Winchester 94 Barrel lengths?

[Murphy]

Let's see if I can make this simple without dragging the post out too long.

Scenario: You have a choice between several Winchester 94's.

Choices to choose from listed below.

1. Standard configuration 20" inch barrel.

2. 20" octagon barrel (Classic model)

3. 24" round barrel (Legacy Model)

4. 26" octagon barrel (Classic model)


Booits will of course be cast, more than likely the Lyman #311041.

Yes, I know experimentation will be the end story to find out which is the most accurate. But given the above choices, what would you pick?

If you have any experience with any of the above, your results, thoughts?

Thanks,

Murphy

[fishhawk]

i would take #4 myself longer sight radius for one and i just like the looks of the longer barrel on the gun. steve k

[badgeredd]

I'd vote for #2 or #4. #2 for its classic looks and #4 for the sight radius and added velocity with the same powder load. Obviously yours to choose.

Edd

[Heavy lead]

#2, can't see how I would want a 24 or 26, even though they would shoot well, so #2 if I have to choose. Knowing myself I'd do what I could to get them all if it were a choice.

[felix]

The older we get, the more we want shorter barrels. Balance is the reason. ... felix

[Larry Gibson]

The older we get, the more we want shorter barrels. Balance is the reason. ... felix

Balance is nice but I prefer to see the front sight more than I appreciate the balance. I'm shooting my 24" M94 Black shadow a lot more than my M94 carbine these days.

I had a 24" Legacy and it was a nice shooting rifle but it wasn't quite the M94 I wanted. I always wanted a M64 (24" barrele, half magazine and pistol grip stock). I had a chance at a really nice one a few years back and really regret not getting it. A friend made me an offer on the Legacy i couldn't refuse and have no regrets selling it. It was a very fine shooter too. Anyways I found a used M94 AE Black Shadow (Basically a M64 except with black composite stocks instead of wood) at a local gunshop just outside of jacksonville, NC last year. Made a deal after some haggling and it followed me home. I now have the M94 30-30 I've wanted for some time. I discovered why it was for sale in such an unused condition. It would misfire about 2-3 times per 10 shots. It was obvious the rebounding hammer spring yoke wasn't fitted correctly. A little judicious grinding and polishing on the bottom legs of the yoke corrected that problem.

This M94 rifle is a real shooter. I mounted a Weaver 4X scope and also attached a strain gauge for intitial load testing. With cast bullets the GB C314-150-WFN sized at .311 is working out really well over 18 gr 4759 with a dacron filler at 1909 fps. I've a gob of GB C311041s cast to try. I've also some Lyman 311041HPs cast to try also. The Lee TL314-90-SWC sized .311 over 3 gr of Bullseye shoots wonderfully as always. J bullets shoot very well. Paco Kelly's H335 load under the 130 gr Speer FP pushes 2758 fps with 1.5 moa accuracy at 44,000 psi(M43). Fed 150 PowerShoks run 2301 fps with 1.5 moa accuracy at 38,1000 psi(m43). Hornady's LeveRevolution 160 gr loads run the same 1.5 moa at 2452 fps with 37,800 psi(M43). I've a Lyman reciever sight on the M94 now and will probably replace the bead fron with a post.

Guess that makes my chioce #3.5; M64 or M94 AE with 24" barrel.

Larry Gibson

[jlchucker]

I have a 36 inch Classic. It shoots straighter and groups tighter than my 64 year old eyes can see. This particular rifle has a lot of sentiment for me, so I won't scope it, but it still would be my choice. I have recently recieved my 411041 PB group buy mold, and when it gets warm enough to cast, I expect to create some loads just for use in this rifle.

[jlchucker]

Whoops! I meant 26 inch Classic!!

[missionary5155]

Good evening
Am I going to be carrying this rifle across the desert for several hours.. or just stting at a bench popping holes through paper ?
I would be inclined to use the Round 20 " due to the weight saving factor. I carry my 1892 SRC for hours about the desert and really appreciate the fact it is handy and light inthe hand. So I would think going round short barrel would save me 1-2 pounds which I just might need in water.
I would not want to sacrifice any of my pre1899 barrels but has anyone began a chop job stating with a 30 inch any style barrel in 30-30. Cut off 1"-2 " at a time to see if there ever is any accuracy difference down to a legal 16 +" barrel? I remeber reading about a RUger SBH 44 that started as a 10" (maybe 10.5) and got wacked 1" at a time and there was no accuraccy diffence from a Ransom reast down to about 2".
But anyway my criteria is practicle usability. All my hunting is 100 yards or less and my 18" SRC will harvest any critter I can see.
God Bless you !

[kodiak1]

4 Longer Barrel and Octy Pipe OH YEAH BABY.

Ken.

[runfiverun]

if you are gonna carry it the 20" round is fine.
if it is gonna be a truck or bench gun the 24 octagon.
even if it is a truck gun the 20 is still better.
after packing around a 24" bbl in full octagon all day i went for the 20. the paper and deer don't seem to know the diff.

[EDK]

I like the longer octagon barrel. I'm a MARLIN guy with a 30/30 caliber 336 Cowboy with 24 inch barrel...and a 20 inch straight grip RC that is going to be shipped to Marlin to be converted to a Cowboy rifle next week. The fact that I also have 357 and 44 Cowboy rifles with 24 inch barrels and a 45/70 Cowboy with a 26 inch octagon barrel may have something to do with it.

The long barrel isn't quite as handy in the brush, but I sure like them.

I screwed up in November...they had a pistol grip 30/30 MARLIN with 24 inch barrel and half magazine at an excellent price, but I was (and still am!) buying primers and powder in honor of Mr. Obama's election. That will probably be my next gun purchase if I don't run across another straight grip 30/30.

Get the longer one...they aren't that common. You can always buy a 20 inch...or shorter! carbine....there's millions of them out there.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the mid-60`s I got a consecutively numbered set of 94 classics. The carbine is my favorite for hunting and carrying,DUH. The full length rifle is a joy to bench shoot. I got these before Winchester went nuts with commeratives for everything including ground hog day I think. :castmine: Robert

[Larry Gibson]

If we're talking carrying; the 24" barreled M94 AE Black Shadow weighs 6 lbs 3 oz and is less than my 20" barreled M94 carbines 6 lbs 6 oz. Both of them have Lyman reciever sights with no barrel rear sight.

Larry Gibson

[Murphy]

The gun would be carried VERY little as opposed to paper punching and playing around with distance.

So, weight really isn't the issue. I've been known to carry a full sized M1A Springfield Armory just for the heck of it... :)

Thanks,

Murphy

[oldhickory]

I don't know much about this "Classic" stuff, I trust they're new made guns? I have an 1898 mfg. M1894 with a 26" half round/half octagon tapered bbl. with a shotgun butt and half magazine, it carrys and balances nice...Shoots very well with a tang peep sight. The saddle carbine I have does very well also with the platinum lined express type rear sights, it was also made in 1898. Both are .30WCF and though I haven't chronyed them, I don't see much of a differance on the targets...Even with my old eyes!

I will say this though, I never liked the full octagonal barrels, they just seem too muzzle heavy for me. My days of toting heavy guns around are pretty much over.

[northmn]

I have a Marlin Cowboy with a 24" barrel that is my favorite centerfire for deer hunting. I carry the gun mostly to deer stands. The longer sighting radius, especially with the peep sight is appreciated. One deer at 150 yards more or less with cast. As I understand it, there was a gunsmith in NW MN that put a lot of longer barrels on carbines because at that time the 20" was all Winchester and Marlin made and some wanted longer barrels. Personal preference.

Northmn

[jlchucker]

Back in the mid-60`s I got a consecutively numbered set of 94 classics. The carbine is my favorite for hunting and carrying,DUH. The full length rifle is a joy to bench shoot. I got these before Winchester went nuts with commeratives for everything including ground hog day I think. :castmine: Robert

I think they even commemorated ground hog day. I worked there when all of this was going on, and even saw commemoratives for the overseas market that weren't sold in US gunshops. They sure had some idiots with poor taste in the marketing dept back then-- in the end, it helped to kill the company IMO. Regular employees on the job always marked the starting low point as being when the 94's started coming out after serial no. 3 million. Like you did, I should have bought the classic model in a rifle/carbine pair. Mine though, was the only one that I know of that left the factory with a plain black loading gate and a then-experimental steel lifter that became the factory standard a couple of years later. The barrels on those rifles were all excellent, and made in house. I couldn't get my classic rifle made up with a standard receiver, though, and I never did install the saddle ring--it's since been lost. Had those classic models been sold in a simple style, without the fake engraving and gold loading gate, I believe that many more would have been sold. Look at the Model 70. It really didn't catch on again until the featherweight with classic stock came out. The ugly ones prior to that had good barrels, and a decent push-feed action, but were plain ugly, with even uglier impressed checkering.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I agree jlchucker. It almost seems to me that they weren`t listening to what the buyer really wanted. I compare their poor design and looks to the auto companies who might have said "Aw build it anyway - somebody will buy it"! I have several classics from the turn of the century, 1900 that is, in both round and octagon barrels. One carbine has a flip up ladder rear sight on its octagon barrel. :wink: Robert

[shdwlkr]

Murphy
I have a 20 inch rb, a 24 inch rb and a 26 inch octagon in 30-30 and love all of them. But if I am going to do some long range shooting I lean towards the 24 and 26 inch barreled ones and I have never found them heavy but I carry a 54 caliber cap lock and think that is light and have always liked the long barreled rifles better then short barrels.
I am just getting into shooting lead bullets in my 30-30's and find that I have been missing a lot and should have switched years ago.
Yes a jacketed bullet can be driven faster but my lead bullets are giving up only a 100-200 fps over what I loaded my jacketed bullets so I am not giving up much and it is much more fun with the lead.

[TAWILDCATT]

I have a 94 20" I got it for $70 and it had never been fired.then got a new 94 trapper 16" that I paid $200 for.both are great guns.But the trapper had blow back and set to factory and they put new barrel on.this gun too was new.they said that they out sorced the barrels.