Bought one of the new Marlin 1894s in .357 Mag.

This will be my third Marlin 1894 I have owned since 2007. The first was a used JM I bought in Arizona for $400. Chambered in .357 Mag, it was supposed to be a working rifle when I lived out in the boonies. I had javelina terrorizing my lawn and dogs, and a cougar in the area going after the javelina. But it was just too nice to have bouncing around on an ATV or thrown in the Jeep.

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I got divorced a few years later and sold it for $1200 to some lawyer in SF wanting to play cowboy. It paid for my move from Arizona to Idaho.

The second one was a new Remington made 1894 in .45 Colt bought in 2015. It was supposed to be a camp carbine for the Idaho woods. I bought it online for $750 and was very disappointed when it arrived. It was like a cheap imitation of my JM 1894. The checkering was crude, the action was awful, fit and finish was subpar, and it would not reliably function. I joined a Marlin forum to try and figure out how to get it to run, and it never did. I sold it for $700 a year or so later.

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Today's purchase was a total impulse buy. I have long since replaced the 1894 with a Henry Black rifle in .45 Colt as a camp/hiking/ATV carbine and it is awesome! Great rifle!

But today while visiting the local gun shop on my birthday, I spotted one of the new Ruger-made 1894s in .357 Mag. I inspected it and it was much, much better than the Remington-made 1894 in terms of finish and wood to metal fit. The checkering was much better, and it just seemed like a nicer rifle overall. Still not as nice as my JM 1894, but getting closer. The price was $959, which was less than most are going for online. With my military discount and birthday gift card, I paid $946 total for the rifle and a box of ammo, including taxes.

I'm planning on shooting it tomorrow and praying that it functions better than the Remlin.

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Nice, I saw one at the local fun shop yesterday, it was impressive.

I hope it works out for you. Looking forward to your range report.

I have two JM 1894's and they will be here when I go home. Two rifles I will never sell.

Happy birthday to you. I love birthdays like that. Great looking rifle.

Complete range report here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgazLjfRgjU&t=507s

Congrats on the gun and the birthday. You will love it...

Congrats on the rifle and happy Birthday. Ive been fighting the urge on one of these. Thanks for the review

Happy belated birthday and congrats on the new toy.

RP

Nice! Saw my first Ruglin last week - one of the .44 Mags - and was overall very impressed. Gonna hold out for a Dark series .357, or at least one with a PG stock.

Comment on the video - you were resting on the mag tube for the .38's and back on the wood for the .357's. Might be a factor in the grouping. Eager to see how it does on cast.

I have probably one of the last Remlins. Must have finally figured out how to make them as fit and finish are good. Its accurate and eats just about anything I feed it. Little jiggling of the lever and it even feeds wadcutters
Hope your new Ruglin works out well

Glad to read that some one else also buys guns for their own birthday present.

In the early years of this century, I went into the local gunshop to buy a Marlin 1894 in .357 on my birthday. They didn't have one in stock so I bought Winchester 1894 16" barreled carbine instead. I have often regretted that decision.

The worst part is that I still don't have a Marlin in .357.

Robert

I bought one yesterday, Really nice gun. Haven't fired it yet but feeds semi wadcutters in 38 and 357 no problems. I had 2 of the jm marlins and they would not feed them. Ruger did a great job on this one.

I think Ruger is doing a lot better job in keeping the legacy

Very good post. Thanks

OP, if you're a reloader, you should be able to find the particular load that gets the best accuracy and ballistic performance out of your rifle.

Awesome! Love my '82 model and will never part with it.

Good to hear of a pleased buyer in todays market. By the way, Jard Triggers makes a new trigger and lever for Marlins if you need an improvement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Idaho45guy

This will be my third Marlin 1894 I have owned since 2007. The first was a used JM I bought in Arizona for $400. Chambered in .357 Mag, it was supposed to be a working rifle when I lived out in the boonies. I had javelina terrorizing my lawn and dogs, and a cougar in the area going after the javelina. But it was just too nice to have bouncing around on an ATV or thrown in the Jeep.

Attachment 321022

I got divorced a few years later and sold it for $1200 to some lawyer in SF wanting to play cowboy. It paid for my move from Arizona to Idaho.

The second one was a new Remington made 1894 in .45 Colt bought in 2015. It was supposed to be a camp carbine for the Idaho woods. I bought it online for $750 and was very disappointed when it arrived. It was like a cheap imitation of my JM 1894. The checkering was crude, the action was awful, fit and finish was subpar, and it would not reliably function. I joined a Marlin forum to try and figure out how to get it to run, and it never did. I sold it for $700 a year or so later.

Attachment 321023

Today's purchase was a total impulse buy. I have long since replaced the 1894 with a Henry Black rifle in .45 Colt as a camp/hiking/ATV carbine and it is awesome! Great rifle!

But today while visiting the local gun shop on my birthday, I spotted one of the new Ruger-made 1894s in .357 Mag. I inspected it and it was much, much better than the Remington-made 1894 in terms of finish and wood to metal fit. The checkering was much better, and it just seemed like a nicer rifle overall. Still not as nice as my JM 1894, but getting closer. The price was $959, which was less than most are going for online. With my military discount and birthday gift card, I paid $946 total for the rifle and a box of ammo, including taxes.

I'm planning on shooting it tomorrow and praying that it functions better than the Remlin.

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Happy birthday!!! I bought a Marlin Model 1894 .357 Mag. Carbine S/n 21,049,xxx (1979) in which I put a Bushnell Banner 4x Scope, and it was not a bad rifle -- until I foolishly tried running some .38 S&W Specials through it! Such a jam I had to take it to a gunsmith, who strongly advised against ever trying .38 S&W Specials in it in future -- unless ;) I want another jam!. This bugged me, to say the least. So.... I acquired a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited Model 1894CB; .38 Special/.357Mag; S/n 03028xxx on which I put a Leupold FX-II 4X x 33 scope on.
It surely is not "heaven" -- but it is perhaps as close as I'll ever get! The action is butter-smooth; and I can choose ammo (velocity & noise as concerns) as I elect, with no worries re function or getting precisely on target.
I do hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine!
geo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by georgerkahn

Happy birthday!!! I bought a Marlin Model 1894 .357 Mag. Carbine S/n 21,049,xxx (1979) in which I put a Bushnell Banner 4x Scope, and it was not a bad rifle -- until I foolishly tried running some .38 S&W Specials through it! Such a jam I had to take it to a gunsmith, who strongly advised against ever trying .38 S&W Specials in it in future -- unless ;) I want another jam!. This bugged me, to say the least. So.... I acquired a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited Model 1894CB; .38 Special/.357Mag; S/n 03028xxx on which I put a Leupold FX-II 4X x 33 scope on.
It surely is not "heaven" -- but it is perhaps as close as I'll ever get! The action is butter-smooth; and I can choose ammo (velocity & noise as concerns) as I elect, with no worries re function or getting precisely on target.
I do hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine!
geo

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Strange, my '82 model eats .38 all day long.

Just my luck that there's a finally new Marlin in .357 for sale now that I'm too old and decrepit to enjoy one.

Congrats on your purchase! Enjoy it a little extra for me!