Winchester 94

[andrewmyers]

Hey guys! im interested in possibly purchasing a winchester 94..after hearing they are discontinued starting sometime last year, i really thought i should go out and grab a piece of history before they are all gone...now this question i have might be better suited for the "ammunition" or "hunting" threads, but assuming i do purchase one, would be better to get a new gun, or used? and also what caliber? cause i might hunt with it too...i already have a .30-30..so i was thinking .44 mag or .357 and maybe even the .45LC...does anyone have any experiecnce with .94 in one of these pistol calibers? im just curious to hear your advice, cause i dont have my mind set on anything in particular. also let me know what you think of the gun itself, just to keep it relevant to the "rifles" topic.

[27hand]

Hey guys! im interested in possibly purchasing a winchester 94..after hearing they are discontinued starting sometime last year, i really thought i should go out and grab a piece of history before they are all gone...now this question i have might be better suited for the "ammunition" or "hunting" threads, but assuming i do purchase one, would be better to get a new gun, or used? and also what caliber? cause i might hunt with it too...i already have a .30-30..so i was thinking .44 mag or .357 and maybe even the .45LC...does anyone have any experiecnce with .94 in one of these pistol calibers? im just curious to hear your advice, cause i dont have my mind set on anything in particular. also let me know what you think of the gun itself, just to keep it relevant to the "rifles" topic.

My Brother in law has always been recoil sensitive. Even 30-30 is too much for him.

He bought a lever gun in .44mag (Marlin I believe) but eventually traded down to .44-.40 (this gun had a defective front sight). The only replacement that gunshop had was a .357 mag. He has shot numerous deer with this rifle and eventually got another one. I think he limits shots to around 75 yds but shot 3 deer last year in Washington county and has had many multiple deer seasons.

I was going to invite him to the Pafoa shoot next sun. I'd like to give the "plinker" a run.

For years,the downside to the 94 was the top ejection so side mounting of scopes was necessary. I think they changed design at some point. If you are buying for collectability, I would think the earlier models would be the way to go. Just my op.
If you are going to hunt with it,get one that side ejects for scopemounting or go with a Marlin 336 (the Marlin has been around along time too). I have one in 30-30. Great shooter

Good luck

27hand

[andrewmyers]

thanks for the quick reply 27hand...yeah i have a marlin 30as, in 30-30, which is now discontinued as well...im mostly going to start buying for collecting purposed. i have a wide array of "hunting guns" as i call them, and im more interested in the "just to have" part of gun ownership...im only 22 but have been fortunate enough to have most of my guns purchased for me since a young age. but you say your brother in law has shot deer with the .44-40 or the .357?..sorry i think i was bit confused about that...even so thats excellent to hear cause i know most people would neglect those calibers in favor of the .30-30 or .44 mag. im mostly interested in the pistol cartridges due to low recoil and less expensive ammo.

[Member0001]

thanks for the quick reply 27hand...yeah i have a marlin 30as, in 30-30, which is now discontinued as well...

I had an M-30AS once before and it was defective. This is an honest FACT I'm going to state here:

I bought the Marlin M-30AS NEW back around '97, and I had it for about 1 year. I used to three rounds to sight in the scope, it also had that Micro Groove rifling too. I carefully made sure I tracked and double checked the amount of rounds I put thru this gun and 10 rounds later, a half of a box of FACTORY loaded Remington 170 gr. Core Lokt H.P. ammo shot out my barrel. An old friend of mine who is now deceased, and a former room mate of mine also witnessed this FACT too. They were both shocked that a new gun was so defective. I later took the Marlin M-30AS back to where I purchased it from and made an even trade on the M-1917 Enfield Winchester Contract .30-06 I proudly own now.

I'd like to find a Marlin M-1894 in .44 Mag. / .44 Spl. to have a "Brush Buster". I'll keep my Winchester M-1894 made back in 1973 in .30-30, but I'll never even buy a used M-30AS Marlin.

Just my nickel here, your mileage may vary. Uni

[knight0334]

I have a '94 Trapper 16" 45LC, and I can tell you it is very accurate. My uncle, also a member here, gave it to me 2-4 months ago. Years ago I had a '94 in 30-30 flavor as well, it too was a good gun and I took several Florida wild boar with it.

Dont be afraid to buy a Winchester levergun, they are damn fine rifles and general worth every penny so long as the one you buy hasn't been abused - which they can take plenty of.

Marlin also makes very good leverguns, dont be afraid to buy one of them either. I have a Model 1893 Marlin 32 Win Spl which has a (4) digit serial number, it is at least 103 years old and works fine.

[27hand]

..im only 22 but have been fortunate enough to have most of my guns purchased for me since a young age. but you say your brother in law has shot deer with the .44-40 or the .357?..sorry i think i was bit confused about that...

I don't think my BIL shot a deer with the 44-40. He was sighting it in and it was off considerably when he noticed the front sight bent.

They exchanged it for the .357. This is the rifle he has been exceptionally successful with in the past 10 deer seasons or so.

Uni_owner, when you say "shot out", do you mean the little shooting you did literally eroded the barrel?

27hand

[andrewmyers]

I had an M-30AS once before and it was defective. This is an honest FACT I'm going to state here:

I bought the Marlin M-30AS NEW back around '97, and I had it for about 1 year. I used to three rounds to sight in the scope, it also had that Micro Groove rifling too. I carefully made sure I tracked and double checked the amount of rounds I put thru this gun and 10 rounds later, a half of a box of FACTORY loaded Remington 170 gr. Core Lokt H.P. ammo shot out my barrel. An old friend of mine who is now deceased, and a former room mate of mine also witnessed this FACT too. They were both shocked that a new gun was so defective...................Just my nickel here, your mileage may vary. Uni

that really sucks. ive never shot the remington 170 thru my gun, but im sure it wasnt the ammo faults. but i might try it for myself. yeah i got my marlin back in 97 or 98 , it was my first deer gun and its never let me down, never jammed in the field at least, and has been more than adequately accurate..plus ive dropped every deer ive shot with it, (4) the one that ran after the shot didnt even go 50 feet. i will admit ive put several follow up shots into deer, but maybe some werent as necessary as i thought....theres a difference between dying and laying there in agony, i know that now.

[ursavus.elemensis]

You want a Winchester model 94 from before 1964. If you are going for a piece of history and collectibility, then get a "pre-64" rifle. Starting in 1964, they changed from using forged steel to stamped steel, and they did other stuff to lower the cost of production and it made the rifles less worthwhile (then they wondered why sales did not keep up and why they could not compete..)

I have several Winchester model 94's and only one of them is a post-64 rifle. That one is a model 9422 (.22 rimfire rifle). I like it a lot, but for a 30-30 or 32 Special, get a pre-64 rifle.

The collectibility factor is higher with the pre-64 rifles, but if you want a .357 in true Winchester 94 flavor, then you'll need a more recent rifle. If you need that for hunting, get it. But if you want one to collect, get a pre-64 rifle.

Anyway, make sure the bore is clean and bright. There are super clean model 94's from the 1920's, with bright bores and not a spec of rust anywhere on them, so don't let any gun show quick-talker try to convince you that a rifle from the 1950's will have to have some amount of rust or it is not an authentic model 94. Never buy a model 94 with rust on it or with a less than pristine bore. They are out there, from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's in super clean condition and not everyone is charging a fortune for them either. I have never paid more than $750 for a model 94 for my collection and mine are in great shape going back to the middle 1940's.

I love my model 9422, but if you want a piece of history and you want the real deal, get a model 94 in 30-30 or 32 special.

[JayBell]

I have in the past had a Win 94, and it had multiple issues, this was a post 64 gun, I merely wanted it for a shooter.

I now have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag, and its very accurate...remember, if it has microgroove rifing, do NOT use cast lead bullets in it, you need a levergun with BALLARD type rifling to use cast lead bullets.

microgroove rifling will lead up, and cause higher pressures, and very poor accuracy, microgroove is for heavily plated or partial/full jacketed ammo.

I love the marlin sadde ring carbine i have, and would like to have the barrel trimmed to 16", and have it loophandled

[WMG]

You may with great results use lead bullets in marlin micro groove bores , you just need to keep the speeds down , 1600 to 1700fps tops , but many folks like the most they can get , etc