Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles hunting with a pre-64 Model 94

I have caught the bug for a pre-64 Model 94 in 30-30 or 32 WCF for eastern woods hunting, iron sights. Appreciate any savvy or experiences you can pass along.

Easy carrying, fast shooting, killing machine and you can eat right up to the hole. What's not to like?

They still work. I recommend a reciever or tang mounted peep sight instead of original sights, and I'm not a fan of hooded front sights, but that's an easy fix if it has one.

My brother and several assorted cousins hunt with 30/30 and .32 model 94s.

My 30/30 is a pre war savage 99 featherweight, but set up same way with a reciever sight. Don't hunt with it exclusively, but it gets carried every year at least part of the season.

If your hunting style includes much walking they are great carrying rifles.

I have an early 50's production model 94 in 30-30. It is a great shooting gun. Been meaning to hunt with it, but just never have. With just factory 150 core-lokts no can is safe at my 100 yard range. Never really shot it forgeoups though. I just have too much trouble with iron sights that far.

Not much to add that 122 years of hunting hasn’t already shown. If they have accuracy issues one can make them a lot better by relieving any stress caused by tightly tying the barrel and magazine tube together. Gently relieve the inside of the barrel bands where they encircle the barrel. You don’t want them loosey goosey, that doesn’t look good and is excessive, just give them a teeny smidge of room so the barrel can freely expand a tad as it heats up without the magazine tube exerting pressure on it. Also, the magazine tube plug screw that goes into the barrel at the muzzle can be unscrewed just enough so it isn’t hard tight; you can use a dab of Loctite blue to keep it in place if you want.

If it shows evenly disbursed groups of whatever size the above won't help much but if it shows a tendency to string vertically this can help quite a bit.

Another thing to look for in these older Winchesters is damage or wear at the crown caused by careless or overly exuberant use of cleaning rods since they are difficult to clean from the breech, but cleaning up the crown is an easy fix.


Of course, this is all moot and just loony talk since after all, it's a Model 94 .30-30 and will jump to your shoulder in an instant and kill that deer like Thor's hammer, so there will never be a need for a second shot...

Loved my old .25-35. Never took it deer hunting, but it accounted for a couple of lions and a fair number of coyotes. Been thinking seriously about getting another one in .25-35 or .38-55 (a round that I have never tried).

Well, as long as you're willing to keep your shots under 600 yards I guess it'll do.....

Got a pre 64 carbine in 30-30 with an older Williams 5D peep. It has click adjustments not the screw ones sold today. Loves 170 grain factory (Winchester, Remington) and reloads with Hornady or Nosler 170 round nose. More than accurate for the woods.

I've killed truckloads of game with my 1949 .30-30 since I bought it in 1982. A couple dozen deer, coyotes, fox, coon, rabbits and hundreds of woodchucks. I filled my buck tag with it just last season. Could shoot 1 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards with it when I was younger. Now 2" is about the best I can do but that's still plenty good enough for deer in the woods. For years it wore a Williams 5D receiver sight and a lyman ivory bead front. Changed the ivory bead out for a green fiber optic a few years ago for better low light visibility with these aging eyes.

Have one in .32 that I fill my doe tags with, have never needed a second shot.

Having f=grown up shooting an Ithaca Model 49 in .22LR, a .30-30 levergun was on my wish list for over 20 years. Finally bought Marlin 375 (,375 Win) and that just whetted my appetite for more power. So I bought Marlin 1895 (.45-70).

But it just didn't seem right that I didn't have a 30-30. Finally found a good used Marlin at a price I couldn't refuse. Love it.

Seems to me that no battery is quite complete without a lever .30-30. And you can't beat levers for fun.

Go for it!