Marlin .357 Lever Question

[Prof]

My local Big 5 sporting goods store has an ad in the paper for a Marlin lever-action in .357 or .44 mag which they have on sale for $299. Which model would this most likely be and is that a good price? I have been wanting a .357 to go with my Marlin 336CS in .30-.30. Thanks!

 

[ProCharger]

I would imagine they would be model 1894.......that is a good price if they are 1894's as i paid 400+ for my 45-70 govt. in the 1894 and I remember pricing the pistol calibers REAL close to that of the 45-70.

Brett

 

[Brian Williams]

It is most likely a 1894H, which is real similar to a 1894c. It probably has a plain hardwood stock, but not a good looking walnut. If it is like my 1894c it is a great gun. I think a 1894h can be had in 357, 44, 45 colt.....

there are quite a few of us 1894c lovers here on THR, just wait and some more will come by and say get it. OBTW great price and a great gun

I Highly recomend a Marble's Tang sight. That and a nylon quik sling were the only additions and some leather wrap on the lever.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I had to special-order an 1894C; I would've pushed over a nun to get at the deal you're talking about.

I'm not sorry I got the walnut stocks, though; they're pretty as hell, but to save $100, I think I could live with the birch wood. It looks just fine on my low-end Marlin 30-30's.

 

[Biff]

OK I'm being nit-picky, but...

ProCharger, your .45-70 Marlin is not a model 1894. It is an 1895!

 

[Prof]

Gentlemen: I went to the Big 5 store after work and bought the rifle. It is an 1894C in .357 mag. so I do feel lucky to get such a deal. They only had one in stock and I was the first in the door (these ads are come-ons, limited to "stock on hand" so you have to be there quick!) It is a nice looking lever-action and the walnut stock is nice, too. Thanks for your help! Perfessr, I'll check out the tang sight. Sounds good.

 

[ProCharger]

i do apologize.....my 45-70 is model 1895g......just curious but whats the difference?

Brett

 

[Biff]

Brett-

The Marlin 1894 was designed to feed short cartridges like the .44-40 and .32-20 originally, and was first manufactured in 1894. The receiver is about 3/4 the size of your 1895, and the bolt is square in cross section. When the bolt is closed, it is flush with the outside of the receiver so that no ejection port shows.

Marlin made a model 1895 (starting in 1895) that was chambered for long cartridges including the .45-70. When smokeless high velocity ammo dominated the market, the 1895 was dropped. By the 1960s Marlin had one lever action left in production, the Model 336. It was chambered for longer cartridges like the .30-30 and .35 Remington. It has a round profile bolt, longer action and visible ejection port. With the introduction of the .44 Remington Magnum, and revolvers chambered for it by Ruger and Smith and Wesson in the early '60s, Marlin (and Remington IIRC) decided to develop a high-power rifle cartridge around the .44 mag's 240 grain Jacketed Soft Point. They chambered the 336 for the new cartridge and called it the model 444. In the '70's & 80's there was renewed interest in the .45-70 thanks to the Ruger Model 1 & Model 3. Marlin then took the 336, chambered it for .45-70, and named it for their earlier .45-70 rifle, the 1895.