Winchester 94AE shoots left

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Miles
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Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Miles »

Rifle consistently shoots way left.

I have a 94AE in 45 colt. I bore sighted it and started sighting a new Williams receiver sight at 25 yards. Point of impact was about 12". I didn't expect it at zero but that was a bit much since I had it pretty well bore sighted. adjusted the sight and got close enough to start sighting at 100 yards. I've had to move the rear sight to the right almost as far as it will travel to get the point of impact to point of aim. I'm getting 2 inch groups but can't figure why the bullets are hitting so far left of the center line of the bore. Bent barrel? Screwed up crown? I put a borescope through the chamber to the muzzle, bore looks clean and the rifling looks good. Can't see any corrosion or build up of lead or copper. It's not like the sight is mounted offset then had to be moved to one side to correct this, the peep ring is way off right of the centerline of the bore. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Oh yeah, I was shooting on windless, calm days.
Nath
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Nath »

Interesting.
If the barrel was bent I am sure you should be able to observe that by eye or taking measurements somehow.
I am wondering about the crown. An out of square crown will steer a bullet off its original course.
Psalm ch8.

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OldWin
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by OldWin »

Check for muzzle wear or damage on the crown.
I once had an M1 carbine that did this same thing. There was cleaning rod wear / damage on one side. It would shoot a good group, but way off. I put it in a lathe and faced off about a 1/16" and it came right back to center.
"Oh bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.
Miles
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Miles »

Thanks for those replies.

When you 'faced off' the front of the barrel did you somehow chamfer the the face into the bore?

I believe this rifle may have been cleaned from the muzzle end rather than taking it apart and cleaning from the breech end, so it may have rod damage as well. I'll have to try taking some closeup shots of the crown.
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GunnyMack
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by GunnyMack »

Try putting a yard stick along its length, a straight edge will show if it is bent. Heck just looking through the bore can show that. Is it a round or octagon barrel? Can you drift the front sight? Or is it off center?
What ya need is a piloted crown (facing) cutter. Brownells has them but you might not be able to import them( evil gun stuff) . Or visit a local machine shop and ask for assistance in recutting the crown. All you can do is try and it doesn't hurt to try !
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
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OldWin
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by OldWin »

I didn't just face it straight off. I put the same crown shape back as was originally there. I'm always very hesitant to chamfer a muzzle. I know I'm in the minority, as many do, but I think there is a greater chance of running into concentricity problems. For me, it's easier to maintain an even muzzle with a standard radiused crown.
"Oh bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.
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GunnyMack
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by GunnyMack »

Radius crown is great Jay. Ive done radius, 11°, and recessed. They all work fine but my preference is recessed.
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
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OldWin
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by OldWin »

GunnyMack wrote: Sat Sep 03, 2022 4:44 pm Radius crown is great Jay. Ive done radius, 11°, and recessed. They all work fine but my preference is recessed.
No argument from me. I like recessed also. I just think setup is more critical for a good result. Seems I never have a setup I trust enough to give it a whirl.
Guess I need to find buddies with better equipment. :D
"Oh bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.
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Grizz
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Grizz »

another thing is to look at the sights from the front sight down, sometimes the front sight is not on the centerline axis, and that shows if you look backwards.... i've seen that a couple of times, solves mysteries.
Miles
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Miles »

Thanks for the replies.
I bought a Williams FP sight for it and last Friday I boresighted it. Even when boresighting the front sight had to be tapped left and the rear sight off to the right. So that makes me think it is not the crown but the front sight. It seems the front sight is slightly angled to the right (while looking from the breech end).
Perhaps the dovetail for the front sight was cut slightly off to the side, not exactly horizontal and parallel with the action, or the barrel is not indexed correctly.
What I mean there is perhaps the barrel is not turned in far enough.
???
Nath
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Nath »

Does the extractor and cut out line up good?
Has the foresight been bent over a touch?
Can it be bent in a favourable direction a touch?
Psalm ch8.

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Miles
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Re: Winchester 94AE shoots left

Post by Miles »

Finally got home and checked out the alignment of the barrel and bolt. The extractor doesn't quite go into the center of the recess in the barrel. The extractor contacts the ramp area just above the center of the recess then slides into the hole pulling the front of the bolt down slightly butt it locks into battery. If the barrel was tightened just a few degrees it would line up. That would also move the sight around a bit and perhaps center the sight with the centerline of the action.
I don't have a barrel vise or an action wrench so I'll have to see what I can make to attempt to turn the barrel in a smidge. I'm sure this would also fix the problem I have with ejecting spent cases.
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