Winchester 94 ..... restoration or garbage?

[ruSSrt]

Hello there....

I need your advice or suggestion......

I been given winchester 94 .... in horrible condition. most of it covered in rust, some light rust i just took of with towel and some of it i'll have to use some polishing. although mechanism is still working, trigger is working fine and looks like firing pin too. Baller will need heavy cleaning and lots and lots of polishing.

I really want that gun and since its been given to me for free should i do anything.
Clean it, replace any parts (if needs to be replaced)?


Would like to hear your opinion.

thank you guys!


http://img189.imageshack.us/i/dsc06058i.jpg/
http://img11.imageshack.us/i/dsc06063f.jpg/

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[MountainBear]

Since free is a very good price, might as well try to have it restored...

 

[ruSSrt]

i mean really restoration is taking it apart, polishing and oiling everything and cleaning that bore....
what about rust.... wouldn't it weaken metal strength? or its not a problem?

 

[MountainBear]

No, it shouldn't weaken it. Restoration is going to be a long, hard, and possibly expensive road. Some parts will be fine, others will need to be replaced. Thankfully, Model 94 parts aren't as scarce as some other Winchester models.

 

[torpedoman]

possibly cheaper to buy another than restore (most likely) no collector value in it as is or restored.clean it, shoot it, and enjoy a free gun.

 

[turq]

Buy at least a quart of Aerokroil; more and submerge it would be the way to go. Otherwise keep it all wet with kroil for a week in order to get the screws out easily. Invest in some wire bristle toothbrushes. Wear out at least ten brass ones before going with the stainless ones(scratches).Good Luck

 

[PinkhamR]

I had an old .22 like that and the wire wheel did wonders ....

 

[BillM]

What vintage is it? An old 94 with a long octagonal barrel is a little bit
different than a post 64 carbine in terms of return on your investment.

If it's a post 64 mdl 94----you ever wanted to try a little gunsmithing?
Looks like a great candidate. Derusting, polishing, dis and re assembly.
If the bore is salvageable you get a shooter and the pride of having done
it yourself. If you muck it up, go buy another one.

 

[ruSSrt]

i want to say its pre 64....... i got it from one old guy but cant even see win # on it right now gonna start working on it tomorrow

 

[OFADAN]

You do not need to see the S/N to determine instead you can look at the picture and it appears to be a pre. You can tell just by looking at the recieiver. However, the imagie is blurry and it may be playing tricks on my eyes but that is what it appears to be.

 

[jordanka16]

You can remove most of the loose rust with a brush or similar and then use naval jelly on it. It's just a thickened phosphoric acid, and you can find it at Home Depot and similar stores. It works wonders on rusted things if you don't want to harm the metal underneath, it only attacks the rust and leaves the steel under it unaltered.

 

[ruSSrt]

i'll take some better pictures and show you guys.....

 

[OFADAN]

Some key indicators are the size of the Finger Lever Pin Stop Screw. Yours looks small meaning it is a pre-64. The newer Post-64 have a much larger screw head. Also the Cartridge Guide Screw appears to be showing it's threads...if it is showing the head of the screw then it is a post-64 if it is showing just the threads then it is a pre-64.

The key indicator is there appears to be a link pin rather than a link screw which means it is a pre-64. Also there appears to be a link pin retaining screw which is only used on pre-64 rifles....but what the heck do I know?

 

[ruSSrt]

just looked it up .... looks like the one i have was made in 1906

 

[ruSSrt]

Here is some pictures.


took me 7 hours to get to this first picture.....
My very first gun project.





Firing pin still works perfectly. just dirt and rusty.

 

[MountainBear]

I can't tell from the photos, but you really want to make sure the gun wasn't in a fire. Lots of guns in fires end up with rust like that. If it was, you need to have the heat treat checked before you shoot it anyway. Check for charred wood and check the tension of the springs. The springs will lose tension in extreme heat.

 

[ruSSrt]

nope. no fire on this gun. Checked with a guy and also checked springs all nice and strong and how they should be. Just havent been fired in many years and was in junk car with leaky roof

 

[MountainBear]

Good, then it sounds like a great restoration project. Be careful with the rust stripping chemicals. I have seen some guns that were left submerged in rust stripping agent and came out worse pitted than they went in...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

You can remove most of the loose rust with a brush or similar and then use naval jelly on it. It's just a thickened phosphoric acid, and you can find it at Home Depot and similar stores. It works wonders on rusted things if you don't want to harm the metal underneath, it only attacks the rust and leaves the steel under it unaltered.

^^This^^

Naval jelly is used on boats to remove rust. It's just the ticket and requires no brushing or sanding after you apply it.. maybe a toothbrush to get the last of the jelly off. Use a water/baking soda mix and a toothbrush to neutralize the gun afterwards

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I can't tell from the photos, but you really want to make sure the gun wasn't in a fire. Lots of guns in fires end up with rust like that. If it was, you need to have the heat treat checked before you shoot it anyway. Check for charred wood and check the tension of the springs. The springs will lose tension in extreme heat.

Unless the wood is a replacement I would think it was not in a fire..?