Marlin or Henry

[reivertom]

If you find an older Marlin '94 in .41 magnum for a decent price, find me a unicorn while your at it.

[Minerat]

I have a Henry 41 mag. It shoots very well. Have shot 41 special case 200 gr - red dot light loads to 41mag 270gr - W296 loads thru it with no issues. Could not find a Marlin so after 2 years when the Henry came out I jumped on it. It is goes nice with my 4-5/8s Blackhawk.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you find an older Marlin '94 in .41 magnum for a decent price, find me a unicorn while your at it.

my Jackalope identifies as a unicorn...does that count?

[Italia1825]

I have a brand new (purchased 6 months ago) 1894 marlin 44 mag. I like them, I hate the safety but it’s part of the deal if you buy new instead of an older one. I also much prefer the loading gate of the marlin over the Henry tube style. Don’t get me wrong Henry is a nice rifle. Just my preference. I handload for my marlin and I load them hot. Since I’m at work I don’t have my data in front of me but I use the same loads in my ruger Alaskan. Approx 1250 FPS with a 270 grain hard cast out of the Alaskan.


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[dakotashooter2]

I stupidly sold my 94 in 41 mag many years ago. I still kick myself. Finally bought a Henry. Nice gun but I miss the loading port. I too have run 41 specials without issue.

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[sandog]

I'll throw in my take on the Henry vs Marlin debate.
The lack of a loading gate doesn't bother me so much, but it does seem pretty awkward.

Unloading, you have to remove your mag follower, tip the rifle down ( and upside down it would seem so the cartridges don't catch on the port in the tube) and catch the ammo as it comes out so they don't go into the dirt.
The longer the barrel, the harder that is to do.
(Maybe where you live there is grass, but in most of the west it's dirt, pine needles or rocks.)
Then tip the rifle back up and reinsert the tube. Then work the lever and eject the one in the chamber.

For loading, hopefully you are loading with an empty chamber so you don't have hands and face near the muzzle.
You tip the rifle up, full the follower tube most of the way out and insert your cartridges.
Yes, you are probably using flat point bullets, but if you are holding the rifle straight up, the rounds are going to hit each other with considerable force. So you probably hold the rifle at a 45 degree angle, that way you still have some gravity assist, but the rounds aren't sliding down the tube at 100 mph.
Push the follower tube back in and latch it.

Then, if you want the rifle fully loaded, your have to work the action to insert a round into the chamber, then tip the rifle up, pull the follower tube back out, insert one more round, and replace the follower tube.

You have to prop the rifle up, hold it between your knees, or rest it against the shooting bench.
I don't own a centerfire Henry, but have shot ones friends own, have owned a Uberti Henry in .44 WCF, and I have several lever action .22's that load from a slot in the tube, so I know the drill.

Much is said about the Henery being safer to unload, as you don't have to work all the rounds through the action.
Well, Marlin's have been made since 1870, so there are a lot out there that don't have the cross bolt safety.
Your Uncle's old 336 in .35 Remington, or that old 39a or 39M will only have a half cock safety.
But Marlin has cranked out a bunch of levers in the last few decades, thanks to the Cowboy action shooting crowd.

They all have, since 1984, a cross bolt safety, which is a very effective hammer block.
Put it on safe, work the rounds through the action, and you'll never, ever have a round go off because you forgot and hit the trigger while working the action.
Many gripe about the cross bolt, but I've found it handy to engage it while crossing a fence, crossing a slick log bridge over a raging creek, or getting back to your rig in a pouring rain and being able to unload in your vehicle (and not having to eject rounds into the mud).

I have had a dozen pre cross bolt Marlin's, and still have a couple, and have never had a problem hitting the trigger while unloading, or my thumb slipping off the hammer, but the possibility is there.
If the cross bolt safety really bothers you, you can:
1) take off the butt stock, and run the set screw that rides against the cross bolt in all the way
2) do like some competition shooters do, and put a tight fitting o-ring around the safety where the red painted groove is
3) get a delete kit that replaces the cross bolt with a screw that looks like another action screw
4) get a delete kit that replaces the cross bolt with a saddle ring.
Pretty easy to do any of those things, much easier than getting rid of the rubber band feeling rebounding hammer on a Miroku Winchester, or the transfer bar safety on a Henry.

As far as loading, or unloading a Marlin, or any other side gate loader, it might scratch up your brass.
Some lever guns have sharper edges around the gate than others. I find it no big deal to soften up those edges when I get around to taking the gun apart, and I've had to do that on older JM Marlin's, Rossi's and a few Winchesters, not just Remlins.
A minute with some Emery cloth, and the loading gate is smooth, no more scratched brass or sliced fingers.

It way easier to top off a side loading gate lever or after you insert a round in, to put one more in the tube to reach full capacity. You don't have to prop up the rifle or hold it between your knees to load or unload, nor stretch you arm out to remove the follower tube. You don't have to rotate said mag follower tube to a notch to get it to lock in.

Put the Marlin on safe, eject all the rounds out. You still have to catch them with your other hand if you aren't in a grass area, just like you do with the Henry, unless you plan on wiping the dirt off later.
I put up with loading at the end of the mag tube with my lever .22's, it's just the way it is.
But to do it with all my centerfires ? No thanks.

Those of you that have Henry's are obviously satisfied with them, but to me, and this is just my personal taste, I don't find the receivers very appealing. They look like a big lever .22. Nothing classic, iconic or traditional, like a Win 1892 or square bolt Marlin 1894 that were actually used at the end of the frontier period.
The only thing traditional about them is the Henry name they are playing on.
They are heavier because of the blocky receiver and the extra tube in the mag.
( In a hard kicking caliber like .45/70, heavier isn't necessarily a bad thing though).

And they could have come up with a better name for their centerfire line up than "Boy".
Or found better pics to put up on their website than this one, showing a close up of their octagon .22 barrel, stating the quality of them:

[Baltimoreed]

Well said sandog. If you need to unload a Marlin ‘94 it’s not necessary to completely close the action to get the rds out of the mag. Just turn it with the ejection port down towards wherever you want the rds to go and gently cycle the action. Rds will be picked up by the lifter and drop out the port. Of course if your safety works no problem. To the OP a JM Marlin in 44 or 45 would be my choice.