Marlin 1894 Unpopular in MT?

[shane justice]

Today my wife and kids and me...had to go North to the nearest big town...to see one of my Doc's...

A trip to the big city...is fun cause that means I can go to the gun stores and check out stuff...

I really wanted to look at a Marlin 1894...the three biggest dealers in town...carried exacly 4 Marlins...1 410 Lever...2 1895's...and one 30-30...they had a few 22's...mostly bolts and semi's....

I asked one of the guys behind the counter...he said he had no need to carry them...as they were not a popular rifle...he went on to say...that he didn't believe they were a very popular rifle anywhere....

He left me with the feeling that these were somehow second class shooters...

He did however carry a Walther 22 rifle...in green plastic...and some pakistani knives for $5 on the counter...guess those are popular with Montana folks...

Now what is the deal?

I went to another big name store...they were sincerely screwed up as well...looking at scopes...they had two identical scopes...one in silver...one in matte...the silver priced at $279...the matte at $409? I asked about it...the guy looked at his computer and shook his head...but would not tell me why...

THe price at $279 was well over the nationally advertised MSRP...I asked him about that...he just turned away...

No wonder non-gun folks can have such fun with the ignorant bastards behind the counter...and make the rest of us look like idiots...

Ok...my rant is done....

Funny thing...in this big town...I was unable to find a New Model Ruger Super Blackhawk in anything but 17 Hornady? guess there must be a lot of call for those in MT...

What a day...only got to handle one 1895...and I still love it...

SO does Marlin 1894 suck as bad as all that?

Kind of had my hopes up...

SHane

 

[ECVMatt]

I have a couple of 1894's and love them..

They are accurate, simple to disassemble and are 100% reliable.

What more could you want?

Matt

 

[grimjaw]

he went on to say...that he didn't believe they were a very popular rifle anywhere

Maybe he hasn't been outside Montana much.

jmm

 

[mustanger98]

Maybe that ignorant jerk hasn't been outside of town much.

Sorry to be so blunt but people like that really irritate me.

He did however carry a Walther 22 rifle...in green plastic...and some pakistani knives for $5 on the counter...guess those are popular with Montana folks...

IMO, this speaks volumes about the quality or lack of same of "gun shop" you were dealing with.

I asked one of the guys behind the counter...he said he had no need to carry them...as they were not a popular rifle...he went on to say...that he didn't believe they were a very popular rifle anywhere.

IMO, he seems to want to sell you what he has on hand and is unwilling to order what his potential customers want.

I assure you the 1894 Marlin is not a "2nd class shooter". They ARE reliable. They ARE quite popular. They ARE quite durable. I know of no reason not to have one, either on the gunshop racks or in one's private ownership.

 

[dakotasin]

in s.d. you have to look awfully hard to find a lever action on the racks. montana is no different - plains, river buttes, etc all lend themselves to slow, planned execution of hunts featuring longish shots in a stiff wind. this is bolt gun territory. sure, river bottoms and brush draws do well w/ levers, but can't do well on prairie. a bolt gun works fine in brush, and shines on the prairie...

as for the rest of your commentary, dunno... go to a gun show sometime if you want to see overpriced junk being traded... probably about the same as your shop.

 

[Father Knows Best]

The Marlin 1894 is a fine rifle. It may not be popular in Montana, but Marlin sells thousands of them elsewhere.

 

[bogie]

You ain't gonna use a lever action .30-30 to make a long shot. I bet he sells a lot of bolt action .300 win mags tho...

 

[Essex County]

Here in New England it's a fine Whitetail and Black Bear gun. I've only visited a small part of eastern Montana where I would consider it less than ideal,,,,,,,,,,,Essex

 

[ArmedBear]

It may well be unpopular in MT, but that would be because most people don't want or need a pistol caliber carbine.

It would have nothing to do with the quality of the gun, which is top-notch.

 

[Atticus]

+1 on what Dakotasin said. Sounds logical.

But always be aware of "Gunstore Speak" e.g. [We don't have what this guy is looking for, so move him in another direction by any means available].
'That's junk buddy....this would work alot better for you (me)."

 

[Ranger J]

My wife shoots an 1894 in .357, great gun! I got it for so I could have my .44 mag Deerfield back. While these guns are great in the buckbrush of Missouri the pistol caliber bullets are best used at 100 yards or less. I can see where they wouldn't be real popular where shots are at several hundred yards. Just the same if you were treated that way at a store the guy is a jerk.
RJ

 

[Cosmoline]

I've ALWAYS had a hard time laying hands on a 1894. They do come into the shops, but don't last long. Usually there's a one-to-three ration of '94's to '95's in gun shops around town. The .357 '94's are particuarly tough to find. I think it's a sign of their popularity, not unpopularity.

 

[shane justice]

Guys,

I appreciate your thoughts...

I think what torqued me off a bit was that thse shops stocked a lot of the "bells and whisltes" trendy guns...but had begun to forget about the solid firearms that have held up through the years...

More than that...they had begun to sneer at the man,like me who would ask for one....as though I had no clue....I have a specific use for the Marlin...that does not necessarily involve shooting 500 yards at a mule deer...

When I go to a hardware store...I expect they should stock an 8 oz ball pein...all the way to a 10 pound sledge....they shouold stock a 16 ox claw hammer...and they should have a framing...each of these should be well made...and suited to the purpose they were made...or how I might use them...

All I was looking for was a quality tool...for a purpose...

What I got was a dead end...and an attiude...3 times...3 stores....

Bummer....

Shane

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Babel in: "he said he had no need to carry them...as they were
not a popular rifle...he went on to say...that he didn't believe
they were a very popular rifle anywhere...."

English translation: "I don't want to order you what you want.
I want to unload on you what I have in stock. And I am going
to alienate potential customers because I don't really want to
stay in business much longer."

 

[mustanger98]

Babel in: "he said he had no need to carry them...as they were not a popular rifle...he went on to say...that he didn't believe
they were a very popular rifle anywhere...."

English translation: "I don't want to order you what you want.
I want to unload on you what I have in stock. And I am going
to alienate potential customers because I don't really want to
stay in business much longer."

I beleive there's a lot of truth in that. I've quit doing business with some shops over that kind of idiocy. One shop, I'd been a repeat customer for 15 years and they basically told me they no longer valued my business. I won't go back either unless I find out those who treated me with such contempt are no longer employeed there.

Shane, Keep looking. Marlin '94's are out there. You may find 'em new or you may find 'em used, but my experience is they're solid either way. Hey... check Gunbroker.com and find you an FFL who does transfers.