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Win. Model 94 - stress cracks

ktbunger
I recently inherited an old Model 94 in .30 WCF. My grandfather apparently found this gun leaning against a fence post. The story is that it had an octagon barrel with a half nickel for a front sight. The serial number is 456,XXX and a gunsmith I had look at it said it was made in 1908. My grandfather had it re-barrelled with a 20" round barrel, but according to the length of the magazine it should only have about a 16" barrel. The aforementioned gunsmith found two stress cracks in the metal on either side of the hammer and told me the gun was not safe to shoot.

I have some questions. Would this gun have originally had an octagon barrel? Is there any way to fix the cracks to make the gun usable again? How much does the re-barrelling my grandfather did hurt the value? Is there a source for old rifle barrels that would return this gun to its original appearance?

Note on a new old barrel...the receiver and magazine have hardly any blueing left so my concern is that a brand new barrel would look bad up next to the other parts.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • MIKE WISKEY
    LISTEN TO YOUR GUNSMITH, THE AREA JUST IN FRONT OF THE HAMMER IS THE LOCKING BLOCK SEAT AND TAKES THE FORCE OF THE SHELL BEING FIRED. IF IT IS INDEAD CRACKED THE RECEIVER IS JUNK. AS TO PUTTING THE ORIGINAL TYPE PARTS BACK ON... IT IS TRYING TO MAKE A SILK PURSE OUT OF A SOW'S EAR. BOLT THE GUN TO THE WALL AND USE IT AS A CONVERSATION PIECE.
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  • only winchesters
    Welcome to the forum ktbunger. I'm afraid I agree with Mike on this, if the cracks are in the frame you have an old wall hanger. The real problem being you only see the cracks that are on the surface. There is a good chance that you have many that are below the surface. Only x-ray and or possiblr mag particle inspection would shows these. That's big dollars. Typically you can do some welding on metal that has a crack, but the heat usually causes more cracks to appear.

    The magazine tube length has nothing to do with what the original barrel length was. There are 94s with barrels that go beyond the length of the magazine tube. If the gun had originally a half oct/half round barrel, I believe most of them were 24 or 26 inches in lenght and extended well beyond the magazine tube. Maybe "Bert" can add later, he's very knowledgeable about Winchester rifles. There's also a good chance that when your grand father changed the barrel, he could have changed the magazine tube as well. As Mike said you have a wall hanger.
    Regards Dave
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  • only winchesters
    ktbunger: Here are a couple of Md 94's where the barrel is longer than the magazine tube.
    Gunbroker item #s
    18993478 and 18905779 I believe both are what is known as the "Eastern Carbine". does this look simalar to what you have.
    Regards Dave
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  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    Don't fire it! Don't try and weld it as it will change the temper in the Steel....making it like glass...easily shattered with Shock!...Hang it on the Wall and secure it so some dummy don't try to BORROW it and shoot it...and all unknownst to You....Be safe....

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff<P><BR>

    By the Way....Welcome to the Ask the Experts Forum and the Gunbroker.com Family.............Best....Captain Kirk
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  • Bert H.
    Hello ktbunger...

    I am in complete agreement with all the other fellows who have replied to you thus far... your old Model 1894 is a wall hanger, and can not be safely repaired. Have your local 'smith remove the firing pin, and then hang it on the wall.

    In answer to your first question, Yes, it most likley did have an octagon barrel. Value is no longer an issue on that old rifle due to its poor mechanical condition.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
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  • ktbunger
    Thanks for all the responses. I just remembered something my gunsmith said about this gun. He mentioned shooting reduced loads in it. Can anyone provide any input in this regard?

    Thanks...Travis
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  • nmyers
    Shooting reduced loads will be helpful to the plastic surgeon; he won't have to dig as deep to remove the bits of steel from your face.

    Neal
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  • only winchesters
    Kt: Like I said earlier, if you have cracks on the surface of the frame you have cracks below the surface too. The only way to tell what you have is through some sort of NDT, (NON Destructive Testing) such as Xray, or possibly Mag particle inspection. It's not safe to shoot. It's a wall hanger. Unless you are will to spend several thousand dollars on a project that may or may not work, Hang it on the wall. Once metal reaches the fatigue point and cracks show up, your through. Regards Dave
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    what part of NOdon't you understand?
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