Winchester 94

J

jeffelkins

New member
I have a Winchester 94 inherited from my father. It's in need of rebluing, but a local gunsmith told me bluing wouldn't take and said it would have to be chromed.

The gun is blue now, but a little rough. Is this guy full of it?

Jeff
 
MAYBE you have one where the barrel is the usual steel, but the receiver is made of an alloy. (I think Winchester made some of these for Sears or some such, after 1964(?).) An alloy piece would need to be anodized; the standard bluing would not "take"--and I'm not sure chrome would, either.

If it's an all-steel gun, I know of no reason for not re-bluing.

FWIW, Art
 
I have a Gunsite gunsmithy catalog of services, and it says that some vintages of the '94 can't be blued. This was news to me, too.
They do offer several other options. A chrome '94 doesn't sound good to me, but maybe one of the black chromes would look good. There is also Robar, who can refinish anything. Did some good work on a couple of my shotguns.
 
Personally, I'd leave it like it is. If somebody made a remark about it, I'd tell 'em the rifle has "character"! ;)
 
Some of the post 64 Winchester model 94's were mare with a sintered metal reciever. The only way they could be reblued was to send them back to the factory. Now that U.S.R.A.C is making the 94's, I don't know it they will, or are even able to reblue the gun. You might check with them and see. There is a place to E-mail Winchester on their web page.
Paul B.
 
i like what grayfox said. yes, character. i have a few pieces that will not be touched for the same reason. i hope the stories are remembered as they pass through the generations.... sundog

------------------
safety first
 
I've seen some of the "blue" jobs done on the receivers of post '64 M94's. Sometimes, they come out purple. It's not very attractive. I don't know how electroless nickel plating works on these receivers, but if you don't like the idea of chrome, you probably wouldn't like the nickel either. The Robar finish would be pretty durable, but it wouldn't duplicate the factory blue by a long shot. I saw a tip in Brownell's "Gunsmith Kinks", volume 1 about this. One gunsmith says they're cast iron receivers, and never polish up very smooth before blueing. Another says he leaves them in the blueing tank for 2hrs, and has to cool them gradually. They still come out purple sometimes. There have been people do this work on these M94's, but I haven't seen a good one yet. Best bet would be to contact USRAC to see if they can re-blue, or leave it "as is", character intact.
 
Chrome is out, so I'll leave it "as is", character intact. It did clean up OK with some judicious steel wool and oiling.

Thanks folks!

Jeff
 
Take heart; no other rifle looks as good with a beat-up finish as a well-worn M-94. I covet my dad's (put 25 rounds through it yesterday), and it has maybe half the original finish.
 
Many good points, and most state to leave the gun the way it is. That is what you inherited, not a new one. I have a 94 made in 1950, with about 50% blue left it looks sooo cool. :cool: These are very nice close range heavy cover deer rifles. As long as it is mechanically sound, just enjoy it.

[This message has been edited by muleshoe (edited January 11, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by muleshoe (edited January 11, 2000).]
 
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