Winchester 94 44mag checkout advice

[aHFo3]

I'm looking to buy a 94 44mag trapper. I have never owned a winchester 94 before. What should I look for? I'm thinking of advice similar to what is found in the revolver checkout sticky.

I don't know if it is a gun with the "safety" or not.

Thanks for your input.

 

[sappyg]

i haven't read the sticky you speak of but it should be a good enough guide for you. 94's are noted for having a loose or clanky kind of lever so that's not really an issue. check the muzzle and crown for abuse. have a light with you and check the bore. if it's dirty i would be suspect. looks at the receiver screws for damage. if someone has played gunsmith on it there might be problems. they may not have even reassembled it correctly. it is a little tricky. it is more complicated than a Marlin. see if you can take it for a test drive. at least take 8 rounds (dummy) with you and see if they will cycle.
i don't think the safety is much of an issue. the one i had had it but i never used it. wish i still had it in the rack. it's a real fun rifle.
good luck

 

[Greg Mercurio]

I'm no expert on the '94 but I have a Trapper in .44 and it's a great rifle. Low power scope and good handloads give great results in reasonable ranges. The safety is not an issue unless you don't like the way it looks. It's a functional and very handy rifle overall.

 

[Al Thompson]

Big issue with the 94 is the shell stops were haphazardly installed. I had one that would not feed and required a trip to the gunsmith to correct. He was very familiar with the issue. What would happen is that when you loaded the cartridges into the magazine tube and worked the action, the shell stops would fail and drop a couple of live rounds into the gap between the lever and the action body, tying the whole rifle up. Only way to clear the rifle was to unscrew the magazine cap.

Only way to find this out would have been to run some dummies through the action.