I have my Fathers Winchester M94, 30-30
Purchased in 1954.
It is virtually mint.
It sat in a cabinet for 50 years.

I have cleaned it inside and out.
My problem with it with new ammunition
It is very difficult close the last 1/8”
and takes two hands to unlock the lever to open it.
That’s with a live factory round.

I would be grateful for any gunsmith recommendations to remedy this.

I’m in Pennsylvania by the way.

Thanks, Don

Sounds like the chamber may have some rough spots. You may try polishing it.

The chamber should not touch the brass; it is the rim that is interfering. Check for brass dents anyway.
Could be anything from rust or dirt on the barrel face to fat rimmed ammo. Some 94s are hard to close. Tolerances were variable in them.
How does it open after firing? Do that first.
Impossible to diagnose here; if it doesn't open after firing, send it to me.

Thank you for The replies.

Not fired.
Took apart and cleaned first.
Lubricated well.

With no cartridges, cycles open and closes into battery smoothly.

Next test was live rounds, new purchase, Remington and federal.

One round at a time. Both cycled from magazine fine.

Problem 1) either round upon closing the action would hesitate 1/8” from closing.
Force needed on lever to fully close.

Problem 2) either round chambered in this manner would only extract if both hands were
used with much force to open the lever.

No excessive scratches were noticed on either case.

I am of coarse not going to fire the rifle until fully inspected by a gunsmith
to rectify this problem.

The rifle of coarse has a great deal of meaning to me being it was the first rifle
my Father purchased for a bear hunt with the uncles.

Thus I wish a gunsmith specializing in this type of rifle.

Don

Has it always acted like this or did it just start? With this new ammo?
Some force is always required to close the lever on all 94s as you have to do two things;
1. Compress the ejector.
2. Snap the extractor over the rim.
They don't close on ammo as smoothly as when empty.
But, it should not be overly hard to open; check the detent on the lever link at the back; if that is stuck or rusted, the lever will be hard to open.
In fact, remove that and see if that helps. If it does, smooth it and maybe cut one coil off the spring.
Lubricate your bolt rear end where the locking bolt rises against it.
If that does not work then your headspace is too tight; Need a reamer; which I have; remove the barrel; they are not on very tight.

With the action open, can you drop a new factory loaded round directly into the chamber of the bbl and will that round seat all the way into the chamber on it's own?

Or does the round itself stick in the chamber and stop short of chambering all the way in that 1/8" or so.


If that round does in fact drop into the chamber and seat all the way into the chamber on it's own,,,can you then close the action and the bolt and lock it on that round? If you can is there any excessive force needed to do so?

If the round does NOT seat into the chamber on it's own, are there any signs of damage around the back edge of the chamber, especially in the extractor cut out of the chamber on top that may have depressed metal into the chamber itself.
That can stop the case from chambering the last fraction of an inch and then relying on lever power to seat it and then unjam and extract it.

Just some thoughts and things to try to help track down a problem.

Hello,
Yes, a new factory round both Remington and Federal drop freely and seat
( in that it appears fully into the chamber)
As before, it is difficult to close and very difficult to open with factory rounds.

I would like to have a gunsmith specializing in lever actions to work on it.

I do very much appreciate the troubleshooting but I am not adept in these actions
And am not comfortable in doing the work myself.

Don

Then you will have to send it to me. I've been working on lever actions since, literally, 1966.

I did not realize that.
Very kind of you to offer.
Thank you.
I would be glad to send it to you.
I will PM you.

Don