostly gone, but that was a common problem on the early post models, but like was said above they are good shooters.

[Mikey]

czvz:  Your wife must be a wonderful, loving lady to have gifted you that M94 for your birthday and she definately deserves a top of the line payback.

As Spruce said - I didn't know there was anything wrong with the post 64 Winchester rifles until some of the older guys (older'n me) complained about what they considered to be a drop in quality that I have honestly never seen.  I have 5 M94s, two of which are 30WCF/30-30, one a 1927 made and one a 1975 made and I consider both to be quality rifles.  My other 3 are 94AE models and I wouldn't give any of them  or the older ones up for anything else. 

There is nothing at all wrong with that vintage M94 and I would keep it, enjoy the hay out of it and hunt with it.  I would learn to reload for it and have a ball.  A Winchester M94 is far too good a rifle to toss away, so to speak.  jmtcw.  And my old cat helped me type this response....... 

[wreckhog]

I believe that year has the black stamped steel lifter. The most fragile of them, which still means that you should get thousands of shots out of it. If you open the action, look down from the top, and see this, you are good. If you see a stamped part painted black, not so good.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=220167251

[jlchucker]

Wreckhog, you're right about the stamped lifter in early post-64's.  They used that version right up until 1971 or thereabouts, when they went to the cast-steel version.  Some of those black stamped ones have been known to fail right after only a few boxes of ammo have been fired through the rifle.  Others have lasted for years.  The replacement was an investment cast steel item, polished up at time of assembly.  I looked at the photos of that gunbroker ad in your post--that's an investment casting.  I don't know if it will interchange with a PRE 64 without fitting or not, but it should work fine as a replacement for one of those stamped steel ones.  Six bucks isn't a bad price--use it when you need it.  You'd need it the first time that a cartridge slips down under the lifter when you try to jack a round into the barrel.

[czvz]

Thanks for all the replys!  I might get to shoot it this weekend... one last question what year did they start with the "angle eject"?