Proper way to clean a 94 Winchester?

[Fly-guy]

OK guys, how should a 94 Winchester be cleaned? Your advice willl be greatly appreciated as I'm sure there are others out there with the same question.

[smilie=f:guy

[Ben]

Might be more than you want ?

http://members.fortunecity.com/oldvalkyry/winch.html

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Sorry Ben.

I just cannot agree with that web site. That was baloney. Scrub the hell out of it ???Stainless steel chore boy ***rats!!!

Clean like the military cleans ARs when you cannot disassemble. Place bare rod in barrel with muzzle protector in place. Screw rod onto brush or jag held in front of the chamber. Always pull out from muzzle carefully. Keep fluids from slopping into action. Use a coated , 1 piece rod if possible.

Without leading, cleans in 4 one-way passes. I well cared for barrel cleans for copper as easily from the muzzle as from the breech. Everyone uses a chamber guide right?

(I presume everyone has carefully deburred rod ends, jags, etc., checked fit-ups?)

BvT

[Ben]

I'm sorry to say that I really didn't read it that closely.

Ben

[woody1]

Sorry Ben.

I just cannot agree with that web site. That was baloney. Scrub the hell out of it ???Stainless steel chore boy ***rats!!!

Clean like the military cleans ARs when you cannot disassemble. Place bare rod in barrel with muzzle protector in place. Screw rod onto brush or jag held in front of the chamber. Always pull out from muzzle carefully. Keep fluids from slopping into action. Use a coated , 1 piece rod if possible.

Without leading, cleans in 4 one-way passes. I well cared for barrel cleans for copper as easily from the muzzle as from the breech. Everyone uses a chamber guide right?

(I presume everyone has carefully deburred rod ends, jags, etc., checked fit-ups?)

BvT

I pretty much agree. I got as far as the scrub hell out of it and quit. I'm not sure what the OP's question really is but if it pertains to "can I clean from the chamber end?" the answer is pretty much no. Not unless you've got a couple hours to devote just to disassembly/reassembly. Now, with that said, you've got several choices of how to clean from the muzzle end. I'll admit to, at times, just shoving the cleaning jag/brush down the bore and back out being careful, of course, to not contact the muzzle with the cleaning rod. A muzzle protector can be bought or, as I use, homemade from a cartridge case that will fit inside the bore, yet allow the rod to pass thru it. A better way is as BvT described above. I've never used a bore snake but they may be the way to go, inserting from the chamber. Anyone here use one and care to comment? I think the bottom line here is that you have to clean from the muzzle end and protect the rifling at the muzzle. Question answered? Regards, Woody

[405]

Tisn't rocket science!
Place gun upside down in a cradle with action open and the muzzle a little lower than breech. Use a muzzle guard. Clean as you would any other gun/bore.

[Junior1942]

Tisn't rocket science!
Place gun upside down in a cradle with action open and the muzzle a little lower than breech. Use a muzzle guard. Clean as you would any other gun/bore.+1. A section of plain ol' drinking straw makes a dandy muzzle guard.

[sh00ter787]

tbh my 94 is one of the easiest guns i have to clean

couple of passes with the rod (plastic coated, brass brush and jag) then tooth brush on bolt face, wipe around with a rag in the action, couple of q tips for the harder to reach areas and job done :D

every year or so i will strip her down completely and do a thorough clean but thats just me being anal!

[PatMarlin]

Sure wish I knew how to lighten up the trigger pull on mine.

[wrangler]

agree with the upside down cleaning deal . Keeps all the unwanted stuff out of the action. Amazes me when I hear people over here complaining about cleaning fluid and gunk running into the action.
Pat the trigger is a matter of trial and error.
More trial and not too much error .Frustrating but a little bit of metal at a time and a lot of reassemble and try.
I'm no gunsmith but got my Trials End down to 2lb from about6lb.Don't have to use both hands to fire now.
Jim

[PatMarlin]

Thanks for the tip Jim. One of these days,.

I always put a rag in front of the bolt to soak any stray liquid and protect the firing pin/bolt face from a slip. I also use Ballistol exclusively, unless it's a bad copper fouled bore then I use the Outters plug in high voltage 220v (3ph of course) bore zap thingy.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

A trigger tune depends on the production date of the rifle. I sent my Pack Rifle to a Benchrest gunsmith and it came back wonderful (AE , hammer block safety, transfer bar mess). On my pre-64s I just lighltened the lever safety spring a little and put teflon lube on the sear and notches. One one I adjusted the hammer leaf spring tension screw.

BvT

[shooting on a shoestring]

Clean it same as a Krag, from the front when you don't have time to strip it down. Mines only be striped down once, probably will be cleaned from the front the rest of the time I own it. i use Ed's Red and don't worry about any drops in the action. The transmission fluid will be left after the solvents evaporate and will only provide rust protection and some lubrication. I think a case could be made for purposefully rinsing the action with Ed's Red, although I haven't.....yet.

[PatMarlin]

Winchester Model 94AE Saddle Ring Carbine (100 year Anniversary)

Made by: Winchester. Model: 94AE. Caliber: 45 Long Colt. Barrel: 16". Made 1994. 100 year Anniversary model. It has a cattle brand on one side of the stock.


http://www.patmarlins.com/94win6.jpg


http://www.patmarlins.com/94win2.jpg


http://www.patmarlins.com/94win4.jpg

[1886nut]

The nice thing about top opening lever guns like Winchesters is access. I do what others here have said as far as putting a rag in the action to soak up bore cleaner as I am cleaning the bore. I simply refuse to dissassemble an old lever gun unless absolutely necessary, the chance of marring a screw head or slipping up and scratching the receiver is too great for my five thumbed hands, so for cleaning the action I use a lot of cheap qtips that I get at Dollar General. If the action is really dirty in places that I cant get too (and this doesnt happen too often), I've been known to spray a little dilluted Simple Green cleaner in the action, and after a couple of minutes holding the action upside down, carefully wash it out with clear water from a pump up sprayer. I then immediately go to the air hose and dry everything out. After that I heavily spray the inside of the action with EEZOX and leave it upside down with the bolt open on a clean rag for a couple of days. All the excess runs out onto the rag, and any left over I give the inside of the action another light going over with a couple more q tips and put a couple drops of gun oil on the bolt and one on each side of the hammer (if necessary). EEZOX is not a lubricant, its a gun finish protectant, and I can't say enough good things about it. A thin coat wont run back into the action , and other than what seems like a trichlor carrier fluid or thinning agent that gasses off in short order, it has nothing in it that seems to harm wood finishes. I may get laughed off the board for this method, but it works for me.

[59sharps]

I use a cut down case w/ a patch in it in the chamber. when done remove it and clean chamber area. also have used the rag in chamber. like the case do not have to weary about hittng the fireing pin.

[7of7]

... I've never used a bore snake but they may be the way to go, inserting from the chamber. Anyone here use one and care to comment? .....

I use bore snakes all the time. They work pretty good, but I really don't rely on them for fine cleaning...They do have a brush built in, and I have used them with solvent effectively.
It is difficult to tell if you have a good clean bore, because you are using the same snake over and over.. At some point, you need a patch to finish cleaning..
For my 22's, that is all I use.. just the snake..

[nicholst55]

I'd think one of the Otis flexible cable kits would be just about ideal for a 94. They use regular bore brushes and everything; the only difference is that you pull it from breech to muzzle, rather than push it the other way.

[cajun shooter]

1886nut, I am happy to see that you are using one of the better gun products on the market and that is the EEZOX you spoke of. I do suggest that you read the label and then go to the companies web site to learn more about what the product is. The second word on the label states it is a lubricant. It is one of the better ones that I have found for SS guns or cowboy guns that are fouled and hot from shooting. A very good friend of mine did a test with EEZOX and steel wool that was exposed to salt air for months. You may do a search on Cast Boolets to view it. The original was on the Open Range forum by John Boy. Later David

[Baron von Trollwhack]

C'mon ????????.......... using a boresnake is like using a dirty handkerchief.

BvT

[NHlever]

My "Family" 94 is about 52 years old now. I remember when my Dad bought it for $69.95. I was only 12, but was really into guns, and was pretty pleased that he had made such a good choice. I used to clean that gun every time I had the chance. We didn't know what a bore guide was, and I cleaned it from the muzzle, but I must have been pretty careful since it is still a great shooting gun. I still clean from the muzzle with the gun upside down, but I do use a bore guide that I made from a cartridge case these days. Just pay attention to what you are doing, and that 94 will last a long, long time.

[twotoescharlie]

suppose to wash the bore snakes when they get dirty.

TTC

[rustic39]

As long as we're discussing cleaning Model 94's - I have a 94 SRC (30-30) dating from about 1928 that I bought recently. Bore isn't awful, just neglected. My problem is this: I'm unable to clean it (Hoppe's No 9) to the point where I get clean patches - a LOT of green (copper) still showing. I think I'm removing eighty-year-old deposits; any way to get it clean?

[Gray Fox]

You might try one of the foaming bore cleaners. I've had good results with the Gunslick cleaner I got from Midway. Squirt it in via the chamber until it drips out the bore, let it sit in a horizontal position overnight, then patch the bore with a couple tight patches on a jag. It may take several sessions until you don't see blue color or goo on the patch depending on the condition of the bore. I did this process on an Ishapore 2A1 and the bore now looks almost new. Hope this helps, GF.

[No_1]

Agreed. A foaming bore cleaner may be the fix. Keep cleaning, you will eventually get the green out and from that point on it will be easy.

[pietro]

.


FWIW

I clean my Model 94's bbl from the rear via first removing the bolt, ala Marlin 336; the action via pulling the buttstock after removing the tang screw (which exposes the lockworks/trigger to a clean/oil); and the inside of the magazine tube via removing the endcap screw, cap, spring & follower.

To remove the bolt, unscrew/remove the (only) large-head screw in the upper LH action wall (the lever pin stop screw) & open the lever until the bolt's about 3/4"-1" "open" - the lever bolt pin will align with the screw's hole, ready to be pushed out through the small hole opposite, in the RH receiver sidewall. Drop the lever/link/locking bolt once the lever pin's "out" & the bolt should slide right out rearward. (assemble in reverse order ;) )

When reassembling the magazine innards, hold the hand-compressed spring inside the magazine tube via a small screwdriver through the cap screw's hole in the tube end with one hand until the other hand can start the endcap into the end of the magazine tube to hold the spring "in", instead of the small screwdriver.


.

[TXGunNut]

For cleaning out copper the foaming cleaner is awesome, generally just takes one application. I always do at least 2 applications and then run a CLP patch thru it. If the action is really fillthy I'll hose it down with Gunscrubber and follow with Hornady One-Shot cleaner & dry lube, it leaves a nice coating that won't attract more crud. If the action is not terribly dirty I just use the One-Shot.

[gwpercle]

Two bore snakes. one saturated in bore cleaner to do the cleaning and the second , saturated with lube to finish up with. When they get dirty I clean them. I wash my handkerchief when it gets dirty and I wash the bore snakes when they get dirty....works for me.

Gary

[Blammer]

bore snake is your friend. :)

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Glad to see that others are understanding that copper fouling has to go...if you want accuracy from your smoke pole.

[Patrick56]

C'mon ????????.......... using a boresnake is like using a dirty handkerchief.

BvT

As with handkerchiefs, it is possible to wash the Boresnake with warm water and a mild solvent. Winchester 1895 came with a string with a weight threaded for a brush. This is a very handy way to remove obstructions from the bore when you are in the fields. Blow a string or cord down the barrel and attach a small piece of rag on it and draw it out. Leave a short end to make it possible to draw it back if stuck. The Otis Kit-A-Kaboodle (?) sold in the -90:s was a handy set. The padded one didn´t cause any noise when hunting. Unfortunately mine was stolen. Cleaning rods made of steel is for the military, don´t use them.

[double8]

Home made patch worm from the chamber on all my guns..22 through 45-70.