Im thinking of getting a marlin lever in .45 or .44 mag for plinking and cowboy games. Not serious competition. I have a 35 rem marlin, old one and dandy gun no problems except the barrel may need to be broken in, as jacketed bullets gunk up the bore.. back to the .44, im considering this becouse of the better trajectory and load limits up and down from the .45, even at over loaded speeds that my friend uses is much less than the .44.. but mostly it will be 1000fps 240-250 grainers hard cast factory bullets.. We were shooting a freinds 1894 marlin yesterday and it jammed quite a bit,i figured becouse of strait cases, and he held it at and angle so he could look at the round go in.. Does the 1894 have a jamming problem in .44 and .45 cal? next question, is the cowboy worth the extra money, then theres the competition which is more yet... I noteced the cowboy with octagon barrel had much more solid sites than the less expensive version, which i would order and put on the less expensive gun if i got that one.. Any coments welcome.. I could buy an unfired winchester pre add on saftey for the marlin prices? .. thanks dave..

I have an 1894 in 44 magnum. I have been very happy with the function and accuracy of the rifle. Mine was made and purchased in 1984. Generally, I think the gun would feed and function better if it was cycled in proper position and with some speed in working the lever.
I like the cowboy version with the octogon barrel but don't think it would shoot any better.

I have a Marlin in 44 Mag and love it. It is a real shooter. I get great groups and have a ton of fun with it just plinking. The nice thing is that you can plink with 44 specials and hunt with the mags. Great all around gun!

I have 2- .357 & 45 LC , The .357 I load low and it is very fast at cowboy shooting games , the 45 LC I found to much recoil to use at cowboy games .both guns will drop deer !

i have a 41 mag marlin and it shoots real good ,handy to carryand i shot my first deer with it last year he was about 120 yards bang flop dead. might look for a 45-70 someday.

Funny, but I handled one in the store yesterday and wanted to buy it.
Price was $499.00 it’s a little lighter than the 30-30. I had an old one in the 35 Rem and it did the job well but the original owner beat it up before i got it.
I just love the idea of walking out my door with the same load in a revolver to match.

I have the Marlin levers in 357, 35 Rem 44 mag and 45-70. I also have bolt guns up the wazoo but seems I always play with the levers. The 44 and 357 are finicky feeders and I have spent hours working them over but still have "double jack" some times and MUST test bullet seat and shape before I load a batch. The short 45-70 is on me all the time where I used to have a magnum revolver. The 35 is the smoothest of the bunch but I love em all. Dont let the hammer block safety freak you out-- pull the buttstock off and using a allen wrench tighten the clicker ball/spring screw up tight against the button and she is held harmless in the fire position. I let fly a roaring CLICK against that mother a couple times before I figgured out how to dissable the pest. When I did that with the 45-70 I embarrased the hell of my self as the barrel was aimed at the ground and I almost tipped foreward when all was said and done !!

I have marlins 22 M39A. 30-30, 35Rem, 357, 44Mag,444, and 45/70 All great fun. The M39A I bought used in 1953, and it is still going,I dont know how many rounds it has fired. All my Marlins are pre hammer block saftey
Lyle

If the straight walled pistol cartridges like .45 Colt are giving you reliability problems in the lever carbines, then consider going with .44 WCF or .38 WCF chamberings.

I recently purchased a Marlin 94 in .44 Mag with the intention of using it for both NRA rifle cartridge and pistol cartridge silhouette. Accuracy with anything 200 grains or over is dismal. I think the 1 in 38 twist is far too slow. Other than a custom barrel I can't think what to do about it, but I am still trying. It's a shame, but handy and fun to shoot as the Marlin is, I can't reccomend a .44 Mag.

Of the three Marlin 1894's I've had I like the 45 Colt 1894CB the best. ZERO issues and looks sharp too. Feeds EVERYTHING, even empty cases. It LOVES 255-325 grain cast bullets and Hornady XTP's. I use it for pistol caliber Cowboy Silhouette. GREAT fun and it knocks down targets with authority. I even deer hunt with it and wouldn't feel undergunned shooting an Elk with it with the 325 grain load chugging along at ~1400 fps - considering that a 44 mag handgun with a lighter bullet and less velocity will zip right through an Elk, the 45 Colt in a rifle will certainly do the job.

Until I got my 1894CB in 45 Colt my 1894 in 44 Mag was my favorite. I shot most 240 grain jacketed bullets very well and cast bullets if sized .002" over bore diameter. Very nice rifle. It didn't feel SWC bullets very well though.



http://www.grovestreet.com/ser...w?pid=1066975&cd=855

My 1894 in 357/38 is fun but is pales in comparison to its big brothers. Good loaner for beginners. Inexpensive to shoot. Mine doesn't feed SWC or most 38 specials reliably. It is also the least accurate of the three.