Winchester 94AE First Rounds
Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:42 pm
Managed a trip to the range on Friday, to try out my new to me Winchester 94AE in 45 Colt. This rifle is a joy to shoot. So I wanted to share some results and thoughts about it.
The first picture is just what I too to the rage today. The Winchester and my Ruger NM Blackhawk.
The second picture are the two loads tested in the Winchester. The load on the left is a 185 gr. semi wadcutter with 8.8 gr. of Universal. It's a fairly soft shooting load and was very accurate in my Marlin 1894 Cowboy. The load on the right is my go 45 Colt load with a 255 gr MB RNFP bullet powered by 7.2 gr. of Universal. This shoots very well is my Marlin and the Ruger and now my Winchester 94.
Here are my first impressions of the 94AE and my likes and a dislikes. I'll start with my dislikes first:
1. Front sight is very hard to see. Since it's a simple black post my old eye have a hard time focusing on it.
2. The trigger pull seems very heavy. I breaks fairly clean but just heavy.
3. The cross bolt safety is ugly and serves no purpose. My Marlin has one also but it's less noticeable and I've put a rubber o-ring on it that keeps it in the fire position. I'm not sure if that will work on the 94AE.
Now here are the things I like about the 94AE:
1. The angel eject feature works exceedingly well. Unlike typical Winchester actions which throw the spent case over your head, this drops all case at the 4 o'clock position about 3' away from my right foot.
2. The loading and action is butter smooth.
3. Overall fit and finish is excellent.
4. The loading gate operates very easy and the internal finish is perfect. It's not a meat eater like my Rossi was before I did some stone work.
5. It's light and handles quickly like the Rossi.
I am very please with this rifle. Loading rounds into the mag. tube is easier than my Marlin or my Rossi. With the smooth operation of the action, rounds chamber effortlessly. I did have some hesitation with the semi wadcutter loads, but that was strictly due to the bullet shape. My first shots were about 4" high at 25 yds and about 3" left. A quick drift of the rear sight got me on center, but still high. The rear sight was in the first notch position so I left it there while I was getting familiar with the trigger.
After getting comfortable at 25 yds I moved the target back to 40. Below is the last 10 rounds at 40 yards. The 5 shots circled in blue are with the rear sight set in the first notch and aiming at the yellow mark. The shots are about 4" high. The 5 shot group in red is with the sight at the lowest position, again using the yellow aiming point. These are dead on. All of these shots are with my go 255 gr. MB RNFP load.
Overall I'm extremely please with this rifle and can't wait to get it out shooting my steel setup. I plan to contact Winchester on Monday and see if they can I identify when this rifle was made. I know it was made between 1992 when the cross bolt safety first appeared and 2003 when it was replaced by the tang safety. like I said, I really enjoy this rifle and one this is for sure --- it's a keeper.
Paul
The first picture is just what I too to the rage today. The Winchester and my Ruger NM Blackhawk.
- IMG_2136.jpeg (363.27 KiB) Viewed 1315 times
The second picture are the two loads tested in the Winchester. The load on the left is a 185 gr. semi wadcutter with 8.8 gr. of Universal. It's a fairly soft shooting load and was very accurate in my Marlin 1894 Cowboy. The load on the right is my go 45 Colt load with a 255 gr MB RNFP bullet powered by 7.2 gr. of Universal. This shoots very well is my Marlin and the Ruger and now my Winchester 94.
- IMG_2137.jpeg (229.77 KiB) Viewed 1315 times
Here are my first impressions of the 94AE and my likes and a dislikes. I'll start with my dislikes first:
1. Front sight is very hard to see. Since it's a simple black post my old eye have a hard time focusing on it.
2. The trigger pull seems very heavy. I breaks fairly clean but just heavy.
3. The cross bolt safety is ugly and serves no purpose. My Marlin has one also but it's less noticeable and I've put a rubber o-ring on it that keeps it in the fire position. I'm not sure if that will work on the 94AE.
Now here are the things I like about the 94AE:
1. The angel eject feature works exceedingly well. Unlike typical Winchester actions which throw the spent case over your head, this drops all case at the 4 o'clock position about 3' away from my right foot.
2. The loading and action is butter smooth.
3. Overall fit and finish is excellent.
4. The loading gate operates very easy and the internal finish is perfect. It's not a meat eater like my Rossi was before I did some stone work.
5. It's light and handles quickly like the Rossi.
I am very please with this rifle. Loading rounds into the mag. tube is easier than my Marlin or my Rossi. With the smooth operation of the action, rounds chamber effortlessly. I did have some hesitation with the semi wadcutter loads, but that was strictly due to the bullet shape. My first shots were about 4" high at 25 yds and about 3" left. A quick drift of the rear sight got me on center, but still high. The rear sight was in the first notch position so I left it there while I was getting familiar with the trigger.
After getting comfortable at 25 yds I moved the target back to 40. Below is the last 10 rounds at 40 yards. The 5 shots circled in blue are with the rear sight set in the first notch and aiming at the yellow mark. The shots are about 4" high. The 5 shot group in red is with the sight at the lowest position, again using the yellow aiming point. These are dead on. All of these shots are with my go 255 gr. MB RNFP load.
- IMG_2138.jpeg (168.83 KiB) Viewed 1315 times
Overall I'm extremely please with this rifle and can't wait to get it out shooting my steel setup. I plan to contact Winchester on Monday and see if they can I identify when this rifle was made. I know it was made between 1992 when the cross bolt safety first appeared and 2003 when it was replaced by the tang safety. like I said, I really enjoy this rifle and one this is for sure --- it's a keeper.
Paul