I am looking to purchase in 1894 marlin n 44 mag . I'm looking at one built in 1985 . my question is do they all have 1 in 38 twist barrels . and is there any benefit to buying an older model verses a newer model . any help is greatly appreciated ,
As far as I know, they all have the 1-38" twist barrels. I'm assuming you're asking because you have an interest in heavy bullets. Anything up to 300-310 grains should be ok. Any more than that, and you'll run into problems with feeding because of the OAL in addition to stabilizing problems.
Posts: 641 | Location: SW Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: 10 October 2003
kjjm4, thanks, just curious the 45LC gets a 1in16 and the 44 mag. a 1in38 go figure. 300 grain hard cast is as big as im going to be loading and wanted to make sure they would stablize with that slow of a twist. It should be a great little rifle.
nope--- not ALL have the 1 in 38 microgroove barrel. The Cowboy octogon barrel version is ballard rifleing and a different twist ( I think like 1 in 12, but I could be wrong here).
Anyway, the microgroove barrel shoot cast fine. I use mine in cowbay action shooting -- ro the tune of 3000 rounds last year alone. no leading and very good accuracy.
Posts: 5713 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 02 April 2003
The primary difference between a 1985 made 1894 and a cuurent, besides the lack of teh cross bolt safety i sthat some newer models have ballard rifling which is benefical if cast bullets are your preference. Now, I shot my 1985 made 1894 in a wagon load of Cowboy matches and as long as I used hardcast and properly sized bullets it shot splendidly even with the dreaded microgroove rifling.. I believe the rate of twist is the same.
The .444 however recently switched to a faster 1 in 20" twist so as to better stabilize heavier bullets.
Aut vincere aut mori
Posts: 4863 | Location: Lakewood, CO | Registered: 07 February 2002
I got out bid on gunbroker, so I went to my local gunshop and bought a new 1894. All the good shooting reviews from you guys made it a done deal. I will have to wait until Saturday to put some rounds through it. What a sweet handling little rifle this is! Oh well, it gives me some time to set up my .44 dies and start reloading.
As in all Marlin lever guns, you can easily take out the bolt and clean from the breech. Drop the lever about 2/3rds of the way, remove screw holding it in place, pull down and lever comes out and then merely pull back on bolt and remove. You will override the hammer and some resistance, but it will come out. Watch for the ejector on left hand side for it merely fits in a hole on left side of receiver and sometimes will drop out freely. Reassemble in reverse order and once you have it apart the process is easily seen. Now with bolt out, you have straight line access to the bore/cleaning rod. A Winchester 94 takes 3 men and a boy to accomplish the same thing!! More detailed instructions are readily available on the net. Fine carbine the Marlin.
Posts: 1328 | Location: West Virginia | Registered: 19 January 2009
Well, I spent the better part of yestarday shooting and getting the feel for my Marlin 1894. I did'nt have all my ducks in a row for reloading, so i had to settle for Winchester white box 240 grain jsp. I had a blast and put about 200 rounds down range. The rifle is accurate out to 125 yards, recoil was minimal and it cycled flawlessly. The only thing I would change is the lever, I can only get two fingers in there comfortably, I will most likly put a big loop lever on it.
The other thing I debating and It might be borderline sacralidge is adding a 1 moa red dot like a EOTech sight. I was shooting 5" groups a 125 yards with WWB, and i'm sure my handloads will tighten that up some but the limiting factor is the size of the front sight. Am I crazy, should I just stick with open sights and accept the rifles limitations or ruin the classic lever look with a high tech red dot, but cut my groups in half?
The rifle will be my go to coyote gun, shots are from 25- 125 yards. It will probably be my new turkey and ham shoot rifle at the gun club. I hate to leave accuracy on the table, and I also don't like altering the classic lines of the 1894. I'm open for suggestions as always.
If you bought it to use, go with the red dot sight or whatever else works best for you in your circumstances. Who cares what the "purists" think? It isn't their rifle, it's yours.
As to the finger lever- you might want to consider having some custom mods made to the current lever rather than buying one of those big round loop levers on the aftermarket.
Dave Scovill wrote an interesting article in Rifle magazine just a few months ago which covered the lack of 100% success he had with the big loop levers. His experiences mirrored my own pretty much exactly.
Gotta love those Marlins, eh?
My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still.
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001
Originally posted by doubledown: Well, I spent the better part of yestarday shooting and getting the feel for my Marlin 1894. I did'nt have all my ducks in a row for reloading, so i had to settle for Winchester white box 240 grain jsp. I had a blast and put about 200 rounds down range. The rifle is accurate out to 125 yards, recoil was minimal and it cycled flawlessly. The only thing I would change is the lever, I can only get two fingers in there comfortably, I will most likly put a big loop lever on it.
The other thing I debating and It might be borderline sacralidge is adding a 1 moa red dot like a EOTech sight. I was shooting 5" groups a 125 yards with WWB, and i'm sure my handloads will tighten that up some but the limiting factor is the size of the front sight. Am I crazy, should I just stick with open sights and accept the rifles limitations or ruin the classic lever look with a high tech red dot, but cut my groups in half?
The rifle will be my go to coyote gun, shots are from 25- 125 yards. It will probably be my new turkey and ham shoot rifle at the gun club. I hate to leave accuracy on the table, and I also don't like altering the classic lines of the 1894. I'm open for suggestions as always.
I have a Williams FP receiver sight on my 1894. Doesn't alter the lines quite as much as a red dot does and I get 2" groups at 100 yards with it.
Posts: 641 | Location: SW Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: 10 October 2003
Originally posted by Alberta Canuck: Did you buy the rifle to shoot, or to look at?
If you bought it to use, go with the red dot sight or whatever else works best for you in your circumstances. Who cares what the "purists" think? It isn't their rifle, it's yours.
As to the finger lever- you might want to consider having some custom mods made to the current lever rather than buying one of those big round loop levers on the aftermarket.
Dave Scovill wrote an interesting article in Rifle magazine just a few months ago which covered the lack of 100% success he had with the big loop levers. His experiences mirrored my own pretty much exactly.
Gotta love those Marlins, eh?
Your right, I was trying to turn over a new leaf, and not modify everything I own. I ordered a two peice weaver mount and I'm going with a EOTech 1 moa red dot sight. It will be a very effective combination. Thanks.
Originally posted by buckeyeshooter: nope--- not ALL have the 1 in 38 microgroove barrel. The Cowboy octogon barrel version is ballard rifleing and a different twist ( I think like 1 in 12, but I could be wrong here).
Anyway, the microgroove barrel shoot cast fine. I use mine in cowbay action shooting -- ro the tune of 3000 rounds last year alone. no leading and very good accuracy.
I have the 1894S w/ a MicroGroove bbl. I think it's about 1974 or somewhere in there. It shoots 240 gr. Oregon Trails LaserCast LSWC just fine. But then I'm thinking "fine" is "pie plate at 50 yds."
If I want/need more range or accuracy, I have a scoped Win. 70 in 30-06 or a Rem. 700 PSS in .308 Win.
The Marlin is a "truck gun" for me, same ammo as two of my revolvers.
Well, I got the EO Tech on thursday and mounted it on the 1894. I had a couple of problems, first the dot is almost 2" above the barrel, and I would need to add a cheek pad to make it work. But more important It was so out of place on a lever gun it looked ridiculous, my shooting partner (when he stopped laughing) wanted me to put a blanket over it and shoot it that way.
Anyway, I had a 1.25-5x Sightron that I took off one of my Big bores, and put it on the Marlin and all is good. The EO-tech will go on one of my Black rifles.
N E 450 No2, one of the two things I really wanted in a red dot were 1moa dot, and adjustable brightness. I think the EO-tech is the only one to offer both. It just comes in a package that does'nt work for "my" levergun. I like the size of the doctor optic though.
The DO has a 3.5 minute dot if I remember correctly. I have them on hunting rifles in 308 and 375 H&H, as well as a Burris Fastfire on a 308/20ga combo gun. They work great.
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Posts: 16134 | Location: Texas | Registered: 06 April 2002
