Converting an 1894 Marlin to .357 Max

[landon74]

I've got a question that perhaps someone here with a bit of technical savvy might be able to answer. Would it be possible to modify a Marlin 1894 in .357 Magnum to .357 Maximum? I know that you would need to ream the chamber, but how much modification would it take to get it to feed properly and reliably? If anyone has an idea, or perhaps has undertook such a project, I'd appreciate your insight on the matter. Thanks.

 

[Preacherman]

I doubt very much whether the much longer .357 Maximum cartridge would feed through the relatively short action of the Marlin 1894. It would almost certainly feed through the longer Marlin 1895 action (which is used to build their .45-70, .450 Marlin and .444 rifles), but I don't think they offer a .357-caliber barrel on that action. You might, however, be able to get Marlin (or your pet gunsmith) to special-build one for you - a .357 barrel from an 1894 on an 1895 action. That might be interesting....

 

[BryanP]

This subject came up some time back and after a little digging I found this:

http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=2505

Scroll down and the telling phrase is this:

I also have a Marlin 1894 that I had converted to .357 Maximum. It works, sort of, but I coul not recommend the conversion.

 

[landon74]

Hey thanks Bryan, I appreciate it.

 

[landon74]

Preacherman, you've hit the nail on the head, looking at marlin's website, the 475 Linebaugh/480 Ruger levergun they're producing is built on the 1895 receiver. and their OAL is about a tenth of an inch shorter.

 

[Wildalaska]

Not doable

WildendofstoryAlaska

 

[Jim K]

Why does everyone talk about the barrel and throats and so on. The real problem of converting any lever action to a longer cartridge is the length of the action and the length of the carrier. I have not looked at that gun very closely, but I rather doubt the conversion could be done.

Jim

 

[landon74]

Thanks for your input everyone. I guess I'll look into a .44 Mag instead.