Marlin 1894 in .45 Colt

[Gryffydd]

So the VERY last thing I expected to do today was buy a gun. I happened to be in Cabelas picking up a box of XTPs for my Ruger .45 Colt Bisley when I happened to see an 1894 sitting on the rack. I picked it up thinking it would be a .44 Mag version. To my surprise it was chambered in .45 Colt. Apparently Cabelas has a distributor exclusive model at the moment, selling for $549.

I've always wanted an 1894 in .45 Colt, but really didn't want the Cowboy model. I didn't expect find one anytime soon, though now that I've been on Google a bit I see they've been selling them for a little while.

It has a 20" barrel and looks identical to the standard .44 Mag model. I haven't had a chance to determine the twist rate on this model, but I'll post it as soon as I get it figured out. The Cowboy model has 1:16 according to the Marlin website, so hopefully this'll be the same.

So who else has one of these?

Here's a couple of phone pics:

 

[MCMXI]

That's a great looking rifle, and as you say, a nice alternative to the Cowboy Ltd version which I have. By the way, the .45 Colt doesn't have a 1:16 twist barrel despite what Marlin says. It's a 1:38 like the .44 Mag but don't let that bother you ... it works just fine with 200gr, 250gr and 300gr bullets. If you get a chance, look down the barrel and you'll notice that the lands and grooves don't even make one complete revolution in 20" let alone 16". That's how my barrel is anyway.

If only Marlin would make an 1894 rifle like yours but in stainless steel like my 1894CSS and 1895SBL ... now that would be something.

 

[tazbigdog]

LOL, I bought the exact same gun at Cabela's too! Used their $100 coupon when you get their Visa card and mine was like $459. Haven't shot it yet, but am interested in SASS. Then went out and bought a Ruger New Vaquero .45LC. and the adventure continues...

 

[oldpink]

It's so good to see that I'm not the only one in the world to find the round barrel .45 Colt version of the 1894.
I bought mine in early 2012, on sale for $50 off, not quite as good a deal as tazbigdog (didn't feel like getting a credit card), but I still paid $550 before taxes, not a bad deal at all, especially with how nice it turned out to be.
Sadly, it appears that Marlin discontinued the standard version of the 1894 .45 Colt with the round barrel, so you'll have to get the Cowboy if you have your heart set on a Marlin .45 Colt.

My eyes just aren't what they once were, so I went ahead and scoped it with a nice Hawke Varmint Special side focus 2.5-10x44mm scope.
You can see by my photos that I also was able to track down a set of the now discontinued excellent Kane gun chaps for the stock, which are an easily removable camo, protect the wood from bumps, and help quite vibrations in the hunting woods.


This photo is of my scoped Marlin without the gun chaps - [url]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/pinkold/DSCF0591.jpg[/URL]

Same rifle, with the gun chaps - [url]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/pinkold/Marlin_1894_45_Colt_Camo.jpg[/URL]

Me holding the rifle, crouched behind my first ever deer - [url]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/pinkold/Scotts_First_Deer_11-19-12_0019_edited.jpg[/URL]

 

[azbass]

I have a round barrel 20 incher I bought in 2007 with a JM stamp. It's pretty much my favorite plinking, knocking around, just plain fun rifle.