Caliber Changing a Winchester 94

[Wild Willi]

Has anyone converted a Winchester 94 for 30 30 to 38 or 45. I wouls like to get an idea if this is possible with out a ton of work what would need changing beside the barrel and lifter.

Thanks WW

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

By "38" I suppose you mean .38 special/.357?

 

1. It would be a ton of work.

2. Since the 94 is a long action, it is way longer than the 92, which is the design that it takes to feed pistol cartridges. Winchester themselves cannot even make the 94 length action feed .45 Colt or .38 special well.

 

You will be MUCH better off starting with a gun that does not need $1000 of gunsmith tinkering before it feeds well. Let alone having to have a barrel made or scrounged, etc.

 

If you really want to try one, I'll bet somebody in a local club has one of the Winchester 94 Angle Eject guns that were made in the late 90s/early 2000s. Try one out if you don't believe me. You'll NOT find happiness in trying to make a 94 run short cartridges.

 

A 92 is what you are trying to build. Some are still being built off shore. See:

http://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=257385

 

A Marlin 1894 or a 73 clone is the conventional approach for Cowboy shooting.

 

Good luck, GJ

Edited December 19, 2016 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

[Wild Willi]

Thanks, I thought this might be the case but was not sure!

[Pat Riot]

Wild Willi,

I love my Winchester 94's but I would never try that. It would be really costly. Cheaper to buy one, even a collectible one.

[Rio Brazos Kid]

One of the 92 clones, (made in several standard pistol calibers), would be the very best way to go. These are nice rifles that run very well, and would be cheaper by far than converting a 94, which might, or might not, run all that great.

 

RBK

[Nate Kiowa Jones #6765]

Has anyone converted a Winchester 94 for 30 30 to 38 or 45. I wouls like to get an idea if this is possible with out a ton of work what would need changing beside the barrel and lifter.

Thanks WW

 

Even Winchester couldn't seem to convert a 94 to 38/357m. The 44/45 Win 94's do OK but I have had several of the 38/357's here because they are jam-o-matics. Built too loose to work consistently.

 

For those of you that have one that actually works consider yourself lucky.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

I was pretty sure I had a Winchester 1894 in 44 magnum.

I don't see why it couldn't be made to shoot .45 colt.

There are a couple 94 Winchesters on gb right now in 44 mag.

Making one run fast is a whole different annimule.

Best

CR

Edited December 19, 2016 by Chili Ron

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

 

 

I don't see why it couldn't be made to shoot .45 colt.

 

 

The Winchester Angle Eject 94's were chambered for a while in .45 Colt and .357 as well as .44 mag, as NKJ and I discussed above. I've still got a Trapper version of those 94's in .45 Colt. It was ok (other than being only a 9 shot magazine) for the first match I went to. I didn't go to my second SASS match until I had a 73. They can be made to SHOOT .45 Colt and other pistol cartridges. They just can't be made to feed those cartridges in a slick and reliable manner.

 

Good luck, GJ

Edited December 19, 2016 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Like GJ I once owned a Winchester 94. Mine was chambered for .357 mag. I bought it when my main match rifle was unavailable for a major match. Fortunately it was reliable though quite clunky. It was also very accurate. I sold it to a fellow who lived in a rural area and wanted it for home defense and pest control. It should be very good for those tasks. It was just too slow for CAS.

[Michigan Slim]

I have a .44 mag AE. I used it a couple years is CAS. It has a lever throw like a golf swing. Then I broke it and a smith had to MAKE the part to fix it. I use it as adeer and long range rifle now. Love that gun, just not for CAS.

[Crisco]

I'm sure it's been longer than I think, but Numrich Arms (now Gunparts Corp) used to sell conversion kits to change your model 94 over to .44 Magnum. I think the "kit" may have consisted of nothing more than a barrel and carrier/lifter. If so, that will answer your initial question, at least for the larger cartridge.

[Griff]

Four pieces are all that's need to convert a Winchester mdl 94 to a pistol round... The proper Bolt, Cartridge Guides (pair), Carrier and Barrel. Parts are sometimes available on-line, but scarcity increases prices. I had one of the 1969 44Mags, the first factory pistol cartridge chambered in the model. It worked, but not exceedingly well... But... I blame that on bullet choices and availability in factory ammo. I'd still have it, but someone apparently wanted it more than I did... just wished they'd have left money for it... (Actually, I hope the dirty thievin' n'er-do-well has been struck by lightning... and died, screaming and helpless... not that I have strong feelings on the subject. I'd still like the rifle back, just so I could reflect on the nature of "karma" thru the electric tattoo of his hand on the action. (Hoping he had that one in hand vs. the mdl 64 stolen at the same time)!

 

The .357 was introduced shortly after the 94AE was... the 45Colt in 1985... the first levergun produced in that caliber.

 

I hope that it's a love affair I have with the Winchester mdl 94... I have some 24 operational rifles and carbines in several configurations, and 6 I'm building into more, but... they're all in .30-30! The whole guts falling out when the action is cycled is really an act of genius with the long cartridges. But, it just hampers the smooth action (not a mdl 94 trait), that one needs for most shooting activities where true speed is a virtue.

 

See above responses for advisability.

[Pat Riot]

Skip trying a "kit". Buy a rifle made for the round you want to shoot. You'll get a more harmonious outcome :-)