Dave Markowitz
Member
So this morning I drove to my favorite gun monger and traded in a few old milsurp Mausers and a Mosin-Nagant plus a few bucks, and in return got a new Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum.
The bluing looks nice, the wood's got decent grain, and the wood/metal fit is acceptable albeit not outstanding. The action is quite smooth. I field stripped, cleaned, and lubed the action, and ran a few patches through the bore.
It's factory fitted with studs for quick detachable sling swivels, which will come in handy.
As a new production rifle it of course has a crossbolt safety. As with many who've grown up with leverguns that don't have safeties I kinda look at it askance. I'll probably slip an O-ring over it to ensure it doesn't accidentally get activated. I may go ahead and replace it with a dummy plug that doesn't protrude from the receiver. The Marlin still has the traditional half cock notch in the hammer.
Along with the rifle I bought two boxes of Federal American Eagle .44 Mag 240 grain JHPs. At current ammo prices I'll have to handload for it to shoot it a lot. I'm thinking of RNFP cast bullets at a mild 1200 FPS for recreational shooting.
Once I've shot it and verified all is working as it should be, I will probably put a peep sight on it. I'm looking hard at the Skinner peep for it.
I'm definitely looking forward to sending some lead downrange with the Marlin.
The bluing looks nice, the wood's got decent grain, and the wood/metal fit is acceptable albeit not outstanding. The action is quite smooth. I field stripped, cleaned, and lubed the action, and ran a few patches through the bore.
It's factory fitted with studs for quick detachable sling swivels, which will come in handy.
As a new production rifle it of course has a crossbolt safety. As with many who've grown up with leverguns that don't have safeties I kinda look at it askance. I'll probably slip an O-ring over it to ensure it doesn't accidentally get activated. I may go ahead and replace it with a dummy plug that doesn't protrude from the receiver. The Marlin still has the traditional half cock notch in the hammer.
Along with the rifle I bought two boxes of Federal American Eagle .44 Mag 240 grain JHPs. At current ammo prices I'll have to handload for it to shoot it a lot. I'm thinking of RNFP cast bullets at a mild 1200 FPS for recreational shooting.
Once I've shot it and verified all is working as it should be, I will probably put a peep sight on it. I'm looking hard at the Skinner peep for it.
I'm definitely looking forward to sending some lead downrange with the Marlin.