Brief backstory...
I inherited a 1966 Model 94 30-30 from my father in law when he passed 30+ years ago. Not being a hunter, I shot it a few times and that was that. It was no safe queen -- It had been in his truck, on his tractor, the bluing was spotty... it had been used, but not really abused. But it was fully functional and usable. I cleaned it and it's been locked up inside my air-conditioned house ever since.
A couple of weeks ago, I took it to the range (with new ammo) and had issues. Between me and the RO we were able to get only two of five rounds to go fully into battery with the locking bolt raised into place. Even those took significant (re-)cocking, jiggling, shaking, etc. Once there it fired and ejected fine. Everything else was OK, but with a round in the chamber the bolt stops short of the cartridge, just as the locking bolt is starting to rise.
Since then I've cleaned, greased and oiled it as well as I can without disassembling. I've tried alternate ammo and dummy rounds, including some of his old ammo I successfully fired years ago, but no joy. The extractor clips over the rim once in battery and extracts after firing. I thought it might be hitting the round back face instead of sliding up over the rim, but that's not the case best I can tell. The firing pin is not stuck.
I'm reasonably mechanical but so far I've resisted disassembling just out of caution and unfamiliarity. Besides, if I got it apart all I could do would be to clean (again). I don't know the action well enough to really diagnose anything.
So my dilemma -- Disassemble, clean and hope for the best with reassembly, or cut to the chase and involve a gunsmith? It will almost certainly be used only at the range, but it has sentimental value (particularly to my wife) so I'd like for it to work.
Any advice, guidance or recommendations?
Thanks!
