Marlin 357 and 44 lever guns

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abbaswede

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I've been thinking about getting a Marlin lever action carbine called the 1894C. I bought a 10/22 magnum instead, but gave it away as a gift. I always wanted a Timberwolf carbine, but they're rare and discontinued. The Marlin is current and sold in my area over the counter. Are they any good? I had a rimfire Marlin once, 25MN, it was a nice machine. Anyway, I thought I could shoot cheap 38 special for about the same price as 22 mag, and then be able to shoot 357 mags as well. Is this a good plan? And what about the 44 mag one? :confused:
 
Get more bang for your buck with the 44 mag, alot more stopping power than the 357, either way i wouldn't shoot specials out of either one, it would start to leave a ring in the chamber if you shoot too much special ammo in there. JMHO, Les
 
I have the 94 Marlin Cowboy in .45 Colt and i love it . I can load cowboy rounds or hardcast 300 grainers gaschecked and it will go substantially over what a .44 mag will do but you won't go wrong with the .44 mag . Very accurate also . I'm getting 5 shot groups of 3 inches at 100 yards .
 
I just bought another Marlin a few days ago in .45 colt and love it, great toy. Go for the .44 mag you wont be disapointed, I have a few friends who own them and love them! The only other you might want to look at is the Henry Big Boy, very nicely made and about the same price as the 1894 competition cowboy.

Good luck!
:D
 
I actually have a friend offer to sell me his Timberwolf (with a dot sight and loading supplies) just the other day. Drop me a PM if you'd like more info. It's a very cool rifle. In fact I would've bought it myself except a bought a 45/70 and my first house this week.

Chuck
 
I have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag, its about 30 years old however. Its one of my favorite plinking guns hands down. And, its an honest 100 yard deer rifle to boot. If you want a pistol calibre lever gun Marlin is the only way to go IMHO.
 
like salty i to have a older 44 mag. 1978 beutiful little gun. no dam crossbolt safety. i mounted mine with a mini compact 4x burris. its an ausome package. go with the 44 its more versitile than a 357 and reloading cost isn't much difference.
 
I faced the same dillema you do and bought the Marlin 1894C. Advantages: Short, easy to point (same as the .44 though), NO recoil on .38s and light recoil on .357s Disadvantages: .357 and .38 are harder to load in the loading gate than .44.

I find that the biggest advantage of the 1894C in .357 is the light recoil and low noise. Seriously, it is one of the lightest recoiling rifles I have ever fired. And ammo is cheaper than .44

BUT .44 is more fun! You can't deny it. It is probably worth it in the end. Plus .44 is so much easier to load and I can't emphasize this enough.

So it depends what you're using it for. If you want a rifle that fires cheap ammo and has a lot of commonality with typical calibres, get the 1894C. If you want more power, more fun (and more cost and more recoil) in a package of almost the same size, get a .44. If I had to do it again, I might get a .44 (except that recoil can be allegedly unpleasant in some loads.)

Marlin is a good choice. Easy to field strip and clean. But you'll have to smooth it out. Buckhorn sights suck as well. And the 1894C is a bit to short for me - just like the SKS. I like full-sized rifles like the Garand much better.

Really, though, consider a used Timberwolf. They are allegedly better. As are Browning B92s. Or the new set of 1866 and 1873 replica rifles - they are much faster. Or even the Taurus Thunderbolt. If it's just for fun, those cowboy replicas will shoot faster and feel more authentic. The Marlin is a slower, clunkier, more reliable and more durable workhorse that is also much easier to clean. The best term I've ever heard to describe it is a "can opener."
 
If you reload the difference between .357 and .44 Mag is just over $20.00 per thousand. With my Marlin M1894S it fed everything beautifully except for LSWC bullets. I just contacted www.brownells.com and ordered a .44 Rifle Flexhone and polished the chamber. Works like a charm now. The flexhone also comes in .357. For Cowboy Action sports and times when you have to reload under stress, the larger .44 makes it a lot easier to do. Cowboy loads do not have a large recoil problem. If you want to go to 300 rain bullets in the .44, Oregon Laser sells them in that caliber.
 
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