Marlin 1894 question?

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2ndamd

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I just acquired a Marlin 1894 carbine in .357 magnum.
This is my first Marlin lever gun. I am sure I can write Marlin for a user manual?

It has micro-groove rifling, and no crossbolt safety. I looks brand new minus some hand wear on the fore stock. No checkering on the stocks and it has a straight grip.

Man, I really like how it handles....fast and light. I am a DA revolver person with my strong preference for the .357 magnum round. This carbine should fit right in.

Is there anything else you can tell me about this gun?

Serial number is 201193XX.
The previous owner added a thumb cocking extension and it has a gold bead front sight.
The barrel has an oval with the initials "JM" inside to oval. this is on the barrel near the receiver. Are these initials common for Marlins?

Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
They are known to have a great fit and finish. They are also known to be very reliable. Supposedly they are inaccurate with non jacketed lead rounds. They are probably the most popular pistol caliber lever action in the world.
 
Mine has the "JM" initials also and mine is of a later manufacture date since it has the cross-bolt safety, so this must be standard. The cocking extension is provided by Marlin with all their lever-action rifles.
 
Nice rifle.

1) The manufacturer must provide an owner's manual to anyone who requests one, per the 1968 Gun Control Act.

2) It won't tell you very much, since those are pretty simple set ups. Back in the day, you levered a round into the chamber, then rode the hammer down with your thumb to make the rifle safe. It has an intercept notch so if you're manually cocking it and you slip off the hammer, it shouldn't fire. Of course, this does not take into account any modifications or hard use by its previous owner.

3) To clean it, open the action and remove the screw that holds the lever into the bottom of the frame. The lever will drop out. You can pull the bolt out of the back of the frame. The ejector will then fall out of the frame. It's a V shaped part that locates in a round hole on the left side of the frame and rides in a groove in the bolt. Now you can clean the rifle from the rear, which is why I love Marlin lever actions. Remember to put the ejector back before you install the bolt.

4) The ejector uses a thin leaf spring and is old. It is a cheap part and easy to replace. You should replace it.

5) The MarShield finish on the wood is essentially epoxy. Abandon all thoughts of stripping and refinishing it. It's easier to get a replacement stock and install it if you want the wood to look better.

6) Marlin advises against shooting lead bullets in Micro Groove barrels. It won't hurt the barrel, but the lead fills up the grooves and degrades the accuracy. It's also a bear to get it out.

Have fun.
 
I have the same rifle with the Micro-Groove rifling. Great gun, good choice. I get the best accuracy with 158 gr jacketed bullets. The 140s aren't far behind in accuracy, but I waste my money on 125s as my target looks like a shotgun pattern. I stick with the 158s as it makes life easier.
 
I believe the JM are the initials of James Marlin and your rifle was made in 1980.

My 357 had Ballard rifling but my 44 Mag came with the Microgroove. If I shot .431" sized cast bullets it did very well and had very little (if any) leading. Accuracy and Velocity very close to Jacketed bullets.

Same could be said for my microgroove 30-30. Shoot properly sized cast bullets and outstanding performance should be easy to attain.

I have found that a leaded Microgroove barrel is easier to clean than a leaded Ballard rifle. In my 45-70 (Ballard) undersized (.457") cast bullets are lucky to hit the paper at 50 yards. .459-.460" will usually shoot enlarged hole groups at that distance.

You got yourself a great general purpose rifle. They are fun, inexpensive to shoot and will over-achieve in capable hands. If you reload you can get some very impressive performance out of it.
 
I bought mine in the late 70's. Lots of experts say the 357 isn't enough gun for deer, but 158 gr soft points develop a lot more velocity, penetrate and expand well. I've taken over a dozen deer with this rifle, but I keep the shots to under a 100 yards. The only modification besides adding a sling was to install a Williams receiver sight with the smaller aperture removed. It gives the classic ghost ring sight picture. I just put the gold dot on the target and squeeze.

The only problem I've had is if you use 38 specials with the shorter case to shoot rabbits and other varmints when a 357 is too much, you have to work the lever vigorously or the rounds can hang up when chambering.

The rifle makes an excellent home defense gun. It is my favorite lever action.

You also might want to check out the Guns 2008 annual - it has a great article by John Taffin on Marlin lever actions.
 
I've put thousands of lead bullets through mine. accuracy has never been an issue. try to steer clear of semi-wadcutter, or any bullet design with a lip around the edge as they tend to catch on the right side of the chamber. It is my favorite gun and everybody who uses it likes it too. Enjoy.
 
The thumb cocking extension (if it's what I'm thinking of) is a factory part that comes with it when you buy it new. It's to make cocking/decocking the hammer with your thumb easier if you have a scope mounted. I bought my 1894C (similar to yours, but with a safety and I believe Ballard rifling instead of micro-groove) and that part came in the box with installation instructions. It's buried somewhere in The Closet of Doom.
 
thousands of them in use by Cowboy Action Shooters shooting zillions of lead bullets in them.NOt all that hard to clean out,and MUCH cheaper to reload than jacketed.
They have tight tolerances and if any screws,especailly the feed rail scres work loose,...and they do ... the gun can jam.Use only 'gunsmith' screwdriver with hollow grounc blades such as the one from Lymans and Dillon.They fit the screws right and don't slip off.

AND JUST WHERE THE HECK ARE THE PICUTURES!!!!! ????? :)
 
You guys are great!
Thanks for all of the information. It is REALLY helpful.

Sorry about no pics, I just spent my digital camera money on another new toy :)

riomedinamike: I have been wanting one these .357's for some time now. I can not find them anywhere but gunbroker. I just did not want to do the internet thing for this purchase. So, I kept looking. Then JT wrote that article and made me want one even more! I even tried Davidson's website and they had the 1894c listed as back ordered.
Sometimes you get lucky.....the price was cheap too....$325 (before taxes)

Thanks again to everyone. I appreciate the information.

Oh,.... I do not reload yet (I know,I will soon) so, I am shooting 158 grain jacketed rounds through her for now. Well, and maybe some 145 grn STHP :)
 
It appears to have been Originally Manufactured between 1979 & 1984. Cut checkering became standard in 1994 so I can assume it was Mfg'd before then. In 1984 Squared finger lever became standard.

Congrats. Enjoy. They are on sale now in the Losa angeles area @ Big 5 for $379. for .30-30, .357Mag, .44Mag & .45Colt.
 
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