Scooter1942
Member
Howdy,
Today a bought a like new Winchester 94AE Trapper in 45Colt from a LGS who had it on consignment. No box. Looked to be test fired only. More original hardened grease than powder residue. 99% condition. I was pretty stoked.
I got home a bit later and loaded it up to cycle it etc, and discovered just why it had been on consignment. It has the dreaded feeding issue where the cartridge stop on the lever isn't large enough to prevent rounds under tension from getting past the cartridge stop and lodging under the cartridge lifter. About the only way to get things loose is to open up the end of the tube and drop all the rounds out of the magazine tube. The lever/cartridge shop shows almost no wear through the finish but there is just a bit of curvature or peening that could be the wear. Frankly though, I just don't think it is long enough and the rounds are simply going right over the top of it.
From the research I've done, I have a couple of options. First is to have someone weld a little blob of steel on the cartridge stop to make it bigger/longer and then file down to fit. Second, is to buy a new lever and hope that the cartridge stop is long enough to do the trick. Problem is, over the years Winchester changed the shape and dimension of the stop for different calibers/models. I can find NOS levers in 30-30 but I'm not sure it will work. Finding the specific part (which has its own part number) for the 45 Colt lever is like finding a unicorn that allegedly will wear down pretty quick anyway.
Is there anyone out there who is making this critical part out of hardened tool steel? It seems this little "nub" is prone to wear and breakage...particularly on the newer guns and once it's worn down the rifle effectively becomes a single shot. Or, does anyone know of a source for NOS parts? All the biggies like Numrich etc are out unless I buy a 30-30 lever. Lastly, can anyone point me in the direction of an exceptional Winchester gunsmith?
Thanks.
Today a bought a like new Winchester 94AE Trapper in 45Colt from a LGS who had it on consignment. No box. Looked to be test fired only. More original hardened grease than powder residue. 99% condition. I was pretty stoked.
I got home a bit later and loaded it up to cycle it etc, and discovered just why it had been on consignment. It has the dreaded feeding issue where the cartridge stop on the lever isn't large enough to prevent rounds under tension from getting past the cartridge stop and lodging under the cartridge lifter. About the only way to get things loose is to open up the end of the tube and drop all the rounds out of the magazine tube. The lever/cartridge shop shows almost no wear through the finish but there is just a bit of curvature or peening that could be the wear. Frankly though, I just don't think it is long enough and the rounds are simply going right over the top of it.
From the research I've done, I have a couple of options. First is to have someone weld a little blob of steel on the cartridge stop to make it bigger/longer and then file down to fit. Second, is to buy a new lever and hope that the cartridge stop is long enough to do the trick. Problem is, over the years Winchester changed the shape and dimension of the stop for different calibers/models. I can find NOS levers in 30-30 but I'm not sure it will work. Finding the specific part (which has its own part number) for the 45 Colt lever is like finding a unicorn that allegedly will wear down pretty quick anyway.
Is there anyone out there who is making this critical part out of hardened tool steel? It seems this little "nub" is prone to wear and breakage...particularly on the newer guns and once it's worn down the rifle effectively becomes a single shot. Or, does anyone know of a source for NOS parts? All the biggies like Numrich etc are out unless I buy a 30-30 lever. Lastly, can anyone point me in the direction of an exceptional Winchester gunsmith?
Thanks.
