New Winchester (Miroku) '94

ligonierbill · July 4, 2019, 11:21 AM

I was loading 25-35 for my brother's vintage 1894, and the old round intrigued me (they usually do). So, I found a "Short Rifle" (20", no barrel band or sight hood) made in Japan to try it myself. Believe it or not, this is my first carbine length '94. I have a couple Canadian Centennial rifles, but never owned, or fired, the classic.

Purists will not be pleased with an angle-eject, rebounding hammer, tang safety, drilled and tapped gun, but it doesn't detract from its performance. Now I don't know what y'all think about buckhorn sights, but I don't like them. The safety prevents mounting an aperture on the tang, but Skinner makes a nice one that mounts on the receiver. Looks very sturdy and easy to adjust. But it's much too high for the front sight this came with. Easy enough to change, but I will have to get back to the range to see if I have corrected the problem.

The other issue I had on the first range trip was the COL of the Hornady 117 RN I loaded. Hornady says they loaded to 2.600. I loaded SAAMI max 2.550, and about 20% wouldn't quite chamber. Reset to 2.350, and all is good. This is a handy, low recoil gun, and I might have to take it for a walk next fall.

Scorch · July 5, 2019, 01:45 AM

25-35 has a reputation as a killer all out of proportion to its paper ballistics. Long, heavy for caliber bullets give it great penetration. You will like it. And no, most purists (myself included) do not like the AE Winchesters. Nothing wrong with them, they're just "not quite right". Fit and finish on the Miroku guns is excellent, but the rebounding hammer and AE receiver just don't do it for me.

July 4, 2019, 11:21 AM	#1
ligonierbill Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Posts: 2,648	New Winchester (Miroku) '94 I was loading 25-35 for my brother's vintage 1894, and the old round intrigued me (they usually do). So, I found a "Short Rifle" (20", no barrel band or sight hood) made in Japan to try it myself. Believe it or not, this is my first carbine length '94. I have a couple Canadian Centennial rifles, but never owned, or fired, the classic. Purists will not be pleased with an angle-eject, rebounding hammer, tang safety, drilled and tapped gun, but it doesn't detract from its performance. Now I don't know what y'all think about buckhorn sights, but I don't like them. The safety prevents mounting an aperture on the tang, but Skinner makes a nice one that mounts on the receiver. Looks very sturdy and easy to adjust. But it's much too high for the front sight this came with. Easy enough to change, but I will have to get back to the range to see if I have corrected the problem. The other issue I had on the first range trip was the COL of the Hornady 117 RN I loaded. Hornady says they loaded to 2.600. I loaded SAAMI max 2.550, and about 20% wouldn't quite chamber. Reset to 2.350, and all is good. This is a handy, low recoil gun, and I might have to take it for a walk next fall.

July 5, 2019, 01:45 AM	#2
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,249	25-35 has a reputation as a killer all out of proportion to its paper ballistics. Long, heavy for caliber bullets give it great penetration. You will like it. And no, most purists (myself included) do not like the AE Winchesters. Nothing wrong with them, they're just "not quite right". Fit and finish on the Miroku guns is excellent, but the rebounding hammer and AE receiver just don't do it for me. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services