New Remlin 1894 in 357 Mag

[curioushooter]

Anybody have one of these? I have seen one thread on here that concluded they were ok but trigger sucked. No serious accuracy testing.

Anybody care to express their opinion? They aren't microgroove and have a proper twist for full house 357. Can mount scopes. Weigh 6.5#. Have a loading gate. Seems like potential to me on paper, but the devil is in the details, and I've yet to find one "in the steel."

[dragon813gt]

I have one. It’s actually an early production model before they stopped making them for a few years. Not a thing wrong w/ it. It’s the one gun that always goes to the range w/ me. Have a couple other Remington produced Marlins and there’s nothing wrong w/ them either. I did wait for them to work out all the issues. But it’s at the point where I would buy sight unseen.

[NSB]

I had one and it shot "OK", good enough for deer hunting. It wasn't a tack driver by any means. The best I could ever get out of it with any bullet or load was around two and a half inches at 100 yards for five shots. The Rossi's shot better. I had to send it back for repair and got it back pretty quick...in good working order. I think they're even better now as far as functioning, but not really better for accuracy. It's been my experience that very few lever .357's regardless of who made them are tack drivers. A lot has to do with the design/build and just the things like barrel bands, etc that all effect accuracy. If I wanted a one-holer I wouldn't get a lever gun to begin with. They are accurate enough for hunting and nice to carry around.

[sghart3578]

I like mine quite a bit. I have posted several threads on mine, here are two.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...st-impressions

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...C-first-update

I have several JM Marlins including a 1894 CS in 357 magnum. The new 1894 C is no where near as smooth as my old one yet but then again my old one has had thousands of rounds through it. The new one gets smoother every time I shoot it.

It did have what I consider a heavy (7-8 lb.) trigger on it. I have done a few Marlin trigger jobs before and I got this one down to 3-3.5 lbs. It made a big difference. And they are easy to do.

As far as accuracy goes I will say this. The new one is just as accurate as my old one and my old one is a very good shooter.

I should also note that I rarely shoot paper targets. The only time that I do is when I am double checking the zero on my deer rifle. Other than that I shoot at steel swingers of various sizes at 50, 75 and 100 yards. The new rifle keeps up with the old one, that's for sure.

I bought a scope rail and scope for the new rifle last October. But I have not had a chance to mount it. My free time was limited and now most of my ranges are under water here. When spring time rolls around I plan on doing some 100 yard testing from sandbags and I will post the results in an updated thread.

I am very happy with my new Remlin. Is it a JM Marlin? No. Is it an accurate, reliable rifle that is fun to shoot? Yes.

Best of luck,


Steve in N CA

[curioushooter]

Steve; it was your article that I read before. I am glad you posted it, but I will be far more interested in results with a scope. I even have the perfect little scope for this 357 carbine...a Leupold 2.5x Ultralite.

I was able to get a 44 Mag 1894 with microgroove to shoot well....with oversized paper patched boolits and NOTHING else. Cool thing was they could be cast relatively soft. But just too much trouble, and since I sold my 44 Revolver, the whole two gun thing was at an end. In fact, I just got out of 44 entirely.

I like 357 because you can get nice handy revolvers in that caliber and nice handy carbines, too.

Maybe I should just go an order one of these and hope for the best, but I really dislike that having so many duds come my way from Buds.

There are none in the local gunshops or at Rural King yet.

It is my understanding that the 357 Remlin 1894s just started production in ~June. I didn't know 357s were made before that by Remmington-Marlin.

[dragon813gt]

There was a small initial batch made many years ago. I think Cabela’s may have ended up w/ all of them. Because they were the only ones showing stock at the time. And each store received a limited number. These were not made from leftover parts. Production of all 1894 rifles was shut down right after I bought mine. And that’s when all the 336 horror stories started to surface.

[curioushooter]

I bought one..you can all be assured I'll be back with a review.

[sghart3578]

I bought one..you can all be assured I'll be back with a review.

Excellent, we are looking forward to it.

Over the winter I mounted a new Leupold 1.4-4X Freedom scope on mine. I took it to the indoor range the other day to sight it in.

It cloverleafs at 25 yards as was expected. It just keeps raining here and I have not had a chance to get it on paper at 75 and 100 yards but when I do I will post the results.


Steve in N CA

[W.R.Buchanan]

I just looked at a new 336 at a local gun shop the other day. It was the "Cheap Version" of the gun at $525.

It had a cheap stained birch wood stock and fore end that fit perfectly and had lasered checkering that was also perfect. Stained color was not offensive.

The metal was Cerakoted and the fit and finish of the metal was also perfect.

This literally a "Truck Gun." But,,, it was the nicest "Truck Gun" I have ever seen! They really worked all the bugs out of these and new production guns are very nice. This was a bottom of the line gun. You can spend more and get nicer wood and blued finish, but the actual gun is going to be the same. Those are in the $700-800 range. Then there are lots nicer ones in the $1300-1400 range, then there is Custom Shop guns starting at $3500 which are really really nice.

I was impressed as this gun was light years ahead of ANYTHING "JM Marlin" ever produced!!!!! I have 3 others which all required extensive work to make run right. This gun would have "broken in" in 100 or so rounds, it was that close.

Marlin triggers are what they are, and there is several things you can do to improve them or replace with aftermarket triggers.

The complete instructions are over at www.leverguns.com

For most people the trigger is just fine and certainly can be learned quickly.

Remington has done a great job improving these guns using new machinery and machining techniques. Production has stabilized and like I said, these new guns are so much better than anything Marlin ever made before it is no longer worth discussing.

There will still be whiners who think the old stuff was somehow better, but anyone who actually knows what he is looking at knows better.

There is a saying,,, "change is inevitable." Sometimes it is for the better, other times not so much.

In this case it was for the better.

Randy

[curioushooter]

I bought a Mossberg 464 a few years ago for $406. Blows any old 336 I've seen out of the water. Accuracy was astounding for a lever gun. 1.5 inch groups no problem at 5 yards. 2-3 inches at 100 yards. This was with Hornady factory loads and handloads using Speer Hot Cor.

[cwlongshot]

Good to read Remlins are getting better...

I like this model allot! I have two older old No. Haven guns. One has a 1x4 Leupold and the other Redfield steel peep mounted.

CW