the flat/round nose bullets are mandatory because of the tubular magazine , where the nose end of the bullet rests against the primer of the other , and during cycling and firing the movement could accidently set a primer off and turn into a rather bad situation .

that's why the range is limited,

have you looked at any of the single shot rifles of NEF or H&R , they are below the price value of the model 94 and have the availability of interchangable barrels ( sent back to the factory for fitting though ) ,
or how about one of the savage bolt actions , they're quite affordable , and accurate too