I'm looking for a carbine rifle. Is the marlin 1894 the best thing out there? I read a few things about some barrel problems but that seems to be early models. I would be shooting hardcast bullets in either 38/357 or 44.

I own 1894's in 32-20, 357, 44-40, 45 Colt,and I used to own one in 44 mag. I own model 92's by several companies, in 357, 2 in 45 Colt, and used to own a 44 mag. The best of all those was a 92 by Browning. All the others are about equal. Marlins are much easier to take down for cleaning and repair. Unless newly manufactured examples are messed up, you can't go wrong! Ivan

The Marlin 1894 rifles are nice. I have owned a couple in .44 mag. The one pictured is a late model, made just before Remington took over. It is well made, but not as nice as an earlier (1980's) blued example I used to own. I might look used, and avoid the Remington versions, as there has been a lot of complaints about their lack of quality control. I usually take internet complaining about guns with a grain of salt, but I have heard the recent Marlin complaints from too many people to ignore. The ones with "JM" stamped on the barrel are the pre-Rem versions.

When using these rifles, be aware they are sensitive to cartridge OAL, and may not reliably feed heavier bullets, depending on length and profile. They also have relatively slow twist barrels, and do not do well with some heavier (over 240 grain) bullets. Cut rifled and micro-grove barrels will both work well with properly sized bullets.

As was stated, the Browning 92 copies are beautiful rifles, and is one of the few guns I have owned I wished I had kept. They can still be found on sites like GB if you really appreciate polished blueing and a slick fit action.

Larry

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What I learned; The older Marlins are your best bet if you can find one. The newer "Remlins" or Remington manufactured Marlins are 100% junk. Seems that, when they bought out Marlin, they fired 100% of the staff and moved the factory. Anybody - feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong - guess what; they haven't built one single passable "Remlin" since moving the factory.

That leaves Henry, Rossi, Winchester and a few other high-end makers. The Henry's aren't drilled for scope mounts and are quite heavy - though great guns they are. The Winchesters cost twice as much, if you can even find one - which you can't. Which brings us back to Rossi. The Rossi factory in Brazil is separate from the goofy handgun company and builds good leverguns in .357, .44 and .45 colt. They are drilled for scope mounts and come in 16", 20" and 24" lengths that are BOTH Hex and round, and BOTH blued and stainless, and BOTH large loop lever and regular lever.

Sorry if this sounds like a Rossi commercial. But I wanted a new gun, looked for years, and that's what I learned. I had little trouble locating exactly what I wanted; a new 16" stainless in .357.

Again; if you can find an older Marlin in good shape - that's the best gun value. But folks are NOT selling them. It's like trying to find a nice 3.5" 27 for a reasonable price - if you know what I mean.

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But then, what do I know?

Definitely stay away from the Remington manufactured Marlins!! Go to marlinowners.com and look for the "Marlin Rant" forum to read of the disaster Marlin has become!!

On the marlin barrel it is marked REM (bad) or JM (good).

This whole Marlin mess stumps me, I have owned fine remington bolt action rifles and shotguns that I swear by!!

I have owned a Marlin 1894-S Carbine in 45 Colt since the mid 80's and it is one fine rifle! I used it for 20 years of CAS, and 30 years for target shooting, plinking, varmints, and just blazing away with. I have shot many thousands of rounds from this Carbine and never had a jam, mis-feed, or FTF of any kind. My version has the Micro-groove rifling which was later changed over to Ballard rifling on later production rifles, but I have never had any issues with it and it is superbly accurate. Just so you know, most of the ammunition I've put through this Carbine has been re-loads that have been re-loaded "umpteen times", and some of the brass just came off of the ground at the Range. My point here is that these cartridge cases are far from optimal, yet they have all functioned flawlessly!

All I can say is I would DEFINITELY buy this Carbine again, but would NOT buy one of the versions that is being made by the new Marlin Company since they were sold and moved. I have heard nothing good about them, so if you are interested I would highly suggest buying one that was manufactured prior to that era.

Chief38

The Rossi 92 is a good bargain. Lots of info on them.
Check out Ranch Dog's website;
Rossi Rifleman ? View forum - 92

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War Eagle! '10 BCS & '13 SEC

I've had Rossies, Winchesters, Marlins, Ubertis in pistol calibers (I'm assuming you're not interested in a big game rifle). All functioned "OK". Probably the Marlins (a 38 spl and A 44 Mag) were the best. My wife still uses her 38 Spl for SASS (I use a Uberti '73 in 45 Colt) but I sold the Marlin as I just had no use for it. The Rossi 44-40 was OK except for ruining (expensive) brass. My (original) Winchester 92 in 38-40 is good, so far but my original "73 in 32-20 is pretty stiff.

Good stuff, looks like I have a few others to look at.

Uberti - that's it - I'd forgotten that name. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

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But then, what do I know?

Shipwreck, you've got a lot of good info from everybody here. Having had experience with both Marlin and Rossi, I figure you really can't go wrong with either one...especially if you go with the older Marlins.

I have the Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in .38/.357 magnum and two Rossi Model 1892, both in .45 Colt. One is a 24-inch, blued, octagon barrel and the other is a 16-inch, stainless. I had both of them smoothed up by Steve Young in Lampasas, Texas, and they are both a joy to shoot.
Rossi 92 Specialist, Nate Kiowa Jones a.k.a. Steve Young - Professional Gunsmith

The Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in .38/.357.


The Rossi 16-inch barrel in .45 Colt.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

I just bought a Rossi in 357, although I haven't yet had a chance to shoot it.

I looked, shopped, and debated for about a year and a half, and settled on the Rossi as the best option for me.

As said, I've heard mixed things about new Marlins(plus they don't seem to be in stock anywhere), and old ones are few and far between.

The Henry's are beautiful. A friend has one in 44, and it is accurate and very smooth. The big turn-off for me is the front loading, especially on an $800 gun.

The older Marlins had Microgroove rifling, more recent production has Ballard rifling at the request of the CAS shooters who found it better for their needs, i.e lead bullets only. And a number of shooters have said it makes no difference. Marlins have a solid top receiver, that makes scope mounting easier.

I have an 1894CL in .32/20. It is a beautiful little rifle, but:

Apparently the .32's have a feeding problem, which can be corrected, but is beyond my ten thumbed hands. I have seen the complaints and the fix on the Marlin forum on the 24 Hour Campfire. Is this problem limited to the small calibers?