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Winchester 94 questions

3K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  mdw442 
#1 ·
I don't know what's with me lately, but I keep spending too much money on junk guns because I can't see them parted out or destroyed. First the old Thompson M1911, then the Marlin 336A, then a Mossberg 500, and today a 1966 Winchester Model 94 top-eject.

The barrel is toast as is the mag tube, barrel rings, and stock. The receiver is rusted all over, but everything inside the receiver is in great shape. I actually fired 4 rounds through this thing and everything cycled fine. I didn't hit squat, but that is because some nimrod sawed off the end of the barrel and sanded it at an angle. There is no crown at all. Plus they jury-rigged the mag to barrel brackets and carved grooves in both to make it work (the mag tube is mounted at an angle with the end pressed into the barrel).

First, since I'm not saving the barrel, I need to find out how to get it off the receiver. I don't need a fancy barrel vice for this one. Just tell me how to grip the receiver and how much force I can use. If I have to I'll carve a receiver shaped hole in a 2x4 to use as a wrench

Second, I need sources for the parts I need to fix this one up. Numrich (e-gunparts) strikes out on this one - they barely have any Winchester 94 parts and eBay doesn't have much either. Anyone got a parts gun for sale?

Lastly, someone please explain to me why I keep spending money on these hopeless cases. Sure they work great when I'm done, but I could have bought a new unfired Winchester 94 for $400 and I'll have more than that invested in this thing by the time I'm done

Anyone know a forum like this dedicated to the Winchester 94s???

Thanks all

Mark
 
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#2 ·
In the past Brownells has been able to supply M94 parts for the newer versions. I think a lot of the late parts fits your post 1964 M94. 1964 or there abouts was the year Winchester went through most of their guns to reduce the labor costs and get the cost of Winchesters under control. There are updates that were done but in your case a barrel and the mag tube with attaching hardware are more than likely to be the same. What Brownells and Winchester will not sell you are the receiver (FFL required) and the trigger and hammer parts (liability lawyers forced most manufacturers to limit availability to only FFL Gunsmiths or not at all).

Super fine steel wool and a gun cleaning solution will remove light rusting and not hurt the bluing if you are careful. If the metal is pitted of course nothing short of files and sand paper (from 400 to as fine as you can find used in steps) will remove them but you must use a flat block behind the sand paper to keep all surfaces flat. Using a high speed buffing wheel usually doesn't work out as the surfaces become wavy and the holes in the surface get dished out resulting in a terrible looking finish job. It is getting hard to find people who re-blue guns as a lot of areas like California limit their emissions making it almost impossible in some areas to start up a new bluing business.

As for barrel removal, the M94 needs more than exterior support, I would think. It really needs something inserted inside the receiver to keep it from collapsing or bending from the barrel removal. You might consider having the barrel refitting done professionally as the chamber will have to be re-cut with a chamber reamer to get the headspace correct and chamber reamers cost around $100 or more. For the least cost don't change the caliber as internal cartridge guides and other parts would probably have to be changed to use a cartridge not based on what the gun now handles.

You are taking on an expensive project and you most certainly could get a newer M94 in good work order and with a good finish for what it will take to fix the M94 you have now. The only thing that might make it worth while might be to change the caliber to something unique that you have always wanted and treat the gun you have as a receiver donner.

My project problem is always trying to make the gun better; such as, better trigger, better barrel, just better. My last fiasco was avoiding the high cost of a new Browning Hi Power 9mm pistol and buying a clone Charles Daly Hi Power. The fit of the CD was not as good as the real Browning. The barrel performance was sub-par to my standards, and the trigger and sights were terrible. The trigger fix is almost complete but it will need a new sear as the one in the gun looks like it came out of Metal Shop 101 at the local Junior High School. I installed an over travel adjustment screw in the frame, reduced the spring pressures, and removed the mag safety. The barrel was replaced with a Match barrel that didn't fit as the CD HP is not an exact clone, it appears. I was able to modify the match barrel with welding and machining to get it to fit and work properly. The sights were tactical sights terrible for use with paper target which is all the gun gets used on, so I installed Novak adjustable sights which required machining of the slide. I have way over the cost difference between the CD HP and the real Browning HP but part of the costs are trigger stuff I would have done anyway. But I should have bought the real Browning HP but then I would not have had weeks and weeks of projects.Since I have yet to mess anything up on this project the work has been fun, but there is still more to go.

LDBennett
 
G
#3 ·
Lastly, someone please explain to me why I keep spending money on these hopeless cases. Sure they work great when I'm done, but I could have bought a new unfired Winchester 94 for $400 and I'll have more than that invested in this thing by the time I'm done
Mark, the answer to that question is so simple and obvious that you have overlooked it. You, like most of us here on TFF, simply love to work with firearms and have a deep and abiding affection for fine machines and the history behind them, along with pride in the work you do with them. :) Granted, some would call that a mental illness, or at least a mild neurosis, but around here, we prefer to think of ourselves as the only sane ones out there. :D ;) It should be noted, however, that there is no cure for your affliction, if such it be, and the only way to deal with it is to keep on rebuilding rifles. In other words, you're hooked! :D ;)

By the way, if you like working with old guns, and haven't done so already, you really should get yourself a C&R (Type 03) FFL. It's not expensive ($30.00 for three years), and it will enable you to buy certain old military weapons (50 years or older) very cheaply and directly from the distributor.
 
#4 ·
I have an FFL available to me for use as needed. I do gunsmith work for a local gun store (mostly cleanings and small repairs), so they let me use their FFL for any transactions I need.

LD - thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'd love to convert this to a .357 Magnum carbine, but don't have a clue where to begin for a Winchester 94. Probably a lot more expensive than its worth. For now, the plan is to get the barrel separated from the receiver, bead blast the inside and polish the outside of the receiver, find and fit a new barrel, sand and re-stain the stock, then try and find all the little screws and barrel bands needed to finish it up. Every screw in this gun, even the two little scope mount hole plug screws, was butchered very badly. I could barely get some out the heads were stripped so bad. Luckily, they weren't that tight.
 
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