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An 1873 is said to be smoother.
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You are getting all your information from the internet, rather than shooters of these rifles, aren't you?
Yes, the toggle link rifles such as the 1873 tend to be a little bit smoother than the 1892. That is why Cowboy Action Shooters prefer them.
Here is a photo of the carrier of my 1860 Henry in the fully raised position with the lever all the way forward. The carrier and it's operation on the Henry are exactly the same as a Model 1866 or 1873. There is a slight difference in the Henry carrier, but it is not relevant to this discussion.
In this view the carrier is all the way down and is about to rise to present a fresh cartridge to the chamber. If you look carefully you will see the bullet of the round on the carrier is preventing the next round in the magazine from moving backwards under the spring pressure of the magazine follower. The cartridge in these photos is the 44-40, but the operation with a 45 Colt is identical.
In this photo, the carrier has risen up, and the round on the carrier is aligned with the chamber. When the bolt moves forward as the lever closes the round will be pushed straight into the chamber. Picture a World War Two submarine movie with the crew shoving a torpedo into a torpedo tube. With the toggle link rifles, the cartridge is presented straight on to the chamber and it is a simple push forward to chamber it. That is part of the reason why a toggle link rifle tends to be smoother than the 1892 Model.
The Model 1892 uses a tilting carrier, very similar to your Model 1894. In this photo the lever has started closing and the carrier has tilted up, pointing the cartridge at the chamber.
A view from the side.
In this view the bolt has started shoving the round into the chamber. The rim will slide through the slots on the guide rails on either side of the cartridge.
Please note that all the bullets in these photos are round nosed flat point bullets. For safety sake you do not want to use pointed bullets in a tubular magazine rifle. RNFP bullets feed best in these rifles. Truncated Cone bullets also feed well. Semi-Wadcutters may hang up feeding into the chamber, particularly with a tilting carrier such as the 1892. The sharp shoulder can sometimes catch on the edge of the chamber. The old WCF cartridges with a slight taper, such as 44-40, 38-40, and 32-40 feed the best. That's why Winchester put the taper on them. Rifles chambered for 45 Colt is a completely modern adaptation, it was never done until the 1980s. However most rifles will feed the straight walled 45 Colt just fine, so long as you use RNFP or Truncated Cone bullets.
Yes, a toggle link rifle such as the 1873 tends to be a little bit smoother cycling the action then the 1892. But don't forget, those guys you are reading about who shoot the 1873 in competition are shooting rifles that have been slicked up specifically for competition. The springs have been lightened, and the parts have been smoothed over so there is almost no resistance from friction. These guys can empty ten shots out of a rifle, ten shots out of two revolvers, and two or more shots from a shotgun in under 30 seconds. They can probably dump ten rounds out of their rifle in six seconds or so.
Are you going to be reloading for the second shot that quickly?
The 1892 action is a little bit clunkier than the toggle link rifles, but really not all that much. All my 1892s are original Winchesters. Some of them have been smoothed up a bit, some have not. We have a saying in CAS that with the 1892 a really fast shooter can get ahead of the rifle and cause it to jam. Probably the carrier is rising so fast that as a round tries to enter the chamber at an angle the round jumps up a little bit and jams against the top edge of the chamber. Remember what I said about the toggle links shoving the round straight forward like a torpedo going into a torpedo tube? Less chance of jamming. I am not a super fast shooter, and I never jam my '92s because I am just a little bit more deliberate with them.
At one time I owned modern made 1892 that I won in a raffle. I think it was a Rossi. Fresh out of the box it was a little bit stiff. I sold it without ever firing it, because I already had several originals and I used the money as a down payment on my Henry. If I was a hunter, I would have had no problem walking through the woods with that rifle. As I said before, lighter and stronger than a toggle link.
Funny thing you mentioned your 1894. I was just shooting mine last week. This board only allows me to post six photos per post, so I am going to start another post to talk about the Model 1894.
I will tell you at this point that yes, a Model 1894 chambered for 30-30 is going to kick more than either the 1873 or the 1892 chambered for 45 Colt. The rounds are simply not as powerful as the 30-30. In a rifle of similar weight, the 30-30 will kick more.
We will talk about clunky in a moment.