My New Marlin 1894

JD3

JD3

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Montreal
I am still a newb been shooting for a year and was thinking about something non restricted that i could shoot at indoor range. so this fit the bill a Marlin 1894 in .357 magnum from sir/cabelas they had some in stock! I havent shot it it just came today (good service and quick delivery). so i thought i would share and any comments about this would be great as i really know nothing about cleaning etc will read the manual. but i find experience very helpful.

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Most importantly use screwdrivers that fit when disassembling for cleaning. Clean from the breach end. This requires removal of the lever, bolt and ejector spring. They are not hard to remove or put back together and there are full instructions in the manual.

I like mine well enough for it's purpose which was to have a small rifle on the farm for pest control that was quietier than my .223 but with a little more power than a .22 rimfire.

Here's a forum with lots of good info on Marlins including the 1894C:

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/
 
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Beauty!
Wish I'd bought one when they were $525.
You can clean it from the back by removing the bolt or you can use a boresnake.....
I'd go with the boresnake for casual cleaning and remove the bolt if you want to use a rod.
 
Marlins in 357 are sweet. I have numerous levers in pistol cal. KEY IS TOO watch your COL. THE MARLIN IS JUST WONDERFUL TO FIRE. One warning makeup 1000 rounds. You will go through them real fast. Once you start shooting its like plinking with a 22 rimfire.

At 100 yards it will with standard sights put the rounds inside a 3 inch circle. Best load I found was 12.5 grains 2400 158 grain Hornady JACKETED BULLET winchester magnum primer and winchester 357 brass.

Wolfs 158 Cowboy cast bullets are great.

You have a beautiful rifle. Good purchase. You won't stop smiling.
 
I have the Marlin 94 CB and the one you have. Excellent guns. Suggest you order an extra ejector as this will be the first thing that you may lose. Also marlins are famous for the screws becoming loose. Make sure that after every shoot...tighten the screws.

To be on the safe side I ordered an ejector and one of each screw from Brownells.

Oh!.....did I mention to remember to tighten the screws after each shoot. :)
 
Buddy from town bought the .44 Mag version & complained about the recoil, so he got his sent to Corlane's in Dawson Creek BC for mercury filled inside the stock recoil reducer... He said it cut it by 20-30%.
 
Nice gun JD3, I ordered one just like that Canada post monkeys blithely smashed the stock up, so I had to send it back and I ordered a 1894Cowboy limited locally instead, I just started shooting it and can attest to the fact that it's nothing to go through 50 rounds like it was nothing, I was able to keep them in about 4 " at 100 yards or so, I didn't use the factory rear I pushed the rear sight out and put in a blank and use a Williams FP-336, I find the front sight too coarse, been thinking of putting in a globe front sight.
 
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...nice rifle. I received my 1894c about three weeks ago from SIR/cabelas from the same shipment as yours. All I can say is Marlin quality control has taken a DUMP since Remington/Cerberus absorbed the company. I removed mine from the box and immediately spied a quarter inch crack in the butt-stock behind the top tang. I decided to live with the cracked stock only because I had waited a hell of a long time to get a new 1894C, as they are as rare as hens teeth and I had been looking forever. Off I go to the range and was overjoyed with the 7" groups at 25 yards!!! No typo there :eek:. Keep in mind this was with both .38 special and .357 mag ammo of different manufacturers and bullet weight. After tuning the barrel band that was freakishly overtightened by the factory, as well as removing some material from the fore-arm band that was binding it was back to the range. Now I'm grouping about 4-5" at 25 yards but way high. Drop the rear sight all the way down but still shooting high :rolleyes: ordered and installed a Skinner sight to correct that problem. After cleaning up the poor wood to metal fit and then glass bedding the butt-stock [which did stop the crack] and free-floating the barrel in the fore-stock I am down to grouping 3" at 50 yards so she is starting to come around. Handloading is next on the list of improvements.

All in all about the only good thing to be said of my rifle out of the box is that it feeds well, and that is an issue with many new 1894c's if you haunt the Marlinowners forum.
I own several Marlin levers and they are decent guns and have always thought of them as good quality for the dollar spent.
The only reason I never sent the rifle back was the fact that there just aren't many 1894c's around.
I did call Marlin however and informed them I was not impressed.
I don't mind the rough finishes and little flaws that one inevitably encounters when purchasing a mass-produced rifle for under a thousand dollars, but this was absolutely rediculous!

Sorry for the long winded rant but if anyone is having any problems with their new 1894's you're not alone. I can post pics if anyone is interested.
To the original poster please let me know how it shoots for you.
And to Marlin Firearms company...please tighten-up your QC!!!

Mad Mikey:)
 
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Mikey, sounds like you got a real lemon!

What did Marlin say?

You are a patient man...I've got a new to me Puma that has a few issues (cracked wood and barrel over tightened) that I'm fixing...but it was shooting around 1 1/2 inches at 25 yards

Is Cabella's all ready sold out?

I think yours should go back it's the only way the distributors and manufacturer's will learn!

Since we Canadians can't easily send it back to Marlin for factory fixes due to paranoid US lawmakers the importers should be bringing in grade A product to avoid these hassles.
 
about over tightened barrel? still new at this everything else i own is pistol and revolver so not sure on what i am looking for yet. I plan to take it friday and test it. as far as sir/cabelas having stock best thing to do is call. mine took week and a couple of days from order by phone to my door. if it is rare as hens teeth those that want call, i am happy so far just a itchy trigger finger atm.
 
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