Are the 1894s (.44 or .357) any less reliable than the 336s or the 1895s?

Thanks

Ive got a 1894 cb in 30/30 i love it

I had a Winchester M-94 in .45 Colt and it was OK for Cowboy shooting, but had the occasional glitch. I recently bought a used Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .44 Mag. It seems to run slicker than the Winchester did as long as you keep the action upright. My fiance tends to lean the action to her left while working the lever and the swc bullets we were shooting would catch on the inside of the action. If held up right they flow thru like water.

Hornady XTP's and Winchester soft points don't hang up even when the rifle is tilted while firing. We don't have a 336 around but our two 1895's work smoothly, but not as quick as that little short 1894 action.

Hope that helped, it is a sweet little rifle.

I have a .45 Colt Cowboy which I have fired a couple of thousand low velocity rounds through. They will eventualy break springs and ejectors but it takes a lot of work. If you chase this through various SASS and CAS websites you can the information on what breaks, when it is likely to break and how to fix it.
All in all, apart from the occasional teething problem, they are extremely reliable for a lot of rounds.

I have the 1894 44Mag and its very reliable.AAA+++

My Grandad had a '94 in 30-30 back in the early 50's, no idea how long he had owned it before, I suspect since before WW2. Anyway, I never remember us having any functioning problems outside of the fact that the carbine kicked hell out of me everytime I shot it1

marlin or winchester?

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty Marlin:
marlin or winchester?

I think he means Marlin.......

I thought so too, but he lists two rifle length actions then the "1894" with pistol cartriges. The Marlin is a short action made for pistol length cart. while the winny 1894 is chambered in pistol cart. in a rifle length action.


The Marlin 1894's are generally very reliable and with proper tuning of the carrier and lever cam can be made phenominaly reliable.

The win94 in pistol cartridges however is a POS.

SO the question remaines Marlin or Winchester?

Marlin 1894
Winchester '94:

I have a 1894 marlin in 44mag. The copper jacketed bullets work ok. 240 grainers keith type (Lyman mould) get hung up in the magazine throat with the carrier jambed hard against the cartride case. However the 200 gr keith type lead bullet has not given me any problems yet.

The screw on the lever/frame assembly has to be watched and thightened occationally as it will unscrew with normal cycling of the action. And normal cycling means a hard ramming, which hurts my small finger because the lever is square.

Now how do you tune the carrier and lever cam???? this is new to me.???

Marlin 1894's are absolute JUNK!!!!!! Five out of five last year stovepiped EVERY round. All 5 were sent back to Marlin, they were better when I got them back, but still not right. I can say this from experience as I have owned over a dozen and I wouldn't give a squirt of piss for a Marlin 1894. It is a shame too, nice rifle, but the poeple manufacturing them could give two shits if they leave the factory right or not.

CXL, you have obviously never run either action in high volume, high speed competition like Cowboy action.
I'll just say this, I respect your opionion, but it's 180deg incorrect.
If you've had problems with factory Marlins I completly understand where you are coming from, and completely uderstand your frustration, a new gun out of the box should work, period. But trust me on this, with a little work by a smith that KNOWs marlins they will run and run and run and will far outlast the win '94, by 10's of thousands of rounds.
I know this for fact, I've been there done that.

Rusty,
Do you have a recommendation for a gunsmith to work on my 1894 marlin?

Thanks,
Steve

sending you a PM.

I guess I should restate that, FACTORY Marlins are junk. I figure if I pay $600 for a rifle it should work without extensive gunsmithing,but I'm kind of old fashoned that way. Good luck.

My 1894 44Mag Marlin is one of my favorite deer rifles.I mounted a leupold 1x4 20mm scope and its the perfect size scope for this gun!0 problems,shot a doe with a 300gr XTP last year.Doe went 20yds.I shoot lead and jacketed bullets with no problems.

riflemanZ,

You shoot lead with no problems? Just curious would you share your lead loads if they are handloads?

The only thing I have found to be accurate with lead in my 1894 44 is clays and it is not really fast enough for deer, except at bow range. I have tried many combinations using the lyman reloading book suggestions with no so great result. I am talking lead, lynotype bullets here. Do you have something going with lead in 44 cal say in the 1600fps range that is accurate in your marlin barrel?

This is my 1894 in .44 Mag. I purchased new in the 80's. I topped it with a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7X 40 MM in Leupold Mounts. It's been very reliable and accurate. I like Pistol / Rifle combo guns and this one makes a nice companion piece to my .44 Mag. handguns. Bill T.

Do the new Marlin 1894's in 44 Magnum come with ballard rifling or do they still use the microgroove?

I load 20gr of 296,300gr cast performance bullet,WLP,W-W.

Model 1894 Marlin
Reminiscent of the sporting lever action rifles of an earlier era, this elegant short rifle in 44 Magnum/44 Special features a 20" barrel with Ballard-type rifling, an American black walnut straight grip stock, cut checkering and a rubber rifle butt pad. Sights include an adjustable semi-buckhorn folding rear, and ramp front sight with brass bead and Wide-Scanâ„¢ hood. The solid-top receiver is tapped for a scope mount, and the rifle comes complete with offset, right or left hand, hammer spur for scope use.

Marlin or Winchester?

How hard is it to specify?

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy P Coaltrain:
Do the new Marlin 1894's in 44 Magnum come with ballard rifling or do they still use the microgroove?

Mine has Micro Groove, but the new ones, especially the Cowboy have Ballard style rifling. Bill T.

I have an 1894 Marlin in 357x44 Bain & Davis and it feeds slicker than you can think about it. No hangups at all. Reliable, a large YES.

Steve E..........

I have an 1894 winchester in 25-35 , and it has never failed.Keep them clean.



"If winning isn't important?Why keep score..."

OH OH.. The dreaded Ford vs Chevy, umm I mean, Marlin vs Winchester debate.



I don't do CAS, but understand the '73s and '92s are pretty well liked there.

From what I've heard, both brands may have issues with their pistol caliber Levers. Win M94s, mainly in .357, may have issues with the cartridge stop - some need to be replaced. Marlin 1894s may have the "Marlin Jam" which can also be fixed pretty easy.

Or, whichever Lever you get may work just fine. I hear a lot more good things about both than anything bad. The Marlins are good, and still being made too.

My Win M94 Wrangler in .44 Mag is great, a sweet little powerhouse. My Win M94 Trapper in .357 needed the cartridge stop replaced. My Win/Miroku M92 in .357 is a bit flashier than I prefer, but it runs great.

To be honest, I prefer a tuned EMF M92 anyway, but that wasn't part of the question...

And we all know Fords and Winchesters are better anyway..