Winchester 94 in 44 Mag Problems

[mvozz]

I came across a Winchester 94 in 44 Mag that was built in 1977. It looked like it was in pretty good shape so I picked it up. It had a few dings in the stock and forend but the action looked great. I don't think it has ever been fired, no wear in the loading gate or lifter and the bore is spotless. I was excited to find it but trying to shoot it has proven to be a problem. None of my cast boolits will cycle because they are too long. I am contemplating cutting 1/8th off the cartridge stop or trying a LEE 429-200RF mould. I was hoping to use my Keith 240 grain boolit or my NOE 260 HP but both are too long. Anyone else have this problem and come up with a cure??

[Slugster]

Seat bullets deeper in case and adjust powder charge to reflect the higher pressure that deep seating will cause. I would try everything possible before modifying the rifle.

[farmbif]

I have a 44 carbine that doesn't like semi wadcutters, Keith type bullets but 432640 from mp solved all feeding problems. before getting this mold I would shoot 44 specials through it but the 640 design feeds very smooth. but ive never owned a winchester in 44 mag just Rossi and marlins. some guns are just finicky like a marlin I have with short tube magazine b ut the barrel is a bit heavier than normal 1894 and accuracy sure doesn't suffer

[Tim357]

Also, it probably has a 1 in 38" rifling turn rate. Any heavier than 240-ish grain bullets will be a crap shoot as far as accuracy goes. An old friend had one for just long enough to realize he couldn't use his chosen loads. I wish you luck!

[cwtebay]

If that's the bullet design you choose to use and your powder charge is less than a case full then an option that is seldomly used is to shorten your brass. If it's dedicated to that rifle it won't matter as long as you're COAL is what functions.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Bazoo]

Using a RF bullet such as the Ranch Dog 432-265-RF (https://bulletmatch.com/bullets/ranch-dog-ctl432-265-rf) (hard to find used) will cure your issue. NOE makes a copy of the Ranch Dog bullet in both plain based and GC https://noebulletmolds.com/site/product-category/bullet-moulds/432/sc432-267-rf-z4/

If you decide to go this way, I can provide some data for both 44 Magnum and Special.

[26Charlie]

Mine might be older, it has that crappy finish. But I did have that same feeding problem. The lifter has a kind of stop sticking forward to position the round. I cut that back an eighth of an inch as you suggest, and the 429421 loads now feed and shoot fine.

[NuJudge]

I had this same problem. Using bullets that do not stick out of the case as far, or .44 Special brass, is the cure.

[Outpost75]

Overall cartridge length cannot exceed 1.61" to feed. In mine I load Accurate 43-240F with 20 grains of IMR4227.

324212

[mvozz]

Well, thanks for all of the suggestions but 26Charlie was the one I was looking for. I am not sure I want to try and acquire any 44 special brass and seating deeper doesn't give me a crimp in the crimp groove, so last night I disassembled the rifle and trimmed the 1/8 inch off the cartridge stop on the lifter. So far it works very well, today after work I will run a few different rounds through it and see what it will do. I think that the trim, polish and blue is going to be the ticket. Now I can run the same cartridges through both my revolvers and my Winchester. Thanks for all of the very helpful people on this site!!

[mvozz]

Quik update on this, trimming the lifter was absolutely the best way to go. 30 rounds and it cycled perfectly! Thanks again for your suggestions.

[mvozz]

One more update. The clear winner for cast boolits for the Winchester was the NOE HTC432-262-WFN. Shocking accuracy!! I drop about 255 grain boolits with a very large hollow point cavity, powder coat and use Titegroup for the powder. Best load I shot out of this levergun.

[cabezaverde]

Also, it probably has a 1 in 38" rifling turn rate. Any heavier than 240-ish grain bullets will be a crap shoot as far as accuracy goes. An old friend had one for just long enough to realize he couldn't use his chosen loads. I wish you luck!

That's why I got rid of mine.

[Kestrel4k]

Back in the late 1990's (when manufacturers at least faked showing an interest in their customers), I actually wrote to Winchester asking why they continued using a 1:38 twist for their newly-introduced (i.e. 1998) M94BB .444Marlin

I received a letter from them saying that "we know that 1:20 is better, but want to stick with the SAAMI spec of 1:38"

Aside from the questionable perspective of SAAMI having any relevance to that particular consideration, I had thought at the time that having that sort attitude was a good way to go bankrupt.

[Outpost75]

The 1:38" twist was a carryover from the .44-40 and works fine with normal pistol bullets from 240-260 grains.