I am considering selling my Marlin 1894 in 44 Rem Mag. So while searching for others for sale, looking for some idea what the market value for a used one was, I saw a fair number of comments. Most were curious about quality, some wanted a review.
I have owned my 1894 44 Magnum/Special for about a year now. I bought it for CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting). My main rifle is an Uberti '66 Trapper in 38 Special. I believe in the old racing adage, you need a "Pair and a spare". My back-ups are a '92 rifle in 44-40, it's 24" barrel is a bit of a disadvantage when we shoot from the horse. (a wooden prop, not a real horse, "that would be cruel"). Pulling that last 4 inches out of the scabbard requires a slight awkward movement. In a pinch I can use my son's '92 in 44 Mag. When I saw the 1894 on sale at Cabelas, I had to have it.
First I'll address the fit and finish. I have wanted to buy one of these Marlins for a few years now. Had one in my hands about 20 years ago, but the fit and finish really disappointed me. I like the bolt to be a decent fit, no overly proud metal, and a no unsymmetrical glaring gaps. The new production Marlin I bought has decent fit. The bolt fits fairly nicely. Typical of today, the lumber is not real nice, mine has a somewhat two tone buttstock, noticeable in the wrist area. Not a biggy when it come to a CAS firearm. CAS guns get used, they do not stay shinny forever. One of my peeves is the laser burnt checkering, IMO just one step above the stamped checkered look. About 6 hours with the checkering tools cleaned that up. My hands and eyes are not young anymore, but I'd rate the checkering as "Bunkhouse good" now.
How does it shoot? Unfortunately the answer to that gets a bit involved. I want it for CAS, so for me, to be a good shooter it has to shoot a lead bullet at app 1000 fps. certainly no more than 1400 fps. Finding a load that would shoot well was a challenge. I'm not new to 44 mag, I've loaded and shot several thousand rounds of 44 mag for varied selection of long and short guns. I've also dabbled in the world of 44-40. My thinking was that finding a load would be pretty easy, but I was mistaken. After several days of frustration, and blurred eyesight, I mounted a scope on the beast, to give my eyes a break. I put a 10X Bushnell Elite 3200 on it, a cowboy sniper rifle.
What should have been a simple exercise of mounting a scope and sighting in got a bit more involved. 44 Magnum cowboy loads are similar to 44-40 loads, slow and rainbow trajectory being the main attributes. I ended up putting a shim under one end of the rail to help with sighting in. The barrel looks to be installed correctly, in other words a quick look down the barrel with the bolt open, and no shells in the chamber or magazine, the firing pin looks pretty much dead center. The barrel tapers, so a straight edge placed on the scope mounting surface and eyeballing the alignment becomes a bit zen like. My scope tells me the miss-alignment is around 30 minutes. As having a scope on my Marlin was only required for testing, having a brass shim wedged under the rail didn't bother me, yes it was unsightly, but it was only temporary. Mounting a scope led to problem #2, attaching a hammer spur extension, after sourcing one. Short of welding, I'm not sure how one can keep it tight. 20 > 30 rounds was usually enough to rattle it loose. Continually snugging it up got a bit old, I just left it loose, after-all, it was a temporary "fix" to accommodate the scope.
I'll skip some rhetoric and give some accuracy results. Speer swagged 240 gr SWC bullets over a nearly full case of Trail Boss shoot around that 2 inch mark at 50 yards, and about the same at 100 yards. It does seem puzzling, 50 and 100 yard groups are identical. I got similar results with a Lyman 429360. Yes the notoriously enigmatic 429360 that would not shoot in any of my hip guns, go figure. After around a pail full of primers being expended, 2 inches at 50 was considered good, and I had my load. This load also works well in my hip guns. They run about 800 fps in a 29-2, 8 3/4" barrel, perfect.
I had expected better performance with cast bullets, the frustrations compelled me to do some research. My Marlin barrel slugs a bit big, not stupid big, just normal Marlin big. The grooves are a bit north of 0.430", maybe 0.431" and the bore is around 0.425". Saami minimum specs for a 44 Mag rifle are .431/.424, so they are pretty much dead on. Saami also lists the twist at a leisurely 1:38. Saami also calls for 12 grooves, so it's pretty easy to see that Marlin wrote the standard. The general shooting public seems to have a certain disdain for micro-groove rifling, so to pacify the customers, they reduced the number of grooves to 6. My rifle has 6 grooves. Here's where I'll add my opinion; first, a 1:38 twist is not a good twist for a 44 Mag, it's not even very good for a 44-40 either. Neither are the shallow grooves, which may have been OK with 12 grooves, but are probably too shallow for 6. Interestingly most imported 44 magnum rifles have barrels built to revolver specs. The Saami minimum standard for the handgun/revolver 44 mag is for a 0.417" bore, with 6 grooves at 0.429", and a twist of 1:20. I have a 44 Mag rifle and a 44-40 rifle with barrels that are built to mimic that spec, and neither of them required a pail of primers to find a suitable load.
When one considers the dimensions that SAAMI specifies for 44 Magnum rifles, being able to hit a stetson hat at 50 paces is what I would call excellent accuracy. Ken Waters, in his PET Loads for the 44 Mag rifle also alludes to the 1:38 twist of his B92 Browning in less than complimentary terms. He has this to say about the B92 Centennial: " Unfortunately, its demonstrated accuracy does not equal its fine appearance - mainly because of its shallow too-slow thirty-eight inch twist". I've owned a B92 Browning Centennial, a fine looking rifle, with deplorable sights and poor accuracy. No sellers remorse when it was traded away.
I cannot get the 1894 Marlin to run as fast or smooth as my '66, but it is close. With a full magazine, feeding the first round is most times a bit less than smooth, even after trimming the magazine spring. The open sights are a bit fine for cowboy work, and with cowboy loads it could use a shorter front bead. I have the elevator on my rear sight set at max elevation.
Barreled as it is, an 1894 Marlin in 357 magnum would probably be a better choice than a 44 Mag. It is fortunate that no Saami standard is available for a 357 Magnum rifle. I hope it's safe to assume a rifle will have the same bore/groove and twist as a 357 handgun.
Anyways, that is my review.
Nitro
This shows the laser etched checkering after touch-up with the checkering tools. It shows just a hint of the "burn" marks or wood feathering. Lasers are a wonderful tool, wood is not the best medium, as it varies in density, it's hard to control the burn.
Left side, the darker lumber.
Right side, a couple of shades lighter.
The bolt, slightly proud, but nice fit.
I have owned my 1894 44 Magnum/Special for about a year now. I bought it for CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting). My main rifle is an Uberti '66 Trapper in 38 Special. I believe in the old racing adage, you need a "Pair and a spare". My back-ups are a '92 rifle in 44-40, it's 24" barrel is a bit of a disadvantage when we shoot from the horse. (a wooden prop, not a real horse, "that would be cruel"). Pulling that last 4 inches out of the scabbard requires a slight awkward movement. In a pinch I can use my son's '92 in 44 Mag. When I saw the 1894 on sale at Cabelas, I had to have it.
First I'll address the fit and finish. I have wanted to buy one of these Marlins for a few years now. Had one in my hands about 20 years ago, but the fit and finish really disappointed me. I like the bolt to be a decent fit, no overly proud metal, and a no unsymmetrical glaring gaps. The new production Marlin I bought has decent fit. The bolt fits fairly nicely. Typical of today, the lumber is not real nice, mine has a somewhat two tone buttstock, noticeable in the wrist area. Not a biggy when it come to a CAS firearm. CAS guns get used, they do not stay shinny forever. One of my peeves is the laser burnt checkering, IMO just one step above the stamped checkered look. About 6 hours with the checkering tools cleaned that up. My hands and eyes are not young anymore, but I'd rate the checkering as "Bunkhouse good" now.
How does it shoot? Unfortunately the answer to that gets a bit involved. I want it for CAS, so for me, to be a good shooter it has to shoot a lead bullet at app 1000 fps. certainly no more than 1400 fps. Finding a load that would shoot well was a challenge. I'm not new to 44 mag, I've loaded and shot several thousand rounds of 44 mag for varied selection of long and short guns. I've also dabbled in the world of 44-40. My thinking was that finding a load would be pretty easy, but I was mistaken. After several days of frustration, and blurred eyesight, I mounted a scope on the beast, to give my eyes a break. I put a 10X Bushnell Elite 3200 on it, a cowboy sniper rifle.
What should have been a simple exercise of mounting a scope and sighting in got a bit more involved. 44 Magnum cowboy loads are similar to 44-40 loads, slow and rainbow trajectory being the main attributes. I ended up putting a shim under one end of the rail to help with sighting in. The barrel looks to be installed correctly, in other words a quick look down the barrel with the bolt open, and no shells in the chamber or magazine, the firing pin looks pretty much dead center. The barrel tapers, so a straight edge placed on the scope mounting surface and eyeballing the alignment becomes a bit zen like. My scope tells me the miss-alignment is around 30 minutes. As having a scope on my Marlin was only required for testing, having a brass shim wedged under the rail didn't bother me, yes it was unsightly, but it was only temporary. Mounting a scope led to problem #2, attaching a hammer spur extension, after sourcing one. Short of welding, I'm not sure how one can keep it tight. 20 > 30 rounds was usually enough to rattle it loose. Continually snugging it up got a bit old, I just left it loose, after-all, it was a temporary "fix" to accommodate the scope.
I'll skip some rhetoric and give some accuracy results. Speer swagged 240 gr SWC bullets over a nearly full case of Trail Boss shoot around that 2 inch mark at 50 yards, and about the same at 100 yards. It does seem puzzling, 50 and 100 yard groups are identical. I got similar results with a Lyman 429360. Yes the notoriously enigmatic 429360 that would not shoot in any of my hip guns, go figure. After around a pail full of primers being expended, 2 inches at 50 was considered good, and I had my load. This load also works well in my hip guns. They run about 800 fps in a 29-2, 8 3/4" barrel, perfect.
I had expected better performance with cast bullets, the frustrations compelled me to do some research. My Marlin barrel slugs a bit big, not stupid big, just normal Marlin big. The grooves are a bit north of 0.430", maybe 0.431" and the bore is around 0.425". Saami minimum specs for a 44 Mag rifle are .431/.424, so they are pretty much dead on. Saami also lists the twist at a leisurely 1:38. Saami also calls for 12 grooves, so it's pretty easy to see that Marlin wrote the standard. The general shooting public seems to have a certain disdain for micro-groove rifling, so to pacify the customers, they reduced the number of grooves to 6. My rifle has 6 grooves. Here's where I'll add my opinion; first, a 1:38 twist is not a good twist for a 44 Mag, it's not even very good for a 44-40 either. Neither are the shallow grooves, which may have been OK with 12 grooves, but are probably too shallow for 6. Interestingly most imported 44 magnum rifles have barrels built to revolver specs. The Saami minimum standard for the handgun/revolver 44 mag is for a 0.417" bore, with 6 grooves at 0.429", and a twist of 1:20. I have a 44 Mag rifle and a 44-40 rifle with barrels that are built to mimic that spec, and neither of them required a pail of primers to find a suitable load.
When one considers the dimensions that SAAMI specifies for 44 Magnum rifles, being able to hit a stetson hat at 50 paces is what I would call excellent accuracy. Ken Waters, in his PET Loads for the 44 Mag rifle also alludes to the 1:38 twist of his B92 Browning in less than complimentary terms. He has this to say about the B92 Centennial: " Unfortunately, its demonstrated accuracy does not equal its fine appearance - mainly because of its shallow too-slow thirty-eight inch twist". I've owned a B92 Browning Centennial, a fine looking rifle, with deplorable sights and poor accuracy. No sellers remorse when it was traded away.
I cannot get the 1894 Marlin to run as fast or smooth as my '66, but it is close. With a full magazine, feeding the first round is most times a bit less than smooth, even after trimming the magazine spring. The open sights are a bit fine for cowboy work, and with cowboy loads it could use a shorter front bead. I have the elevator on my rear sight set at max elevation.
Barreled as it is, an 1894 Marlin in 357 magnum would probably be a better choice than a 44 Mag. It is fortunate that no Saami standard is available for a 357 Magnum rifle. I hope it's safe to assume a rifle will have the same bore/groove and twist as a 357 handgun.
Anyways, that is my review.
Nitro
This shows the laser etched checkering after touch-up with the checkering tools. It shows just a hint of the "burn" marks or wood feathering. Lasers are a wonderful tool, wood is not the best medium, as it varies in density, it's hard to control the burn.
Left side, the darker lumber.
Right side, a couple of shades lighter.
The bolt, slightly proud, but nice fit.
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