Winchester Mod. 94

pbearperry

Has anyone had any luck smoothing out a Mod. 94 action.I have one in 44mag that cycles really stiff. Thanx

snake284

I agree with wambli on this. I have a 94 Angle Eject in 30-30 made in the early 80s that is just starting to get smoothed out. I think the Marlins are naturally smoother, but I like 94s because of their sleek lines and easy handling. It's a draw with me. I have a 94 but some day I'll have a Marlin as well. They are both a legend and great rifles and every serious shooter-collector should have at least one of each.

calebib

Just pack the action with lapping compound and work the action a couple hundred times.















Just kidding, don't do that. :yesno:

Fisheadgib

I own a few 94's and my wrangler big ring in .44mag has had thousands of rounds run through it in the twenty or so years that I've owned it and is butter smooth. I just knocked the dust off of my 94 in .375win as I'd been wanting to roll a few deer with it and I noticed the action is stiff as heck considering that it probably doesn't have 50 rounds run through it. Aside from oiling the heck out of the action and working it for a while as I watch something on TV, I'll be running a few rounds through it this Friday and I'll be carrying it this weekend. By the end of the deer season I expect the action to be much smoother.

pbearperry

OK thanks for the responses.Looks like I am going to have to Lucas McCain the rifle a few hundred times.

Antonio

Can't recall hearing about a stiff action in a 94; the only .44 Magnum I've fired was as smooth as my dad's 30-30 (Early '60s) and an old (Probably made in the '40s) 94 I bought for a friend. Calebib's suggestion seems like a good one, but I'd first check if there's some other reason, like lack of grease in the spots that need it, or some part assembled wrong.
If my memory doesn't fail me, there might be a screw somewhere that if overtightened just a little, it can make the action to cycle pretty rough (Or was this in the '92?).

Teach

If you're comfortable doing a pretty detailed teardown, try the fit of each moving part and hone any tight spots with a very fine-grit slipstone and plenty of oil. Any mass-produced product has manufacturing tolerances, and sometimes mating parts can be on opposite ends of the tolerance scale, resulting in a tight fit. Just be careful not to overdo any polishing work. DO NOT USE A DREMEL TOOL! Unless you're very skilled at power-polishing gun parts, you can turn a nice gun into a piece of junk in just a few minutes!
Jerry

bullsi1911

Go buu a pile of ammo, and shoot it. Best way in the world to make it run slicker, and also get you familiar with the gun so it works as second nature.

Jeeper

Here's a great article about smoothing out a Marlin. I'm sure the Winchester is different, but many of the same principles apply I'm sure.

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/tuning_m_1894.htm

Luis

30-30shooter

it usually smooths out over time and use.

shooter

30-30shooter wrote: »

it usually smooths out over time and use.

This one is extremely smooth. It was made in 1919 and has been cycled a lot! Ya gotta love that walnut.

gunrunner428

shooter,

If that ol' Winchester is yours, you suck worse than Hoover, Dyson, and Bissell combined. That thing is gorgeous.

DoctorWho

shooter wrote: »

This one is extremely smooth. It was made in 1919 and has been cycled a lot! Ya gotta love that walnut.




A true work of art, it should be married to a brace of SA revolvers !!!!

Six-Gun

shooter...that ain't even right, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Beautiful piece.

shooter

Thanks for all the kind words regarding my model 94. I've never, ever, seen this kind of wood on a 94 Winchester! It's got some battle scars, but they give it character and I don't want to risk re-finishing it. The only other gun in my collection that has this quality of wood is a Remington model 3200, 1 of 1000 skeet gun (12 ga.) that set me back $1,000 in the early eighties.
Here are some better shots of the stock; sunlight makes it look 3 dimensional.







I don't want to hijack this thread, but can anybody blame me for not wanting to re-finish it?

gunrunner428

Re-finish?!? Don't TOUCH that baby. Sure, they're working on restoring "The Last Supper", but that's because it's lost its beauty over the years due to pollution. Restore this one, even if it's a great job, and you lose that "original" factor any collector is going to be looking at.

**edit to add** Don't want to come off as bombastic, and re-reading your post, I see you DON'T want to re-finish. Good man. **

Let the original work stand on its own. Some of those old Winchesters were built as special-order to a customer's specifications, and this one (half-magazine, full crescent rifle buttplate, upgraded wood, tang sight, and is that a case-hardened receiver?) looks every bit a custom-order. BTW - is there a dovetail cut or any other provision for a rear sight in the usual place on the barrel? If not, then that's DEFINITELY factory-custom.

Ever get a provenance letter from Winchester on it? (Who ordered and accepted delivery of the rifle?) That would go further in keeping the gun's value high.

centermass556

I second, third, fourth...whatever everyonce else said...My model 94 in 357 took a little while before it was not as stiff.

snake284

centermass556 wrote: »

I second, third, fourth...whatever everyonce else said...My model 94 in 357 took a little while before it was not as stiff.

I agree. In as good of shape as this one looks, don't touch it. The natural patina of the metal and the aged look of the wood finish add to it's asthetics. However, if it were badly corroded and the stock was a mess and the finish was less than 70% I would say it would be a good candidate for a restoration. But when I say restoration, I don't mean by your Local Gun Smith. I mean by a registered and certified Winchester dealer. If a certified dealer does the work it is considered original. But still, I would NOT touch an old firearm unless it was damaged so that the damage was detracting from its value. And when I speak of damage, I'm talking about damage from rust, moisture, hard use, etc. Not just a broken stock or missing half the lever.

snake284

This also goes for rebluing or refinishing a stock. If a certified factory dealer does the work, it shouldn't lose any value and may gain value, especially if it looked bad in the first place and the factory certified work improves its looks.

bisley

My Marlin in .44 Magnum is still a little stiff, and I bought it second-hand in the mid- '70's, because I've never used it very much.