"JM" Marlin 1895 smoothness?

[Naphtali]

Despite the mess I'm having with the return of my Rossi Model 92 from a dishonest "gunsmith???" in Worth County, Missouri, I'm still enthusiastic about well tuned traditional lever action rifles. I have access to a nice stainless steel "JM" Marlin 1895. Were it worked on, how will its smoothness of operation with shooting live ammunition compare with new manufacture Winchester 1886s? I specify live ammunition because I find that lever actions tend to be smoother operating when cycling their mechanisms unloaded or loaded with snap caps to feed than with cycling through shooting live ammunition.

[Beagle333]

Well, I don't have a new manufacture 1886, but I do have a JM 1895 and if I had access to a stainless one, you bet I'd snap that baby up!!
Good luck with your comparison though.... I do WISH that I had a new 1886.

[HawkCreek]

My experience is limited so take it with a grain of salt but here it is anyway. I have ONE not very old JM stamped 1895 Marlin .45-70 (I think I got it around 2002 or so), it's blued though not an SS gun. It's a nice smooth action but it's not as slick as any of my Winchesters (old or new) though I do not have an 1886.

[smkummer]

My 1990 JM 45-70 Sporter is a tad crisper than my buddies original 71 in 348 Win.. They both feel good with the pistol grip lever. To myself, the crisper action just feels newer as the pressure to unlock isn’t objectable. Just my 02.