357 M-94 Win Problem

[1Shirt]

Picked up a used 94 in 357 long bbl. that had been used for Cowboy action shooting only. It had been worked over and was as smooth as glass. Shot like a million bucks, until one day last fall it failed to lift a ctg. and when I looked at it, the lifting platform (for lack of better words) had snapped in half. That left me with a single shot for the rest of the afternoon. Took it to my favorite gunsmith. When I got it back he said, that unique to the 357 in a M94 Win, was a ctg. stop that allowed the ctg to only come back to x point where the lifter could pick it up. The ctg stop had broken and that had caused the lifter to break as well. Just thought I would pass this on to anyone with a 357 94. Fun rifle! Would you believe that Ne. will allow you to shoot deer with a 357 in a handgun, but not with a 357 rifle. Guess they think you will limit your range with a handgun, but will over extend range with a rifle. This is also the state that will not allow a scope of over 1X on a muzzle loader, for fear that you will try to over extend a front stuffer. Bureaucracy and politics it seems always over rules common sense, logic, and experiance.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[lastmanout]

Yep. Was lot of talk about this problem over on the SASS cowboy forum a few years ago.. The 357 M94 was very prone to cartridge carrier breakage, the 44 mag and 45 colt where rarely mentioned. I had a 16"carbine and then a 24" Legacy-both shot well. Ended up with a Marlin 1894 in 357 (just shot it faster). Maybe wise to get a spare while parts are still available. :Fire:

[NickSS]

I've roken two of them in my carbine (94AE). Both were due to the next shell slipping out of the mag under the lifter and it breaking when I closed the gun. This part is a weak point on the 357 caliber as they narrowed the lifter and thus eliminated the left hand support strut. As it is a cast part it is a little brittle when subjected to excessive force. I plan to get a spare just in case but I did stop using it for cowboy shooting so rarely cycle it fast anymore. I bought a Marlin for CB shooting.