Winchester model 94 barrel swap

[Andy45cal]

Does anyone know if I would be able to swap a barrel from my Taylor's Arms 1894 38-55 to a Winchester 1894 30-30 barrel? If so would that thread pattern be the same for pre 64 or post 64?
I thought I would like the 38-55 but I can't get it to shoot anywhere near what I want. Tried slugging the barrel and tried.378, .379 and.380 finally. I can hit a paper plate with my "best" loads. All bullets are gas check. Tried different powders and charges.
Taylor's won't sell me a 30-30 barrel and would only swap out for the same caliber.
If I'm correct the 38-55 is just a straight walled 30-30. The 30-30 cartridges will feed perfectly through my 38-55 with no problems. And NO I did not shoot any 30-30 rounds through it.
Thanks! Jerry

[gamekeeper]

Sorry I can't answer your question but welcome to the fire

[Pat C]

Call Cimarron they sell same Uberti rifle. Pretty sure they list barrels. Threads will be metric original Winchester is Imperial
.807" -20 TPI.

[OldWin]

The 38-55 can be fussy, but can usually be made to shoot well. What have you used for powders/charges? I have had my best luck with 3031. And usually get better accuracy with warmer loads.
I'm not sure if they still make them, but Barnes used to make their old classic bullets in 255fp in 375,376, and 377 diameter. I had one rifle that loved those 377s. If you can find a jacketed bullet that is within a couple thousandths, give it a try if you haven't already. Again, with 3031.
With cast or jacketed, I usually start at 28gr and start working up in .5gr increments. Seems like no matter how bad they were, they would come in by the time I got to 30.5gr.
Not sure what weight bullets you've tried, but you can vary that, also. I'm not familiar with the Uberi guns, or what twist they have. For cast, I use the RCBS 255gc bullet sized to .379 with good results in original rifles and carbines.
While I've never had it happen, an old gunsmith friend told me he'd seen some that would keyhole at 50 yards with an excellent bore. However, with the right combination, it would not only right itself, but produce excellent accuracy.
I don't know if a barrel is a direct swap, but I wouldn't give up on the grand old 38-55.
Best of luck.

[348win]

Great helpful last post!!!

[Ray Newman]

What brass are you loading -- .375 Winchester or .38-55 Winchester?

Back-In-the-Last-Century, I shot with a guy who had a re-barreled Winchester M1885, .38-55. With jacketed or cast, black powder or smokeless, the rifle‘s performance was lacking.

Several of us knew he was a good and capable shooter and during a discussion, someone advised a chamber cast. Chamber cast showed the gunsmith cut the chamber to the original Winchester .38-55 length.

Problem was that at time, 38-55 brass was very difficult to find. So he substituted .375 Winchester brass, which is shorter than .38-55 Winchester brass. Seems as if several shooters told him that .375 brass would work. Finally found Starline (??) .38-55 Winchester brass, loaded it, and the rifles’ performance dramatically improved, especially with cast and smokeless powder.

Personal experience -- I shoot a M1885, .32-40. While the case can be formed from .30-30, it is too short to shoot well. Even the RCBS so-called .32-40 is short. Unfortunately, I have a very limited number of Winchester .32-40 cases.

[Griff]

I don't know if the Uberti 1894 uses the same thread as Winchester (Taylor's is simply the importer). But, if so, there's no difference between pre 64 & post 64 Winchester barrels. Even the AE use the same barrel thread... just have to file a new extractor groove as appropriate. Except for the post 375 Winchester .38-55 guns, .38-55s can be all over the ballpark. Sometimes needing as large as .381 bullets. All chamberings for the Winchester 94 are based off the .38-50 Ballard Everlasting case, with the .38-55 and .32-40 @ 2.125" case length and the others are shortened by about .1". My understanding is that the newer Winchester rifles in .38-55 generally use the shorter brass, while pre-1980 or '81 models use the longer 2.125 length brass, which is available from Starline. I use this brass to supplement my supply of .32-40 cases.