1894 lever should cycle upside down?

[klover]

Big Five has one for $379. It is very smooth compared to others I have handled there, but it will not cycle upside down. I was wondering if someone could tell me if this is normal. I did not bring dummy rounds, just worked the action.

 

[B.D. Turner]

I have found failures to feed on the 1894 are due to me working the lever too slow. Rack it like you mean it. I have not tried it upside down.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Directly upside down, I would think that the locking block (part #46 in the manual) -could- drop back (up) into the bolt preventing the rifle from cycling. Could be wrong about that though. I'd PM TinyGnat219 and ask him to try it and see what happens.

 

[Sistema1927]

Do you have a need to cycle one upside down? Is this a deal breaker for you?

 

[Cosmoline]

I've noticed my Puma M92 doesn't like to cycle with most rounds upside down or partially inverted. The bullet tends to tip down off the carrier and is too high to chamber Maybe a RN would work. I suspect it's inherent in the design. JMB wasn't designing it for people to use while upside down. But that said I'll bet it could be rigged to work that way with some modifications to the carrier.

But I can't tell from your post if you mean it won't cycle rounds, or just flat out won't cycle. It should cycle if you're dry.

 

[ZeSpectre]

but the puma is a very different design from the Marlin 1894. The locking blocks in the puma are attached to the lever. The locking block in a marlin just slides up and down.

 

[Gunfixr]

Both the Marlin and the Winchester (Rossi, Puma) 1894 uses a loading lifter for the cartridge. The Puma is actually just a copy of the Winchester 1892. The nose of the cartridge relies on gravity to keep it in place. On the Winchester 1892s and 1894s, the bullet can tip completely out of the top of the action, and not feed at all. On the Marlin 1894, the closed top of the receiver will prevent this, but the nose could be pushed into the area above the chamber, effectively stopping feeding. The only lever action rifles virtually jam-free upside down will be the Henry (1860), Winchester 1866, Winchester 1873, and Winchester 1876 rifles. These use a carrier block to raise the cartridge to chamber level and the bolt merely pushes it directly into the chamber. The opening in the top of the carrier is not large enough to let the cartridge pass through. However, these are weaker actions, and are not made in very powerful calibers, such as .44 Magnum.

 

[rdaines]

Nice review, thanks Gunfixr

 

[DMK]

JMB wasn't designing it for people to use while upside down.

Obviously the word 'tactical' wasn't invented yet.

 

[bg226]

Would pump-action rifles (remington) encounter the same problem as lever actions (marlin), when worked from upside down or rather, not entirely right side up?

 

[Greysand]

I thought about this a-bit when I first started leaning how the browning levers (1894 in particular) worked. And I came to the decision that while it may not work while upside-down - should I find myself suddenly ass over teakettle - I would likely have more to worry about than my rifle not working.

Angle eject models may work thou. Depending on your angle of teakettle.