Bought my first Winchester 94 in 30-30

[bamaranger]

lever action AD

In the "American Rifleman" there is a column that appears routinely entitled Favorite Firearm. In the recent Sept issue, the featured gun is an 1893 with an interesting back story....an 1893 Marlin.

In the writer's (reader's) account, as a kid he chambers a round and attempts to lower the hammer. A thumb slip and no doubt a finger lingering on the trigger in the process, produced an accidental discharge. Very thing we've been discussing in the traditional lever rifles, and the reason I'd never allow a neophyte to hunt with one.

 

[44 AMP]

The lockup on the 94 is a little different than the 92. Maybe those changes allowed adding the safety back into the design. Was it present on the Winchester 86?

I have a friend who is more experienced with Winchesters than I am, and he checked his 86, and like the 92 it does not have the Safety Bar disconnector that the 73, 94 and 95 have.

The 86 and the 92 designs share design feature, the twin rising bar lockup, and use it as the method to prevent firing with the action not fully shut. The 94 is different and reverted back to the lever safety bar disconnector. As my friend also said, if you want to know why it is that way, ask JM Browning.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Model 1886 chambered for 45-70 at the top of this photo.

Model 1892 chambered for 44-40 at the bottom.

Neither have a lever safety.