My First Lever Gun will be en route soon.......

[Fire_Medic]

Well as luck would have it, I have been scouring forums and Armslist looking for a nice 357mag lever rifle. I was and still am planning to get a Rossi for the truck gun, but I just could not pass on this JM marked Marlin 1894 for $680 shipped. I feel this will pair nicely with my newly acquired Smith 581 in 357 mag.

Open to all input but I would imagine and hope this will be fine for my uses as is.

http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k366/ffgabe/Toys/mq_zpsqwsvvmhb.jpg

http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k366/ffgabe/Toys/m7_zpsnoiawqxh.jpg

http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k366/ffgabe/Toys/m4_zpsmdwghk7l.jpg

http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k366/ffgabe/Toys/m9_zpsdtjmiehi.jpg

[Artful]

Congratulations - great find
And with todays 22LR ammo situation you may find
yourself just loading 38's to plink with.

Look up this
http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/
especially this
http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/polishing-tuning-your-levergun/

and
http://marauder.homestead.com/files/tuning_m_1894.htm

[rancher1913]

the thing I hate is the load ramp, I have a heck of a time speed loading. if I could figure how to use, say a 30-30 ramp for loading the 357mag rounds it would be perfect. you need to get a maresleg for your truck gun, they are fun to shoot. got a ruger bolt action in 357 and its fun to shoot also but just doesn't match the lever actions.

[Fire_Medic]

the thing I hate is the load ramp, I have a heck of a time speed loading. if I could figure how to use, say a 30-30 ramp for loading the 357mag rounds it would be perfect. you need to get a maresleg for your truck gun, they are fun to shoot. got a ruger bolt action in 357 and its fun to shoot also but just doesn't match the lever actions.

I agree on the loading but still less hassle than the Henry's with the spring contraption lol.

[ReloaderFred]

For speed loading the Marlins, you just tip the muzzle down slightly and drop the loaded round into the open ejection port and close the lever. Of course, this is just for one round, but with practice it's awfully fast. My wife and I do it all the time in SASS matches, and you'd be surprised how fast you can get that extra round into the chamber. You can also shorten the magazine tube spring so it's only about 5" longer than the magazine tube. Stainless Steel mag springs are also available through Pioneer Gun Works, as well as stainless steel followers.

Another note: When loading .38 Special for the Marlins, the magic OAL is 1.480". Anything shorter than that will probably not feed properly, but some rifles will, most won't.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[sghart3578]

I love mine. It is a slightly newer one with the cross bolt safety but that doesn't bother me. I shoot only cast in mine and it is the funnest gun I own.

It goes with me on every range trip. One day it may be revolver day, another day it may be milsurp day at 100-200-300 yards. It doesn't matter, the one constant is my Marlin. I always put 50-100 rounds through it.

Congratulations on a beautiful rifle.

[John Allen]

Drop a set of skinner sights on it. It takes a great gun and makes it even better

[00buck]

You did good :)

[TXGunNut]

Congrats, if it shoots as good as it looks you have a keeper.

[Fire_Medic]

Congrats, if it shoots as good as it looks you have a keeper.

Fingers crossed for that to be the case.
:bigsmyl2:

[Fire_Medic]

Drop a set of skinner sights on it. It takes a great gun and makes it even better

Thanks I will look into these once I have the rifle on hand.

I want to shoot it as is first.

I worked at a local range when I was younger. And one day this gentleman comes in and buys the last 1894 we had pre remington. It was a stainless 44mag. We also had a rnge on site, so the owner asks me to go in with him and show him how to load it etc. Mind you I had never shot one. I put the target back to 25 yards and shoot the center out of the head. To this day, that is the most fun I have had at the range thus far, even more than my suppressors etc. Just hard to explain the loud bang with such light recoil and the ease to shoot it out of the box.

I think this will be a fun rifle for me in the mag caliber, and even more so for the wife and kids with the 38's. My oldest daughter is eight now and she's taken an interest into shooting as before I got ill we took her to the family picnic day match with the club. I will soon be getting her more involved, she's already dying to go mudding when daddy can drive again. [smilie=s:

[stubbicatt]

Fire-Medic, enjoy it while it lasts. My daughter was a lot of fun when she was little. But then hormone poisoning set in and she became one of "them."

I too enjoy the 357 mag in a lever rifle. Great for plinking, or pistol caliber silhouette, or can even be pressed into the longer range game. I think it is perhaps the most versatile rifle I own. Low recoil, acceptable accuracy, good down range effectiveness... what's not to like?

[outdoorfan]

Way to go! I really really really enjoy my Rossi in 357. With the .357 you can load them to smack big stuff (190 grain solid at 1800 fps), plinking practice and small game with 150 grain at 1300 fps or so, and if you want to load it WAYYYYY down to the point that it sounds like an air rifle going off, you can do that too.

I just finished a project developing a "quiet" load consisting of a 125 grain hp at around 400 fps. It's accurate to at least 40 yards, and doesn't make the "crack" of a rifle. More like a phhssshhh air noise. Good for the backyard when you don't want neighbors to know you're shooting.

All with the .357 levergun!

[CITYREPO61]

I have a marlin and a rossi 357 and I have to say they
are great fun guns and 1 or the other along with my sig 522 are always with me when I go to the range. And the wife makes me bring the Marlin everytime I take her with me

[singleshot]

I like the Henry. I don't like messing up my purdy boolits on the silly loading gate. :-)

[aHFo3]

I love my Marlin 1894 357. It's my favorite long gun. I load .359" 180 gr pug nose from MBC over 2400. It seems to like that load.

[Outer Rondacker]

Congratulations!!!!!! I have been on the hunt for a 357 made by anyone for years not. For some reason I just can not find one in my area for sale. I feel I must turn to the net for my shopping. Once again congratulations on a great find.