Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

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Camel73
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Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Hey guys.. It's been raining up here where I'm at in Alberta for a few days now, so I decided to poke around my first and MOST favorite, a 1976 94 30-30. In 15 years I've never had it apart... Ha, that's crazy to think it's been so long. I cleaned it twice, I think, early in its life.

Brought it home from Wholesale Sports supposedly first owner and unfired in the box for $500. No horn rack though, being a US Bicentennial, not that it mattered. I felt zero guilt putting my first shot down the tube. I figure probably 1,000 rounds through it up to now.

Not too long ago I got a Lee breech lock hand press because i wanted to eventually load up some plinkers. I've done a ton of reading since, tryin to get all learned up on some of the important stuff. Freebore, SEE, a bunch of internal ballistic stuff.. Taking it apart and putting it back together wasn't as scary as I thought. So far I've fixed a few family rifles... Marlin 60 .22 (Worked over the entire action) and 336 30-30 (ejector came loose jamming the action), Mossberg 590 (burr on interrupter, hanging shells up in the mag tube). Now my baby's turn, not that anything was wrong with it, it's just that time. Next will be the Cooey's bolt.

Last night I found out that I have about .125" of freebore. Tonight I'm going to do the easy headspace test. .058"+.007"=.065" headspace, roughly. It might be interesting to see the difference in numbers after I clean it. I really don't have much experience but when I pay attention to something the ocd kicks in. I also don't really have anyone personally to talk to about this kind of stuff.

Hopefully that's where some of you might come in. I'm more of a reader than a poster but, I'm coming around. :)
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Rusty »

I'm kind of from the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" school. What exactly were you trying to do?
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by AJMD429 »

Every gun I get I have to take apart enough to "see how it works", partly out of curiosity, and partly just to see what the particular strengths and weaknesses appear to be, or what to look for. Most of the time (since I mostly buy 'shooter' type firearms) there are internal burrs or loose screws to fix, so the labor is not for naught.

Part of the interest in firearms for me is the mechanisms, especially how all the camming surfaces and safety features are designed to work (usually) so flawlessly.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by stubbicatt »

I too really like my 1894. Mine is 30-30 also.

I hand cast bullets for it, the RCBS 180 grainer, which with lube and gas check is closer to 190 grains the way I cast the bullets. I see you are experimenting with reduced loads in your rifle. I guess the 17 grains of IMR 4227 I shoot through mine would qualify as a reduced load. I don't know, but I have experienced good performance and no barrel leading. It has become my favorite rifle to shoot these days with these loads. Plenty accurate and less recoil... what's not to like? -I should add the only hunting I do is steel critters in Lever Action Silhouette, a game which fits me well.

Good luck with your reloading experiments.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by J Miller »

I've had a bunch of Win 94s over the last 50 years. From a 1909 vintage SRC to a 1985 vintage AE Trapper in .45 Colt. The range of use ran from used to death, through ragged out to unfired. Not one of them exhibited any head space problems.

There is something about the design of the 94, especially those in 30-30 that just don't seem to show it.

Only two of my 94s has ever had any sort of chambering issues.
Both were pre-64s.

The first had no throat. Factory ammo of any brand chambered and fired fine. But hand loads using the Hornady 150 RN bullet seated and crimped in the center of the crimp grove, even in properly trimmed cases would not chamber. That one was eventually traded off for something else. Had I known then what I know now I would simply have had a gunsmith throat it.

The second, the one I have now, also has a short throat and a bad chamber. Out of approximately 78 rounds I've fired through it it's split over 50 case necks. Both factory and hand loads.
If I don't trade it off, it will eventually be rebarreled.

My most funnest 94 is my 1980 Trapper in 30-30. Bought it new in 1980 and it's one of those that will go with me to my grave. Loud, big fire balls at night, but accurate and reliable, and most of all handy.

I would not sweat the head space on your rifle. Nuther words, it ain't broke so don't fix it.

Taking them apart once every quarter century for a deep cleaning, inspection and lubrication with normal cleaning in between is pretty much all they need.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Grizz »

I'm a take-it-apart guy. I had a Winch 1892 once that I stupidly traded for a month's rent. Took it apart and put it back together several times, just for the fun of it. Got lots of dirt out of it the first time.

The only Winchester levergun I recall owning now is a trapper length .357 mag. Terrific little shooter, accurate enough to hunt with, accomodates the 185gr cast bullets well, and loves 125gr white box ammo too. Seems pretty versatile to me.

My only 30-30 is a Marlin that I might not have shot yet. Forgot about it actually. I bounce between .22 cal in various flavors right to 45/70, skipping most of the in-betweens, although I now have some .308 for the intermediate stuff, of which 30-30 is a subset.

My stainless guide gun was so poorly made that I spent weeks taking it apart and blue fitting the components. Got it slicked up to old-timer standards. Not as pleasing to cycle as the Browning 1886, but close as a Marlin will ever get.

With your round count I'm guessing that it hits wherever you point it, do you hunt with it? It is a formidable meat maker.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by 3leggedturtle »

Well my '59 M94 likes the Lee 113 and 170gr FP's with 4-8grs of RedDot or 10-15grs of 2400. Haven't shot mine for awhile bu it is always dead-on when I do. What part of Alberta you by? Todd/3leg
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Montana_Jon »

Love my Win 94 30-30 as well and it also is from 1976.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Sixgun »

Rusty wrote:I'm kind of from the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" school. What exactly were you trying to do?

Yea, me too.....and I know how to take all of the Winchesters and Marlin models apart down to the screws....(leverguns)

It depends also on what "your taking apart". Simple things like buttstocks, sights, mag tubes are no brainers......leave the internals alone...cartridge guides, etc......I have 75-140 year old guns that never needed these things taken out...unless they break.


You want an easy clean of the receiver?.........take off the buttstock and spray the innards with a quality solvent....let sit.....brush it everywhere.......then rinse it using pressurized hot water. I've even used my pressure washer before...........blow it out with compressed air and reoil. ------6
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by PriseDeFer »

Does Browning want us to tear down that old girl? After all, he invites us to free the link of the 45 Service Automatic and have our way with spring, slide and barrel, and even the same for the firing pin, if we lean that way. But his Winchester saddle guns offer a different prospect, little screws and obscure procedures seem to be things for high priests and other anointed, not for common range tramps like us. My beloved 70's 1984 has bathed in Ballistol and water but save for the magazine spring she remains intact ever since that dark day when I delved within her and paid the price.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

I own a .30-30 Win 94 or two... or several... or a LOT depending on yer point of view! In all three "standard" flavors, Rifle, Carbine & Trapper. IMNSHO the Winchester mdl 94 is defined by the .30WCF; and vice versa!

I don't worry about chamber leade, not with my usual 150 gr pills, nor any factory 170s I've tried. .30-30 is a pretty easy cartridge to load for. Just ensure you don't over lube the case for sizing, and keep 'em trimmed to length. I have the same US BiCentennial commemorative, but haven't ever shot it.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Nice, nice... very nice responses.

What I'm trying to do is get a better understanding of my wonderful piece, without having to google my life away searching.

If I'm gonna be handloading I should probably know some stuff about my chamber area. Many people talking about chamber issues got me wondering about mine.

I'm worried a bit about the bore as I've got roughly 600 shots through without cleaning. Oops. Another reason to disassemble so I can hit it good with a rod from the breech end. I have a can of rem brite bore. How long do you think that'll take? lol

It used to split factory necks, a lot, but after I had the lever link? fixed it seems to have stopped. Not sure if that was the fix or what but I haven't had one in a long time.

I'm a terrible believer in making things better, easier.. I'm a fixer for sure. Probably the reason I'm still single..

Accuracy is pretty good but it throws high fliers occasionally. I've found bullets seated deeper in the case after having them in the mag tube. Pretty sure that's the cause. Another reason for handloading. I think I'd be interested in the mag tube mod too.

All I've hunted is paper bulls, steel plates, log disks.. Camo'd it up and headed out for coyotes once..

Right now I'm in the foothills of the "marrow of the earth" :) between Calgary and Red Deer, west.
Last edited by Camel73 on Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

Just use a rod with a muzzle protector... much, much easier than disassembling.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Les Staley »

I'll second what Griff said. I chucked a fired 22 Hornet case in the lathe, and poked a drill thru the primer pocket that fits my cleaning rod. The Hornet case rim stops at the muzzle and keeps the rod centered in the bore. Easy peasy. Empty 30-30 case treated the same way protects my bigger bore guns, the 35s, 44s and 45s. You're welcome!
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Trying to get the pics goin...
Edit -- Before cleaning:

Image

Image

Image
Last edited by Camel73 on Fri Aug 26, 2016 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by ollogger »

Looks like you have it spotless now! I have a few 94s & I clean them up as Sixgun said, have a 1894
in 32 special made in 1906, it spent 50 years in a sheep herders wagon & a million miles horse back
then 50 years stowed away in houses, It was the most awful looking thing but cleaned up good
and now is a great shooter with cast bullets and my most favorite ugly Winchester
I shoot cast in my guns, a great plinker in 30 cal is Lees 115 gr,gc.


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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by AJMD429 »

Grizz wrote:I bounce between .22 cal in various flavors right to 45/70, skipping most of the in-betweens...
I've thought that just my 500 S&W Big Horn Armory and 32-20 Marlin leverguns could cover pretty much everything, but all those in-network ones are so much FUN....! :mrgreen:
I've found bullets seated deeper in the case after having them in the mag tube. Pretty sure that's the cause. Another reason for handloading...
I sometimes re-crimp factory loads with my Lee 'Factory Crimp' does if the box has any loose ones.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Grizz »

it's easy to clean from the chamber end

drop a string down the bore

tie on a brush or patch in the receiver

pull it back out

variation: use aluminum rod; thread brush on in the receiver.
no disassembly required
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Thanks for the great tips, and great stories too!
At least I have the confidence now to take it apart as I've already had it apart a couple times in the past day or so flitzing here and there.

We too started with 'ol grand poobah's 45-70 and .22's but I wanted something I could shoot a little more comfortably.

Image

My brother loves iron sight .22 plinking so I wanted to start making light subsonic rounds to join him. Ya I could use a .22 but I don't want to... I wanna use my baby!
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Booger Bill »

I bought my 94 new in about 1955 or 1956. Was 14 or 15 years old. Shot a few deer with it. One was about 220 yards, outlined on a ridge high above me in a wet snow storm. Soon as I bought it I had a Williams foolproof put on and a pad for LOP as I was a big kid. I have never had to readjust the sight. I probably really haven't fired all that many rounds through it as I have owned many other rifles since, but it`s still my faithfully old standby.
My next one is a about 1953 model 64 also in 30-30. I was lucky to find it cheap about in the early 1970`s. It looked brand new and I have only put a box or so through it. I have owned a couple more that came and went.


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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Grizz »

Camel

for light plinker rounds there is a category of reduced loads called "cat sneeze". if you search for that you will find lots of info. probably folks on this site have experience with them.

people have reported them to be extremely quiet. less noise than the supersonic .22 rf.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

Grizz wrote:Camel

for light plinker rounds there is a category of reduced loads called "cat sneeze". if you search for that you will find lots of info. probably folks on this site have experience with them.

people have reported them to be extremely quiet. less noise than the supersonic .22 rf.
here ya go:
SMALL GAME LOADS FOR A 30-30.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by 1894cfan »

If you go over to marlinowners.com, scroll down to reloading, and look at the lighter bullets in 30-30 sticky thread. You'll find all kinds of stuff. My favorite load is RCBS 32-115FNgc sized to .309, on top of 8gr Trail Boss. Tack driver in my 94 30/30. HTH
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Good morning fellow lever lovers :) Finally, decent weather but now the folks have plans for some painting chores, lol.

The info provided regarding the loads is percect, thank you all.

Was wondering if any of you turn your 30-30 necks for uniformity? Also, been reading about guys switching out the expanders in their dies for loading lead. I've saved a bunch of brass.. but different makes and weights. Don't know if that'll matter for 00 buck at 30 yards max. Going to try neck sizing with my full length.

Oh ya, cleaned my barrel till the patch was relatively clean but still looks like some copper streaks in there, check it out..

Image
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by 1894cfan »

For reloading I've got a die set for jacketed stuff and a set of RCBS Cowboy dies for the lead stuff. Lyman #2 lead for everything, cuts down on the barrel leading up. Usually run the brass just the way it came from the factory with a bit of length trimming now and then, plus neck annealing when they need it.
Forgot to mention, I size the lead pellets to .309"l
Last edited by 1894cfan on Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

Camel73 wrote:Good morning fellow lever lovers :) Finally, decent weather but now the folks have plans for some painting chores, lol.

The info provided regarding the loads is percect, thank you all.

Was wondering if any of you turn your 30-30 necks for uniformity? Also, been reading about guys switching out the expanders in their dies for loading lead. I've saved a bunch of brass.. but different makes and weights. Don't know if that'll matter for 00 buck at 30 yards max. Going to try neck sizing with my full length.

Oh ya, cleaned my barrel till the patch was relatively clean but still looks like some copper streaks in there, check it out..

Image
No turning of necks for me, just trim to length, chamfer the mouth and seat... use the same set of RCBS I bought over 40 years ago.

Yep, I'd clean that barrel some more. My accuracy degrades when using lead projectiles and I haven't cleaned any copper residue out completely.

Here's a pic of my uncleaned barrel after 30+ rounds of .30-30, 27.5 grains of RE7, behind a 150GCFN, cast of 6 parts WWs and 1 part Linotype.
Image

and after cleaning with a brush for a few swipes, a couple of wet patches with Hoppe's #9 and 3 or 4 dry patches:
Image

a few pieces of lint... and nothing else!
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Cowboy die set, ya should have got that instead. Didn't know about it at the time. Slugged my barrel a few times and it keeps coming out at .3085"
I suppose I could flare the case mouth a bit with something before seating...

Back to barrel cleaning!
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Grizz »

accuracy with lead should be at least as good as the copper clads. now that you have the copper fouling out you can prevent it from coming back by not shooting it. :lol:

two things, first is diameter of the sized bullet which should be larger than the groove diameter of your barrel.

second is the alloy. hard cast won't lead up past 1450 somewhere, sometimes faster than that.

and c. gas checks help prevent leading by controlling fire erosion on the base of the bullet.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

Camel73 wrote:Cowboy die set, ya should have got that instead. Didn't know about it at the time. Slugged my barrel a few times and it keeps coming out at .3085"
I suppose I could flare the case mouth a bit with something before seating...

Back to barrel cleaning!
I size my bullets to .309 and have never measured my barrels... (all Winchester 94s). I just chamfer the inside of the case mouth a bit, don't take any off the outside, and seat slowly and deliberately.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Malamute »

Camel73 wrote: I suppose I could flare the case mouth a bit with something before seating...
The Lyman M type expanding die is intended for cast bullets. It has a two stage internal expander, the first step into the case being normal expander size, the second step expanding slightly more so the bullet can enter the case straight, and can be adjusted down to a third step that flares like a pistol die if shooting cast and dont want to shave the bullet. The expander dies can be bought separately, the Lyman 310 tools also are M type expanders. I like them for cast. The M expander die is great for the round ball loads I make up. I don't mangle the balls seating them or crimping them in place
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

At the moment this is what I have to work with (pics). I had to leave my job of 14 years after my back quit on me. Turned my world upsidedown and money is tight.. Listening to country folk on stingray right now, love that stuff. Thank God for family, AND MY RIFLES! :D

Image

Image

Image
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

  • • I don't know anything about those Lee die sets.
    • TrailBoss is listed on Hodgdon's load data website, but only for 160 grain pills.
    • Here's an instruction sheet on how to develop reduced loads for TrailBoss: http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf, (especially useful if you use plain base lead bullets).
    • You have everything needed.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by hondo1892 »

Get some Wipeout for removing the copper fouling. Stuff works better than anything else I've used.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Trail boss seems pretty much idiot proof so that's what I chose to start with. The wipeout will have to wait, Remington brite bore is just going to have to do for now, but thanks for the tip.

Was wondering why I was getting all that gold shrapnel in my action and I'm sure it was because of a protrusion around my firing pin hole, biting into the primers.. did some readin and decided to just clean it up.

As far as the Lee dies I'm just gonna try turning my full length sizer out till I get it right for a neck size. That's what others have found to work I believe.

Edit: Checked headspace again, same .065"

Image

Image

Image
My first child - '94 30-30
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by PriseDeFer »

Nice work on the bolt face. Did that stop the brass confetti?
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

PriseDeFer wrote:Nice work on the bolt face. Did that stop the brass confetti?
Thanks.. not really sure yet, I'll probably have to feed a box or so of bullets thru to really tell I'm thinkin. By the look of things that might not be for a bit but whatever I do with it it'll eventually get posted here.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Ahhh, much better. Big difference, even without oil.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Malamute »

Wow! I don't recall seeing a 94 bolt with the firing pin hole burred like that before. Do you dry fire it?

If so, dry firing tends to break firing pins in 94s. Even using an empty, it needs to be changed after only a few hits, as they dent in quickly and dont do much.

If you have it apart, polish the front edge of the lever (and up over the bump at the top edge of the part circled in the image), and the rib on the back of the loading gate, especially the angled part that ramps down to the front end. That angle is what cams the rim of an already loaded cartridge forward slightly to allow the next round into the magazine. 94's should load slick as can be with rounds already in the magazine, though many don't. People have just accepted that for some reason, but its relatively easy to fix. No need to deal with them being balky about loading, it doesn't have to be. The "work arounds" of not loading each round all the way is only a stop-gap. With a slick gun the work around is more of a nuisance than anything. I don't think its quicker than a slick gun and takes more attention to do.

With the front of the lever slick, its easier to push the carrier (lifter) back down and close the lever if you want the clear the chamber but leave the magazine loaded, or load a single small game load but leave the magazine loaded with full power loads.

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"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

I try not to dry fire any of my rifles these days. The firing pin looks good to me..

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I was pretty hard on my gear as a youngster out of ignorance and enthusiasm. The stock has been broken three times.

I blame the first on John Wayne lol. I seriously almost passed out. After I screwed and glued it you couldn't even tell. Second time I slipped on an icy rock. I had just finished prepping it, went to the can, and heard, "Honey, I got the glue on for you!"... .... Oh ya, you bet, all over the freaking place. Took it in stride...she was just trying to help. Third time I found it busted in the case when I was keeping it in the family's basement for a bit. That's when I got utilitarian with it, ha. But it's still and forever will be my baby, dings, cracks and all.

Thank you much for the reply and pics as it got me to more thoroughly investigate the innards. I'll still have to check out that loading gate rib deal, although I've never had a problem stuffing shells into it.

As far as the lever polishing though, I've found that my lever only bumps into the single carrier screw and touches nothing else. At first I thought that was the case also but not so for my particular piece. My carrier is pushed down by the front of the bolt, and cammed up by the back of the bolt here,

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I found this out by wanting to polish all the mating surfaces which is done now as of last night, or this morning rather, 4:30am lol. What can I say, I was on a roll :)

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As you can see my mainspring has a helper underneath it which I swapped around, hehe. It'll be interesting to see if I get light strikes but it seemed ok to me. Had to take shave a touch off the inside of the stock to make it work.

Running some cartridges through it just now I can see a couple more areas that could use some attention...
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Old Savage »

Camel, this has been interesting. Mine also has about 600 through it in 27 years. Always cleaned it and took care of it. Worked like a charm from the get go. You are pretty good with a camera. I don't take apart anything I don't have to in general. That said
i have been watching videos of disassembling black powder revolvers and the PPKs by Interarms.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Malamute »

The front edge of the lever doesn't touch other parts, it rubs against the rim of the shell rearmost in the magazine. Its what holds the shell in position right at the edge of the loading gate when the action is closed, and lets it back onto the carrier to feed when the action is opened. What polishing it does is allow closing the action on an empty chamber after removing a chambered round (round on the carrier can be pushed back down with the little finger or the lever worked slowly and not raise it at all). Slicking it up allows the lever to push it back forward easier allowing the action to close. That operation is one major functional reason I like Winchesters more than Marlins. I often use single small game loads with the magazine left loaded, and if/when clearing the chamber again, its very easy. That's besides the chamber being easier to see and reach for said rounds.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Im kinda funny about wanting to know how things work, and I learn better by seeing stuff done.. who doesn't like pics!? You know the 'ol saying eh.. plus, it helps me put things back together, ha.

Malamute, very good.. thank you sir for the explanation. Very often I'll take a shell out - the way you describe, popping the butt end up by poking it- and also I'll be doing a lot more of that in the future for my new small loads too. Just got some 00 buck and primers yesterday.

All that's left is the rib. It seems like you took it down quite a bit. Tonight's venture will be checking that out.
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

No excuses now!

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Malamute »

Camel73 wrote:Im kinda funny about wanting to know how things work, and I learn better by seeing stuff done.. who doesn't like pics!? You know the 'ol saying eh.. plus, it helps me put things back together, ha.

Malamute, very good.. thank you sir for the explanation. Very often I'll take a shell out - the way you describe, popping the butt end up by poking it- and also I'll be doing a lot more of that in the future for my new small loads too. Just got some 00 buck and primers yesterday.

All that's left is the rib. It seems like you took it down quite a bit. Tonight's venture will be checking that out.
I didn't take it down any, just deburred it and polished the edge and the ramped part on the forward end.

Have a web address for buckshot in bulk. will see if I can find it.

Edit: http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Lead-B ... oducts/65/
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Darn... .324 lead buck shot too big!?
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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by w30wcf »

If you have a Lee push through sizing die for your cast bullets, you could use that to size them down.
Some years ago I purchased a bag of OO buck and that's what I did.

Lacking a way to size them down you could take 2 steel or aluminum flat plates, place 2 30 cal bullets between them and a 00 buckshot between the bullets. Then press down on the top plate while moving it back and forth and presto you will have a 30 cal ball which will look a bit elongated.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Sorry, don't have any of that stuff (sizing dies).. but how about this?
I unscrewed the top of my bullet seating die dropped in a ball and tapped down on a duct tape centered punch till it lightly bottomed out. Spun the punch around and popped the newly sized ball out with a push. .312 exactly.

Don't know if I should try to take the edge off or not... I tried on one but so small! Ha. Some of the edges are more uniform than others. But for something like 30 yards max... .. I don't know guess I'll just have to see.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by w30wcf »

Excellent! I would not worry about trimming the edge. You could take a 30-30 case and fill it with something to support the base of the bullet when seated and use that to push the ball through from the bottom.

I found that 2.5 grs of bullseye worked really well at 25 yards.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Camel73 »

Ok, ... I'm gettin excited!! LOL!!

What I'm wondering about now is the fact that all my brass is mixed... 170's, 150's, 130's, 55 sabot's and from different manufacturers... Winchester, Remington, Federal... So I've read that it matters as far as internal capacities. Will I have to sort them that way?

I have 110 Winchesters, 46 Federals and 12 Remingtons.

The other thing is bullet lube. I've read about a bunch of different home brews but I don't have paraffin or beeswax, etc... But I got this stuff about six months ago: Lyman's super moly spray lube.

The funny thing is that I bought it then for something totally different and didn't even end up using it.. but I've heard some people don't like using moly for this.. what do you guys think? That or resizing lube? ha.

Just tryin to make this work.

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Re: Who wants to yak bout my 94 30-30 with me?

Post by Griff »

Camel73 wrote:What I'm wondering about now is the fact that all my brass is mixed... 170's, 150's, 130's, 55 sabot's and from different manufacturers... Winchester, Remington, Federal... So I've read that it matters as far as internal capacities. Will I have to sort them that way?
I have about 24 Winchester 94s (the other 6 are in parts), and another on the way... I have a couple of thousand cases. Of mixed brands. I think I have an example of EVERY manufacturer of .30-30 brass. Now, most of my mdl 94 are capable of producing groups of under 3" in just about anything... of a factory nature. Most of my cases were loaded with either 150 or 170 grains bullets (the two most common loadings). In general, MOST .30-30 cases will have the same approximate internal capacity. It doesn't matter what original loading was in it. If it's a Winchester case of a certain vintage, any other case of that general vintage will have the same (for all intents and purposes) internal capacity.

That generally holds true for other manufacturers also. The most consistent cases I have are Federal, and why I use them for my "target loads" in my most accurate mdl 94. But... I'll still do a water check on the cases. I size the cases w/o depriming, trim to length, and then fill the cases with water. Then pour each case full of water into a volumetric measure to make sure they hold the same amount. I segregate the cases by their capacity, dry, then proceed to load with selected powder and weighed bullets. This has produced groups in the ¾" range on several occasions in this particular rifle (not a carbine). The same loads in a carbine have been in the 1-¼" area.

That same carbine has shot some 1-½" groups with both factory loads, and my general plinking (well, plinking for me) ammo... stuff that I just grab a much of brass and load up without going thru the water capacity, sorting bullets by weight and weighing each charge. But, that could just be luck... as it's also fired some 3+" groups also.

I find that to obtain less than 3" groups is more dependent on my shooting than a particular load or even gun. If I'm "on", then I have some good groups, regardless of ammo or gun... if I'm NOT... I shoulda just stayed home and loaded some .45 Colt ammo for cowboy action!

As for the lube pictured... I find it works wonderfully on hinges... as long as they're indoors... it washes off too easily for use outdoors. As a bullet lube... I wouldn't waste it. YMMV.
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