New Marlin 1894

[WardenRoss]

Ran across a new Marlin 1894 in .357 and had to have it.

Totally impressed with the wood and finish. The photos don't do it justice.

 

[rockquarry]

Many good reports on the new Ruger-made Marlins in .357 and .44 Magnums. I've been eyeing these myself for cast bullet use.

 

[biku324]

Had one about a year - really smooth, really accurate. You did well.

They're not cheap.

 

[TheTinMan]

That stock and forend look great!

I’m very happy with my Mayodan-made 1894 Trapper in .44 Magnum. The 16.1” barrel makes it so handy and fun to shoot. The only thing I didn’t like was the 6 lb. 10 oz. trigger pull but a Ranger Point Precision replacement gives me an excellent 2 lb. 13 oz. pull with a near perfect break. Note: the factory trigger broke cleanly, it just was heavy. My new-ish 336 Classic had a 7 lb. trigger as well.

Should you ever get the urge to put a red dot on that beautiful rifle, EGW makes RMR compatible mounting plates that make for a very clean install:

I know that’s sacrilege to some but my 66-year old eyes benefit from a red dot. I did take it off this nice looking 336 Deluxe and transferred it to my Trapper which has a grey laminate stock and stainless-like finish.

 

[Puller]

Very nice WardenRoss! .357 lever guns are my favorite, you have a nice looking one.

 

[Barbarosa99]

Very nice stick of wood

 

[mikeruns]

WardenRoss, did you set the buttstock in the mud and water or is that adhesive from factory application of the pad which is not sealed(gap)….
I understand people are excited about these Ruger produced marlins, but at the price point and improvements made, they should be ashamed of sending this out the door. That gap on the buttstock will allow rain or snow in, mud and dust, and it could swell the butt and it looks like s.h.*.t. People might say, it’s not a big deal, but really it is. You pay a premium for an upgrade or improvement and Ruger sends out “last days of Remington/Marlin” quality with dried adhesive all around the butt pad? Send it back with these sentiments and tell them nice try but get it right fellas…you shouldn’t put up with that just because it took a few years to get these back in the public’s hands and everybody’s’ excited about it…. Sorry to dampen your joy, not my intention, but Ruger is better than that….shame, shame Ruger!

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

I had one in my hands a couple weeks ago in Scheels . Already have a vintage 1980 1894 357 mag. Fit and finish on the new one is impressive. Doubt I'll be getting a new model, but would encourage anyone that is looking at it, to buy it.

 

[Yendor357]

A guy gets a brand new, beautiful rifle. And someone has to turn their nose up at it. Ward, rub a little Old English on that stock and butt pad if you want. But it looks fine to me.

I’ve had the walnut/blued for a million years. No safety. It’s killed a herd of deer from my old tree stand. At least 4 boys shot their first deer with that one.

The top, black one was bought simply because it’s so cool. It’s a little different, but no goofy large loop, no pic rails or other hideous garbage. Just a horse of a different color. I love them both!

A Lyman 66LA on the walnut gun. Leupold 4X on the black laminate.

140 FLX shoots good, as do 158 and 180 XTPs.

I removed the cross blot safety and replaced it with the faux screw. Took all of 5 minutes.

 

[10Mad]

I have a new marlin 357 trapper and a standard 44 like yours. Both worked much better after a thorough cleaning and be sure to check all your screws. Many of mine needed at least 1/2 turn which further improves function. Both triggers were much better after using a snap cap and watching a ball game. I would say these newer versions are on par or better than any JM Marlin I’ve ever had.

 

[WardenRoss]

A guy gets a brand new, beautiful rifle. And someone has to turn their nose up at it. Ward, rub a little Old English on that stock and butt pad if you want. But it looks fine to me...

That's what I get for adding a lot of light in the photo trying to capture the wood grain. It looks fine in real life.

Whatever.


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[blackdeuce]

Very nice. I would have bought that one as well. Nice wood.

 

[WardenRoss]

Very nice. I would have bought that one as well. Nice wood.

I kid-you-not, that wood is on-par with my high-end rifles. When I saw it, I asked my gun guy "Hey, when did Marlin start offering different grade options?"

"They don't, just happens to be an exceptional one. Same price."


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[mikeruns]

WardenRoss, I'm sorry to you if I came off as looking down my nose at the carbine, it has very nice wood and clean fit and finish to be admired for sure. My maybe over zealous critique of the butt pad is something important to be heard at the factory as when that kind of thing starts slipping out of the door, it becomes more frequent and then QC becomes less important like what we often see from S&W these days and at the price point-you deserve the best. I had an 1894 jm model and it is an awesome carbine, I am down to one 336 Texan 30-30 from 1972-ish and it is excellent. Enjoy your nice new carbine, it's a beauty any how and maybe I should've emphasized that 1st in my earlier post, sorry pard.

 

[S-W4EVER]

That’s a beautiful rifle. Marlin 1894’s are probably my favorite rifle, all mine are JM’s. I hoped Ruger would do it right and I am not disappointed.

 

[WardenRoss]

WardenRoss, I'm sorry to you if I came off as looking down my nose at the carbine, it has very nice wood and clean fit and finish to be admired for sure. My maybe over zealous critique of the butt pad is something important to be heard at the factory as when that kind of thing starts slipping out of the door, it becomes more frequent and then QC becomes less important like what we often see from S&W these days and at the price point-you deserve the best. I had an 1894 jm model and it is an awesome carbine, I am down to one 336 Texan 30-30 from 1972-ish and it is excellent. Enjoy your nice new carbine, it's a beauty any how and maybe I should've emphasized that 1st in my earlier post, sorry pard.

I appreciate that. No offense taken. We're all likeminded gun fools here. It's all good!


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[mauser9]

Looks like a beautiful finished rifle. Fantastic wood and deep bluing. Always was a fan of these 1894 models. Might be a tough choice for me caliber wise. Likin the 357 and 44 mag calibers for deer and or black bear. Good luck at the range and woods.

 

[Yendor357]

Here’s a close up of the receiver to wood fit on the one I recently bought.

The wood to metal is very good. I’ve seen some old Marlins that were better, and I’ve seen a lot worse.

I like getting rid of the safety. The 2 piece base and split rings are nice and clean looking.

At 30 yards, it’ll put 5 cast 158s around an inch and a half; going 1200 fps.That makes for a nice soft shooting value load. And 158 grains of lead going 1200 fps is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[burneyr]

Every lever fan needs to seriously consider these new Marlins. New 357, old JM

 

[Glenn R. McMannly]

The .357 is a bit underwhelming in a rifle, but .44 Magnum is a whole nother animal entirely.

I have been toying with the thought of purchasing one in .44 Magnum. Now that would be a proper deer and pig gun. Even black bear. But .357? Not so much methinks.

Tim Sundles did a film on the you tube about unsafe safeties and IMHO the Marlin has one. Garbage and looks of garbage, too. Luckily some fine folks sale a replacement that appears just as a screw would yet deletes the STOOPID safety.

Check out Skinner bear buster sights.