94 going back to Winchester

[bonusmarple]

Howdy,

My wife bought me a new 94 sporter 24" half octagon in 30-30. After a couple trips to the range there was some good and some bad. The fit and finish is very good. The action is smooth and the gun loves 170 gr bullets. After the gun gets warmed up it will but 3 shots into an inch at 100 yards.

However, when the gun is cold the difference between the 1st shot and the 5th is about 12" at 100 yards. The first shot starts high and it strings downward as the gun warms up. 12" is a bit much to compensate for.

I took a look at the mag tube and it is in that hanger pretty tight.

Off it will go to Winchester to see what they can do with it. I am assuming the 12" of vertical spread is unusual. Am I off on this one?

Any idea what I can expect from Winchester?

[Nath]

Is it a tang safety model?

N.

[Tycer]

No idea on winchester but there's an article on accurizing levers in the articles. I'd do is myself before trusting ups with my gun. Sounds like the barrel is being pulled down by the mag tube. Easy fix by opening up the barrel band(s). It might just be the screws are too tight on the bands. Everything should give a little.

[Pete44ru]

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Welcome to our little corner of the www !

What you're experiencing is VERY unusual in a Winchester 94 design.

IMO, your barrel first needs to be stress-relieved, followed up by honing the inside of the magazine tube hanger so there's no undue stress at that point as the barrel heats up.

Your's is the first time I've heard of any issues with the newest Miroku/Winchester's - most likely because few folks have bought/used them as yet.

How's it feel to be a beta tester ? .


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[Griff]

and Welcome to THE Forum.

I'm assuming that your wife got a new Miroku produced version. Yes, I think that a 12" vertical string from the cold barrel to the 5th shot is too much. Good luck. Let us know how this proceeds.

[bonusmarple]

Hi,

My name is Darin, btw and I live in Houston Texas. Yep, my wife got me a 2013 Model 94 with the tang safety. It is Miroku made. The gun really is a pleasure to shoot. The first rifle I bought myself was a Marlin 336 carbine from the early 80's. I bought it used up at McBride's in Austin about 20 years ago. I didn't hang on to it and really regretted selling my only 30-30 so my wife decided to buy me a new one for Christmas after listing to me groan about the ill advised sale. She went all out with this one and it really is a great gun. This is the first time I have had an issue with a gun being too tight.

It has a hanger instead of bands so not much to easily loosen up there. I tried removing the mag tube and it won't budge. I got the magazine plug off and removed the metal cap on the forend. The forend was then loose but could not be removed as it has a separate channel for the mag tube. From there I tried to pull or even rotate the tube. Nothing, tight as a drum. From my reading on this forum, including the accurizing article, I believe this is not right. There should be some play or give in the tube. I talked with a local smith and his advice was to send it back.

Everything else about the gun is great and it does shoot very well. I think the issue is very simple as many of you have pointed out. But I don't feel comfortable with this repair given how tight the mag tube is.

Thanks for all the advice and the warm welcome!

This site is responsible for getting me into reloading. The articles on reloading both the 30-30 and the 1873 in 357 pretty much did it. Lots of good info on this site.

[Pete44ru]

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FWIW - Magazine tubes, running through a barrel hanger, are usually pinned at the hanger, where the pin would have one half it's diameter intersecting a groove in the tube & the other half in the upper section of the solid hanger.

The small pin would needs be removed prior to removing the tube & then the forend.

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[Griff]

FWIW - Magazine tubes, running through a barrel hanger, are usually pinned at the hanger, where the pin would have one half it's diameter interseceting a groove in the tube & the other half in the upper section of the solid hanger.
The small pin would needs be removed prior to removing the tube & then the forend.
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Here's a pic of the hanger showing the hole for the pin:

[bonusmarple]

Thanks!

I will see what I can do to remove it.

[bonusmarple]

I took a look at the hanger and also spoke to a gunsmith. He was pretty sure that the hanger was not the only cause of the problem. He recommended sending it to Winchester. So after some drama with ups we got it out to them. Collector's was a huge help.

Now the wait.

[AJMD429]

Welcome to the forum.

I bought a Marlin XLR in 444 Marlin a few years back, and when I started fondling it, I noticed the magazine tube was loose and 'rattly' in the hanger, with the hanger even sliding easily in its dovetail, and I started to get all upset about it. A call to Marlin educated me that in the XLR rifles, they had intentionally left all those parts loose so the shots wouldn't string up and down as the barrel heated up.

Sure enough, at the range, I realized I could shoot 5 shots into under 2 inches with that gun (and a 10-40x scope ), vs. my other 444 with a tight parts fit, that shot 4-5" groups with the same scope mounted on it.

(Of course since all my friends razzed me about the too-high power scope, I got all sensible and put a 3-9x on it, so the best I can do set up that way is the same 4-5" groups as the other gun. )

Anyhow, hopefully they can do some stress-relieving and 'loosening' that will attain similar results for you.

If they don't you can always try some of the modifications yourself...

• http://leverguns.com/articles/paco/chapter23.htm

[Nath]

I had issues with my tang safety model like this.....the only thing I did not do that I should of was relieve the lever eye hole for the bolt pin. It was under a lot of load when the lever was closed and was constantly trying to open the action! It would only shoot light bullets.....any speed!

When I got my 357ae I did relieve the bolt pin hole in the lever enough so the lever when closed is securely held by the tiny detent and not trying to pop open, in other words no loading when the action is locked up .....that shoots pretty much any load and beats my tang safety model hands down!

Nath.

[Blaine]

I have a 336 in 30wcf that is MOA accurate. But, after five or so quick shots it strings vertically several inches. I sight it in for the first cold shot. It's not a plinker, but, a hunter. I'm satisfied.

[bonusmarple]

All is well that ends well. Winchester shot my rifle for accuracy and saw the problem. My rifle although purchased in 2013 was built in 2010 based on the serial number. I am now the proud owner of a 2014. The rifle shoots quite well.

[plowboy 45]

Sounds like your problem is solved.

[Griff]

All is well that ends well. Winchester shot my rifle for accuracy and saw the problem. My rifle although purchased in 2013 was built in 2010 based on the serial number. I am now the proud owner of a 2014. The rifle shoots quite well.

[firefuzz]

All is well that ends well. Winchester shot my rifle for accuracy and saw the problem. My rifle although purchased in 2013 was built in 2010 based on the serial number. I am now the proud owner of a 2014. The rifle shoots quite well.

I'm glad to hear this, both for you and to know that Miroku/Winchester's customer service is going to take care of legitimate problems without hassle.

BTW, also glad you're here.

Rob

[Pete44ru]

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While I'm happy your rifle was replaced with another, I'd be curious as to the cause of your problem(s) with the original purchase.



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