Tonight I bought a model 94 AE from Wally world I did not however get a chance to work the lever or inspect it closely as they had a lock on it holding the lever closed. After getting home and unboxing it, I noticed that there is a lot of side to side play in the lever, and I can also rattle the bolt from side to side when it is half way open. It is not nearly as tight as the used 94 I bought for my son for christmas. Does this sound like an issue I need to contact the manufacturer about, or is it normal. At what point would exesive play be considered not to be within spec? Thanks

Send it back to the manufacturer.

Would you give that workmanship as a gift to someone you cared about? Probably not. So don't settle for it yourself.

I just looked at my .444 M-94 Timber rifle. This is an Angle Eject and has been shot quite a bit but still looks new. This rifle has withstood some very stout loads.
I turned the rifle upside down and wiggled the lever left and right. The lever wiggles quite a bit and looking at the bottom plate it moves left to right about 1/16", maybe a bit less. There is a long arm from the lever to the plate and that may be why it appears to be excessive movement.
With the lever half-open I can grasp the rear of the bolt and wiggle it side to side. The bolt makes a light clicking sound as it moves left to right.
We have several new Winchester AE rifles, but they are not handy at the moment. I'll look at them later. It seems pretty normal to me.

Edit: Removed the word moment. I was thinking about a weight and balance problem while typing. Thanks Joe!

drobinson,

Would this happen to be your first Model '94?
William is correct, all Model '94s have some amount of play in the action when open. You might show your new Winchester to someone familiar with the '94 and see if they would consider it excessive play.

I would be careful who you tell about the friend purchasing the weapon for you. This could be considered a "Straw Sale" , even if done with no bad intent. If the employee friend filled out the 4473 and them handed the gun over to you it would make the first question I believe 12A (are you the actual buyer?) falsely answered , like a said innocently as just trying to get a buddy a deal but couyld come back to haunt if your not careful.


444fitch

What 444fitch says is true, be carefull what you do, and what you say about it. It's not being paranoid to be carefull.

As for the play in the USRAC action. I have an 85 vintage Trapper in .45 Colt. It seems to have a lot of play in it, but then again so does the 1980 vintage Win 94 Trapper 30-30, and the 1950 vintage Winchester 94 Carbine in 30-30.
Personally if it functions properly I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Unlike Marlins and Winchester 92's and the copies there are three attaching points on the Mdl 94's. Link to frame at the front, link to lever, and lever to bolt.
None of these points are solidly attached. They all have play in them. Some more than others.
It's the nature of the beast, so to speak.

Joe

I have an M94 in .32 WS, manufacture year of 1965 I believe. The previous owner shot it maybe 12 times or so - not nearly enough to begin the break-in process. It does not shake, rattle or roll as much as you describe the way yours does. But, maybe there was a production process change between non-AE and AE models.

DLS has it right - take it to someone local that is familiar with the model, ask their thoughts.

Thanks for all of your input. I compared the rifle to my sons 94 AE and there was a world of difference. The new one is just sloppy. I called Winchester and explained the problem, and they said they would take care of it. I shipped it thursday and from ups tracking have confirmed that it has been received. I will let all of you know how winchester handles it.

Good! Glad you did that - there is nothing worse than harboring a bad feeling toward someone/thing without at least trying to resolve the issue.

I am interested to hear how this turns out.

Just got off the phone with the good folks at winchester. They told me that my rifle was in shipping ready to be returned. I asked Debbi(?) what was done to it and she replied that the entire tang assembly was replaced as was the lever. She said it should ship out in next day or two. This customer service is awesome. I am very impressed.