Pre '64 Winchester 1894 help

[Rio Laxas]

I recently acquired a pre '64 Winchester 1894 in .30-30. I wanted to remove the forend and magazine tube to make sure it was not rusting under the wood line. I was able to remove the parts, but now I cannot get them back together. It seems like the screws will not line up through the barrel band that holds the stock to the barrel, through barrel band that holds the magazine tube to the barrel, and even the screw that holds magazine tube cap in place and also fits into a hole in the barrel will not line up.

My suspicion is that the magazine tube is not sitting down into the receiver far enough for one, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. But even with the magazine tube removed, the rear most screw that goes through the barrel band that holds the forend to the barrel will not properly align and the screw will not seat.

I am afraid to damage this rifle, so if I can't figure it out myself then I am going to have to take it a gunsmith. Any ideas on what may be causing it not to line up properly?

 

[rcmodel]

It sounds like you have correctly diagnosed the problem, although why it will not seat fully is not clear.

I would strip the gun again and try to get the stripped mag tube in place without the forend blocking your view of the hole in the receiver. Once you are sure where it has to go, maybe you can determine why it won't go with the wood on.

Could be wood swelling is throwing off the alignment with the hole, or perhaps the rear of the forearm is not seating properly in the receiver.

rc

 

[The Bushmaster]

Make sure that you have removed the end cap, spring (that real long one) and the plug. Then assemble the tube magazine in the receiver. Install the fore arm stock. Then the plug, spring and end cap.

 

[rcmodel]

+1
I should have been more specific when I said

get the stripped mag tube in place

rc

 

[Rio Laxas]

That pretty well follows what I have done, except that the forend has to be installed before the mag tube. I did try and install the mag tube without the forend in place just to see if it would go, but no luck. I think this is going to have to go th a gunsmith.

 

[Oro]

Give this site a shot - I find it helpful to reference since I don't do this very often. It is well illustrated:


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

 

[TehK1w1]

If you can't figure it out, take it to a 'smith. There's no shame involved and you really don't want to damage the gun (especially a pre '64 1894).

 

[rcmodel]

I really can't figure this out!

There is no logical reason the tube won't go all the way back in the hole it came out of, unless it got dinged or bent oval shaped while it was out.

rc

 

[Rio Laxas]

It really does beat me. It seems like the magazine tube is fitting into the hole in the receiver like it should, but things just aren't lining up for some reason. I even tried tapping on it with a rubber mallet. I think the top most screw is kind of fitting into the indention in barrel, but it is not seating perfectly like it should. When full tightened, it seems like it is bending the magazine tube away from the barrel a little more than it should.

When I unscrewed the screws in the first place they were a little stiff, which I figured was just because they hadn't been removed in a long time. The screws seem smaller and more precise than most screws I have seen on firearms (including later model 94s). I am guessing that things have just shifted over time. I even had the crazy idea that maybe the barrel was slightly bent, but I don't think that is the case.

 

[woad_yurt]

Preface: I know very little about 94s. But....

Almost every time in my life (lots of mechanical work) that I've removed something undamaged that won't go back in, there's been something foreign taking up the space in which it won't go. A piece of scale gets jammed, rust flakes off, oily, greasy crud got scraped off the sides and then compressed on the bottom when I reinstalled, etc. It's happened to me on cars, guns, a saxophone, door locks, lots of things. The piece of crud can be really small, too, for all the hassle it causes.

Is something in there? I don't know how the space appears dimensionally so I don't know if you can see in there. Good luck.