Model 94 headspace?

[Pitchy]

Do old Win. 94`s develope headspace issues very often?
There`s a pre 64 30-30 at a pawn shop i`m thinking about going to look at, there is no blueing on it but no pitting and in fair shape i`m told.
Is there a way too check the headspace or isn`t it much to worry about on them.

[J Miller]

Pitchy,

Yes they can develop excessive head space. I've never had one that was bad enough to cause trouble though. Unless the rifle was the subject of rampant abuse or has zillion rounds through it I wouldn't worry about it.

If you don't have a gauge you can fire a primer only case and then measure how far the primer backs out. Or, you can partially seat a primer then chamber the case and see how far it's pushed in.

I'm sure there are better ways but those are just a couple off the top of my mind.

Joe

[Pitchy]

Pitchy,

Yes they can develop excessive head space. I've never had one that was bad enough to cause trouble though. Unless the rifle was the subject of rampant abuse or has zillion rounds through it I wouldn't worry about it.

If you don't have a gauge you can fire a primer only case and then measure how far the primer backs out. Or, you can partially seat a primer then chamber the case and see how far it's pushed in.

I'm sure there are better ways but those are just a couple off the top of my mind.

Joe

Thanks Joe, it will be a week or so before i go look at it, i think unless it drives me crazy sooner.
I think i need a Win. 30-30 for some reason.

[smokenrust]

So Pitchy, what you going after a little bitty peeshooter like that for?
That'll be like shooting a bb gun.
Oh, yea if the price is cheap, someone else might come in an snooker it away before the weekend is over
Does that make you think you need to make an urgent trip?

[Mike D.]

DOM? If post-war a no finish gun is maybe $150, on the high end.

[Pitchy]

So Pitchy, what you going after a little bitty peeshooter like that for?
That'll be like shooting a bb gun.
Oh, yea if the price is cheap, someone else might come in an snooker it away before the weekend is over
Does that make you think you need to make an urgent trip?

They`er closed weekends

Mike i thought 150 dollar 30-30`s were a thing from the past, they want 275.00 fer it.
Blue ones are selling for the 450.00 range

[Mike D.]

So Pitchy, what you going after a little bitty peeshooter like that for?
That'll be like shooting a bb gun.
Oh, yea if the price is cheap, someone else might come in an snooker it away before the weekend is over
Does that make you think you need to make an urgent trip?

They`er closed weekends

Mike i thought 150 dollar 30-30`s were a thing from the past, they want 275.00 fer it.
Blue ones are selling for the 450.00 range

I can't count the 1894s I have bought for anywhere from 10-50 bucks. Wanting a stupid price and getting it are two different peas.
275 is whacked, they obviously haven't a clue about 94s.

[Pitchy]

I`ll tell them what ya think Mike and see if they give.
I agree that 150 is more like it or at least what i`d like to pay.
Ya got any for 50 ya want to part with?

[Pitchy]

Looked through a few pages on GB and pre 64`s average around 400.00

[Griff]

Mike is thinkin' prices from before the "war to end wars"... known to many as WW ONE! I've bought my share @150-200... but, those days are gone. $275 is a good price if it's functional and not abused overly much!

And yes, EVERYONE needs a .30-30!

[Pitchy]

You guys are gettin me all confused
Mike i was only joshing ya, i`ll have to go looking around one of these days.
Wish i`d kept one of the many i`ve had in the past back when they were cheap.

[Pitchy]

Was digging through the shed and came up with this and why i need a 30-30 again.

[ollogger]

Pitchy that aint that bad of a price, but id start it out at 200.00 im not affraid of insulting anyone when it comes to buying
guns, Ive bought alot of them at pawn shops with good results, does it have the long wood on it?

ollogger

[Pitchy]

Not sure haven`t seen it yet, walkswithgun told me about it and said it was pretty nice other than no blueing.
I`m heading in the other direction tomorrow to another town with a couple shops too.

[Malamute]

The headspace thing is often misunderstood. The primer can still back out and the gun be in correct headspace range. It's not just the amount the primer backs out, but the thickness of the rim also. The other factor that makes it more apparent on Winchesters, the ejector holds the case forward under spring tension, allowing the primer to back out, even when the gun is in spec, and the ammo is slightly under spec, or on the low end of spec (not at all uncommon). Look at it this way, if the gun was making much pressure (bolt thrust pressure), the shell would move back against the bolt face and reseat the pimer, but the bolt thrust isn't even overcoming the ejector spring tension.

Oversize locking bolts used to be available also, if a gun was actually out of spec. I've tightened one up and it still backed the primer out a bit. I stopped worrying about it.

[1894c]

Pitchy said..."I think i need a Win. 30-30 for some reason."

i totally agree...i think everyone needs to return back to their levergun roots and purchase a 30/30...i did it this year (REM-Marlin 336BL)...working up loads right now to use for deer hunting this fall...i forgot how effective, accurate, and fun a 30/30 is... :)

[Mike D.]

I bought the last 45 dollar 94 7 yrs ago, but was forced to overpay due to competition. I don't have any interest in 94s but buy them to use as bait for 1886s. To me they are just clunkers, but I'm admittedly biased.

[Borregos]

Pitchy, everybody needs a 30-30 of some kind

[M. M. Wright]

Pitchy,
If done correctly, Plastigauge can be used to check for headspace problems. Use an empty case that has been resized, (so it falls all the way in to the rim) and place a small piece of Plastigage on the case head. I use a little oil to make it stick. Carefully close the bolt and then open and the width of the Plasigage will tell you the amount of clearance you have. Just like checking the clearance on bearings. What the stuff was made for.

[Pitchy]

Thanks gents, well we drove all over the country today and came up with nothin.
Decided i needed a new pair of cowboy boots more but couldn`t find anything i liked so skunked all around.
Maybe next week will be better.

[Malamute]

Pitchy,
If done correctly, Plastigauge can be used to check for headspace problems. Use an empty case that has been resized, (so it falls all the way in to the rim) and place a small piece of Plastigage on the case head. I use a little oil to make it stick. Carefully close the bolt and then open and the width of the Plasigage will tell you the amount of clearance you have. Just like checking the clearance on bearings. What the stuff was made for.

Yes, it can be used, but the descriptions of using it are sometimes not complete. You have to measure the rim thickness of the case you use and add it to the gauge reading to get a reading. You can't assume the case is at anything like a consistant thickness, or min/max for the headspace reading number. Just saying "it shows X amount of clearance" means nothing without the baseline of the measurement of the actual case you use that moment to measure it. They have to be added together to get an actual total number of clearance, or headspace.

[Old Savage]

Mike D
"I bought the last 45 dollar 94 7 yrs ago, but was forced to overpay due to competition. I don't have any interest in 94s but buy them to use as bait for 1886s. To me they are just clunkers, but I'm admittedly biased."

Mike it has been good to know you as is said in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. They will surely throw you off this site for that one.