Marlin 1894C?

[emilianoksa]

Following the Chile earthquake, and its aftermath, I've been thinking about acquiring a rifle for self-defence.

There are two good ones available here: the Marlins 1894C and the 336.

If I bought the 1894 I would only be able to use it with 38 sp, since 357mg is not available to the public here.

The 30.30 cartridge of the 336 however, might be too powerful for my needs.

In the event of a major natural catastrophe, which of the two rifles would be more useful?

 

[Kernel]

They are both great guns, but I think you would be happier with the 1894C. The .38 SPL cartridge in it’s “+P” form, shot from a rifle, is about like a .357 Mag from a handgun. That makes it very effective for personal protection. Plus, compared to a 336, it holds more cartridges, and it’s easier to shoot since it does not kick as hard as the .30-30 Winchester.

 

[glazer1972]

Pre-Crossbolt Safety Marlin 1894C in .357 using 158gr JSP is it. Handy lite little deer/smallgame/defense gun out to hundred yards or so easy.

 

[Shear_stress]

Glad to hear you're doing okay after that earthquake.

I have an 1894C, and it's a great little rifle. I would prefer over the 336 in such a situation as the 1894C has a higher capacity and uses the same ammo as many wheelguns. In your situation, you might be able to handload .38 Special cases to magnum levels as well, which greatly benefit from a rifle-length barrel. On the otherhand, not every 1894C will be compatible with every .38 Special round due to variations in cartridge overall length.

 

[emilianoksa]

Thanks a lot.

I read somewhere that the 1894 is at its best with 357, and might not cycle 38 rounds as smoothly.

The 38 rounds I use in my revolver are usually jacketed Remington or Winchester, although I'm thinking of trying some Sellier and Bellot in my revolver.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The 1894 with .38+p(if available) JHP. Do not try to use semi-wadcutter rounds in this rifle as it will shave off lead to gum up the works.

 

[kanook]

if you can handload, the 38 is the way to go since you can't use the 357.

When you handload you can use 180grain bullet and leave it a little long (COL) so that it feeds more reliable and you can push it to the limit just under the 357mag.

Lets us know what you decide and why.

 

[Oic0]

1894C is lighter, smaller, and will drop a man just as well.
I really like the feel of mine.

 

[zxcvbob]

I used the "bird flu pandemic" scare a few years ago as the excuse to get my 1894C

I load .38-44HV equivalent cartridges for it using .38 Special Winchester brass so I can stuff one extra round in the magazine. (158 grain RNFP bullet with 12.5 grains of 2400 or 10 grains of AA#7.) The same thing might work for you to bypass the .357 ban if you can get reloading supplies.

 

[ArmedBear]

I use Round Nose Flat Point lead bullets in .38 Special cartridges with my 1894C. They work well. These are similar to Semi Wadcutters, but they have no "shoulder".

 

[Top_Gunn]

I like mine a lot. It cycles .38 specials a little easier than .357 magnums. There's no discernable recoil with .38 specials, and hardly any with .357 magnums.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

I have used my 38special reloads with Berry's flat points and also Speer Gold Dot 38+p hollow points and it feeds them perfectly no hiccups yet. Then again I did clean mine very thoroughly when I first got it and cycled the lever about 500 times before ever taking it out to the range. I am not really sure it helped or not but it did seem to make things much smoother.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I could not shoot semi-wadcutters in my .44 magnum 1894 Marlin. It would shave fingernail clipping shaped bits of lead that were constantly clogging up the action. While this was with the 44 mag I would expect the .38 special to do the same.

 

[Badlander]

I would go with the 30-30. Without the option of full power .357 rounds the 1894 looses all its apeal to me.

 

[Abel]

I'd also rather have a 336 in 30-30. Its not too much gun for what you intend to do.

 

[Badlander]

The 30-30 is close to the 7.62x39 that was specificly designed as an anti personal round.
Will work great on Bad Guys.

 

[winknplink]

1894c = 3 more shots in the tube over the 336...

He said it was for defense.

 

[Badlander]

3 underpowered shots!!

 

[winknplink]

lol...I guess that depends on perspective.

 

[RatDrall]

I'm hunting for an 1894c myself, now that they are available in stainless steel.

.38 special has historically performed well for defense, out of pistols. The carbine just makes it easier to hit your target, in addition to adding velocity.

 

[Joemyxplyx]

I read somewhere that the 1894 is at its best with 357, and might not cycle 38 rounds as smoothly.

FWIW I have shot 1,000's of rounds of .38 Spec Cowboy loads through my 1894C with no problems. Plus using .38's allows you to carry 10 rounds in the magazine tube vs. 9 .357's.

Of course, you can also load 158gr bullets over H110 in .357 and go hunt deer and hogs when you're not defending yourself.

 

[MAKster]

One thing no one has considered is availability. The 1894 in 357 magnum is almost impossible to find new in the U.S. Marlin only makes them in small production runs. Good luck finding one in Chile! The 336 is easy to find in any store and is less expensive than the 1894 models.

 

[vaupet]

I would choose the 30-30, specialy in the newest 336BL version, with a bigloop lever and a 18" barrel.

shorter, thus more handy, big lever thus easy cycling and a more powerful load.
The action on the 336 is stronger and more easy to single load, IMHO.

Greetings

Peter

 

[jimmyraythomason]

3 underpowered shots!!

.38 sp+P from a 20" barrel! Less powerful than a 30-30 certainly but definitely enough medicine for bad guys.

 

[Hizzie]

Well, since practice is a component of proficiency I would suggest the 1894. You can buy a box of 50 rounds of 38 special for the price of a box of 20 round of 30-30. That is 2.5 more rounds per $ spent for practice. It won't matter if you are shooting a 50BMG if you miss. A .22 in the eye socket is more effective that a .45 to the pinky toe. Shot placement is what counts.