New to me pre-64 94 in 30-30

[ford4wd08]

Hi all,

My name is Jordan. I decided to join as since December 2021, I have added 3 lever guns to my safe... It was just a matter of time. I currently have a 9422 Mag XTR (which is probably my favorite rifle I own), a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Competition in 38 Spl., and my new 1941 94 in 30-30.

I have yet to shoot the 30-30, but I do have one question. The rifle appears to be pretty much unaltered, but it does have one screw that is not correct on the spring cover. I have ordered the correct screw with a set of replacements of the others just in case I need them at some point.

Here is my issue, the spring cover gets to where you can't even get it to move at times, it makes it very difficult to load the magazine. I believe it is contacting something, perhaps the carrier? I can usually get it past the dead stop with some help from a cartridge. I think it could be an alignment or a clearance thing.

Just curious if anyone else had run into this type of issue and could offer any tips before I get too deep in this thing. Love the rifle, it looks like it was barely used as well. Here are some pictures of my new gem as I'm sure this place likes them.

[piller]

Welcome to the fire. Help will be along soon.

[OldWin]

Welcome to the fire!

Is the gate doing this with the rifle empty of cartridges?
If so, and you open the action without activating the lifter, will the lifter depress a little with your finger?

[ford4wd08]

Welcome to the fire!

Is the gate doing this with the rifle empty of cartridges?
If so, and you open the action without activating the lifter, will the lifter depress a little with your finger?

Yes... I just did a littler more research online.

This appears to be the problem. The carrier will not fully retract every time.

What is the fix for this? New carrier spring?

[Drawdown]

Beautiful 94, and sure lucky to find a 41 model in such great shape. Around here, everyone's I've checked upon is always a 50's model and looks like it was used for a canoe paddle. Good luck with the fix!

[ford4wd08]

Beautiful 94, and sure lucky to find a 41 model in such great shape. Around here, everyone's I've checked upon is always a 50's model and looks like it was used for a canoe paddle. Good luck with the fix!

Thank you for the welcome. This one came from the online auction site. I poured over adds for weeks and found this one priced well for a buy it now, and in good shape.

I wanted a 30 WCF marked carbine if I could find one, and I did!

I suspect this small carrier issues is what prevented the gun from being used much, but I'm ok with that as it preserved it for me!

[Oldncrusty]

Welcome and congrats on a gorgeous prewar 94.

[JOG]

Welcome to the forum! That's a good looking 94.
I found a 1937 model this past summer.
Mine is a 32 spl.
The following week my shop had a 1941 94 in 30-30.
Unfortunately, I had to pay for a S&W I had on a 60-day hold!
It still ticks me off that I didn't get the 1941 Winchester.
Good luck with the 94!
Johnny

[ford4wd08]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

It appears to be a worn carrier spring with a little more disassembly today....

I'll see what is out there as far as parts.

I found a used one on ebay that appears to be in better shape than mine.

[ford4wd08]

Welcome to the forum! That's a good looking 94.
I found a 1937 model this past summer.
Mine is a 32 spl.
The following week my shop had a 1941 94 in 30-30.
Unfortunately, I had to pay for a S&W I had on a 60-day hold!
It still ticks me off that I didn't get the 1941 Winchester.
Good luck with the 94!
Johnny

There are a ton of 32 WS out there and I almost bought one of those, but I decided against it because I don't currently reload.

I've found plenty of ammo for my 30-30 and 38 spl. I've tried to stick to popular rounds so it can keep me shooting.

[OldWin]

Welcome to the fire!

Is the gate doing this with the rifle empty of cartridges?
If so, and you open the action without activating the lifter, will the lifter depress a little with your finger?

Yes... I just did a littler more research online.

This appears to be the problem. The carrier will not fully retract every time.

What is the fix for this? New carrier spring?

Generally, yes. Sometimes, it can be wear at the interface of the carrier and spring. Most times, however, it is the spring and the carrier itself is fine. I've seen a disassembly, clean, and lube alleviate it on a couple occasions. Crud can build up around the spring and restrict movement.
The lifter spring is the weakest point in the 94 action. Loading and unloading constantly accelerates wear. The trick is to unload without letting the carrier snap up. In my experience, as I mentioned above, the post war pre-64s seem the most susceptible to this.

[ford4wd08]

Welcome to the fire!

Is the gate doing this with the rifle empty of cartridges?
If so, and you open the action without activating the lifter, will the lifter depress a little with your finger?

Yes... I just did a littler more research online.

This appears to be the problem. The carrier will not fully retract every time.

What is the fix for this? New carrier spring?

Generally, yes. Sometimes, it can be wear at the interface of the carrier and spring. Most times, however, it is the spring and the carrier itself is fine. I've seen a disassembly, clean, and lube alleviate it on a couple occasions. Crud can build up around the spring and restrict movement.
The lifter spring is the weakest point in the 94 action. Loading and unloading constantly accelerates wear. The trick is to unload without letting the carrier snap up. In my experience, as I mentioned above, the post war pre-64s seem the most susceptible to this.

I did a clean and scrub this morning while inspecting the carrier spring. I definitely think it is the culprit.

I searched online and only found one used on on Ebay, it appears in better shape then mine, so I ordered it along with a new screw as someone had messed with this carrier previously.

I have some emails out to other sources to see if they have any in the mean time. I believe one gentleman makes new parts, so I'll see what he says. I would like to have a spare on hand.

I'll get it up and running good soon enough.

[ford4wd08]

Looks like Bob Knapp has some carrier springs on hand. I'll be ordering one from him as well.

https://winchesterbob.com/

[Griff]

Howdy and Welcome to THE Forum. I believe that you've found the source of the problem. The carrier needs to be fully down for the spring cover (loading gate) to open cleanly. When assembling my 94s and any time after a cleaning, I put a dab of grease on that spring. Just enough to lube it at the contact point, but not enough to get slung around during operation.

[JerryB]

I found a 1941 94 30-30 that was like new an old man bought it new and never shot it.I got it for 3 hundred dollars. killed one deer and keep the rifle in the safe. I hope you get to hunt with yours.

[ford4wd08]

I found a 1941 94 30-30 that was like new an old man bought it new and never shot it.I got it for 3 hundred dollars. killed one deer and keep the rifle in the safe. I hope you get to hunt with yours.

My plan is to kill a deer with iron sights with it this year. Going to have to practice with the sights. I plan to go shooting this weekend.

[ford4wd08]

Howdy and Welcome to THE Forum. I believe that you've found the source of the problem. The carrier needs to be fully down for the spring cover (loading gate) to open cleanly. When assembling my 94s and any time after a cleaning, I put a dab of grease on that spring. Just enough to lube it at the contact point, but not enough to get slung around during operation.

Any special grease that you use? I know any lubrication will help with wearing the metal on that contact point.

[Griff]

Nothing special, Outer's Choke & Gun Grease... but just a dab that sticks right where you put it.

[piller]

I used lubriplate on a break open single shot shotgun once. Stayed in place and worked for a long time. Dad always had that around someplace in the garage.

[ford4wd08]

New Carrier Spring came in today from Winchester Bob, part looked perfect and fit even better.

Got it all buttoned back up (with the grease on the contact point of the spring) and the carrier retreats far enough now to load the magazine with ease.

Glad I was able to get it up and running right! I also replaced a few of the screws that someone had let a screwdriver slip on from the looks of it.

I hope to get out and shoot it this weekend.

[ford4wd08]

Also, since you guys helped out so much, I thought I would snap a few pictures of my other lever guns in the safe.

Here is my 1894 Marlin Cowboy Competition with "case hardening" and my 9422 Mag XTR.

These lever guns seem to multiply in safes.

[OldWin]

Glad you got it up and running again.
Good looking rifles you have!