Henry or Marlin 44mag?

Mark-II

Mark-II

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
63   0   0
Location
Wpg
I've got a bit of a bug for another 44Magnum. I'm usually a Winchester guy, but there's something catching my eye from the Marlin and Henry camp..

Both are about the same price, so it's really down to reliability, for me. Extra points to whomever has a slicker action too, or better ergonomics for a big guy

Anyway, I'm choosing between a Marlin 1894 Classic and a Henry Big Boy Colour Case Hardened octagon.

I've shot a Henry brass frame .357 years back, and it had a few feeding issues. Never tried a Marlin.

I really like the look of the Henry -case colours and octagon barrels are just my thing, but if the jury tilts towards the new Ruger Marlins I'd accept that.

The S&W 1854 looks nice, but the price is really creeping up there. Plus I just hate the rail - I'm shooting irons with these

This is just a range toy. I could also go for .357, but I have a few of those and I reload, so...

Not interested in another Winchester or clone thereof either, and the Rossi R95 is up there in price with the US brands (If you can even find one), so I wouldn't be seriously considering that.
 
I have a Henry in .44mag.. I have tried different bullet profiles and it has never missed a beat. Only a small amount of .44Sp. tried and it was fine. The action was the smoothest out over Winchester and Marlin, that's why I picked it. That was 3 years ago, so maybe the Marlins have improved since then. They do have some nice features.

P.
 
I owned the model of Henry you're inquiring about. It was a really sweet rifle and I really liked it, but i wanted something lighter to carry in the bush. I sold it and bought the Marlin 1894 guide gun in .44 mag to replace it. Haven't shot it enough to have formed an opinion on reliably or accuracy yet though.
 
Dorian Gray said:
I owned the model of Henry you're inquiring about. It was a really sweet rifle and I really liked it, but i wanted something lighter to carry in the bush. I sold it and bought the Marlin 1894 guide gun in .44 mag to replace it. Haven't shot it enough to have formed an opinion on reliably or accuracy yet though.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Was holding the marlin 1894 trapper in 44 mag.. smooth fast action, and the trigger was the cats meow..
have an older 44 marlin. Want that new 10mm.. might have to get both
geeshh
 
I have Marlins, Henry’s and Rossi’s, my favourite is the Rossi 92, but the smart buy to me is the Marlin 1894 as it is easy to strip down and clean from the breech.
 
For what it’s worth, Henry’s typically have a little less magazine capacity than the Marlins or any other design thanks to the space taken up by their tube loading option. I’ve also had a 45-70 Henry mag tube split thanks to that design.
 
One guy's opinion, but I only have two levers that shoot 44 and they happen to be a Henry Big Boy (brass) and a Marlin 1894 classic.

I like the Henry for the fact that I can use the loading gate or the tube. And lifetime warranty. It is also just gorgeous to look at with how nice the brass and wood mix is. What I don't like about the Henry (at least mine) is that there is no buttpad but a flat brass buttplate - I feel the recoil much more on that than I do on the Marlin. I know can fix that by adding a limbsaver but that would just look goofy with the polished brass and wood look on the Henry - it looks so super sharp.

I like my Marlin because the lever is super smooth on it - I find it cycles slightly smoother than the Henry. It seems also slightly more accurate, but that is subjective since my shooting skills are inconsistent and sub-par. The Marlin is also easier to clean.
 
Thanks, all.

I did go for the Henry, mostly because I like the tube loading option. I've been shoting a LOT of lever actions lately and the right thumb is getting pretty sore from loading hundreds of rounds.

And I also bought one of those 10mm Marlins, so I guess I ended up with both lol

I do see that the Marlin disassembles easily, according to the manual. The Henry manual only says something about reassembly. Youtube is no doubt my friend there. I assume Henry cloned the Marlin 1895?

Those Smith & Wessons are certainly tempting. Maybe if there's a super great sale on one someday. My gun money is pretty spent until I sell a few things.
 
Mark-II said:
Thanks, all.

I did go for the Henry, mostly because I like the tube loading option. I've been shoting a LOT of lever actions lately and the right thumb is getting pretty sore from loading hundreds of rounds.

And I also bought one of those 10mm Marlins, so I guess I ended up with both lol

I do see that the Marlin disassembles easily, according to the manual. The Henry manual only says something about reassembly. Youtube is no doubt my friend there. I assume Henry cloned the Marlin 1895?

Those Smith & Wessons are certainly tempting. Maybe if there's a super great sale on one someday. My gun money is pretty spent until I sell a few things.
Click to expand...
Congratulations on your rifle purchases!

That Henry load/unload tube is sweeeeet.

One cannot go wrong with most Marlins. They are accurate, smooth, easy to maintain and clean.
As are the Henrys. Henrys come apart very similar.

I’m glad you have one of each. You will not be disappointed my friend!….:)

Apparently although the S&W rifles are nice, the assembly screws they use can come loose quite frequently. My gunsmith has had a few customers bring in their rifles with this complaint.
Myself, I don’t like loc-tite on firearms period. It’s a personal choice for me.
I do readily check all my lever rifle screws when I shoot them a lot…:)

But again, it sounds like you bought two beautiful rifles, enjoy!
 
Last edited:
Thanks Thunderhog :)

I got out with both of them last Friday and I was really impressed. The side ejection is nice - with the indoor range I often end up with brass hitting my head, getting in my face, or down my shirt, especially with Win92 style rifles. And the tube loading on the Henry was a real thumb saver.

I did notice the lever and loading gate screws on the Marlin coming loose, but that's it. I also hate to use locktite, but sometimes it's needed - I bought one of those TC 73 9mm 1873 clones and that thing was shooting itself loose within 150 rounds. Side plates coming off (the right one coming loose sent rounds back into the lockwork, tying up the whole gun - had to take it home loaded), trigger group screws backing out, forend screws falling out, lever spring screws backing out, stock screw coming loose..... No amount of reasonable torque would keep them tight, so I'm afraid that every metal to metal screw in that bugger got a touch of the blue. Not a very well fettled rifle for the money if I have to do that, much as it's a fun little thing to just pump rounds through.

The one thing I don't care for on the S&W is that integrated rail/sight. Pretty ugly if one has no intention of using optics.
 
Mark-II said:
Thanks Thunderhog :)

I got out with both of them last Friday and I was really impressed. The side ejection is nice - with the indoor range I often end up with brass hitting my head, getting in my face, or down my shirt, especially with Win92 style rifles. And the tube loading on the Henry was a real thumb saver.

I did notice the lever and loading gate screws on the Marlin coming loose, but that's it. I also hate to use locktite, but sometimes it's needed - I bought one of those TC 73 9mm 1873 clones and that thing was shooting itself loose within 150 rounds. Side plates coming off (the right one coming loose sent rounds back into the lockwork, tying up the whole gun - had to take it home loaded), trigger group screws backing out, forend screws falling out, lever spring screws backing out, stock screw coming loose..... No amount of reasonable torque would keep them tight, so I'm afraid that every metal to metal screw in that bugger got a touch of the blue. Not a very well fettled rifle for the money if I have to do that, much as it's a fun little thing to just pump rounds through.

The one thing I don't care for on the S&W is that integrated rail/sight. Pretty ugly if one has no intention of using optics.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you got out with your new rifles. Yes indoor ranges with the dividing bulk-heads can cause all kinds of fun with ricocheting brass.

Unfortunately even the Marlin screws can come loose when shooting lots of rounds. Loctite can reduce this, however I just do not use it unless it's absolutely necessary. This is why I constantly check them.

The S&W lever design also has that unloading lower tube. To my understanding it's only good for unloading the live rounds. I am fairly certain one cannot load the rifle from that tube. If I'm wrong, someone will correct me. Maybe they were afraid of a conflict with Henry USA on this design? A patent infringement possibly? Either way, it does not appeal to me. I do love S&W firearms in general though.

On another note, I noticed Rossi has eliminated the load tube feature from the newer model 454 Casull lever action rifles. It appears to have a side gate only loading port. I heard they did some beefing up on the tube connect dovetail to the lower portion of the barrel, but was confused when I noticed they cancelled the actual removable inner loading tube, and the cartridge shaped slot on that same tube. Maybe someone here on Gunnutz knows why this happened to those Casull lever guns.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom