Winchester 94 Trapper

[bernie]

I am a Marlin Lever gun guy. I had a Winchester 94 .30-30 and was not pleased with the workmanship or quality. After that, I migrated to Marlin and have never been displeased. However, The Winchester 94 Trapper in .44 Magnum just looks like a handy little rifle to me. If Marlin made something like it, I would get one, but they apparently do not. Have any of you actually handled or fired with Trapper? What were your experiences with it. Is it well made, how is the accuracy? How is the recoil? I can see this as a nice rifle for a youngster to deer hunt with in heavy cover.
Thanks.

 

[six 4 sure]

Well I have two of them one in .357 and one in 44-40. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

I'd say they are just as accurate as any lever-gun and best of all there is no recoil.

Six

 

[Nightcrawler]

The low-end models have horrid triggers. Not just shotgun-esque triggers common to leverguns, but triggers with spring-loaded take-up deliberately built into them, probably as a safety of some sort. I've owned two Winchester 94 trappers and, due to that horrid trigger, probably won't buy another.

So try before you buy. If it doesn't bother you, the carbine should provide years of good service. Once in awhile the elevator breaks clean off; saw it happen with my .357. It's not a big deal to have fixed, though, and I understand it's quite rare (though I'm not the only one it's happened to).

Marlin DOES make a 16" .44 Magnum, I believe. It's just ported, but I'd take that over the Winchester trigger.

Now, the Winchester 92...that's a different story. Winchester made a limited run of modernized 92s, including a 16" Trapper in .45 Colt. I'd be all over that if they weren't like $700.00....

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Now, the Winchester 92...that's a different story. Winchester made a limited run of modernized 92s, including a 16" Trapper in .45 Colt. I'd be all over that if they weren't like $700.00.

If you really want a '92, check out the Rossis, especially those imported by EMF. My .357 short rifle is very nice.

 

[iamkris]

I'll second the Rossi recommendation. I have a 92 clone in 45 Colt. $275 lightly used. After a new set of springs ($20), new sights ($25) and a little elbow grease on the stock, she's S-W-E-E-T

 

[EJ]

The six 94 trappers I have had are FANTASTIC --
Good triggers--
Superb Mid range acuracy -- 50 -100 yds

 

[ed dixon]

I have one in .45 Colt that I really like so far. With the first batch of reloads I tried (100) I had two rounds slip under the feeding ramp requiring a screw and pin removal to clear. I'm a new reloader and I may have short-stroked the lever, so I'm not putting that on the gun yet. (I don't remember a problem with the couple of boxes of factory rounds I'd shot prior to this.) I don't know if others have had a similar glitch, but it's a neat little thing to play with and the tang peep just adds to the fun. How "tunable" it may be I'll leave for more expert users to assess.

 

[Bob]

I love my 44mag Trapper. I put a Decelorator butt pad on it, partly for recoil and partly to lengthen the trigger pull. I shoot everything from heavy 44mag with 310+gr. bullets to 44 spec with 240gr bullets and have had no problems. It is accurate, easy to shoot, and a ton of fun. I reload so it's also very economical to shoot. I put a Lyman 66 receiver sight on it and it works much better for my 47 yr old eyes. Try it, you'll like it.
Bob

 

[Cableman]

I have a 44 mag Trapper, or at least I had it until my father saw it.
It is a great lever action 44 mag. I also have a ruger 44 mag lever action with the 4 round magazine. I like the Winchester over the Ruger because the Winchester is lighter and smaller. They are literally a blast to shoot.

 

[44]

Don't Want Ports

I have the 16" Marlin 1894P 44 mag. Excellent workmanship. Slick action. Accurate.

But I'm going to sell it and get a 44mag Trapper because I don't want a ported gun. I've checked around and no one has a good way to plug or cover the ports. Glad to hear so many good comments about the Trapper. Thanks. 44

 

[Backwoods]

I have a Trapper in 45 Colt. It's one of the earlier ones before they put in the ugly safety block. The trigger isn't anything great but not terrrible either. I like it for what it is, which ain't a target rifle- pretty handy little weapon though!

Don in Ohio

 

[Shooter973]

Trapper 94's

I have 5 of these little beasts and really like them. I have 3 44 mags and 1 357 mag and a 30-30 all with the short trapper barrels. 1 of the 44's has the large loop lever but other than that they are all the same. I shoot alot of cast bulets out of them and they work very well. I went with the Trappers because of the cut style of rifling and my prior experiance of owning a couple of other standard Win 30-30's. The shorter barrels are a bit loader to shoot with the 30-30 but they are still a hoot to shoot. They work great as a hunting rifle out to the reasonable limits of each caliber.

 

[lawboy]

I have a .357 Trapper I bought with the intend to shoot pigs with it heavy loaded with 180-gr hard cast lead. So far I haven't been pig hunting, but I've easily fired 1,200 rounds through it in 7 months because it is FUN. I put a Lyman 66 sight on it, then got a bug and textured painted the stocks and painted them matte black. I mounted a 1-inch reddot in a weaver rail ahead of the receiver in very low rings. Now I have a kind of tactical levergun with back up receiver sight -- or just one fun little plinker with light .38spl loads, hehe. This set up will be dynamite on pigs though once I have time to go after them. I WILL be the owner of an identical carbein in 45 Colt before the year is out. It is that much FUN.

 

[Coot]

I got my .44 Mag Trapper about 7 years ago; mounted a Williams receiver sight, and my 10 year old took a 172 lb 8 pointer with it last fall. I also have the 20" Marlin 1894 in the same caliber.

Both initially had problems: the Winchester came with canted front sights (not apparent until the Williams sight was added); the Marlin had problems cycling ammo, requiring the removal of the lever with most every shot (a user-unfriendly single shot); also the stock developed a sever crack almost immediately. Happily, all of the problems were fixed by trips back to their respective rmanufacturers.

For hunting, the Trapper is much nicer to carry and gives acceptable accuracy (here in the northest most shots are in the 50 yard range or less); for 100 yd target shooting the Marlin is much nicer. Also, if cowboy shooting is a possibility, the Marlin holds 10 rounds, the Win only 9.

Coot

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

Coot...

What do you think caused the crack in that Marlin stock? Maybe it was cracked a tiny bit when you purchased it and it got bigger after you shot it a few times. Weird. What are your thoughts on the crack? Did Marlin replace the fore-end? Or did it match?

Thanks,
KR