Marlin 1894 Lever Action Rifle in .38/.357

[tercel89]

I am hunting a Marlin 1894 Lever Action Rifle in .38/.357 . It is a must have rifle for me . I havent heard many things on them . What are you guys thoughts ? I want it for everyday plinking , hunting , and "just cause it goes with my Ruger SP101"

Any problems with them ?

[2000silverz28]

I'm no help but I'm wanting one of them to. I love the looks of them.

[Randy L]

I have one they are great guns I reload my own ammo 170 grain gold dot solid point over 14 grains alliant 2400 CCI 550 primer will put 5 sots inside 1.5 inches at 100 yards and inside 3 inches at 150 yards

[creeky]

I have one. It's about 28 years old... I've never had any problems out of it... only FUN!

Really love it. I have a thumb extension (came with it) on the hammer which is really great. About twenty years ago I bought a williams peep sight for it. Like it as well too. What is nice is you can unscrew the aperture out and have a ghost ring type site.

Shoots well, .357's tend to heat the barrel up quick though. I have a padded nylon sling that holds about 12 pistol rounds. I have shot some self loaded shot shells through it. (Nothing to really right home about there, sub par at best.)

It will shoot through 1/4" steel at about 25-30 ft with 158 grain jacketed hollow points (.357's). Surprised me quite a bit. Made a hole about the size of a .44 cal.

.38's are fun to shoot bowling pins with and .357's will give ya' about 10" of flame at night. Really pretty. Hahaha! Recoil isn't really nothing either. I like a short fast handling carbine myself.

I like mine for a few reasons...

Very easy to hit with, two options for ammo, balances well, has a little weight but still light to carry in the woods and... my Dad bought it for me for Christmas when I was 14.

It was a "Here son... enjoy." moment. He grew up shooting a borrowed 32-20 lever he really liked but could never afford. Saw this... and just new his boy had to have it. Hahahaha! Means the world to me.

So yeah... go get one. You'll have a lot of fun with it!

[Oh Shoot]

Mine competes for Favorite Rifle status. Had it year and a half maybe, has eaten every .357/.38 bullet type made 'cept semi-wadcutters which I haven't tried.

- OS

[creeky]

Had it year and a half maybe, has eaten every .357/.38 bullet type made 'cept semi-wadcutters which I haven't tried.

- OS

I ran .38 wad cutters through mine a loooog time ago. I think I had to work the lever a little slower. Also, I try not load .357 or .38's FMJs in the tube. I'm a little worried about the recoil causing a bullet to smack the primer in front of it a little too hard. I could just be paranoid though. Never heard of it happening... just hate to think about it.

[gregintenn]

I have one in 44 mag, and it will have a 357 companion if I ever find one at a sane price. I have nothing but good to say about them. I've shot everything from natfart target loads to full house magnums in it, and it is a tack driver with them all. Good luck in your search, as they're hard to come by. Don't overlook the Winchester 94 in 357. A fellow forum member here has one, and it is awesome as well. Other suggestions would be one of the 92 Winchester clones such as the Rossi, Puma, or even a Browning. I think Winchester might have made a few 92s in 357 a few years back too, but I'm not sure.

[Oh Shoot]

I ran .38 wad cutters through mine a loooog time ago. I think I had to work the lever a little slower. Also, I try not load .357 or .38's FMJs in the tube. I'm a little worried about the recoil causing a bullet to smack the primer in front of it a little too hard. I could just be paranoid though. Never heard of it happening... just hate to think about it.

Yeah, well, it's best to never have pointy FMJ bullets in these mag tubes.

Most all .357/.38 anymore is either soft point, HP, or flat nose, even if FMJ, so I haven't really had to worry about it.

- OS

[Sidinman]

Good luck is all I can say, they are hard to find.

Unless you want a new one, then you can just order one.

[Guest BEARMAN]

I love mine too. I installed the brass www.skinnersights.com peep sights on mine. They also have the removeable aperture for the ghost ring effect.

Quick handling, accurate & reliable...you won't regret the purchase...unless your wife puts you in the dog house over it.

But ya' know what...It's probably worth it!...

[56FordGuy]

I don't have a Marlin, but I have a Winchester 38/ 357. It's a great rifle, and it's a great cartridge for a lever rifle for all the reasons the others have mentioned. Like OhShoot, mine also competes for favorite rifle status. It's top two, for sure. I handled a Henry .357 in a local shop, and it seems like a fine rifle as well. You might want to consider them, also.

[Murgatroy]

I had one growing up. I loved that gun. Wish I had it back. Sweet shooting and great handling.

[Oh Shoot]

Good luck is all I can say, they are hard to find.

Unless you want a new one, then you can just order one.

Good luck with that; you can order one, that doesn't mean you get it in a year.

That's why they're hard to find; Marlin simply doesn't make enough of them to satisfy the demand.

There's not a single new one on GunBroker right now for example, and only one used one.

Possibly a significant disruption lately also, what with Marlin's big move.

- OS

Edited February 17, 2011 by OhShoot

[Guest Scramasax]

I have two. One is a carbine and the other is a cas rifle. They both have fed every 38spl/357mag load I have put in them. A very good go to gun. I have several boxes of leverlution ammo but haven't got to test it yet. My favorites are my .41mag guns. But the .357 are more economical to shoot and easier to get ammo for.

I really would like to get a couple of them converted to takedowns. But have been unable to find a gunsmith to do this.

Cheers,

ts

[creeky]

For years I have wanted to get a Ruger Blackhawk to go with it. Still haven't gotten one though.

[Oh Shoot]

For years I have wanted to get a Ruger Blackhawk to go with it. Still haven't gotten one though.

Well, the Blackhawk is certainly easier to find!

That's the "combo" I have, too. I admit it did take about 6 months for me to score a convertible .357/9mm locally, though.

Btw, after sort of giving up really on getting either of them after about 6 month search, I walked into the right Walmart at the right time, there was my Marlin 1984c for $485, amazing! Then a few months later, after starting the Blackhawk search again, TGOer PM'd me about one at a local store ... well, I went out there, and it was actually the wrong model, but the fellow checked his distributor and lo and behold they happened to have 5 of them, had it in my hands 3 days later. $520.

- OS

[creeky]

The .357/9mm convertible was what I was looking for a long time ago.

With the economy what it is... getting any Blackhawk is on the back burner right now.

My Dad bought my lever at "Big K". A friend ran the sporting goods counter and called him and asked if he wanted to buy it. A guy had it on layaway and hadn't made a payment in about 6 months. All Dad had to pay was what was left on the bill. I think he said it was like $200 bucks or something. They even special ordered it for the guy and everything.

[Oh Shoot]

...My Dad bought my lever at "Big K". A friend ran the sporting goods counter and called him and asked if he wanted to buy it. A guy had it on layaway and hadn't made a payment in about 6 months. All Dad had to pay was what was left on the bill. I think he said it was like $200 bucks or something. They even special ordered it for the guy and everything.

Wow, that's a deal.

The folks at the Wally didn't know exactly why they happened to have the 1894 that day, figured probably somebody had ordered it and given up and then it finally came in; they only knew that it had only been there since the day before.

The Wally works or did at that store about 1.5 years ago (I happened to have asked about a month earlier), is that you could order any gun they can get, you pay for it upfront, BUT, if it doesn't come in a certain length of time (1-3 months? can't remember), they'll give your money back, but they don't cancel the order. Dunno if that's SOP at all Wallies or what...

- OS

[Curiousgb]

Love mine. It is a never sell.

[Randy L]

What are the Marlin 1894 rifles going for these days I gave $350 for mine a few years ago at the Nashville gun show.

[Garufa]

I must say the only one I've ever fired is OhShoot's and it is pure joy. That size rifle, action and caliber combination are really perfect.

[creeky]

Just reading this has git me wanting to pull mine out of the safe!

[TNRat]

With the 24 inch barrel and 38 Special ammo you can shoot with no near for hearing protection! A surpressed rifle!

The 20 and 24 inchers I have shot shoot like a laser.

[BryanP]

The first rifle I bought was a Marlin 1894C in .357. It's on the list of guns I will never ever sell.

[Smith]

Don't have the Marlin, but the Rossi 92 I have is an incredibly fun, practical, and handy gun. Minimal recoil, cheap to shoot, about as compact as you can get, and with .357 Leverlution ammo it works on just about any TN game. The Rossi's you can readily get in the $350-$450 range depending on configuration.

I've really been wanting one of the Marble's tang sights. Anyone have any feedback on those?

Edited October 13, 2011 by Smith