New to me 1894 Marlin...............

[Knarley]

Just acquired a Marlin 1894. Built in 1982,357 Mag. JM Stamped. Pre-Saftey.
Upon inspecting this gun more closely, I noticed there is either a spring/guide rail running fron where the ejector spring ends, running to under the entrance of the chamber.
I have two others, that are post saftey guns that do not have that "guide spring" in them. One is in .45 Colt and the other is in .38/.357.
Could some one fill me in?

Thanks,
Knarley

[pietro]

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It sounds like an early-style ejector spring.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/pub/ProductImage/1138460.jpg

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[John Allen]

The 357's are my favorite Marlin guns. I have one and really enjoy shooting it.

[georgerkahn]

I agree re the .357 Marlin as a favorite firearm! One wee bit of caution, however: My 1984CB Cowboy Limited is stamped, ".38 Special/.357 Mag. (It's a 1982 manufacture S/n 1875xxx). My other is a Model 1894 carbine, S/n 21,049,xxx manufactured in 1979, with "357 Magnum" as its only caliber inscription. A few years back, I foolishly tried firing some .38's in it -- and a few days later I got it back from the gunsmith who, with a grin on his face, told me it was very much to my advantage he appreciated the challenge of getting it unstuck, and didn't charge my by the hour!

I may or may not be the only fool who reckoned .38's would function in this firearm. They do not!!! So, please -- you may not wish to try .38 Specials in it? They, I learned, are just short enough to make a jam of biblical proportion!

geo

[koger]

HMMM? I have never had any issues shooting them, as long as they are roundnose, not SW design. Have shot hundreds of them thru the 3 1894 .357's I have had. I guess I just got lucky.

[pietro]

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FWIW, in 1973, Marlin made the modern Model 1894 Octagon and the Model 39a Octagon.


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[ReloaderFred]

My wife and I both shoot Marlin 1894's in .357 Magnum is SASS matches, using nothing but .38's. We have literally thousands of those rounds through our many Marlins and they're as slick as owl snot, but they've all had action jobs, but nothing has been done to enhance feeding.

The magic number is 1.480" OAL for feeding. I load ours with the Magma 125 gr. FP bullet in .38 Spl. cases, loaded to the 1.480" OAL. I size my bullets .358", and get no leading whatsoever, loaded over Bullseye powder, doing just over 1,150 fps. They are a pleasure to shoot, and accurate to boot.

In answer to the OP's original question, it's the longer ejector spring of the older model Marlins.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[georgerkahn]

Oops, perhaps, re my not knowing correct years of manufacture -- I subtracted 1st 2 s/n digits from 100 or something like that (???) to come up with the years I thought were correct. My sincere apologies if they are not.

However, I purchased both Marlins mentioned brand new in boxes from a gun dealer, and I DID learn the hard way NOT to load my .38s in the 1894 one stamped, "357 MAGNUM". Again, perhaps, it may be a simple not-long-enough cartridge issue? I load .357 Magnums to an overall case length of 1.585", while for .38 Specials my overall length is 1.547". ReloaderFred indicated he loads his .38s to 1.480" and they work. I'm not disputing any posts -- but, a bit confused; my empty cases are trimmed to 1.149" and, again, have boolits seated to an overall length of 1.547" -- which caused a major jam in MY .357 Marlin. Hey -- perhaps I'm the unlucky one with this particular fluke? I just wanted to be helpful to OP...

Re firearm i.d., I went down and opened safe -- of course, these two were in very back -- but I wanted to see these "in person" to afford corrections if necessary -- my post was from a list I maintain. The "problem feeding .38's puppy" is labeled, "1894 Carbine Micro-Groove Carbine CAL .357 MAG" and bears s/n 21049xxx. My other Marlin is stamped, "1894 COWBOY LIMITED 1894CB CAL .357 OR .38 SPL", has an octagon barrel, and bears a s/n of 03028xxx.

I was in fact WRONG re date provided for my 1894 COWBOY -- I just checked with a bud who has a severe, chronic case of Marlinitus, and he "is certain" this rifle was manufactured in 1997 (NOT 1982). However, he assured me the 1979 guess on the .357 MicroGroove Carbine is a correct one. Thanks for picking up this faux pas, to those who so advised.

Thank you to all who responded re my post.
geo

[pietro]

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None of us are perfect - why pencils have erasers. ;)


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