All this talk of cartridge guides seems kinda of funny to me.

Has anyone here actually assembled and fired multiple barrel sets?

As mentioned on the older post my old man has a Model 94 2-barrel set in 30wcf and 25-35 and they both shoot fine, chamber fine. Especially for calibers that aren’t suppose to interchange. And yes his set is outside of the letterable range but just barely. If I remember correctly its in the 400,000 serial range. This 2-barrel set has been in the family for 40 years or more. I’m not 100% sure its an original factory set but I’m pretty sure it is. But I also can’t letter it either.

Seems that what really matters is if you had a multiple barrel set, like the 5-barrel in question, Does it go Bang, Bang every time you chamber a Round and does it do so with every barrel?

Sincerely,
Maverick

To potentially satisfy inquiring minds regarding the cartridge guide debate, and to satisfy my curiosity as to what cartridges will feed through the cartridge guides of different caliber rifles, I took all five 1894 cartridges and ran them through the action of both standard and takedown frame rifles of differing calibers to see which cartridge would successfully feed through the action of each different caliber of rifle, through the cartridge guides, and chamber (or partially chamber due to cartridge size). With the help of a good friend who had several of the rifles and takedowns that I did not, here are the results:

Takedown rifles:
38-55 Takedown: will feed all cartridge calibers
30-30 Takedown: will feed all cartridge calibers
32WS Takedown: will feed all cartridge calibers
32-40 Takedown: will only feed 25-35 or 32-40
25-35 Takedown: will only feed 25-35 or 32-40

Standard frame rifles:
35-55 SF: will feed all cartridge calibers
30-30 SF: will feed all cartridge calibers
32 WS: will feed all cartridge calibers
32-40 SF: will feed only 32-40 or 25-35
25-35 SF: will feed only 25-35 or 32-40

Other comments/observations:
The larger diameter cartridges of the 30-30, 32WS, and 38-55 will not pass between the cartridge guides for 32-40 and 25-35 actions due to the larger diameter of the cartridge case nearer the base/head. Also too, while not having all the caliber rifles to examine first hand, I did notice that the carrier for the 32-40 is milled differently where the cartridge rim engages the carrier from those that are 35-55, 32 WS, or 30-30. It may have more to do with the depth at which the carrier is milled to accept the cartridge rim than the cartridge guides.

When running the 25-35 or 32-40 ammo through the action of the other caliber rifles, it is a bit sloppy before the cartridge fully engages the carrier but feeds good through the cartridge guides and into the chamber when the carrier is raised.

If a multiple barrel set having 30-30, 32WS or 38-55 with an accompanying 32-40 or 25-35 barrel is desired, the solution is to use the cartridge guides for the 30-30, 32WS or 38-55 to make the receiver the recipient of all the cartridges. So yes, for those who have indicated in this post and others that the 25-35 and 32-40 cartridge guides are different, I would have to agree, although I dont have a set to examine any differences between each. Looking at the 32-40, 30-30, 32 WS, and 38-55 I have, I cant see a difference when installed in the receiver. But, in addition to the cartridge guides the carrier may also have to be changed to one that accepts the larger cartridges.

As with all things, are there exceptions to the rule, of course there could be. But this is how things panned out.

Chris

Valuable and informative post, Chris. Thank you.

Al:

WACA does have a spare copy of the magazine you are looking for. Cost is $7.00 plus $3.00 postage to continental U.S. locations. Non-member price is $10.00 plus postage and foreign costs are higher due to postal rates.

Call Georgia at (541) 526-5929 and she can send it to you today.

https://www.proxibid.com/Guns-Military-Artifacts/Rifles/Winchester-94R-Takedown-Deluxe-32-WS-32-40cal-Rifle/lotInformation/72199394

If anyone is interested the 2 barrel set in 32-40 and 32 WS is for sale on Proxibid. 

I vividly remember this interesting discusson – has been in hibernation for about 8 years. Personally, I would be very hesitant to buy a multi barrel Model 1894 unless it was one of those early enough to letter – not in this day of too much fakery. Whoever buys the two-barrel set gun in this auction will probably never see this thread or know about the feeding issues. A multi barrel Model 94 is certainly a rare and desirable Winchester to own and I think they have always been very hard to find. When Madis first published The Winchester Book he spent a lot of time doing research and had access to the best collections. I don’t think he ran into many multi-barrel 94’s as he did his research since in his book there are only two, 2-barrel sets and both are too late to letter. He also has one, 4 barrel set with two 30-30 barrels and two 38-55 barrels (full mag and half mag for each). At least those calibers would interchange and feed correctly. The 4 barrel gun is early enough to letter but the extra barrels don’t letter – the gun was R&R’d 3 times and Madis makes note “perhaps the gun was returned to fit the additional barrels”. Don’t spend too much money on a “perhaps”. As to the 5 barrel set from Alaska which I talked about in this thread, the gun was at Cabelas for awhile on consignment – they did not buy the gun. The gun was eventually returned to the owner because Cabelas received too many complaints about the gun not being correct. The gun owner subsequently passed away. I do not know the current location of the gun but would not be a bit surprised to see it available at auction sometime in the future.