Winchester 94 or Marlin1894?
- Thread starter David L
- Start date
- Location
- Winnipeg,Man.
I have several Winnie 1894 models that are over 100 years old and shoot like they were new. The Marlins I have are a 45-70 and 25-20...Just did not like the looks of the Marlin so stuck with the Winnie.
Virtually everyone has a horror story about 1 or more firearms that they have owned. Here's my lever horror story;
In '94 I was looking for a lever in .357 because I was doing alot of .357 shooting out of my S&W M66 and wanted a cheap and easy round that I could reload in abundance. After looking around for about 6-8 months I couldn't find one, I even phoned Winchester! The nice lady said that they didn't have enough calls to start manufacturing them again. Remember this was before Cowboy Action got bigger.
I finally gave up on .357 and found a Winchester M94 Wrangler in .44 Magnum (Centennial edition). Shades of John Wayne that large loop lever was kewl! Little did I realize that with 2 years, I'd start shooting Cowboy Action. I did lots of testing and came up 7.2 grains of Unique pushing a 240 grain LSWC bullet as an accurate target load.
Within the first 20 rds down range, the pot metal feed ramp broke. Off for warranty work! Eight months later I get the rifle back. After every 50 rds the rear sight elevator would fall off. So we have to install a Williams rear sight! Shooting again after every 50 rds the screws in the receiver would work loose. Locktite!! After 1,500 rds the tubular magazine spring gave up the ghost! Wolfe Gunsprings to the rescue. After this the Lever Link broke, 3 months and 5 nasty letters later, Winchester told me they would sell me the part but without warranty! They wanted me to send the gun to the warranty centre again! Post 64 Winchester Levers are junk!!!!
That was the last straw, I found a sucker to buy the Winchester and bought a Marlin M1894S, after 8,000 rds through it, it broke a firing pin. Now after 12 years shooting CAS, I must have put 12,000 plus rds through it. I love the quality Marlin builds in. If your are a high volume shooter, Marlin is the only gun for you. Mind you I have a 1906 manufactured Winchester 92 , rebarrelled in .44 Magnum, that is fantastic.
P.S. My Wrangler was one of 4 Wranglers in town with the same problems.
In '94 I was looking for a lever in .357 because I was doing alot of .357 shooting out of my S&W M66 and wanted a cheap and easy round that I could reload in abundance. After looking around for about 6-8 months I couldn't find one, I even phoned Winchester! The nice lady said that they didn't have enough calls to start manufacturing them again. Remember this was before Cowboy Action got bigger.
I finally gave up on .357 and found a Winchester M94 Wrangler in .44 Magnum (Centennial edition). Shades of John Wayne that large loop lever was kewl! Little did I realize that with 2 years, I'd start shooting Cowboy Action. I did lots of testing and came up 7.2 grains of Unique pushing a 240 grain LSWC bullet as an accurate target load.
Within the first 20 rds down range, the pot metal feed ramp broke. Off for warranty work! Eight months later I get the rifle back. After every 50 rds the rear sight elevator would fall off. So we have to install a Williams rear sight! Shooting again after every 50 rds the screws in the receiver would work loose. Locktite!! After 1,500 rds the tubular magazine spring gave up the ghost! Wolfe Gunsprings to the rescue. After this the Lever Link broke, 3 months and 5 nasty letters later, Winchester told me they would sell me the part but without warranty! They wanted me to send the gun to the warranty centre again! Post 64 Winchester Levers are junk!!!!
That was the last straw, I found a sucker to buy the Winchester and bought a Marlin M1894S, after 8,000 rds through it, it broke a firing pin. Now after 12 years shooting CAS, I must have put 12,000 plus rds through it. I love the quality Marlin builds in. If your are a high volume shooter, Marlin is the only gun for you. Mind you I have a 1906 manufactured Winchester 92 , rebarrelled in .44 Magnum, that is fantastic.
P.S. My Wrangler was one of 4 Wranglers in town with the same problems.
Win 94, 30/30. Pre64 milled vs post64 stamped cartridge lifter, aka Why I began replacing my post 64 parts with pre 64 parts...
Mind you I can see how the milled bought at a local gunshow part I have has been brazed at what looks to be a break, on the lifter part (two indents) and is a bit shorter.
But over all this will give one a good example of pre 64 vs post64 quality differences.
Mind you I can see how the milled bought at a local gunshow part I have has been brazed at what looks to be a break, on the lifter part (two indents) and is a bit shorter.
But over all this will give one a good example of pre 64 vs post64 quality differences.
The pre 64 Model 94s certainly had a long life. Just a bit of normal care along the way and they seem as good as ever. The Garand posting did not surprise me, as I also have a low rating for the post 64s.
There does not appear to be much difference in the Marlins over the years. So, which is the best rifle, a pre 64 Model 94 or a Marlin, each in 30-30?
I have an early 1940s Winchester and an 80 something 30-30 Marlin, side by side in the storage room. Each are in near mint condition. If we forget all about the nostalgia, and the John Wayne movies, I would, without a doubt, pick the Marlin as the better of the two rifles.
Easier, smoother action to recycle.
The solid top receiver has great advantages. Keeps the dirt out of the action. Allows for very easy mounting of a scope, right on top o the receiver, where it should be.
There does not appear to be much difference in the Marlins over the years. So, which is the best rifle, a pre 64 Model 94 or a Marlin, each in 30-30?
I have an early 1940s Winchester and an 80 something 30-30 Marlin, side by side in the storage room. Each are in near mint condition. If we forget all about the nostalgia, and the John Wayne movies, I would, without a doubt, pick the Marlin as the better of the two rifles.
Easier, smoother action to recycle.
The solid top receiver has great advantages. Keeps the dirt out of the action. Allows for very easy mounting of a scope, right on top o the receiver, where it should be.
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I like Marlin myself. My 1894 45 colt gets used all the time for cowboy action shooting, fun practice out in the bush, and at the range shooting steel. I've had no problems with break downs or jams and it gets somewhere between 300 upto 1000 rounds a month thru it.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
I like the look , and quality of the cowboy model, but own 94's
freddyfour
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County, Ontario
I would say a win over the marlin, not because one is better then the other. I just like the look and feel of the win better. Not a bad idea to have both though, just incase your mood changes
And on top of this you don't need to wear a hat to keep the brass from bouncing off your noggin
I've got one of both along with a modern Puma for CAS. The '94 pattern definetly looks nicer and I enjoy them for what they are. And from what I've read the actions will/can be smoothened up quite a bit. But with my old guy eyes shooting at longer range will be best served with the Marlin with a scope mounted to it.
stickhunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Victoria, B.C.
Caveat: I have never owned or handled a Winchester 94, so take everything I say with that in mind.
First off, be aware that the Winchester 1894 and Marlin 1894 are not the same class of rifle, and the comparison is a bit apples-to-oranges. The Winnie is a full-size action that can handle 30-30+ class cartridges, as well as pistol cartridges. The Marlin 1894 is purpose built for pistol cartridges and is a more compact action. The more accurate comparison would be between the Winnie and the Marlin 336.
Regardless, if the choice were between a post-64 Winnie and a Marlin, I'd take the Marlin hands down. The basic design has not changed much over the last 50 years, and has mainly been cosmetic. The Marlin is a well-built rifle with solid machined parts, and although the new (post-83) guns have a crossbolt safety, it isn't obtrusive and can easily be replaced/deactivated if you want.
If you're contemplating a pre-64 Winnie vs a Marlin, then it really does come down to aesthetics and personal preferences. I went with the Marlin because I liked the solid top receiver for ease of scoping and the simpler mechanism. The Marlin is a dream to tear down: one screw and the finger lever and bolt pop out. Once you've taken a Marlin apart, you'll find that there aren't many moving parts and only a couple of critical interfaces. As a result, it's pretty easy to debug timing/jamming issues.
My best advice would be to look at the used gun market (that's a given for the Winchester since it's no longer in production). There are lots of nice Winchesters that I've seen for sale, and a fairly regular amount of Marlins. As much as I like my Marlins, I'm disturbed at how much new ones have increased in price. They are a wonderful gun, and used to be a bargain compared to bolt action rifles, but that's not the case any more with most Marlins in the $700-$900+ range. I'd have to think long-and-hard about dropping $$$ for a new one. Hopefully, the prices will sort themselves out and the choice won't be so hard in the future.
I love my Marlins (6 and counting), so each his own.
First off, be aware that the Winchester 1894 and Marlin 1894 are not the same class of rifle, and the comparison is a bit apples-to-oranges. The Winnie is a full-size action that can handle 30-30+ class cartridges, as well as pistol cartridges. The Marlin 1894 is purpose built for pistol cartridges and is a more compact action. The more accurate comparison would be between the Winnie and the Marlin 336.
Regardless, if the choice were between a post-64 Winnie and a Marlin, I'd take the Marlin hands down. The basic design has not changed much over the last 50 years, and has mainly been cosmetic. The Marlin is a well-built rifle with solid machined parts, and although the new (post-83) guns have a crossbolt safety, it isn't obtrusive and can easily be replaced/deactivated if you want.
If you're contemplating a pre-64 Winnie vs a Marlin, then it really does come down to aesthetics and personal preferences. I went with the Marlin because I liked the solid top receiver for ease of scoping and the simpler mechanism. The Marlin is a dream to tear down: one screw and the finger lever and bolt pop out. Once you've taken a Marlin apart, you'll find that there aren't many moving parts and only a couple of critical interfaces. As a result, it's pretty easy to debug timing/jamming issues.
My best advice would be to look at the used gun market (that's a given for the Winchester since it's no longer in production). There are lots of nice Winchesters that I've seen for sale, and a fairly regular amount of Marlins. As much as I like my Marlins, I'm disturbed at how much new ones have increased in price. They are a wonderful gun, and used to be a bargain compared to bolt action rifles, but that's not the case any more with most Marlins in the $700-$900+ range. I'd have to think long-and-hard about dropping $$$ for a new one. Hopefully, the prices will sort themselves out and the choice won't be so hard in the future.
I love my Marlins (6 and counting), so each his own.
Chances are, you're going to get both anyways...
I'd go for the Marlin. I love my pre-64 Winchesters. They fit me a bit better. But, the action is a bit clunky. My Marlin is a little more akward to shoot. A tad too small. But, that can be easily fixed. Action is liquid smooth. Post-64 Winchesters, don't. Just, don't. I've had more firing pins break, sites fall off, springs break on that gun that I just said fu*n*k it and junked it. It belongs to my uncle now, as a wall hanger. Beautiful looking gun, ugly so shoot.
I'd go for the Marlin. I love my pre-64 Winchesters. They fit me a bit better. But, the action is a bit clunky. My Marlin is a little more akward to shoot. A tad too small. But, that can be easily fixed. Action is liquid smooth. Post-64 Winchesters, don't. Just, don't. I've had more firing pins break, sites fall off, springs break on that gun that I just said fu*n*k it and junked it. It belongs to my uncle now, as a wall hanger. Beautiful looking gun, ugly so shoot.
southwest maddog
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Narrow Ranch
In long action like 30-30 I do not think that there is much difference but in short action the Marlin is far superior. I had a Marlin 1894 in 45 LC that I can kick myself for selling. It was a winner in several CAS competitions but I wanted more period correct so I went to a Uberti 1873. Big mistake for me, not the same gun or the same results. Very sensitive to high primers. Good luck.
Maddog
Maddog
- Location
- Yellowknife, NWT
I always was a huge and somewhat prejudiced Win fan until I owned a couple of Marlins. Accuracy is about equal. triggers too. But Marlins can be cleaned from the breech, and one can disassemble the entire action, every moving part, in a couple of minutes for a thorough cleaning or to stone the trigger surfaces. Much, much easier to work on than the Winnie. And Marlins take to scope mounting easily, but of course so do the Win 94 AE models.
I do think the Winnie points more naturally, but I've never tried a straight-grip Marlin. And I like the huge triggerguard on the Winchester; I'd like a lot of room for gloved fingers. On the whole, though, as a primary hunting rifle, I'd pick the Marlin. In fact I'm going to start looking soon for a 336A to replace the one I foolishly sold. I'll scope that one, and leave my 1957 Winnie peep-sighted.
I do think the Winnie points more naturally, but I've never tried a straight-grip Marlin. And I like the huge triggerguard on the Winchester; I'd like a lot of room for gloved fingers. On the whole, though, as a primary hunting rifle, I'd pick the Marlin. In fact I'm going to start looking soon for a 336A to replace the one I foolishly sold. I'll scope that one, and leave my 1957 Winnie peep-sighted.
