On the other hand, from the lever gun thread:I will defer to real lever gun SME's but I've read on the Marlin forum (great helpful bunch there) that if you soak a wood stocked levergun you really need to pull the wood off to get proper drying and prevent warping that will wreck accuracy.
Years before I read that there I jacked up a Marlin 336 and never realized it. I'd soaked it hunting in the rain, cleaned it rather conventionally, even used a hair dryer on it which I believe compounded my fuck up. Following year it would group for shit vs the year prior. I chalked it up to my struggling vision and ended up selling it off as poorly as I was shooting it. Have seen since I could still shoot a good lever action with irons just fine. So, long story as a vote against the 94. Seems like a lot of vacation hassle if the gun gets wet.
'Tis an interesting juxtaposition.Taking apart a Winchester 94 isnt that difficult. The first one i got at age 14 I took apart, mainly curiosity, but it wasnt difficult and was long before youtube nor did I have any good books describing it. I liked that Marlins were easy to take apart, but as I came to like the Winchesters more and use the Marlins less, realized it wasnt really necessary to take a Winchester apart to take care of it, even if using black powder loads. Whatever you can reach in the action with a rag and toothbrush and solvent then oil was enough to flush or clean out whatever may get in it.
The 94 I got in the 1980s was made in 1927, it had come from a ranch in Az and looked like it had never been cared for in any way, the blue was mostly gone, the action felt like it was full of mud or sludge but still worked, the bore was pitted noticeably. I deep cleaned it, probably for the first time in its life and kept using it. Ive had it apart several times, but none specifically because it required it to clean it. One thing occurred to me over time, if you dont take it apart you cant lose parts. It gets used in rain and snow, in and out in cold weather, often with condensation freezing on the outside and wherever it may find on the gun, it usually only gets a paper towel or shirt sleeve wipe off then back in the wall rack or leaned against the door frame. It always works.
This gun had been used so much the magazine spring had worn through in a couple places, then repaired by overlapping the worn ends and wrapped with some sewing thread. Mag tube damaged, cut shorter and reattached, butt stock looked like it had been used to play baseball with rocks, it was so bad I threw it in the fireplace and used one that someone else had thrown away, it was better than mine by a long shot.
Moral of the story, yes, you can adequately clean and care for a Winchester 94 without taking it apart, and it doesnt take much care to keep one going.