Winchester guidance

[Firehorse]

Hello,
I have a bi-centennial year Winchester 94' rifle. I am new at this and have fulfilled a longtime dream in getting this rifle.
My one problem with this is that I can't seem to load more than one round. When I try to load a second round it just won't go in. The side gate only opens halfway. I'm hoping for some feedback on how to properly load or what I might be doing wrong. Is there normally a little resistance from the side gate or should every round slide in as easy as the first?
I don't know if it makes a difference but the rifle is a 30/30 long barrel.

[Drawdown]

Mine can be a little frustrating, at least it was at first, seemed kinda like you described. Its made in 71 a NRA Centennial. My routine, learned with any 94, is slide the first one all way in and lever a round in chamber, put hammer on half cocktail. When you put the next round in the tube, let the rim of that cartridge still be out, exposed, not all way in. It will jam there, holds the loading gate open, and then push it in with the 2nd, leaving it like the first. Do this with every round until the 4th, pushing it all way in until the gate closes. I didn't Luke this at first either, being used to a Marlin, thus doesn't happen. But once used to it, no problem! You got a fine rifle there, hope you the best with it!

[OldWin]

The best way to load multiple rounds into a 94 is to not push the cartridge all the way in and let the gate close.
Instead, leave the rim and last quarter inch or so of the cartridge holding the gate open. Then use the next cartridge to push the first the rest of the way. Then leave the next as the first, and so on.
Now, this doesn't have to be done, but yes, the gate takes considerable force to push down to get cartridges in the magazine. Some rifles are worse than others. There is a beveled surface on the back of the loading gate that can be deburred and or polished to aid in smooth operation. It requires the rifle to be disassembled, however.

[Drawdown]

The gate on mine definitely needs that Old Win, it's bad. I hadn't thought of it, but next time I completely disassemble to clean I'm gonna look at doing that.