Help with a Winchester 1894

[tigereye_77]

I offered to help a friend of mine with his old Winchester 30 WCF. It had sat in a pool of water for a few weeks and is suffering from some rust damage and I've reached a point where I need help. I know someone is going to recommend taking it to a gunsmith, but neither of us have the spare money to take it to someone.

One web site puts the serial number being made in 1941 and all of the documentation/field stripping instructions I can find are for the newer models.

So here are my questions:
1. Does anyone have or know of where I can get an "exploded view" or field stripping instructions to clean an old 1894, circa 1940's?

2. I've read a few posts where people have used "modern' ammunition in the older 1894 (one guy said he was firing modern rounds through an 1894 made in 1920) but wasn't ammunition in the 40's made with cordite? Would this affect the pressure or are the "modern" loads made with the same pressures in mind? Or am I just making this more difficult than it is?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[rcmodel]

All 30-30 ammo is loaded to safe pressure standards for use in any 30-30 made since black-powder days.

But all Winchester 30-30's were always made for smokeless powder regardless of age.

Try this for disassembly instructions:
http://www.castbullet.com/misc/tdown.htm

I strongly suggest you take photo's as you go along for reference when you put it back together.

BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL when replacing the cartridge guides in the receiver if you remove them.

Also the magazine band & magazine tube.

rc

 

[tigereye_77]

Thanks for the info. I'm able to get into the action now and start cleaning.
Are there any tricks to re-blueing a rifle? I'm guessing you just follow the instructions on the bottle.

 

[rcmodel]

Cold bluing is hardly worth the time it takes to put it on properly.

It won't stay on, no matter how good you make it look to start with.

rc

 

[tigereye_77]

I was able to get into the action and clean the parts, thanks to that link you posted. I'm noticing some side-to-side play in the lever. About a quarter inch worth, it's not much. I kind of expect it from a gun this old, but is there a way to tighten up the side-to-side play?

 

[rcmodel]

Perfectly normal.
Don't worry about it.

You may have noticed that a 94 practially falls apart when the action is open.

It's designed that way to digest dust, dirt, weed seeds, cow dung, and anything else likely to get inside one.
Many of them are 100 years old and have never been apart for cleaning.

rc

 

[Duke of Doubt]

rcmodel: "You may have noticed that a 94 practially falls apart when the action is open. It's designed that way to digest dust, dirt, weed seeds, cow dung, and anything else likely to get inside one. Many of them are 100 years old and have never been apart for cleaning."

Very well put. Having begun my shooting with bolt action rifles, it was a little ... disarming, if you'll pardon the pun ... when I first vigorously broke open the action of my own Model 94. Jeez -- it looked and felt like it was about to fall apart onto the floor. But that's on purpose, to let dirt and seeds shake and fall out. Typical of good farm tools. It's a wonderful action, perfect for its intended purpose as a range and brush gun. Mine happened to be so surprisingly accurate that I put a 3-9x scope on it, something that would have made me laugh before I did it. Man, what a naildriver.

 

[tigereye_77]

You're right, the action almost fell apart in my hands. But I guess that's normal
I was finally able to get a look down the bore and for a gun that sat in 6 inches of water for at least a month (maybe longer), that bore is surprisingly bright and clean. The lever is loose and shaky but she cycles a lot smoother than she did before. She bit me once when I wasn't paying attention too.