New member with odd M94

[Scruffy49]

Just joined today, been reading off and on for years. Current lever gun stable is rather small. Stevens 44 in .22lr serial 72xxx, heavy barrel, absolute tack driver. Henry .22 youth model my wife shoots. Wnchester 94 .30/30 serial 282xxxx, round 20” barrel, slick as glass and dead on.

And the problem child... 20” octagon barrel Canadian Centennial src serial number 13xxx. Factory buttstock shipped poorly fitted, cracked in line with the tangs AND with a monster grain peel in the wrist. All easily fixed, that’s why they make glue, sand paper and needle files. Biggest problem is accuracy, it chucks them wherever it wants to. Like shooting a factory plastic stock Savage Axis with its known weak wrist... Brand and jacketed flat nose bullet weight are completely irrelevant. It can miss a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 50 feet.

30 years ago (now I feel old) had some custom 165 and 185gr lead round nose loaded for it. And could ring 300yd gongs. Conistently. Repeatedly. Both bullet weights.

What gives? Someone drop the ball and use a worn out rifling cutter? Too new of a rifling cutter, so jacketed rounds won’t properly fill the grooves? Wrong rate of twist? Finding molds for either true lrn weight is proving problematic. It also won’t shoot 160gr lfn/ftx/etc worth a hoot.

5 notch rear ramp versus the 1965’s 3 notch ramp... honestly reminds me of my long gone .45/60 M76.

[gamekeeper]

Welcome to the fire, help will arrive shortly.....

[FWiedner]

.
Clean it and then slug the barrel.

Make sure the barrel is in shooting condition, i.e., rifling and barrel crown, etc. and then make sure you're feeding it bullets of a diameter that it can use effectively.

[GunnyMack]

Glad to have ya!
I'd say recut the crown. But clean it and clean it again, then slug the bore. It could be oversized and require a larger bullet.
It could also be the forearm hanger. But I suspect it's the crown.

[J Miller]

Just joined today, been reading off and on for years. Current lever gun stable is rather small. Stevens 44 in .22lr serial 72xxx, heavy barrel, absolute tack driver. Henry .22 youth model my wife shoots. Wnchester 94 .30/30 serial 282xxxx, round 20” barrel, slick as glass and dead on.

And the problem child... 20” octagon barrel Canadian Centennial src serial number 13xxx. Factory buttstock shipped poorly fitted, cracked in line with the tangs AND with a monster grain peel in the wrist. All easily fixed, that’s why they make glue, sand paper and needle files. Biggest problem is accuracy, it chucks them wherever it wants to. Like shooting a factory plastic stock Savage Axis with its known weak wrist... Brand and jacketed flat nose bullet weight are completely irrelevant. It can miss a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 50 feet.

30 years ago (now I feel old) had some custom 165 and 185gr lead round nose loaded for it. And could ring 300yd gongs. Conistently. Repeatedly. Both bullet weights.

What gives? Someone drop the ball and use a worn out rifling cutter? Too new of a rifling cutter, so jacketed rounds won’t properly fill the grooves? Wrong rate of twist? Finding molds for either true lrn weight is proving problematic. It also won’t shoot 160gr lfn/ftx/etc worth a hoot.

5 notch rear ramp versus the 1965’s 3 notch ramp... honestly reminds me of my long gone .45/60 M76.

Welcome to the forum.
Besides what the others have said, fix the stock. Make sure it's tight but not binding. A loose and / or cracked stock will have a negative effect on accuracy.

Joe

[Scruffy49]

Stock has been repaired for years. Could honestly use one at least 2 inches longer in the wrist. My 1920s 12g had 1.5 inches added to the butt between the stock and plate AND a 1 inch plus slip on pad added. If I could get my hands on some decent wood I’d just make the right length with CC crescent plate and call that good. But, big leaf maple doesn’t grow in SW TN.

Barrel was slugged decades ago. That was why we loaded the lrn 165 and 185. The custom ammunition guy passed on 15 years ago, and I don’t have his notes. I do remember the molds were for an obsolete blackpowder cartridge, a .32 something. He specialized in obsolete cartridges, was my go to for .45/60wcf and 1880s spec .45/70 for my 1883 built 1876 Winchester musket length and 1887 built 1873 Springfield infantry musket. Both of which disappeared around 2002.

I’ll have to find a good lever action gunsmith. Most of the locals are into “tacticol plastic less than fantastics”... I don’t trust any of them with my S&W 3rd Model .44 Hand Ejector either. Tbe .45acp Glock, no problem, a 2 year old with a big rock can’t hurt those things.

[Blaine]

Unless it's something off the wall that's wrong, just make sure the bore is spic & span. I've seen old 30-30s keyhole every shot because the grooves were clogged with lead/copper.

[wm]

My 2 cents ………

A) Thoroughly clean barrel. I would probably would resort to using a electrolytic bore cleaner (you can buy them or make your own but buying one is quicker and likely just about the same expense unless you happen to have the components. laying around).


B) Slug the barrel. I suspect the cast bullets you were using that shot so well were larger diameter then the nominally used .308 bullets you find in 30 WCf commercial loads. If you hand load this is an easy problem to resolve. If you don't then you are going to need to find another guy to handload them for you.


C) Check the crown for burrs or deformations. My method of checking is to take a glass marble, put a little oil on it and roll it around the muzzle this way and then that way. If there is a burr or it is not concentric you will feel the marble shift or move haltingly.


D) Replace the stock. Keep it if you ever decide to sell it but it is in my experience easier to fit a new stock that is over sized and meant to be fitted then to work on a stock that is supposed to be right but is loose. You can always take a little material off, putting material on is hard.


If all else fails think about selling it & getting a rifle you'll enjoy. That Canadian centennial has the maple leaf on the side right? I always thought that was a handsome rifle. Still kicking myself after 10 years for letting a receiver left over from that production run get away from me. I had ideas of assembling a custom gun around that receiver (a 7-30 Waters).


Wm


P.S. Keep us informed as you proceed. We can be like old women with our advice and worry when one of us has a sick gun.

[Scruffy49]

Barrel crown is fine, no burrs. Feels a little shallow compared to the 1965 round barrel crown.

The 1965 buttstock fits the 1967 receiver better than the one it came on. However, the steel shotgun butt looks “off” on an octagon barrel, at least to me.

The gun was a gift from my uncle. Gave it to me 34 years ago when I completed the hunter safety course. He’d shot it, preferred his early nylon and stainless Remington 700 in 7mm magnum. The M94 was purchased brand new by my grandfather while my uncle was still in the Marines.

Yes, maple leaf and vine receiver trim, gold inlay in the barrel and upper tang. Bore is spotless.

Digital micrometer at the crown is showing flats are at .3095”

[Scruffy49]

Which probably explains the soft lead .32 bullets...

Could they have misdrilled a .30/30 bore for a .32, but cut the chamber for .30/30?

[AJMD429]

Welcome to the Levergun Enabler Forum....

What FWiedner said....!

[Scruffy49]

Slugs right at .3135”

Gun is apart right now, really easy to make a quick wax cast (.313) followed by using an M1 cleaning rod to knock a piece of buckshot throught the bore.

He must have been loading .303 British or similar? Which should be .311 but...

I haven’t rolled my own since 1993. Normally just borrowed Dad’s pre-64 M70, and his good match grade Norma ammo. Hope he doesn’t read this...

[Pete44ru]

.

Welcome to the fire !

The bore size is just right for a .32 Special...…….

Since it's marked as a .30-30, I would opine that some factory assembler grabbed an ummarked .32 Special barrel by mistake, and it got marked as a .30-30 - which AFAIK the only chambering offered for your Canadian commemorative Carbine.

A chamber cast should tell the tale - or just try shooting a.32 Special in it.



.

[65bee]

Whoa! .32 Special is .321!!!

[3leggedturtle]

That barrel sounds like the bore and groove are for the 32/20! Hopefulley you can get a cast bullet of .313 or .314 diameter to chamber. Welcome to best Enabler's Forumn on the i-net. Todd/3leg

[Paladin]

Welcome and good luck.

[Scruffy49]

.32 Special doesn’t fit. A .32acp is close at the crown.

I have almost as much fun figuring out each gun’s particular quirks as I do shooting them.

You want odd? My 1873 SAA clone in .44wcf will perfectly chamber .44spl in 4 out of 6 holes. They shouldn’t fit at all...

[Scruffy49]

A quick follow up on the SAA clone...

Basque made. Grip frame and main frame are a single casting, like a Remington 1858-1890, but Colt shaped/sized. 1890 Remington style ejector housing. Blackpowder Colt style cylinder pin and pin retention screw. Remington style fixed cone firing pin hammer. Hard smooth early brown swirl Bakelite-esque grips. Grip frame drilled for lanyard stud AND Colt/Remington style add on carbine stock.

Nearly smooth bore. Just the barest hint of rifling left. Colt SAA style “guts” but a Remington style mainspring.

Lacks Spain or Made in Spain frame markings, so pre-WW 1.

I’m making a Mexican drop looped holster for it. Which will be stamped (in the gun’s native Basque no less)... Caution. Unsafe. Do NOT use.

Just a decorative item. It is worn slap out.