"lever-crazy" range report; 94 ejecting in my face

[SBsasquatch]

Made a trip to the range today. Along with my Marlin 336w I took my new to me-94 out today and had issues with it ejecting the brass in a rainbow arc/directly back towards my forehead. I shot it both regular and southpaw to no avail.(I'm lefty btw). Lucky for me I was wearing a baseball cap and the brass would roll of the bill.

I would manipulate/cycle the action with stock shouldered, looking still down the sights. I.E. pretending to ready a follow up shot. Cuz that's how practice.


Side by side look & feel :

336w circa dec 2013
94 20" circa 1966 #303xxxx


Fit&finish:
94 beautiful blue/tight fit
336 rough finish(parkerized?)/gaps

Action:
94 smooth till the end of forward stroke. Seemed like it was sticking in last few inches. Return was clean. Probably hasn't been cleaned ever.

336w out the box was very gritty. After a week of "love" and a minor polish job I smoothed 99% of it out. The initial"unlock" and "lockup" are still stiff but i can live with that.

I shot both rifles back to back. Recoil and accuracy seemed the same. I was shooting offhand and not really concern about it.

My marlin ran flawless, nothing to speak of... But I'm still trying to figure out the 94's ejection issue....help please.

[MrElectric03]

I haven't had much experience with a bunch of different 1894s but mine was made in 1941 and ejects the brass high enough and back to clear my head when keeping it shouldered. It's not real high but I have a big head so I'm happy the brass clears it. Maybe your ejector and/or spring could be worn?

[ECVMatt]

You could look for an AE (angle eject) model. They are more of side shucker like the Marlin. Marlins are pretty tough to beat though. As much as I like the looks of the 94, I thing the 336 is a better gun.

[Bastard]

I am pretty sure that is the way that the eject, the only one I have ejects that way - that said how high & how far it throws is directly related to how fast/hard you work the lever.

[ziconceo]

My 94 hits me in the forehead as well :/

Sent from my unknown using Tapatalk

[RAMCHARGER]

Yea that sounds about right. My GF dont like it cuz it sends brass down her clevage, can't say I blame it for wanting to go there

[RAMCHARGER]

My 94 hits me in the forehead as well :/

Sent from my unknown using Tapatalk

Thats why God invented the cowboy hat....

[SBsasquatch]

So I will assume that's normal. Rack up another win for my Marlin.

[Jester3]

Right on

You could look for an AE (angle eject) model. They are more of side shucker like the Marlin. Marlins are pretty tough to beat though. As much as I like the looks of the 94, I thing the 336 is a better gun.

Same issue I had. Love the action on the 94, but the brass flying in the face was a pain. On the Marlin, you gotta buy a pre Remington build for quality. Built better, tighter and the levers worked more smooth. Just my 2 cents.

[G-Solutions]

The older Winchesters are true 'top-eject' rifles. I have not worked with them directly, but the placement of extractor/ejector drives the shell upward and back on ejection.

When people started mounting scopes on their rifles, Winchester came out with the AE-version (angle eject) so that the shells would clear out underneath the scope.

I don't think there's much you can do about the ejection path of the shells - the only thing I can think of is to work the lever with a bit more gusto so that the shells go overhead instead of slamming into your forehead.

FWIW - I sold my Winchester 94 / .357 and replaced it with a Marlin 1894c.

Later, I added a 336. Both are great rifles, even though the 1894c will need an action job - it's a Remlin

[SBsasquatch]

^^^ those are nice...thanks for responses all

[RAMCHARGER]

The older Winchesters are true 'top-eject' rifles. I have not worked with them directly, but the placement of extractor/ejector drives the shell upward and back on ejection.

When people started mounting scopes on their rifles, Winchester came out with the AE-version (angle eject) so that the shells would clear out underneath the scope.

I don't think there's much you can do about the ejection path of the shells - the only thing I can think of is to work the lever with a bit more gusto so that the shells go overhead instead of slamming into your forehead.

FWIW - I sold my Winchester 94 / .357 and replaced it with a Marlin 1894c.

Later, I added a 336. Both are great rifles, even though the 1894c will need an action job - it's a Remlin

So are you going to tell us about those sights on your rifles?

[CSACANNONEER]

I'm a lefty with 3 pre-64 94s. I've never had a problem. I'd rather have brass eject up and out of my way than across my face like a Marlin does.

[SBsasquatch]

Your right- brass swing across my face IS WAY more distracting than it hitting me in the face....lol

Seriously though... for being a lefty the ejection of spent brass never really phased me. I'm too focused on my sight pictures, or down range, etc.
Either way I need to figure it out, the coming season is depending on it....

[smle-man]

If the 94 is older you may have an accumulation of dried oil in the ejector pathway. Try some degreaser on it and work it a few times to loosen it up. I'm a lefty and have been hit on the head by many an ejecting cartridge case from many different firearms but never from a 94 or 92 action carbine.