94ae .357 problems,,,,

[Longknife]

I purchased a 94ae more than 10 years ago, used, planning to get into CB action, but that never happened. This gun was and is now in about 99% cond, you would be hard pressed to find any flaws. It is really clean!!! It is a .357 mag. I shot a couple of magazine full of .38 and .357 and it functioned great. I didn't shoot it for several years and got it out of my cabinet a year or so ago and loaded a mag full of new .38's. First round went off great,,, second round,,,jamed, it seems the round in the chamber popped out and went under the lifter. I had to take the cap off of the mag and empty the mag. Reinstalled it , loaded it up and fired again, jammed again,,, loaded .357,s, still jamed, loaded some CB reloads, jammed again, GRRRRR. Took it home and bench tested it. The "teat" on the link seems to be too short to hold the shells in the mag,,,,it really doesn't look worn or broken though, and according to several sources this part has been discontinued. Only option is to build it up with weld and work it down?..... On further inspection it also appears that the hole in the receiver that the mag tube goes through also has a slight chamfer that may be allowing the shell to pop up and go over the teat,,,.??? On the bench I loaded a couple rounds through end of the mag,, installed follower, spring and cap. with lever in down position, where bullets should be held in mag I bump the stock and out pops a round, under the lifter,,,,really disappointed with this "like new" 94ae,,,,,,

[Der Gebirgsjager]

These problems are always hard to diagnose without having the gun to examine. The fact is that originally it worked, then it sat a long time and then it didn't work. My guess would be the ammunition. It's just a shot in the dark, but are you using the same brand of cases and same OAL loading that originally worked for you? I have noticed that foreign-made .357 cases sometimes seem to have smaller rims.

[Longknife]

Yeah, Especially hard to diagnose on such a new looking gun, I would expect it if this was a worn out ***! The magnums were Winchester and the reloads were mostly Winchester, .435 rim dia. I really would like to see a working .357 and compare any differences????!!!!....P.s. SAME BOX of AMMO TOO!!!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Well, if the same ammo, then one is left with a mechanical defect in the mechanism. How much of a gun tinkerer are you? You said that you took the magazine tube out -- are you able to entirely disassemble the receiver mechanism, detail clean it, and reassemble it properly? If so, that might solve your problem. Often times small pieces of debris are found jamming things up or spring action reduced by crud. If you can do this, and it still doesn't work, then it might be gunsmith time.

Good luck in solving your problem.

DG

[JSnover]

There are a handful of videos about fixing The Infamous Marlin Jam, there has to be at least one that will walk you through the assembly/disassembly of a Win 94AE. YouTube it, see what you come up with.

[Jack Stanley]

I'm with DG on this , after sitting like that , my thought would be congealed oil in the wrong spot .

Jack

[robg]

if you short stroke it that can cause it or its the little nub on the lever thingy that has worn

[fecmech]

You will find the Winchester 94AE to be a poor choice for Cowboy action. They are accurate but mechanically problematic. I got rid of mine some time back. As you can see in the picture that is the best way IMO to fix the problem. You can also back the protrusion up and peen it to lengthen it but it wont last as the link is very soft. If you look closely at the part on the left, that was a new link I bought and after about 100 rds it started passing cartridges. You can see the imprint of the cartridges on it from recoil in the magazine. Good luck

[robg]

You will find the Winchester 94AE to be a poor choice for Cowboy action. They are accurate but mechanically problematic. I got rid of mine some time back. As you can see in the picture that is the best way IMO to fix the problem. You can also back the protrusion up and peen it to lengthen it but it wont last as the link is very soft. If you look closely at the part on the left, that was a new link I bought and after about 100 rds it started passing cartridges. You can see the imprint of the cartridges on it from recoil in the magazine. Good luck

that's the thingy

[Walks]

BOY HOWDY !!!

I must be Lucky. I've owned my 94AE in .44Mag-20" bbl for 31+ years. Shot it about 300+rds every months for the first two years in Cowboy Shooting.
Never had a problem.
My Chiropractor loves his Trapper, a lot of folks got started in SASS with a 94AE. They wanted an American Made Rifle, and no Safety.
But things have changed in the last 15yrs.
Since Winchester closed it's doors. And moved manufacture of the 94AE to Japan.
A terrible end to a iconic Rifle.

[FergusonTO35]

Since Winchester closed it's doors. And moved manufacture of the 94AE to Japan.
A terrible end to a iconic Rifle.

Every Miroku gun I've examined is much nicer than the equivalent post-'64 New Haven. I would rather pay $1000.00 for a 94 that looks great and works right than $300.00 for something I have to endlessly tinker with.

[fecmech]

The 94AE's in .357 were the main problem due to case head size. The .44 and .45 case heads were similarly sized to the 30-30 which the gun was designed for. The .357 and the 94 were not a good fit.

[shdwlkr]

I had a mdl 94 in .357 mag and the issue with it was the oal of the cartridge had to be just as long as you could get it to work and then sometimes it didn't. It went down the road in a trade for something else.

[FergusonTO35]

If I was the OP and otherwise happy with the rifle, I would get a used lower link from Fleabay and have the cartridge stop welded up higher. Swap it into the rifle, then file off a bit at a time until proper function is accomplished.

[Longknife]

You will find the Winchester 94AE to be a poor choice for Cowboy action. They are accurate but mechanically problematic. I got rid of mine some time back. As you can see in the picture that is the best way IMO to fix the problem. You can also back the protrusion up and peen it to lengthen it but it wont last as the link is very soft. If you look closely at the part on the left, that was a new link I bought and after about 100 rds it started passing cartridges. You can see the imprint of the cartridges on it from recoil in the magazine. Good luck

THANKS,,,,I knew someone else would have had this problem before and I was 99% sure I would have to take the link out and weld it up. Thanks for the pics!!!,,,,LK

[Mistered]

I haven't been on this forum for a while but I came back tonight and read this thread.
I had a 94 AE Trapper in .357 I bought in 2003 and struggled with it for almost ten years with the jamming, cartridge dropping under the lift etc. I actually got it to work much better after a lot of inspection, teardowns and polishing this and that but it was still problematic and in 2014 I sold it for $750 and took a chance on a Henry BBB in .357.
The Henry has it's 'quirks' but overall I am satisfied with it, find it as (or more) accurate than the Trapper and zero cycling/feeding issues.
I even solved some of the 'known' minor problems many report it having.
Heck I even discovered a way to use a Williams 336 WGRS sight on it without it having to be mounted to hang off the rear of the receiver and without having to drill and tap an additional hole!

[onelight]

Hard to imagine how any parts could wear just sitting . If mine I would detail strip and clean every part inside and out and if still not working replace any springs that could be involved with the problem.
I wish I was more familiar with the 94AE but if it was working when you parked it it must have a problem different than some of these others have experienced ,I would do the simple stuff first.

[Walks]

I've own a Miroku 101 & a 92 in .44mag. And others in the past.

Yes they were/are all well made.

But if we all buy imported products, eventually the trade deficit with destroy US.

[Mistered]

But if we all buy imported products, eventually the trade deficit with destroy US.

I agree. I came close to buying a Miroku but backed off.
Henry picked up a lot of the slack left by Winchester and Marlin.
While Marlin continued to build rifles we all know what happened with that but they might be starting to 'round the corner' as reports are they are getting better.
I looked at one a while back and it looked great, action tight but smooth and nice wood to metal fit and nice finish overall. Hopefully this is the case and the one I looked at wasn't just a 'fluke'.

[pietro]

There are a handful of videos about fixing The Infamous Marlin Jam, there has to be at least one that will walk you through the assembly/disassembly of a Win 94AE. YouTube it, see what you come up with.

Total dis-assembly is not required to fix the short/worn cartridge stop finger atop the lower link of a Winchester 94.

Just remove the pivot pin/screw, located at the forward end of the lower link, and drop the front of the link down to work on.





I slightly lengthen the stop finger via peening the side, with the far side supported by a steel block.

I make it long enough that no cartridge will feed from the magazine during cycling, then dress it down with a file using baby steps, until a cartridge will barely pass it during cycling.


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