1951 Winchester 94 new purchase: sight option question

[MJD]

I was in a local gun shop and spotted a whole rack of Winchester lever actions on the wall; saw this 1951 vintage '94 and couldn't pass it up at the price. I've had my eyes open for a .30-30 lever action for a while and it spoke true to me. Bore looked good and the rifle looked like it had been used, but not neglected. The walnut is in really good shape.

I apologize for the grainy picture; reading posts, I've gathered that talking about a new acquisition, especially an older rifle, without posting an accompanying picture is regarded as poor form. A cell phone pic was the most expedient method.

I will be using this mostly for deer hunting in the northeast US. I am curious to hear if any members here find peep sights to be a better option on their M94's than the stock sights. I have used both peep and V-notch sights for hunting in the past and have plenty of trigger time behind peep sights on various rifles. Do any of you use peeps for hunting with your Model 94's and are they preferable to the stock sights, in your opinion?

Also, I'd be curious to hear any maintenance tips specific to this design you may have. Research indicates this is a very sturdy design, but I'd like to hear about anything I should keep my eyes open for, if anything.

Thanks for the input.

 

[rcmodel]

A receiver sight will increase the accuracy potential to the extent a 125 yard deer rifle becomes a 150 yard deer rifle. It may cut 100 yard group size by 1/3 or 1/2, but 2" vis 4" groups isn't going to kill a deer much deader at 100 yards.

The 30-30 effective range on deer is limited by the trajectory of the bullet, and how good your eyesight is.

If you can keep all your shots on a standard size 9" paper plate at 150 yards with the stock sights, adding a receiver sight will not extend the range much at all.

Maint consists of using a muzzle guide on your cleaning rod to avoid muzzle wear.
Or a flex-shaft rod like the Otis to clean from the breach.

For an old gun, I might remove the stock and hose the action out with WD-40 and an air compressor.

Following that, re-lube with Rem-Oil spray and blow it out again to remove excess oil.
Then put the stock back on.

rc

 

[Cosmoline]

The Lyman receiver sights are great, but do require some D&T work on the receiver. Another option is the three-leaf flip sights that fit into the rear dovetail. Some call them safari rifle sights. IIRC Brownells has them for the 94.

Does yours have the buckhorn/bead combo? I never cared for that. The bead can be knocked off pretty easy and the buckhorn is hard on old eyes.

Maintenance is usually a breeze, and the design has enough slop built in to tolerate considerable debris. But it's not a simple design. It basically disassembles and reassembles itself with every round. You don't want to just start removing screws. If you do a teardown to check for hidden rust and whatnot, be sure to follow the steps and use properly fitted screwdrivers:

http://www.castbullet.com/misc/tdown.htm

Usually keep it dry other than a little CLP or light on rubbing parts.

 

[Patocazador]

If you have "old eyes", a peep will collimate the light so you can focus clearly on the front sight. If you are young, it probably doesn't matter as much. Peeps need a little more light at dawn and dark to see the sights on target than an open sight.

 

[tahoe2]

peeps

I took the scope off of my Marlin 375(336) and put a Williams receiver peep sight on it, changing the front sight to a taller version was required also. I do like the quick target acquisition with the peep and I'm good for 4" to 100-125 yds. The scope produced 2" from the bench, but acquiring targets in thick woods is easier with the peep as opposed to a scope(for me). My longer range rifles wear scopes. Good luck with your decision and congrats on your purchase, you'll have some fun with that one, the 30-30 is a great cartridge and totally under-rated in my opinion.

 

[adelbridge]

Its your gun and you can do what you want with it but keep in mind that it is a classic and any alteration kills value on an appreciating antique. Changing sights has the potential to damage bluing so even if you keep your original parts you arent doing yourself any favors. Shoot the gun and enjoy it but if you want to knock around the woods with a lever gun with upgraded sights go get yourself a $350 Marlin, you will thank yourself for it in 20 years.

 

[Horsemany]

I had a '53 model 94 in 32spl that honestly shot off a bench with gray box Winchester rounds, 2" groups at 100yds. All I used was the factory barrel sight. I would never drill and tap an original pre-64 Winchester for a receiver sight. The factory sight will do everything you need.

 

[MJD]

Thanks to all of you for the input. I'll do the pie plate test and see where I stand.

RC, I currently use an Otis kit on all my rifles and shotguns. Looks to be a good option for this as well. Rumor has it that this rifle is a bear to take down, but I don't mind so much.

Cosmoline, thanks for the link. The rifle has a semi-buckhorn rear sight with an unhooded front post that is drift adjustable for windage.

I agree with the sentiment that wild game can be difficult to spot through a scope in underbrush--my main hunting rifle is a scoped '06. In thicker areas of the woods, I'm going back to my roots with this unscoped .30-30.

 

[Rudedog]

I have a 1976 Model 94 that put a Williams 5B and it dramatically improved my shot groups. I do not use the hood on the front sight. Also I can remove the peep aperture and have a "ghost ring" option.
I shoot 170 grain bullets with this carbine and bench zeroed it at 75 yards. I do practice a lot of shooting from the off hand generally from 50 to 100 yards and even with the aperture removed I can nail what I'm aiming at.

 

[BBQLS1]

I have a Williams 5B on my 1976 Winchester 94 (.30 WCF). Huge improvement on the factory buck horn sights.

The only problem for yours is they didn't have the reciever drilled and tapped on the older models to install the sights or a scope mount. Another option for you would be the Skinner Sights which would fit in your dovetail for the buck horn..... or a tang sight like the lyman.

I'd hate to drill the reciever on an older gun like that.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

The second one up is my 30/30 win 94 from 56 if I remember right. It has a nice Williams Peep on it. Nice sight, I like it a lot and it works well. You can see I have it on 2 of my 3 winchesters.

 

[tahoe2]

Peter M

those are some nice 94's, I like the checkered one best, but they are all very nice!!

 

[sargents1]

I have a Williams receiver/peep sight on my Pre 64 M94 30-30 and I like it a lot. If the gun is going to be a shooter/working/hunting gun I say go for it. I really like aperture sights better than buckhorn sights.

You will be sacrificing some re-sale value on the gun because you will have to drill and tap the receiver, so keep that in mind. But, If you don't ever plan on selling the gun then that doesn't matter.