Win. 94 question

[slimster]

I have had a little thought tickling the back of my mind for a while now. Why can't an angle eject model 94 (standard model, not BB) be rechambered to 308 marlin express? From past discussions on this board it seems that some very knowledgeable people in the past have tested both the 336 Marlin and the various Win.94's with the 454 and the consensus was that the 94 seemed to be the strongest action. Now the marlin chambers the 308mx without problems (so far at least) and before their discontinuance, Win. chambered their 94 in 450 Marlin and I have not heard of any problems from that chambering. The 450 pressures run, iirc, over 43k cup which is more than 30-30 class cartridges and with a larger base dia. to transfer backthrust. So given these parameters, why not? I dont know the saami specs for the mx, but from my understanding, factory loads run at pressures designed for the 336 platform. what say you guys?

[Tycer]

It was called a Big Bore Winchester 94 and the cartridge is the 307 Winchester. It's a rimmed 308 Winchester.

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[Malamute]

The barrel shank on the standard 94 with 30-30 based rounds is a little smaller than the big bore models. If chambering it to a larger caliber (fatter chamber size) round, there isn't much meat left in the thread area. You may get away with it OK, or maybe not. The Marlins have a slightly larger shank diameter, like the big bores. Why not use a big bore, maybe a 307 and chamber it to the Marlin round, if the 307 isn't enough?

[Marc]

The standard Marlin 336 shank is smaller than the standard 94. Marlin changed to close fitting V threads for the 308 Marlin. I never heard that they increased the shank diameter.

[slimster]

Thanks for the answers so far guys. This is exactly the kind of input I was looking for. I'm not looking to rush out and rechamber my Trapper or anything I'm just trying to figure things out. I wasn't sure if barrel shank/hoop strength was an issue or not, that's why I brought up the 450 marlin thing. That's a pretty fat case with high pressure too. Please keep up the responses! (P.S., I know about the BB's. I used to have a 356 BB until someone decided steal it. I loved the gun, but to tell the truth, I never really warmed up to the fat receiver )

[Marc]

I don't know for certain but I suspect that Winchester used the Big Bore barrel threads on the 450 Marlin. The reason is that the 450 chambered 94 uses the Big Bore front scope base. The Big Bores have a slightly larger front receiver ring and use a different base. Incidentally the .410 chambered 94 also uses the Big Bore front scope base.

Myron Rockett built a rimmed 308 on a standard Winchester 94 before the 307 came out. He shortened 444 brass and used a 308 reamer and dies. He wrote an article about it for Gun Digest. His max loads are basically the same as 307 Winchester loads.