I have heard really bad things about what Remington did to Marlin after the takeover, with the result that any Marlin lever-action made after that is suspect. No personal experience with that, myself.

I've got a couple from before that event, 1894's in .44 and .357, both stainless. They won't feed as smoothly as a bolt-action, and the screws have to be retightened frequently (even with blue loc-tite on the threads). And, being an old geezer with failing eyesight, I've got 'scopes on 'em both.

But they're accurate as all-get-out, fun to shoot, and very effective at turning Bambi into food. (Well, the .357 is, anyway, I think the .44 would turn Bambi into mincemeat. A 240 grain sjhp will put a hole through the six sheets of steel, formerly a refrigerator, across my side-yard, 150 yards away that goes in with a hole about a half-inch in diameter and comes out of a four-inch hole on the other side.)

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Not legal advice/solicitation