Hey guys,

I recently bought Winchester model 94 from 1976 and I'm having some issues with it. When I pull on the lever the safety does not disengage. The safety on the trigger doesn't disengage as well. I've tried some local smiths and everyone is quoting like $500+ but none of them actually tell me what they think is wrong with it. Has anyone ever had this problem? Does anyone have a suggestions?

I would really appreciate any help as I'm really frustrated at this point and am just considering selling the rifle, which i REALLY dont want to do!
Thanks in advance!

Where is the safety on your rifle?

Winchester added a crosbolt safety in the early '90s and more recent versions have a sliding tang safety.  But as far as I'm aware, this rifle did not have a safety prior to the crosbolt safety of the '90s.  There was the half cock position of the hammer, but no safety.  Are you sure that your rifle is from the '70s?

There is one more safety, sort of a grip safety.  You have to squeeze the lever tight to the grip to release the trigger.  So either the half cock notch is broken or the trigger release is malfunctioning.

$500 would get you a new Model 94 in very good to excellent condition from that era.

Worst case, Midwest Gun Works lists a complete lower tang assembly (with the lower tang and all the fire control parts included and assembled) for $175. You need to get the correct solid hammer version for your rifle, but it's then basically a drop in/direct replacement installation.   My suspicion is that your local gunsmith would do something similar, with a 100% markup on parts, a $100 minimum charge for labor and then tax to come up with a $500 repair bill.  

Best case, it's the a weak or broken trigger stop spring, which is a $5.00 part from Midwest Gun Works.  That's a likely problem as if the trigger stop spring does not push the trigger stop down (it's the part with the square shaped bit on the end that sticks out the bottom of the tang), the trigger will not release.  The trigger stop itself is not likely to break, but it's an $8.00 part.   You may want to try cycling and dry firing your carbine, then see if you can pull the stop down with a toothpick, if you can, and it then functions normally, the spring is your problem.

As for the hammer, you should be able to feel whether the sear notch and half cock notch are intact.  It's possible to shear one or the other of them if it's dropped on the hammer.  A solid hammer is a $75.00 part. A new sear for a top eject 94 is a $40 part.

All of the above.......

OP ,you need to find another 'smith too.

Thanks for catching that.  I should have remembered that, but it's been a while since I handled one.

hey you are correct there isn't a safety. When you squeeze the lever it pushes on some protruding pin which in turn free the trigger. Im having a problem with that piece specifically as its extremely  hard to get that pin to rise.

Taking the buttstock off isn't hard.  Remove the rear, only the rear, screw and bump the comb (top) of the stock at the rear of the pistol grip with the palm of your hand.  This will expose the lever safety area and you can see if anything is blocking it.

Rob

Thank you all for the help! I've still had no luck with getting this thing to work properly. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'm thinking about swapping out parts and seeing it starts to work but im not sure where to start. I've also had no luck finding a gunsmith.

Have you contacted Winchester yet?
Maybe they know what might be wrong with it.
Maybe they can fix it for less then $500.00!
After all it is their firearm!
($500.00 Looks like someone does not want to work on this firearm)
Call them or e-mail and ask! What can it hurt?
Let us know what happens!


PITA45