Lever action gift

[greyling22]

it is a great gun. If you load cast bullets be sure to keep your velocities down. (when I was young and dumb I loaded about 300 44mag cases up that I had to take apart later because they were too hot for the soft lead and were stripping out. live and learn)

1894's have gone crazy in price lately. You could very well be looking at 700-900 for that gun in that shape without the scope. It would probably benefit immensely form some lighter springs. Every 1894 I have ever picked up needed and action job and lighter springs. http://marauder.homestead.com/files/tuning_m_1894.htm

 

[bikemutt]

Wow, I could only wish for such a gift. Congrats, great rifle, enjoy.

 

[Ccctennis]

Update

I was able to get out in the light rain and shoot this rifle. So smooth and more accurate than me! Zeroed the gun in at 50 yards for now! Love it. Now I just need to drop this scope and pickup a 1-4 smaller scope.

 

[Starship1st]

Looks and sounds great. May you have many years of enjoyment.

 

[HoploDad]

Sights

If you like the scope, keep it. For a lighter carry and recognizing that this is more of a brush gun than a long range one, look into aperture or "peep" sights. This is what the GI's in WWI and WWII used with great results, for the kind of distance your 1894 will handle. Two brands that work and look good on your gun are Skinner and Williams, but there are others of good quality too.

There is a lot of information on marlin owners.com about your gun and it's care. Regarding your FIL: you don't just marry the person, you marry their family - in that regard you seem to have done pretty well!

 

[CraigC]

.431" is minimum...My 1894S doesn't start shooting cast well till .432" bullets...

I wouldn't say "most", slug the bore and see.

 

[Salmoneye]

Most people find thet their 1894's in .44 mag will shoot cast well, but it generally wants to be on the fat side...

I wouldn't say "most", slug the bore and see.

You're right...

I should have said that most people that are aware that SAAMI specs for the .44 Mag cartridge in a rifle are different than the specs for .44 Mag in handguns know enough to slug their bores and size their cast rifle loads accordingly, and that MicroGroove shoots cast just fine if you size your bullets to a minimum of .001"-.002" over groove diameter...

Better?

 

[Ccctennis]

Rookie here

Salmon eye. Not to sound totally green but how do I slug my bore?

Also how do you guys care for the wood and barrels in these older gun. This gun instantly became my oldest by a long margin

 

[Salmoneye]

Slugging takes a clean bore, some oil, a soft chunk of lead, and a rod to push it through...

Here's a link to a YouTube vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFaJlUVs1Y

 

[GooseGestapo]

The way I saw most .44mag l/a rifles used, the 3-9scope with illuminated reticle would be a standard set-up these days.
Most were/are used as tree-stand rifles in creek bottoms and pine plantations. Most shots are at twilight/rain/cloudy days where aperture sights do poorly, and the higher power can be advantageous for determining if a buck is a "shooter" or "illegal". In our part of the world, a buck has to have 4pts, 1" long or longer on one side to be legal. At 30min after sunset on a food plot, 9x and an illuminated recticle can make the difference between a kill and going home empty handed.
The rifle in question seems to have a well mounted scope with nice, low rings. No silly "see thru" rings.
Walk to stand with scope on 3x, move to higher magnification later if needed...

The individual owner has to make the decision whether or not it's suited to him.
Since I have 9 l/a rifles, some wear glass, some reciever sights.
ie: golf wood drivers, irons, wedges, putters.....

 

[kieranklein]

If you load cast bullets watch out for that micro-groove rifling. Some guns don't like it some is fine. I tried 6 different bullet molds and many more powder combos and nothing worked. Throw in some jacketed ammo and it was a tack driver. I hope yours shoots fine! If it makes a difference it was a late 70's model without the saftey