Before you chop it I would see if its what you want first. It would be easier to trade it out if its original.
When I had mine Winchester hadn't brought out the AE models in short pistol cals. I've never looked at a later production Win 94 in 44 but maybe they made a better shell lifter which you might be able to swap out if yours gives you the same trouble mine did.
One thing with the Winchester though is that as it was made to handle longer cartridges you could alter it to take a longer OAL. 44's have a long throat already (approx .22") and with minor internal changes you could have a rifle that gives better accuracy as well as more power.
