winchester 94 top eject (post 64) mag follower binding

[IrvJr]

HI Folks,

I bought a used, but in like new condition, Winchester 94 in 30-30. It has a 16" barrel (trapper style) and is a top ejecting, no cross bolt safety gun. I looked up the serial number on some website and it said that the gun was made in 1979.

I bought it from a local shop that had purchased a 500 gun estate from a collector.

The gun is accurate and a joy to shoot. However, when I load 5 rounds in the gun, the magazine follower often binds/get stuck. I disassembled the gun and inspected the mag tube, spring and follower. The mag tube looks very smooth, not damaged or corroded. I can see where it looks like they welded it together, but even that seam is very smooth. I cleaned the tube and put a lightly oiled patch through it, then a dry, clean patch through it.

The mag spring looks good. no corrosion, no kinks or apparent damage.

Then I looked at the follower. The follower looks like it was stamped and I could see that at the very base there was a slight flare at the edge of the follower, but not a lot. I used some sandpaper (320, 660, 1500) to dress this edge and polish the follower. I don't think I removed all of that little lip, but the follower feels much smoother than it did originally.

I took the gun to the range and it still binds occasionally. It's better than it was previously. Previously, I really had to rap on the gun to get the mag follower to unbind. Today if I gave the gun a single rap (I bumped the fore-end on a padded block of wood that I was using as a shooting rest) it would normally unbind the follower and the round would feed.

I think that what is happening is under recoil, the follower tilts inside the mag tube and gets wedged in the tube. I'm wondering what I should do.

If I had access to a lathe, I'd try bevel the edge of the follower, but I don't think that would even help. it seems like the follower is a little undersized, just enough to tilt occasionally in the tube.

I looked online to try and find a source for replacement followers, but didn't find one. Should I try and replace my follower, or perhaps the mag spring? Do you think bevel the edge of the follower would help? I took a look at a pre 64 follower on Ebay and it appears to have been a machined (and not stamped) part, and the edge is beveled as well. Maybe I should just buy a used part...

Any suggestions on how to fix this binding follower?

Thanks!

 

[Wyosmith]

You may be getting a bit of flex in the mag-tube when the screw in installed to hold the barrel/forarm band.
If that is the case take a round file and relieve it just a few thousandths and that will probably cure the problem.

 

[Sarge]

I would replace the follower and spring, two relatively cheap parts that might easily resolve the problem.

 

[IrvJr]

Thanks for the tips fellas.

I found a replacement follower and spring from Numrich. If the picture is accurate, the Numrich part looks better (to me) since it doesn't have the flared lip at the base/edge of the follower.

Hopefully the new follower and spring will help.

 

[Wyosmith]

Here is what I'd do it it came to you shop;

Take out the magazine cap and screw. This will allow the spring and follower to come out the front. If the spring come out easily and the follower doesn't you can tap the rifle on it's muzzle against the floor and see where the follower hang up. That's the tight spot.

Now do what you must to relieve that spot and the gun will work.

In most cases it is at the point of the cross screw, but some times there may be a dent or a rough spot in the seam weld.
But it's easy to fix

 

[hartcreek]

you just did not remove enough metal. Who says the Numrich part will be any better as you are just looking at a drawing.

 

[5thShock]

The rear of your follower is flared outward? If I knew I could get another I would un-flare it and I would leave the tube alone for now.

 

[IrvJr]

hi Folks,

So I ordered a new follower and a new spring from Numrich's gun parts. I had to trim the spring a little (I assumed it was for a 20" gun) and then I installed the new parts, but no luck, same problem.

So then I took one of the followers and measured them. The diameter on the original follower was a hair (1/100th of an inch) smaller when I used my dial calipers, but otherwise they looked identical. I ended up dressing the edge of the follower so that it had a slight bevel. I used a coarse stone, then a medium stone, then a fine stone, then I used emory paper to smooth it out. It was nice and smooth, but then I tried the smoothed, beveled follower with the new spring and it still stuck.

It's hard to see what's going on when the gun is assembled, but it looks like the follower is often getting stuck maybe an 3/4 to an inch or so from the mouth of the mag tube (where it feeds rounds into the receiver). Since the round doesn't get pushed all of the way into the receiver, it jams on the top of the mag tube as I cycle the lever action.

The inside of the mag tube is smooth and if I inspect the tube inside and out, I don't see any kinks or bends or rough spots.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? I have to hit the fore end of the gun hard sometimes to get the mag follower to unbind. If I don't, the rounds stay inside the tube and I cannot even see the base of the cartridge. When this happens, I believe the follower is also binding inside of the mag tube (farther up than the 3/4 to 1 inch that it often jams at).

If I disassemble the gun and drop the follower down the receiver, it slides all of the way down without getting stuck on anything. however, it seems like the follower (either of them, the original or the new) is a little undersized. It is possible for the follower to kind of get wedged in the tube if I play with the follower near the mouth of the tube. Note I think the tube diameter is constant throughout the length of the tube, but to test if the follower can get jammed/wedged, I do it near the ends of the tube so I can still hold the follower with my fingers.

Should the follower fit tighter so I cannot see any daylight around it? Is it possible that my mag tube is too large (like maybe a mag tube for a 44 mag trapper was used for my 30-30 rifle or does this not make sense?)?

I can see some (but not a huge amount) of daylight when I install the follower in the tube and hold the end of the tube up to a bright light and look through the other end.

Thanks for your help!

 

[hartcreek]

I think I would use a hot glue gun and hot glue your follower to a brass rod and then slide the follower inside the tube feeling for the bind spot. THen once you find the bind spot I would pick up a brake hone if one is available in that size and weld a long rod to the end and hone the inside of the tube.

If you can not find a brake cylinder hone small enough then a wire wheel welded to a long rod. THen use you cordless drill and some ATF to get the burr out.

 

[IrvJr]

Hi folks

I went over to a Marlin forum and got the info needed to fix the gun. Someone had the same problem with their Win 94. It turns out it was the area of the receiver where the mag tube meets the hole in the receiver. On my win 94 that doesn't jam, this area is beveled around the hole in the receiver. The mag tube has a larger diameter than the hole in the receiver, so this bevel is necessary so the rounds do not get stuck on the lip as the round transitions from the mag tube to the receiver.

On my jamming Win 94 this hole was not beveled. I bought a countersink tool and beveled the hole and the jams disappeared.

The little 16" Win 94 is awesome. It's a post 64 model, but it doesn't have the push button safety and the action is smoother than my 90's era Win 94. I thought that shooting a 30-30 round from a 16" light gun would be super loud, but it's not too bad and although the recoil is a little snappier it's very manageable.

 

[5thShock]

You're Batman.