30-30

Dad always had a Win ‘94. Went to my brother.

I bought a 336, a new follower, hammer spur but opted for Skinner peep sight instead. A leather butt-stock pad and a limsaver (not for recoil, just for LOP). Love it.
 
Personally I am a fan of pre 1927 Winchester Model 94 SRC's in .30-30 and .38-55. Forged receivers and hand fitted parts. My holy grail is finding a 94 SRC in .32-40. I see (having owned 3) a 94 manufactured between 1964 and when Miroku in Japan started manufacturing under the Winchester brand, just cheap junk made of stamped metal not forged steel that is not durable and a waste of money.

While I have no experience with a Miroku 1894 my wife owns both a Winchester Miroku 1892 and a Winchester Miroku M1873 and I can honesty say they are some of the best quality Winchester products ever produced.
 
Over the past six decades, I've had a couple of dozen Marlins and Winchesters. The Marlins are likely a bit more accurate and a bit more solid than the Winchester. The Marlin is much easier to clean and take down, but the Winchester has more panache. The prettiest of them all is the Winchester 64, in my humble opinion.

However, the real purpose of this slightly rambling narrative, is to suggest the OP do a Google search on the "dreaded Marlin jam."
 
I inherited a .30-30 Model 94 Winchester which i carried and shot for years. I have also carried Marlin. In my opinion, the Marlin is much the superior action. Plus it's gorgeous, aesthetically superior to the 94 in my view. I was just looking at the current Marlin 336, blued and walnut. What a beautiful offering, as nice as it ever was, it appears. I'd opt for the Marlin were i still in the market to carry a lever-gun, no contest. Looking at the 336 in fact, i find myself wishing I was. To me, the 94 feels like an artifact that can still be used to work in some scenarios, while the 336 feels still very much relevant.

Ditto on adding a Skinner peep sight by the way. I have them on all my working pump and bolt bush guns and i had one on my last Marlin.
 
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I'm going to go with a model 94 but I do want to try all of the lever guns. My eyesight isn't what it used to be so I may also get a Marlin 336 with a scope and pass the winchester on to my son!
 
slug said:
the real purpose of this slightly rambling narrative, is to suggest the OP do a Google search on the "dreaded Marlin jam."
Click to expand...
theres a reason a lever quick-detach thumb screw is sold by many
pop the lever out in a second and the jamb is clear fast

but with care and using a correct bullet shape set to the correct overall length, the jambs never happen ime
 
Well this thread was predictable from the outset. Both Winchester and Marlin make fine rifles. I prefer the Winchester for it's fine lines and carry ability. It has fine enough accuracy for hunting purposes out to the ranges most folk would consider realistic for hunting with a 30-30. The only issue I have had in over 50 years of ownership was one time I short stroked the rifle. I did that during a 3 gun competition. (yes really, I took it to a 3 gun) I wasn't dead last either!
 
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