win94 in 44mag yea or nay

[mickbr]

I came across an excellent condition win 94 in 44 mag, 24" round barrel in the LGS. I had been looking for a 24" 44mag to accompany my shorter rossi 92 but read the win 94 is not a great platform for pistol cartridges though. Any guesses on whether I would be buying into problems with one of these? The gun is in great condition( must have sat in a safe its whole life) but is not exactly bargain priced.

[RIDERED350r]

Interested to know more about it. I know at one time they made a 20" 94 Carbine in 44mag (early post-64) and then offered mostly 16" Trappers. I have not seen or heard of a 94 in a pistol cartridges with a 24" barrel but I know they currently offer the 1892 with a 24" barrel, sounds interesting.

That said, I have a late New Haven production 94 Trapper in 45 Colt and I've never had a cycling issues to this point. To take a guess I've probably put about 200rds through it, all my own handloads using the 250gr Hornady XTP. Although I've never really tried to cycle it with the rifle in odd or extreme positions, I have heard the 94 can jam with a pistol round if it is held with the muzzle too high when cycling.

[OldWin]

About 20 years ago, I traded into a 94AE Trapper in 44. It was made around 1990, I think. I'd never owned a post 64 (or many post war, for that matter) Winchester, but thought I'd give it a chance. It had seen some hard use before coming to me, but seemed to work pretty well.
I've since used it a lot. It's had many different sighting systems and has been used as a guinea pig for all sorts of experiments. I finally settled on the excellent XS rear peep.
The one thing I could not abide with this carbine as manufactured, was the ridiculous rebounding hammer. It was an abomination. I got a complete lower tang and fire control assembly from a late 60s 94 and swapped it into the little 44 and it made a huge improvement.
I realize this is a sample size of one, but mine feeds fires and ejects as it should every time. Its also a good shooter, and accuracy is on par with most 94 carbines. If there is anything, it seems ejection is a little lackluster when compared to an original top eject 94. I suspect this is an angle eject thing, however.

[Walt]

That's good to know, OldWin. I had always had the impression that chambering a long model 94 action in a short pistol caliber was a bad idea.

[Sarge]

In any caliber or configuration of lever action I use, I'll take Winchester (or high quality direct copy) every time. I have never had one shoot poorly, choke or require constant tinkering to keep it running. I don't do crossbolt safeties and I don't like the later rebounding hammer, but the latter is a pretty easy fix.

[castcat]

I have a 24" round barrel ae 94 have had no problems will feed semi- wadcutters and hollow , have only used 44 mag brass no 44 special

[RIHMFIRE]

44mag2 009.jpg

the one in the middle is my model 94 in 44 mag.
excellent and fun shooting rifle, and so far no problems at all.

the top one is a 1926 model 92 in 38-40.
the bottom on is a 94 in 357 legacy.

[OldWin]

That's good to know, OldWin. I had always had the impression that chambering a long model 94 action in a short pistol caliber was a bad idea.

Yeah. I do think the 94 is a little less length sensitive than a 92, but that's just my experience. I did wonder how the feeding would be with the 44, by mine has been excellent.

[AJMD429]

That's good to know, OldWin. I had always had the impression that chambering a long model 94 action in a short pistol caliber was a bad idea.

I've heard this too, BUT the only Win 94 (or clone of a 94) I own is a 375 Win that is a beautiful gun I under-appreciate.

So I don't know that personally.

One would think it might be excellent for loads that are a little bit long for the normal cartridge length, for instance heavy for caliber bullets. I don't know if the twist rate is such that that would be a useful direction to head though. I'm sure someone here on the forum knows the twist rate, and others probably have experience with variable cartridge length and feeding.

The only other thought is that from a purely collectible standpoint if it's a real Winchester in a factory configuration, there's value in that, in and of itself.

I DO know that I had a nice little breakopen 410 shotgun that had a "rebounding hammer" and I truly despise that design.

[Griff]

The only top eject mdl 94 produced in 44 RemMag was in 1969, one year of production. I had one I bought in the Navy in 1972. A sailor had ordered it thru the ship's store and was discharged before it came in. He gave up the 2/3 down payment he'd made, so I basically bought the carbine for $39. That was the only configuration it came in, a 20" carbine. The only ammo I could buy was thru the Navy Exchange in Subic Bay was 44 Mag semi-wadcutters. They would feed like a square peg in a round hole, but with enough jostling around, they would. 44 Specials were a little better, but it wasn't until I started loading my own ammo that I had good results.

[Old Savage]

I have late 80s in 45 Colt AE. I am not bothered by any of the departures from old function systems. Shoots fine but I agree it is not a good platform for pistol cartridges. Mine has to be held upright to reliably feed. Any tilt will lithely cause a failure to feed.

[buckeyeshooter]

I have a friend that owns one, he has no problems with it and he shoots it often.

[mickbr]

Thanks Gents. so can I scope an angle eject winchester? Its the 8th deadly sin I know, but my eyes wont handle open sights these days

[wvfarrier]

I have a 1-8×24 scope on my Win94AE in 45 colt. Yes, its an abomination but its works great and I like it

[wvfarrier]

Thanks Gents. so can I scope an angle eject winchester? Its the 8th deadly sin I know, but my eyes wont handle open sights these days

Also, a Trijicon rmr works great on them as well

[JOG]

I came close to purchasing a Winchester 94 ae in 44 mag. That terrible rebounding hammer was too much for me.
A few weeks later I found a old Marin 1894 in 44 mag and never looked back!
Johnny

[Walt]

Yep, I agree on the merits of Marlin's 1894 in .44 mag. Mine is not a JM and had a bad barrel from the factory. I sent it back, had the barrel replaced, then lightened the loading gate spring and it's a good shooting lever gun now.