Winchester Model 94 Lever Wont Lock

[But If Not]

I have a Winchester Model 94 (pre 64) and if it is empty the lever stays "closed" no problem. If I chamber a round the lever wont lock up about half the time. It just kind of falls back open. Any thoughts?

 

[mikewalker]

hm

If the problem is not consistent check your ammo for problem rims.

Got a clean true bolt face? The last couple 94's I saw were lacking good workmanship...

Or it could be trouble in the chamber not letting rounds seat fully..

The last 94 I bought was full of metal shavings...made on a Friday?
Strip it as far as you can and clean it good then see what happens...

 

[Omnivore]

Mikewalker is right. If you haven't fired it though, don't. If you have fired it, carefully inspect your cases for odd dents, indicating some junk stuck in the chamber. My new '94 came from the factory with a hard chunk of gunk stuch firmly in the chamber, which showed up as a dent near the shoulder of each fired case. After I cleaned it out (which took a great deal of effort) headspace was way long and I had to send it in for headspacing. Seems it was originally headspaced with the gunk in place.

Yours is older, so it may be something completely different. If a super good cleaning of the chamber, bolt and lock-up mechanism doesn't help, its definitely a job for an experienced gunsmith. For one thing, they can tell you in about 2 seconds, using a "go, no-go" gauge, whether the headspace is in spec.

 

[But If Not]

I think that I've figured it out. I believe that the ejector is sticky. So that when I put a bullet into battery sometimes it has that tension pushing back on the bolt assy and other times when it decides to be sticky it doesnt push back and so the lever just falls. I will take it out tommorrow and clean it and see what happens.