Marlin 44mag lever action question?

[Randall53]

I have an opportunity to buy a Marlin 1894 in 44mag, and I'm probably gonna get it.  It's used, but in excellent shape as a friend of mine owns it and takes great care of his guns.  My question is I'm not sure what year it is and he's not sure either, but it's not new by any stretch.  Does anyone know if 44 specials will chamber, fire and eject ok in all of these rifles, no matter what year?  Or if there are years that this was not possible?  I appreciate any help anyone can give.  Thanks!

 

OOps...forgot something.  Will it hold the same amount of either caliber if they can be used?

Edited March 20, 2013 by Randall53

[glockster157]

Yes, you can shoot 44 specials, it may hold 1 extra in 44 special...I have not tried it in a while. There is a marlin forum and I think they have  date sticky

[Randall53]

Thank you glockster157.....I'll check out the marlin forum.  Seems like I might have joined that a couple of years ago.  I have noticed that 44 Special is cheaper than 44 Mag to shoot.

 

Thanks again.

[gregintenn]

If it doesn't have a safety, and you don't have to take on a second mortgage to get it, jump on it! You'll thank me later. If it was made before 2000, I believe you can subtract the first two digits of the serial number from 100 and get the date of manufacture. I.E., if the first two numbers are 20, your gun would be made in 1980.

 

Where are you finding 44 Special cheaper than 44 Magnum?

Edited March 20, 2013 by gregintenn

[frankmako]

you are lucky.  i have been looking for one for some while.  some people have all the luck.  maybe some day my time will come. 

[f3joel]

Look for the barrel stamp JM means it's a real marlin.

If it's stamped REP then it's a remlin.

[glockster157]

One thing to keep in mind is the rifling. Most of the Marlins are going to be micro groove except the cowboy guns. Remington switch it back to 6 groove rifling. So if you want to shoot mainly lead bullets like I do then I want the normal rifling

[Oh Shoot]

One thing to keep in mind is the rifling. Most of the Marlins are going to be micro groove except the cowboy guns. Remington switch it back to 6 groove rifling. So if you want to shoot mainly lead bullets like I do then I want the normal rifling

 

Marlin .357 and .44 are Ballard rifling these days. Changed back from MicroGroove in '96 or '97. Not sure which others, but it says on current models on Marlin site and apparently those that went back to Ballard all happened right around those years.

 

By the way, the gurus on MarlinForums say cast bullets in microgroove do fine if you cast slighty oversize, however one does that.

 

This little treatise re MG, Ballard, and casting seems pretty authoritative:

 

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm

 

- OS

Edited March 21, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[JAB]

Marlin .357 and .44 are Ballard rifling these days. Changed back from MicroGroove in '96 or '97. Not sure which others, but it says on current models on Marlin site and apparently those that went back to Ballard all happened right around those years.

 

By the way, the gurus on MarlinForums say cast bullets in microgroove do fine if you cast slighty oversize, however one does that.

 

This little treatise re MG, Ballard, and casting seems pretty authoritative:

 

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm

 

- OS

 

Yeah, the Marlin .44 lever I picked up a few months back is an older, microgroove version.  I know because it has 'microgroove' on the barrel.  I've also read about the 'oversize' cast bullets working better in them.  I have also read that the round nose flat point is the best cast bullet 'profile' for them.  That is why I plan to order some of these to load (when I get around to it) :

 

http://www.missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=101&category=5&secondary=12&keywords=

 

The info says they are cast at .430.  I think 'standard' is .429.  I have even read that some say .431 or so might be even better but I'm not going to sweat it that much - it isn't like I am going to be competition shooting with this thing.  Also, I have read that it makes more of a difference as you get into the somewhat heavier, cast bullets like 300 grain and up.  I will be loading for both the Marlin and my SBH and am not interested in doing 'separate' loads for each.  For that reason, I am more interested in staying mostly in the 240 - 260 grain range with maybe a few 180 grain thrown in just for fun (I'm sure the SBH could handle heavier but I'm not sure I see the point.)  I do have a box of Hornady XTP 300 grainers that I will eventually load but those are jacketed bullets, not cast.

 

As for Specials being cheaper to shoot than Magnums, I haven't seen any evidence of that wrt factory ammo.  Now, with .38 Special vs. .357 Magnum, that is generally the case.  However, on the rare occasion that I actually see factory .44 Special ammo on a shelf it is generally priced exactly the same as comparable .44 Magnum ammo.  I guess it might cost slightly less to reload .44 Special (as in a little less powder per round) but I don't know that the difference would be all that much.  I will say that .44 Specials are a lot of fun to shoot from my revolver.  I have a box of Remington LRN .44 Specials that my late father got somewhere or another.  I don't remember the weight of the bullet but it seems like it was something a bit 'unusual'.  I looked up current Remington LRN .44 Specials and they are 246 grains but I can't remember if that is the weight of the ones I have or not.  These things might well be as old as me.  Anyhow, I shot a few of them through my SBH and they were a lot of fun - and very accurate.  I haven't tried them through the Marlin, yet.  As for reloading, though, I would bet that I could create something similar with in a Magnum case by just loading to the lower end of the Magnum data.

Edited March 21, 2013 by JAB

[jeff43]

Anybody had any issues with shooting 38spl. in a 357 lever action,getting crud build up in the chamber?I hadn't,but heard people say it's a issue.It would be the same with 44 spl. in a 44 mag.My rossi lever rifle has 38 spl.-357 mag stamped on the barrel.

                                                       Thanks Jeff

[Garufa]

Anybody had any issues with shooting 38spl. in a 357 lever action,getting crud build up in the chamber?I hadn't,but heard people say it's a issue.It would be the same with 44 spl. in a 44 mag.My rossi lever rifle has 38 spl.-357 mag stamped on the barrel.

                                                       Thanks Jeff

 

I don't know that it's an "issue" but the same thing happens in handguns of the same calibers.

[gregintenn]

Anybody had any issues with shooting 38spl. in a 357 lever action,getting crud build up in the chamber?I hadn't,but heard people say it's a issue.It would be the same with 44 spl. in a 44 mag.My rossi lever rifle has 38 spl.-357 mag stamped on the barrel.

                                                       Thanks Jeff

It could happen, but I have both, and I've yet to have a problem, and I'm not very anal about cleaning.

[Oh Shoot]

Anybody had any issues with shooting 38spl. in a 357 lever action,getting crud build up in the chamber?I hadn't,but heard people say it's a issue.It would be the same with 44 spl. in a 44 mag.My rossi lever rifle has 38 spl.-357 mag stamped on the barrel.

                                                       Thanks Jeff

 

I'd had some quite quick buildup in .357 revolver from shooting .38 that made the .357 carts a bit stubborn to insert and eject. (Talking about same shooting session).

 

But haven't experienced same with Marlin 1894c. I'll opine that a revolver is perhaps more prone to do it, or at least to do it quicker. Then again the lever action is more forceful about getting shells in and out too, so maybe that's the diff, dunno.

 

- OS

Edited March 27, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[Randall53]

If it doesn't have a safety, and you don't have to take on a second mortgage to get it, jump on it! You'll thank me later. If it was made before 2000, I believe you can subtract the first two digits of the serial number from 100 and get the date of manufacture. I.E., if the first two numbers are 20, your gun would be made in 1980.

 

Where are you finding 44 Special cheaper than 44 Magnum?

Look for the barrel stamp JM means it's a real marlin.

If it's stamped REP then it's a remlin.

 

Thanks for all the info from everyone.  First, it does have a safety by the hammer. It does say 1894S with MicroGrove on the barrel and it does have the JM on the barrel stamp.  It also says Marlin - Made in Connecticut.  The first 2 digits of the SN is 11 so I'm guessing it was made in 99....right?

 

Anyway. I'm real pleased with it. I gave $450 for it but It looks like it's not been hunted with at all and is in great shape.  No wear at all even on the loading ramp. The biggest plus is it's a real blast to shoot!  I had a half a box of 44 mags I bought back in October when I bought a S&W 629 used. I've ordered 44 mag dies for my Dillon Square Deal, but of course I have very little brass and no primers or bullets.  I keep looking but haven't seen any yet. I'm still on the lookout though for some more 44 mags so I can shoot it some more. I may get lucky this weekend at Sportsman's Warehouse.  I usually go by and look at reloading stuff and ammo also every weekend.  Maybe a few boxes will will show up.

 

I've looked for one of these for quite a long time.  I was really surprised when I mentioned these rifles to my neighbor and he said "I've got one...."  I was even more surprised when he said "yeah....I'll sell it." 

 

I really do appreciate all the replies from everyone. That's why I like this place so much, you get real answers from knowledgeable people when you ask a question here, unlike some other places and I'll just leave it at that.

 

Thanks again!

 

Oh...gregintenn.  I can't remember where I saw the 44 specials cheaper, but it was a website. Sorry.  It wasn't a lot, maybe 5 bucks a box of 50. But, that said, I've not seen that to be true since then.  It seems like now when I find them, they are about the same and sometimes the specials are more.  I think reloading is the way I'm heading anyway.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Randall53

[gregintenn]

The first 2 digits of the SN is 11 so I'm guessing it was made in 99....right?

100-11 would be 89, no? I'm not sure when thay started putting safties on them. Was it that long ago?

 

Reloading is a big plus, as you can do all sorts of things with a 44 mag in these rifles; from plinking loads to true shoulder bruisers.

[Randall53]

89? Sounds good to me....I found a website but it was confusing to me. The website I found said safeties began in 86.

[Oh Shoot]

100-11 would be 89, no? I'm not sure when thay started putting safties on them. Was it that long ago?

 

'83 seems to be first year, dunno if they did it on all lever models at once, though.

 

I personally don't mind the crossbolt safety at all, since it is possible to put a Marlin on "false half cock". Winchester too, as I understand it.

 

- OS

Edited March 28, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[Ratfink]

Ive been looking for a trapper model with a 16inch barrel seem like great rifles to me.