Super tickled- Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited 357MAG

[357maximum]

Last summer I bought a very slightly used 357Mag Marlin COWBOY LIMITED with the 20 inch octagon barrel. I mounted a 1-5 Tasco on it for load development. I found my load along the way and it is:
Glenn Larsen 180 RNFP (Lee C-358-180) made out of waterdropped 50WW/50PURE with MML for lube, 16.5 Grains Alliant MP300, and a remington 5 1/2 sparkplug for a muzzle velocity of 1720FPS.

I did not want to keep it scoped and was looking for a reciever mounted peep for it when BadgerEdd handed me a Marbles BULLSEYE sight to try (THANKS EDD) . I took that scope off and put the marbles sight on it.......I AM VERY tickled. I had to go to a slightly shorter front sight to get it all dialed in but ooooh how I like it now. I spent the last hour and a half or so beating on steel targets from 50 to 300 yards and I never once missed the3 incher at 50 or the 5 incher at 100 and the propane tank hanging at 300 was not very safe either....I did not always hit that but hit it enough to put a big smile on my face. Thanks to Edd and the fine folks that used to work in North Haven CT...I am one happy camper with another deer worthy toy to use.


Seeing as how this type of thread is useless without some gun porn and I am not ashamed to take a pic of it now that the glass is gone .....here ya go:




Hopefully this gun will have a few more pics taken of it......say about mid November or so

[John Allen]

I have been wanting one of these for a while now. I have a Timberwolf pump in 357 but it is not the same as a good ole lever

[357maximum]

John- this one fell into my lap for 5bills......how could I resist????

Them Timberwolf barrels are some accurate tubes...have several toys that were made from barrels originally intended to be a Timberwolf but just never made it to production. They have a neat rifling that works real good.

[hickstick_10]

Did you add that recoil pad and sling swivels or did the previous owner?

They are a wonderful gun, the 357 cowboy is the only marlin I have but its nice to shoot.

[357maximum]

Did you add that recoil pad and sling swivels or did the previous owner?

They are a wonderful gun, the 357 cowboy is the only marlin I have but its nice to shoot.

It came that way,he was gonna take it deer hunting but did not. He got it new and he fired exactly 43 rounds of winchester softpoints through it before selling it to me. The extended length of pull fits me well. I also got the original plastic buttplate round here too.

[357maximum]

Is that particular Marlin D&T on the LR of the receiver for a receiver sight? I'll check my sight box and see what spares I have.

It is in fact d/t for a receiver sight, I just did not run across one in my travels. PM me iffin ya find one and we will talk turkey...........I am interested, thank you.

[skiforce75]

I have that sight on my Rossi 92 44 mag and I absolutely love it. It is a amazing tack driver for a 16" barrled rifle. My favorite in my collection right now. Nice looking gun u have there.

[btroj]

I like my 1894c but it sure would benefit from a longer, heavier barrel. Only thing better what you have there is to have the longer 24 inch octagon. I have a CB in 45 Colt with the 24 inch octagon and it is awesome.

For what you paid it was a steal

[Scharfschuetze]

Nice find!

I also shoot a Marlin 1894 Cowboy, but with the longer octagon 24" rifle barrel and I use a Lyman 66 aperture rear sight on it. I also like 180 grain cast bullets at just shy of 1700 fps. With Lil'gun powder I'm getting 10 shot 2 MOA accuracy from a bench rest with the load and like yours, the combination really clangs those gongs way out there.

That heavy octagon barrel really hangs well for off hand shooting and the fun factor is pretty high.

[imashooter2]

The Cowboy .357 is a handsome rifle. I like your taste in boolits too. I'll have to get me some MP300 to try one of these days...

[Dutch4122]

Glad to hear that the bullseye sight is working so well for you. Still haven't decided which rifle to put mine on. Have to think some more on that.

Now if Michigan would just get the straight walled cartridge (1.8" or less case length) rifles law passed for those of us below M-46 you'd be ready to go!

[357maximum]

I have shot both the 20 inch and the 24 inch 357 octagons.....my tastes prefer the shorter one of the two, but that is just me. I still wish I had dug deep and ponied up the money for the stainless 357 with cut rifling....oh well shoulda, coulda, didn't.

I have killed so many deer with Glenns superfantastic deer thumpin design in other guns that it was the first and only logical choice...have not found a "bad" load yet with that boolit. The MP300 simply gave me a touch more ooomffff with the accuracy I need in a hunting gun....so it won out.

[357maximum]

I looked in my sight box and don't see a spare at this point. I know that I sold a Williams 5D to a friend, and replaced it with a Foolproof that I had, but forgot that I sold the Lyman 66 (steel) and replaced it with a steel Redfield. I might be tempted to try one of the Williams that mounts on top of the receiver for the 1895 or 336.....

I'm down to (3) Marlin 357s. I still have my original 1981(?) microgroove, an 1894CP 16", and one of the last 1894Cs before they moved. I sold an early '90s vintage to one of the guys here from NM for his wife.

While I like the look of the 24" barreled 1894CB, I thought it too heavy. The 20" octagon was available when I bought the last one, but I didn't think it was worth the extra $ for the octagon and no checkering. The 18-1/2" handles nicely, IMO. I should have bought a 32 H&R Mag, and a 22 Mag when they were available....but I still think the 357 the best of all the 1894s, but my 1894CL 32-20 is a fine shooter.

I would really like to find a steel lyman target receiver sight for it, but it will take a good bit of luck to find one of them. Thanks for looking, Mike

[357maximum]

Now if Michigan would just get the straight walled cartridge (1.8" or less case length) rifles law passed for those of us below M-46 you'd be ready to go!

I wish that they would fix their rectal cranial inversion too, but I can go north 1 mile to the buddies and use it there....just have to resist the temptation to take a bigger boomer on that one I guess.

[shooting on a shoestring]

You guys have had much better luck with your 1894C's than I had. I bought a very lightly used one with great hopes b/c I had a 336 in 30/30 that is a great shooter. The 1984C in .357 was a real PITA jamming. I read the info about extractors and shaped, polished, tweaked and helped it....slightly. After modest load development (lost track exactly, thinking just over 10 different loads) I still shot smaller groups with a police trade-in 4 inch Model 10 at 25 yards with absolutely no jams....so I got frustrated and traded it for a Winchester Model 59 which gave me 4 inch groups at 100 with peeps first time out.

Glad you guys got some 1894Cs that work well. They're cute.

[Scharfschuetze]

I feel your pain Shooting on a Shoestring.

I had an 1894 Cowboy in 45 Colt that just refused to shoot well. 5 MOA was about all it would do and I spent a lot of time, powder and effort on it. Everything looked good, but it just was a dog. I bought it used and I wasn't sad to see it go. I'm currently working with a 25/20 1894 and it's also proving to be a troubled child.

Now that that's said, when they shoot, they shoot and they are really a fine piece of iron as my 357 Cowboy proves.

[practical_man]

Nice rifle and hard to find.
For those troubled rifles I have found that glass bedding the wood nd crowning the barrel along usually helps.

-John

[robertbank]

John- this one fell into my lap for 5bills......how could I resist????

Them Timberwolf barrels are some accurate tubes...have several toys that were made from barrels originally intended to be a Timberwolf but just never made it to production. They have a neat rifling that works real good.

$500, you got to be kidding! Up here you would go to jail for thrft cuz nobody would believe you . What a lovely piece. I have severe gun envy. Congrats.

Bob

[357maximum]

$500, you got to be kidding! Up here you would go to jail for thrft cuz nobody would believe you . What a lovely piece. I have severe gun envy. Congrats.

Bob

It was through a friend of my Father in Law's and that's all he wanted for it. Babore had a chance at it but he squandered that chance a little too long. I have bought alot of guns and a boat/trailer from the same man.....he is a good guy to know because when he decides something is gonna leave he intends to sell it not put it up for sale.....like I said a real good guy to know..... I am gonna take this moment to thank him even though he will never see this.......... THANKS BILL

[Slow Elk 45/70]

A man can not have to many marlins..... I also spend a lot of time with them, shooting and searching for anything that will make them shoot Boolits !!!