I have a Marlin 1894CB (Cowboy) .357 Magnum / .38 Special . I bought it in 2019. It seems to be a gun that Remington / Marlin finally got their act together on, for the most part. It still has a sharp edge just inside the side loading gate that I need to buff - very minor issue.
I have put about 700 rounds through this gun. It is accurate and VERY reliable. I have fired .357 and .38 Special rounds through it with zero malfunctions. I have fired RNFP, round nose, conical hollow points and a few semi-wadcutters through it without issue.
I bought it to shoot Cowboy Action and it has been a very nice rifle. It is also a fun plinker and a great sidekick for my .357 revolvers.
I also have a Winchester 94 Trails End .357 that I bought back in 1998. This is the most accurate pistol caliber long gun I have ever fired. It was my first “Cowboy Action” gun. This gun is a .357 Magnum ONLY gun. It does not consistently reliably feed .38 Special especially when shooting fast. All Winchester 94 .357’s have this problem. Those that don’t will.
I have put thousands of rounds through this gun. I have replaced the link 3 times (the little nipple wears and disrupts feeding). I have replaced other parts as well.
I no longer use this gun in matches. It is purely a fun gun now and it’s the one I bring out for accuracy competition at CAS matches, on the rare occasion there’s a side match.
Honestly, I would consider a “new” Marlin 1894. By new I mean one made in the last couple of years. Once manufacturing moved to Ilion NY in 2010 Marlin 1894s were very poorly made up until around 2017. Lots of QA issues but it seems they have worked out their manufacturing bugs.
One nice thing about the Marlin. It is labeled as a “.357 Magnum / .38 Special” gun right on the barrel. It’s not a .357 that also shoots.38s. It is made to shoot both and does so very well.
One more thing. Lots of folks seem to like Rossi 92s. I personally think they are junk. But, I have only owned one but worked on a couple. The first time I looked inside the one that I bought I truly thought that the insides of a poorly made Chinese SKS looked better. It seemed like I was always having to fix, adjust, modify or replace something in that gun. If you are a tinkerer or your goal in life is to have something that always needs attention of some kind, then a Rossi might be worth a look. Like I said, lots of people like them. I do not.
Good luck in your quest.