Changes, Changes

As with other Winchester rifles, the first major changes to the 94 occurred in 1964 with parts simplified to suit newer production methods, including the use of stampings. Many Winchester purists decided this was the end of civilization as they knew it but the basic mechanical function of the rifle remained the same.

But the 94 started really changing in 1982, because Marlin and Savage lever actions were kicking its butt in the modern marketplace. The 94 ejected straight up, so if somebody decided they had to use a scope instead of manly iron sights, side-mounting was the only original option.

Marlins and Savages could be easily scoped due to side-ejection and action-tops with handy places to screw on mount bases. Winchester changed ejection from straight-up to the side by changing the placement of the extractor and ejector in the bolt face. Cases still jumped out of the top of the action but not off the bottom of even a low-mounted scope.