Winchester 94AE hammer strut question

[FergusonTO35]

Recently bought a new hammer strut for my 94AE (rebounding hammer) from Midwest Gun Works. The strut I received has only one upper leg to engage the hammer, whereas my old one has two. The strut appears to have been intentionally made that way. Did Winny change the design at some point to have only one upper leg? Or maybe they sent me the wrong one?

[Kai]

Which exact gun do you have? What year manufacture is it? Tang safety, receiver safety, no safety? Sounds like your gun probably has a safety which uses the strut like your old one. I believe the new strut you received is for a non-rebounding hammer.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. Mine is a 1985 model with rebounding hammer but no manual safety. I should add that the strut I received is identical to the old one save for one instead of two legs on top where it contacts the hammer. It is definitely not the same as the strut on my 1978 half cock rifle. I looked at some ads for used parts on Fleabay and it looks like Winchester did use a hammer strut with only one upper leg on some of these rifles. I don't know why, and the struts appear to be interchangeable as long as the rifle is a rebounding hammer type. One reviewer on the Midwest Gun Works site said that the original strut on his rifle had two upper legs and the new one only had one but still worked perfectly. I found a complete lower rebounding hammer/trigger/tang assembly for only 40 bux and so I went ahead and ordered it. The strut on this one appears to have only one upper leg in the pictures.

[Kai]

Thanks. Mine is a 1985 model with rebounding hammer but no manual safety. I should add that the strut I received is identical to the old one save for one instead of two legs on top where it contacts the hammer. It is definitely not the same as the strut on my 1978 half cock rifle. I looked at some ads for used parts on Fleabay and it looks like Winchester did use a hammer strut with only one upper leg on some of these rifles. I don't know why, and the struts appear to be interchangeable as long as the rifle is a rebounding hammer type. One reviewer on the Midwest Gun Works site said that the original strut on his rifle had two upper legs and the new one only had one but still worked perfectly. I found a complete lower rebounding hammer/trigger/tang assembly for only 40 bux and so I went ahead and ordered it. The strut on this one appears to have only one upper leg in the pictures.

Your 1978 gun most likely has a coil spring. I have a couple 94s from 1993-94. Both ae, rebounding, and strut with 2 legs. Due to the rebounding hammer design it does not seem that the single leg strut would work as it contacts the hammer differently. I have a 1969 94 with no ae, safety or rebound that has a completely different single strut design

[FergusonTO35]

Yes, my '78 model is the coil spring half cock type. I would assume the strut from MGW was from the last stock of service parts made for the USA 94's. Far as I know Winchester does not offer any parts or service for the New Haven guns at all. If so, could it be that the tang safety 94's used a single leg hammer strut whereas the crossbolt safety and no safety rifles used two? That might be the reason why, as the tang safety design may have required a single leg design.

[Kai]

Yes, my '78 model is the coil spring half cock type. I would assume the strut from MGW was from the last stock of service parts made for the USA 94's. Far as I know Winchester does not offer any parts or service for the New Haven guns at all. If so, could it be that the tang safety 94's used a single leg hammer strut whereas the crossbolt safety and no safety rifles used two? That might be the reason why, as the tang safety design may have required a single leg design.

You got me there as I do not own any of the tang safety models. Have you tried putting the single leg strut in your gun?

[FergusonTO35]

I haven't tried it yet. I sent a message and pics to MGW to see what they have to say about it. As I understand it, the tang safety catches the back of the hammer when engaged, so mebbe there wasn't enough clearance for both upper legs of the hammer strut hence one was removed for the new design.

[FergusonTO35]

Well, my new complete lower tang assembly showed up and is a perfect fit to my rifle. This one uses the hammer strut with only one upper leg, in fact the hammer of this one doesn't have a recess for a second upper leg. The hammer is a different shape and has the tapped hole for the factory hammer spur extension. I'm pretty sure the 2002 model I used to have used the strut with two upper legs as my 1985 did from the factory. So, I would bet that the single leg strut came out with the tang safety 94's. Hopefully I can test fire this weekend.

[Bazoo]

Winchester originally had a 4 leg hammer strut, but redesigned it to a 3 leg strut. I believe it was to give better ignition. It's common for those with rifles that intermittently misfire to convert a 4 leg strut into a 3 leg.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks bro, I can see how that would work. My 2002 never once misfired. My 1985 did when I first got it, a new hammer spring took care of that. The problem with the 1985 was that the grip safety never did work. If you pulled the trigger with the hammer at half cock, it would gently come all the way forward on its own. The rifle wouldn't fire just from doing that, but if you didn't pull it back to half cock then you had the hammer resting on the firing pin button and a blow to the hammer would probably set it off.

[Kai]

Thanks bro, I can see how that would work. My 2002 never once misfired. My 1985 did when I first got it, a new hammer spring took care of that. The problem with the 1985 was that the grip safety never did work. If you pulled the trigger with the hammer at half cock, it would gently come all the way forward on its own. The rifle wouldn't fire just from doing that, but if you didn't pull it back to half cock then you had the hammer resting on the firing pin button and a blow to the hammer would probably set it off.

Pretty easy fix for those grip safeties!

[FergusonTO35]

In this case, no, the parts were dimensionally incorrect. The part that blocks the trigger was way too short. The new one works just fine. With the rebounding hammer, the hammer can move forward if you press the trigger so I think a functional grip safety is important. On the half cock type, not so much. I've often wondered if it would be possible to turn a rebounding hammer into a half cock by cutting an extra sear notch. May try it some time with my old assembly.

[FergusonTO35]

Well fudge. Light strike city with both the new tang assembly and also trying the new single upper leg strut on my original tang assembly. So, I guess back to the original modified strut. The good news is that somehow I fixed the grip safety!

[Bazoo]

You might try polishing the strut where the spring goes and it’s corresponding hole, and the strut ball ends that engage the hammer.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, I may do that. I put it back together with my modified strut (slightly shorter rebound legs) and took it for a test drive. Every round went bang with decent primer strikes and she is point of aim at 100 with 29.2 grains H-335 and a Sierra 150 so I'm gonna call it good for now. Would like to revisit boolits, but not until I can get more LR primers. I have plenty for hunting and sighting in, but not enough for experimentation

[Bazoo]

Glad to hear you made progress. I had one that I had issues with some years back. Best I remember I did shorten the legs so the hammer rested closer to the firing pin when at rest. I ended up with a 70s made 94 that uses the traditional hammer and spring.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. As it turns out the grip safety is still non-functional, I think the dimensions of the parts are just too out of spec. The rifle is functioning well and shoots great so I'm not going to worry about it. I won't be climbing trees with it or anything, just a casual woods walking rifle.

[FergusonTO35]

I have an extra single upper leg hammer strut. So I modified it by shortening the rebound legs by 1/32" and honing the surfaces with a whetstone and installed it in my spare late model lower tang assembly. I found some Remington large rifle magnum primers and seated them in some empty brass to see if this mod will fix it. If it sets those off then it will set anything off!