How To Clean A Winchester Model 94

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Apologies if this has already been flogged to death elsewhere, but after some fruitless searching, I decided a new post was the way forward. I have a very nice '94 AE, 20" barrel and colour case hardened reciever that I need to clean. Question is, what is the best way? Should I completely strip it?
It takes 3 hands to reassemble a Winchester... or at least that's been my experience. I took my brother's 94 Trapper apart once. Just once. In this case, something like Gun Scrubber is your friend... just hose out the action, let it dry, drop a little lube in there.... and away you go.
No need for disassembly.
First off, I'd use a stainless steel cleaning rod, with the tapered cone to protect the muzzle.

Unless there is a lot of crud in the action, just wipe with an oily patch wherever you can reach. Sometimes a toothbrush is helpful. Otherwise, protect against humidity-induced rust.
Q-tips are quite handy for getting to those hard to reach spots in the receiver.
I've heard of some guys who completely disassembled a '94... there's a couple of parts you won't re-install at home. A professional gunsmith would have to send it back to the factory and New Haven ain't there now, so just don't.
As for regular cleaning, I'd recommend using a polymer coated rod and scrub the bore out with a wire bore brush. Be sure and use what Americans know as "3-in-1 oil". Follow that with lightly oiled patches.

The previous commenters told it straight up about inside the action.

I wouldn't know if you can get RIG in Britain... stands for Rust Inhibiting Grease. It's good stuff.
Most of the "crud" is in the barrel; send the cleaning rod down the barrel w/o the tip - put a solvent soaked patch into the tip eyelet, place the rod tip in the action (threads facing the barrel), screw the tip onto the rod and then pull the crud out the end of the barrel - run an oil patch down the barrel when the crud is gone. That method should keep the crud out of the action. Detail the open action with a toothbrush and solvent, oil the action, wipe down the outside metal surface and you are good to go. It should be many years before a lever action shooting modern power will need to be disassembled (black powder being a possible exception).
Thanks guys, much appreciated. You have reinforced what I thought to be true but I haven't been able to get a straight answer from guys at my club as not many shoot level guns and fewer shoot a Winchester. Now I know what I will be doing this weekend!
I repair a bunch of fishing reels (at times I've had commercial customers bring me reels by the five gallon bucket full....) and tell anyone never, repeat never.... use "3 in 1" oil on anything... The stuff very quietly turns into varnish as it ages and I believe it will do the same in any gun... A good quality gun oil (Gunslik, BreakFree, etc.) is far preferable to "3 in 1"... I've had many miracle fixes of fishing reels just by cleaning out the old sticky "3 in 1" oil - but you need mineral spirits and some serious scrubbing with a stiff toothbrush (or old wire bristle bore brush) to remove the stuff when it gets old..
Since all the gear I work on has been exposed to the salt I can't say that it might not last longer away from the salt - but the trouble I see with that lube is that it evaporates over time and leaves a varnish like deposit wherever it's been used... so beware....
My local gunsmith swears by BreakFree. This is in high-humidity south Georgia. He has no trouble from the little specks of humidity-induced rust.
There are several Youtube videos on how to take apart and reassemble the model 94. Its not hard to do. It is harder than a Marlin though. But you can do 98% of all the cleaning you need to do without taking the gun apart.
The easiest way is to pick up a muzzel guide , insert it into the muzzel to protect the crown and clean it from the front end with a rod and bore brush . The guide protects the crown , centers the rod and keeps the rod from wearing the rifling at the muzzel end . Taking them down all the time does more harm than good. A yearly take down and cleaning of the action is fine. For a quick clean , run a bore snake with bore cleaner two or three times and another snake soaked in gun oil .
Try to do most of your cleaning without taking the action totally apart...spray gun scrubbers are good at flushing out stuff .
Gary
I use BreakFree CLP for everything.
I've used BreakFree plenty of times when I was dealing with 60+ year old cosmoline. As usually happens, plenty of people have an opposite opinion... I grew up with 3-in1 oil and never saw a problem, but then, some people have a habit of running the gun hard, throwing it in the closet, forgetting to clean it, and wondering why it never works next time. That may or may not give any oil time to gell, which will require deep cleaning in any case.
I agree with using a bore snake for general bore cleaning. Deep cleaning a lever action should be reserved for times when, rather if you start seeing malfunctions. But all previous recommendations are good advice.
Is 3 in 1 oil similar in chemical composition to WD-40? I know the WD-40 starts-slick-but-turns-to-varnish is a real occurrence because I saw a S&W that had the stuff practically welded to the lockwork, but I haven't heard that before about 3 in 1.
Back when I was a kid 3 in 1 (and Singer sewing machine oil) was the rancher's friend...my Grandfather used it for just about any lubricating/protecting need from tractors to trucks to tools to guns on the old ranch in Texas.

Just a-wonderin'.
Riomouse911, No, 3-in-1 oil is not like WD-40... the latter being a different formula. Like you, I've seen 3-in-1 used for a lot of stuff. I figure both have plenty of uses, but I've heard mixed reviews on WD-40 and guns.
You can make a simple bore guide by cutting off a bottle neck cartridge like a .270 case and sliding that on you cleaning rod. It should fit in the barrel of a 30 caliber gun. Thats all I have ever used and have several cut off cases for different size bores.

Odd Job and TheSquire like this.
- Contributing Member
Pat Riot Contributing Member
Disassembly and reassembly of a Winchester 94 is not brain surgery nor is it magic.
If you are like me and hate trying to follow a video for instructions I have posted a couple links that might help. Heed the recommendations on screwdrivers / screwdriver bits.

A step by step process for disassembly and reassembly.
http://www.castbullet.com/misc/tdown.htm

Instructions for a partial disassembly for a good cleaning:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/Webcontent/pdf/external/R20011_EXPLODED_VIEW.pdf

Google gun oils and cleaning solvents available in England. Don't use 3in1 or WD40.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gun%20oil%20in%20england

https://www.google.com/search?q=gun%20cleaning%20solvent%20in%20england

This screwdriver set is available in the UK on Amazon. It has the proper bits needed for Winchester 94 screws. Though the price on this set is absolutely ridiculous. Look for the same set elsewhere.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chapman-9600-Starter-Gunsmith-Screwdriver/dp/B0002S7YBI

Please remember that there are some differences in Winchester 94's but generally they are all the same.

Good luck to you.

Gary A and TheSquire like this.
Some cowboy action shooters use Winchester 92s and 94s. I have heard it recommended (not done it myself you understand) that one can remove the buttstock to expose the inner mechanisms, and spray brake cleaner into the action, wipe, repeat as needed until clean. Then relubricate with the appropriate lubricants. Aerosol brake cleaner can damage the finish on wood stocks, so care must be taken. But I would take this approach before attempting disassembly. I find it hard enough to reassemble "easy" guns; hard ones like the '92 and '94 scare me.
A very thorough answer, thank you for the trouble you clearly took in answering my question.
Same to the other respondants, my grateful thanks.
I have heard that 3-in-1 oil can remove bluing as part of it's 'rust removal'properties.
- Contributing Member
CraigC Sixgun Nut
No need to take it apart for cleaning. It's not a big deal disassembling the Winchester but there's no reason to. I never understood the Marlin fans touting the ease with which the bolt is removed as a major advantage.
Like most I grew up using 3 in 1 oil... I only learned not to use after more than 40 years of repairing gear that was pretty much frozen as that 3 in 1 dried up and turned to glue... That's why I posted the warning but it's okay, my kids don't listen to me either...
- Contributing Member
Coyote3855 Contributing Member
WD 40 is not actually a lubricant. WD stands for water displacement. 3 in 1 was a popular oil when I was kid, and I still have a can in the garage. But I prefer using lubricants and cleaners that are specifically labeled for firearms. Break Free CLP is a good all-around choice.

TheSquire and CraigC like this.
To easily clean the barrel from the breech in about 30 seconds.