I used a .357 chambered 94 extensively for a couple of years and came to the conclusion(along with others that owned them as well) that they were quite possibly the worst example of taking a perfectly good machine & trying to make it into something it wasn't designed to do. 94's just plain work with the 30-30/.32 SP length cartridge that John designed them to ( I have 4 or 5 of them myself) but nothing I could do would make my pistol caliber work "reliably"...and that was in a Cowboy competition situation, I would never ever consider a pistol cal. 94 rifle for a bush gun, hunting nor especially for a "wilderness protection" tool...NEVER !!!
The internal's that they changed for the shorter cartridge is basically just an elevator with a shorter distance to the "cartridge stop" lug. The Lever throw distance is still the same as for the longer cartridge. Basicaly both the 94's & the 92's for pistol cartridge length ammo suffer from the same malady...at the most inopportune time they can and will stove pipe a round or even throw a completely loaded cartridge overboard...that's why I would never in this lifetime consider either one for a wilderness protection tool...never.
Plinker's will always say "but my 92 works perfectly" and to them they might...because they never have to "horse" an action the way someone does "on the clock" in a competition or a life saving panic situation. And speed is the bugaboo to the 92-94 lever Winchesters with the light, short pistol ammo...What happens is that the lifter, during a "speed required" cycle, lifts so fast that, with the wide open mouth of their breech, has no "cartridge control" at all. The longer 30-30 type cartridge seems to weigh enough that the inertia isn't enough to throw them out but the lighter pistol rounds can and will. I will temper that statement by saying that I have known of a couple of 94 trapper's that were chambered for .45 LC and they did work more reliable than the .38's, I think because they were a heavy enough round that most of them stayed laying on the elevator until the bolt slid them into the chamber.
Many very accomplished gunsmiths down south have tried to Cowboy Condition both 94;s & the much more common 92's...they can make them run smoother than factory condition by a long ways but not one of them ever shortened the stroke or slowed that lifter down to be a viable option for any consistency required by a serious competitor. Rusty Woods is a local BC gunsmith whom I consider to be the best 94-92 mechanics/slicker-uppers this side of the border. He can make those guns as slick & fast as any Marlin 94 but I think that just compounds the problem...the faster they go, the more rounds they can through out... and I've RO'd lots of them that do so.
The "controlled round" aspect of the Marlin 94's & the toggle action Winchesters is what make them work "at speed", not most of the time but All of the time, every time (but if the round you are developing will be higher pressure than a BP round I wouldn't recommend any of the "toggle actions" neither).
That's my 2 cents worth anyways LOL
Just hoping to hear from some hands on with the .357 Model 94 experience on how they did it, and if there’s room to expand it for length. Think .357 Maximum type idea, and what’s limiting / handling the .357s in the longer 94 action.
