Author Topic: Winchester Model 94 HELP! (Read 1337 times)

carp · « **on:** October 31, 2005, 12:08:36 PM »

Within the last few weeks I've heard of two separate incidents where people had their Win. model 94s shoot as they were chambering a round. I think they were older models. Has anyone ever had this happen or know what could cause it?

D Garfield · « **Reply #1 on:** October 31, 2005, 12:38:51 PM »

I have handled Mod.94 for years and have never had one go off closing the action unless you hit the trigger. This can happen realquick when you are shooting from the shoulder. If anyone else has had this happen, speak up.

Tycer · « **Reply #2 on:** October 31, 2005, 01:31:00 PM »

Nope, never had a problem. If you do not trust your gun carp, I'll be happy to dispose of it for you :grin:

carp · « **Reply #3 on:** October 31, 2005, 01:54:25 PM »

It wasn't mine but a friend and the other one was someone I don't know but was hunting with a friend of mine. As far as I know it happened as they were bringing the lever back up. Finger was not on the trigger.

Leverdude · « **Reply #4 on:** October 31, 2005, 02:38:16 PM »

Kinda sounds like someone musta been tinkering with the sear or something.
Lotsa guys think they can work on a trigger mechanism but its real easy to make it unsafe. Theres no way I can think of that the hammer should fall upon closing the action other than someone changed the angles on the mating surfaces.

carp · « **Reply #5 on:** October 31, 2005, 03:28:22 PM »

I told him to get it to a gunsmith. I don't want to be around something like that.

Castaway · « **Reply #6 on:** November 01, 2005, 01:01:33 AM »

Could also be smudge in the bolt binding the firing pin or even a broken firing pin that is wedged in the forward position

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 01, 2005, 04:47:09 AM »

Speaking of M94 fun, about two years ago I saw this at the range

An older man who was in the national guard and worked as a security guard had taken his 14 year old son to the range with a used top-ejecting M94. This rifle had the side mounted scope. This gentelman had bought the rifle for his son as a first deer rifle.

Unfortunately, his son didn't really grasp the concept of the whole lever mechanism. After every shot he would short-rack the lever. Sometimes just enough to eject the shell but not pop a new shell up. Other times he wouldn't even eject the old shell. Well, eventually the son like short racked the lever three quick times in a row. Somehow a live shell from the magazine was forced back behind the lifting mechanism and into the lever mechanism! So here the father and son are, poking at the back of this live shell with a screwdriver and jiggling the lever trying to get it to drop out or slip past the lifter and back into the magazine. At that point I headed out. I hope this national guardsman was wise enough to keep that screwdriver away from the primer. I saw him a few days later. He told me that they did eventually get the shell to pop back over the lifter and into the magazine. I wonder though, how many of those small parts in the rifle were all bent from having a shell shoved around them in the mechanism. It had to be the most unlikely jam up I've ever seen!

Winter Hawk · « **Reply #8 on:** November 01, 2005, 07:57:42 AM »

Willysjeep134, When I got married in 1970 I bought my wife a Winchester 94 in .30-30. I didn't realize it then, but those were redesigned and made in Japan. If you short-racked it the slightest bit, the cartridge on the carrier would get crosswise and jam the action big time. I don't remember the particulars. I do know that the older 94s at the time would just shove the cartridge back up the magazine tube. In fact, you could just pull the lever down enough to eject the round in the chamber, then close the action again so you didn't have to run all the cartridges through the chamber to make the rifle safe. But not on that piece of junk we had! The finish just kind of peeled off the receiver also, like it was poorly chrome plated and then painted blue. That soured me on buying anything new from Winchester!

-WH-

Leverdude · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2005, 11:49:16 AM »

Winterhawk,

I think you might be mistaken. The Win 94 was never made in Japan. I forget the years involved but they were made of "sintered" metal for awhile. Thats some kinda powdered metal they put in a mold & heat t or some such, I'm not real sure. But these guns wouldn't take a blue & were plated with steel & then blued. I think there were other metal finshing methods tried & they were all less than satisfactory. At the same time they changed alot of machined or forged parts to stampings & these had adverse effects as well.
There are Japanese Winchesters but the fact is these are head & shoulders above the American made Win 94's. The newer Win 92's & 86's as well as the Brownings are made in Japan to Browning specs by Miroku. They are beautful guns & dont even fall in the same class with domestic Winchesters.
Browning & Winchester are now really one company now, or maybe 2 companies held by one corperation.
Anyway your right that the post 64 Winchesters werent up to par for many years. I thnk they fixed it in the late 80's but I like Marlins better anyhow. :grin:

J.Solo · « **Reply #10 on:** November 24, 2005, 07:18:51 PM »

Would a 30-30 Winchester Model 94 made in 1972 be a year "made in" to stay away from?

Thanks - J.Solo

John Traveler1 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 24, 2005, 08:21:02 PM »

Not necesssarily.

Leverdude is correct.

The first several years of Winchester 94 post-1964 production used the sintered steel receiver construction, with black chrome plating over it. The reason was that the sintered receivers would not take hot tank bluing well and would turn out in shades of purple and plum. Then they went to iron plated and conventionally blued receivers. Several commemorative issues also used the black chrome finishes.

As far as I know, the black chrome finishes were stopped by the late 60's, although the use of pressed ("stamped") steel and investment cast internal parts continues today.

sundogg1911 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2005, 02:04:47 AM »

I have a '72 model 94. have had zero problems with it. I'm hoping to take another white tail with it using my own gas checked cast bullets again this year. :grin: