1894 build questions. Tang sights, stocks etc.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:07 pm

Well I just took advantage of my birthday discount at Midway USA and ordered the Marbles Tang sight and the Lyman 17AHB.

Hope they work well together.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:40 pm

Rube Burrows wrote:Well I just took advantage of my birthday discount at Midway USA and ordered the Marbles Tang sight and the Lyman 17AHB.

Hope they work well together.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 9:11 am

Griff wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:Well I just took advantage of my birthday discount at Midway USA and ordered the Marbles Tang sight and the Lyman 17AHB.

Hope they work well together.

Looking forward to finally shooting this rifle. Its been a long time coming. I have never shot a 38-55 but have always wanted too. Hope it shoots good. I guess I will need to start reloading for this soon since I will not be able to find bullets locally usually.

firefuzz · Post by **firefuzz** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 7:33 am

BrentD wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:...where do yall get your 38-55 ammo from and what brand?
I build mine. I would hate to be having to buy ammo for things like this. Has to be hard as hell to find most of these calibers anymore. .22 rf is rough enough.

Yup, pretty darn rough.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:32 am

Very true. I will definitely have to start reloading for this soon. We have places to get plenty ammo down here but you have to pay a hefty price....esp for these "odd" calibers.

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:35 pm

Great looking rifle! I hope to make a long barrelled 30/30 some day, but I may give in and buy a 26" Canadian Centennial instead.

I truly admire you guys' that can build exactly what you want instead of just swiping a credit card

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:10 am

Streetstar wrote:Great looking rifle! I hope to make a long barrelled 30/30 some day, but I may give in and buy a 26" Canadian Centennial instead.

I truly admire you guys' that can build exactly what you want instead of just swiping a credit card

Thanks. This is the first lever gun that I have ever actually reconfigured to something else. I have always wanted a 38-55 and when I got the doner 94 with no finish left on it and one part missing on the internal for next to nothing I figured I would try my luck and see what I could do on my own.

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:44 pm

Well, have you shoot it yet
Fixin to try what you've done myself
Got to find the 94 first, thinkin 32 spl
But now you got me thinkin different

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:46 pm

plowboy 45 wrote:Well, have you shoot it yet
Fixin to try what you've done myself
Got to find the 94 first, thinkin 32 spl
But now you got me thinkin different

No!! Ordered the sights from midway on feb 6. They shipped them to the wrong address and on Feb 12 I was supposed to get them. Nope! I called midway and they said they were returned. I had to reorder them and the tracking info said they were date to deliver yesterday. They never showed. Called them today and they said they left Earth, Missouri this morning. Tracking info still says "on time" but was supposed to be here yesterday and were not so I don't know when I'll ever get them. They had me pretty steamed today but what can I really do but wait?

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 9:53 pm

Rube Burrows wrote:
plowboy 45 wrote:Well, have you shoot it yet
Fixin to try what you've done myself
Got to find the 94 first, thinkin 32 spl
But now you got me thinkin different

No!! Ordered the sights from midway on feb 6. They shipped them to the wrong address and on Feb 12 I was supposed to get them. Nope! I called midway and they said they were returned. I had to reorder them and the tracking info said they were date to deliver yesterday. They never showed. Called them today and they said they left Earth, Missouri this morning. Tracking info still says "on time" but was supposed to be here yesterday and were not so I don't know when I'll ever get them. They had me pretty steamed today but what can I really do but wait?

Thats the kind of luck I ALWAYS have when I mail order things or ship

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 3:21 pm

plowboy 45 wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:
plowboy 45 wrote:Well, have you shoot it yet
Fixin to try what you've done myself
Got to find the 94 first, thinkin 32 spl
But now you got me thinkin different
No!! Ordered the sights from midway on feb 6. They shipped them to the wrong address and on Feb 12 I was supposed to get them. Nope! I called midway and they said they were returned. I had to reorder them and the tracking info said they were date to deliver yesterday. They never showed. Called them today and they said they left Earth, Missouri this morning. Tracking info still says "on time" but was supposed to be here yesterday and were not so I don't know when I'll ever get them. They had me pretty steamed today but what can I really do but wait?
Thats the kind of luck I ALWAYS have when I mail order things or ship

Probably means you have a substitute mailman... He don't where "...just passed the 'Widder Wilson's' turn-off a 'lil ways down on Bayou Lafourche.." is... uite exactly!

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:02 pm

Griff wrote:
plowboy 45 wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:
plowboy 45 wrote:Well, have you shoot it yet
Fixin to try what you've done myself
Got to find the 94 first, thinkin 32 spl
But now you got me thinkin different
No!! Ordered the sights from midway on feb 6. They shipped them to the wrong address and on Feb 12 I was supposed to get them. Nope! I called midway and they said they were returned. I had to reorder them and the tracking info said they were date to deliver yesterday. They never showed. Called them today and they said they left Earth, Missouri this morning. Tracking info still says "on time" but was supposed to be here yesterday and were not so I don't know when I'll ever get them. They had me pretty steamed today but what can I really do but wait?
Thats the kind of luck I ALWAYS have when I mail order things or ship
Probably means you have a substitute mailman... He don't where "...just passed the 'Widder Wilson's' turn-off a 'lil ways down on Bayou Lafourche.." is... uite exactly!

You might be right but it was all here today. Glad the old mail man came back today.

Now, which way does the front sight tap in from?

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:03 pm

Well.....wish me luck. Planning on mounting the tang sight and Lyman 17A on the rifle and shooting some rounds for the first time in this rifle. Been a lone time coming.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:08 pm

Rube Burrows wrote:Well.....wish me luck. Planning on mounting the tang sight and Lyman 17A on the rifle and shooting some rounds for the first time in this rifle. Been a lone time coming.

Good luck!

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:43 pm

Well the rifle sights went on pretty easy.

The rifle shoots like a dream. It cycles like stuff.

Was mostly using Winchester (orange and white box) ammo but it was too long to cycle properly. Really shot well though. It was the first time I have ever had the chance to shoot 38-55 and I really like the caliber. Just have to get the feeding issues worked out.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:48 pm

This is the only photo I got today. Sorry.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:21 pm

The 30-30 Winchester insides should work the 38-55 rounds correctly, shouldn't it? Or do I need to make some changes there also?

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:24 pm

I think the only differences were the cartridge guides. The earliest guns had them specific for each caliber, but I think later guns were the same. I swapped a 38-55 barrel onto a post 64 action once, it cycled fine with no modifications.

Length shouldnt be a problem, all the cartridges for 94's are very close if not exactly the same length.

Can you take pics of the action showing how its not cycling properly with some description?

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:26 pm

Malamute wrote:I think the only differences were the cartridge guides. The earliest guns had them specific for each caliber, but I think later guns were the same. I swapped a 38-55 barrel onto a post 64 action once, it cycled fine with no modifications.

Length shouldnt be a problem, all the cartridges for 94's are very close if not exactly the same length.

Can you take pics of the action showing how its not cycling properly with some description?

Yes, I will try to take pictures as soon as possible

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:22 pm

There are two lengths of brass for the .38-55... one is 2.080, the other is 2.125. Which did you get? What overall length are you loading to? You probably want the 2.080 for the lever action. It's the original Winchester length. I think the .38-55 was originally a Ballard cartridge and used the longer cases... some rifles will accept this length...

Make sure the slots in your cartridge guides are exactly opposite each other. As I recall, only the pre-1930 guns chambered in .25-35 used different guides.

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:52 pm

Glad you gotem
Hadn't called you yet cause I ain't been able to find ANY 94 till today
May pick it up sat around Gulfport
Think im payin a little much, but its a good lookin carbine
Really wanted a junkie lookin one, but can't find it
If this all goes through I'll call ya and you can point me in the right direction
Glad again you got your sights

PLOWBOY

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:57 pm

BTW I found a 26 inch barrel for 150 to my door does sound bout right
They said it was ready to put on blued dovetailed and all

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:32 pm

plowboy 45 wrote:BTW I found a 26 inch barrel for 150 to my door does sound bout right
They said it was ready to put on blued dovetailed and all

I don't remember exactly what I paid for mine when I ordered it from Numrich but it was prob. similar priced.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:39 pm

Okay, maybe these photos will help.

First photo shows how its getting stuck

This is the type of bullets they are above.

These photos show the overall length and the brass length

I also tried some of these Hand Loads that were traded to me.

It looks like when its pulling the round out of the magazine about half way it seems to sometimes come off the extractor.
Maybe the ramps are not pushing the round up like it needs to be.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:13 pm

With the bolt fully to the rear, the rear of my cartridge slots measure .665" forward of the bolt. Although a .30-30, my COAL is 2.465 and brass length is trimmed to 2.020 after sizing. It appears as though your carrier may be coming up too high, forcing the nose of the bullet into the top of the chamber...

Or, if not, your slots are too far forward, not letting the rim come up fast enough. That would require taking them out and using that favored tool of all professional gunsmiths, a Dremel to the lower, back end of the slots to allow the cartridge rear to come up thru them earlier.

20Cows has done a conversion of a .30-30 to a .38-55 with one of his "Puzzle" guns... maybe you can PM him and ask for any advice. Someone else here has also... but, I can't think of their name right now.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:18 pm

Thanks. I'll send him a pm and see. Not sure exactly what's going on here but hope I can get it worked out cause I really like the rifle.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:59 am

Nice looking rifle!

It looks like the entry to the chamber is perfectly square. You need to round off the edge. Even a 30-30 will not feed well without rounding off the back edge of the chamber. My Model 94 in 444 Marlin has a big radius on the bottom of the chamber to allow the long bodied cartridge to feed. Take a look at some other Model 94's to see how much to round it. You may not need to touch the cartridge guides at all.

I took a picture of the 444 chamber for you. The bar of light at the back of the chamber is reflected off the bevel that lets the cylindrical case enter the chamber far enough to clear the cartridge guides. As you can see that is a pretty big bevel and I wouldn't bevel the chamber on a 38-55 that much because the 38-55 case is probably thinner than the 444 case and it needs a little more support there. The picture should give you a better idea of what I am talking about.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:21 pm

I have some factory 38-55 ammo so I tried it in a post 64 30-30 that I think came from the late '70's. The 38-55 ammo popped through the cartridge guides fine. I then tried it in a pre-64 30-30 and no go. The rim hung up in the cartridge guides just like yours. You do need a little radius on the back of the chamber but it looks like the cartridge guides are the main problem.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:40 pm

I thought maybe I had my magazine follower in backwards and that maybe it was not giving my ammo the resistance it needed to seat properly on the bolt so I pulled it to check.

All of my other Winchester 94s had a metal follower that looked kind of like a thimble but this one is different. Did I somehow mix it up with another project?

When I got this doner 94 for this project it was basically just a bunch of parts. This may not be the correct follower. What do you think?

Even still, that may not have any thing to do with the feed problem.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:07 pm

Yep, I think you mixed up some parts. That ain't a mdl 94 follower. Should be metal, with a convex face. I don't have a pic of one. Wouldn't think that'd be the problem, unless you only loaded one round and that is pushing up on the underside of the carrier.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:37 pm

I'll have to look and see if I have one of the metal ones. I'm thinking that may have been the stock one out of a Rossi 45 colt that I replaces with a metal one.

Maybe this rifle didn't come with one when I got it since it was all apart.

I only loaded 3 rounds in it when I shot it and only the one for the photos above.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:57 pm

There is a lip inside the front of the receiver that mates w/the corresponding shelf on the follower keeps the follower from protruding too far inside the action. This would lock up the action, as there's nothing to push the follower back into the mag tube. Which end did you have the spring on? I don't know the clearances in the action, but you could be getting some interference.

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:16 pm

Up oh
I bought a 1951 year model today got it here local
Now I read the pre 64 will give a little problem and my son is a fussin cause I was gonna do what Rube did to his
I reckon I might trade him the pre 64 for his post 64 as he has already told me that's what I should do to keep from changing the old carbine
Hummmmmmm, what to do

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:02 pm

I would NOT chamfer the chamber mouth. Relieving the back of the rim slots essentially serves the same purpose and doesn't compromise case support.

Plowboy, I've seen and have a couple pre-64 mdl 94s that'll never inspire awe or even a bid @ auction. One holds NO sentimental value and if the mood struck to change it up, nobody should care but my wallet. In fact, if I ever win the Lotto, have a '50 carbine that'll become a TD rifle w/5 barrels! One for each chambering the mdl 94 was produced in! All I need to do is buy those Lotto tickets!

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:35 am

Griff wrote:I would NOT chamfer the chamber mouth. Relieving the back of the rim slots essentially serves the same purpose and doesn't compromise case support.

Plowboy, I've seen and have a couple pre-64 mdl 94s that'll never inspire awe or even a bid @ auction. One holds NO sentimental value and if the mood struck to change it up, nobody should care but my wallet. In fact, if I ever win the Lotto, have a '50 carbine that'll become a TD rifle w/5 barrels! One for each chambering the mdl 94 was produced in! All I need to do is buy those Lotto tickets!

Griff, if I ever win I will give you the money to do that ......just because it sounds totally cool.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:37 pm

I would NOT chamfer the chamber mouth. Relieving the back of the rim slots essentially serves the same purpose and doesn't compromise case support.

Griff, if you had ever chambered and installed a barrel you would not say that. I always chamfer the chamber mouth when I chamber a barrel. It will not feed without a chamfer. We are discussing a Numrich barrel which may or may not have been properly chamfered. You have to use some judgement as to how much to chamfer it. You can't leave the case walls unsupported and so how much to chamfer depends on the thickness of the solid head on the case. I think Winchester overdid it with my 444. Regardless, I would definitely cast a critical eye on any pre-chambered barrel I bought, especially if it did not feed.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 2:37 pm

My favorite mdl 94 wears a Numrich barrel. And yes, a small radius is needed, however the 94 action is quite long enough for the .38-55 w/o a chamfer such as pictured in your 444. Also the .38-55 is not near as fat as the .444. 'Sides if ya screw up a pair of guides w/the dremel, it ain't near as expensive or troublesome to replace 'em.

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:11 pm

HEY RUBE
Whatever happened with this feeding problem, mines doing the exact same thing
Wondering if you worked on the guides or the barrel

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:00 pm

plowboy 45 wrote:HEY RUBE
Whatever happened with this feeding problem, mines doing the exact same thing
Wondering if you worked on the guides or the barrel

Well honestly I have not had time to mess with it but since you pm'ed me I felt the need to get it out and I will try to get something done soon.

I did shoot a few better photos of the gun though.

Canuck Bob · Post by **Canuck Bob** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 7:27 pm

I kinda like the the replica Lyman 5, or Beach/Beech Combination front sight. Here is a link but a quick search reveals lots of info. Buffalo Arms sells some as well under Red River trade name.

https://montanavintagearms.com/product/ ... ont-sight/

Canuck Bob · Post by **Canuck Bob** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 7:39 pm

Canuck Bob wrote:I kinda like the the replica Lyman 5, or Beach/Beech Combination front sight. Here is a link but a quick search reveals lots of info. Buffalo Arms sells some as well under Red River trade name.

https://montanavintagearms.com/product/ ... ont-sight/

Congrats on a nice build. Folks often report good accuracy from the octagon barreled Winchesters. Sounds like yours is a good shooter.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 7:40 pm

Canuck Bob wrote:
Canuck Bob wrote:I kinda like the the replica Lyman 5, or Beach/Beech Combination front sight. Here is a link but a quick search reveals lots of info. Buffalo Arms sells some as well under Red River trade name.

https://montanavintagearms.com/product/ ... ont-sight/
Congrats on a nice build. Folks often report good accuracy from the octagon barreled Winchesters. Sounds like yours is a good shooter.

Thanks. Shoots great. Cycles bad though and I haven't been able to quite figure out why.

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 11:51 pm

Rube Burrows wrote:

Thanks. Shoots great. Cycles bad though and I haven't been able to quite figure out why.

Have you done anything with the rim slots in the cartridge guides yet? From the pics, that looks like the likely culprit. A note to Steve of Steves gunz or Mike Hunter may be worthwhile also.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:58 am

Malamute wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:

Thanks. Shoots great. Cycles bad though and I haven't been able to quite figure out why.
Have you done anything with the rim slots in the cartridge guides yet? From the pics, that looks like the likely culprit. A note to Steve of Steves gunz or Mike Hunter may be worthwhile also.

Im not exactly sure what you mean. I did order the correct magazine follower. Other than that I have not done anything yet. It was put on the back burner for a while but I took it out the other day and hope to get it figured out soon cause it shoots great from what little I have shot it so far.

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:48 pm

That incorrect magazine follower will only matter when feeding the last round, assuming it moves through the magazine tube OK. If it acts the same with two rounds in the magazine and both fail to feed well off the carrier, its an indication the follower wouldnt be the sole issue. The earlier discussion looked like the cartridge was binding when trying to feed into the chamber.

The rim slots in the cartridge guides were discussed above. With the top front edge of the cartridge binding on the chamber when feeding, it looks like the rear of the cartridge may need to raise sooner in the feed cycle. I think a note to Steve of Steves Gunz, or Mike Hunter may be useful in figuring it out.

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:52 pm

Malamute wrote:That incorrect magazine follower will only matter when feeding the last round, assuming it moves through the magazine tube OK. If it acts the same with two rounds in the magazine and both fail to feed well off the carrier, its an indication the follower wouldnt be the sole issue. The earlier discussion looked like the cartridge was binding when trying to feed into the chamber.

The rim slots in the cartridge guides were discussed above. With the top front edge of the cartridge binding on the chamber when feeding, it looks like the rear of the cartridge may need to raise sooner in the feed cycle. I think a note to Steve of Steves Gunz, or Mike Hunter may be useful in figuring it out.

Thanks. I am not sure what I could do to them though. I may need to take your advise and contact Steve or Mike.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:43 am

Rube Burrows wrote:
Malamute wrote:That incorrect magazine follower will only matter when feeding the last round, assuming it moves through the magazine tube OK. If it acts the same with two rounds in the magazine and both fail to feed well off the carrier, its an indication the follower wouldnt be the sole issue. The earlier discussion looked like the cartridge was binding when trying to feed into the chamber.

The rim slots in the cartridge guides were discussed above. With the top front edge of the cartridge binding on the chamber when feeding, it looks like the rear of the cartridge may need to raise sooner in the feed cycle. I think a note to Steve of Steves Gunz, or Mike Hunter may be useful in figuring it out.

Thanks. I am not sure what I could do to them though. I may need to take your advise and contact Steve or Mike.

What Malamute said on the follower. But as for the guides... I'll tell you it's trial and error. In the below pic, you would be removing material where the red pointer is. You only need to remove enough to allow the rim to pass thru the guides a little sooner... or at a lesser angle that those factory guides.

Did you measure between the bolt face at its rearmost position to the back of the cartridge guide slots?

(the #21 is the front of the guide for positioning reference).

Rube Burrows · Post by **Rube Burrows** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:30 am

Griff wrote:
Rube Burrows wrote:
Malamute wrote:That incorrect magazine follower will only matter when feeding the last round, assuming it moves through the magazine tube OK. If it acts the same with two rounds in the magazine and both fail to feed well off the carrier, its an indication the follower wouldnt be the sole issue. The earlier discussion looked like the cartridge was binding when trying to feed into the chamber.

The rim slots in the cartridge guides were discussed above. With the top front edge of the cartridge binding on the chamber when feeding, it looks like the rear of the cartridge may need to raise sooner in the feed cycle. I think a note to Steve of Steves Gunz, or Mike Hunter may be useful in figuring it out.

Thanks. I am not sure what I could do to them though. I may need to take your advise and contact Steve or Mike.
What Malamute said on the follower. But as for the guides... I'll tell you it's trial and error. In the below pic, you would be removing material where the red pointer is. You only need to remove enough to allow the rim to pass thru the guides a little sooner... or at a lesser angle that those factory guides.

Did you measure between the bolt face at its rearmost position to the back of the cartridge guide slots?

(the #21 is the front of the guide for positioning reference).

Hard to see the photo cause its small but I think I know what you are talking about. I will try to measure it this weekend and get something done on it.

plowboy 45 · Post by **plowboy 45** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:37 pm

That ol gal is very photogenic, you done a better job on your wood than i did on mine looks like
Now, if you need a follower I got one you can have, if I can still find it
Take your cartridge guides out, one screw on each side, wait try to chamber a round, look at the head of the cartridge, take a mental note of how much needs to be filed of each side, this will be at an angle toward the chamber, now take the guides out, one screw each, file with a triangle file the amount that stuck in your brain, count the strokes, do the same on the other one, clean up and reinstall, it took 8 strokes on mine, it feeds perfect, the guides can be taken out and put back in without disassembling the whole thing
I had to installed a tall front blade to get mine on target, I used a 1894 Indian head penny and it works good
Hope this helps
Good lookin rifle for sure

PLOWBOY

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 3:27 pm

Rube, check to see if your carrier isn't coming up too high. Here's a couple of pics of a couple of my .30-30s I took to show where the carrier should be in relation to the chamber mouth, (top, a pre-64, bottom, a post 64):

I don't have either rifle with me to measure, but you should be able to see that the carrier sits in a line with the chamber mouth; if yours is a little too high, you can trim it down a mite to allow the front of the cartridge to drop a bit, and get a little further into the chamber so the rim clears the slots. Lay a pencil or other smaller straight edge on the carrier that will allow you to see if the carrier lines up with the mouth, with enough clearance to get the case past the mouth, yet not so high that the bullet hits the top of the chamber before the rim can clear the slots in the guide.

FWIW, the later mdl 94s all have the same part number for guides for all calibers, very early ones used a different set of guides for the .32-40 & .38-55. But those are for a pre-64 type receiver, which are threaded to have the screw heads inside the receiver... so those guides would fit in your gun. If you could find any, I certainly haven't for my pre-64 receiver.