You marlin guys need to calm down a bit...
I'd buy a Puma for 300 bucks. Not 500 (the asking price I just saw for blue round barrel carbines), or even $429, which is a "clearance price" I saw at another shop, also for the cheapest blue model. I never said or thought they were junk, just that the prices have gotten a bit out of hand.
The 1894C, a more rugged and easier to clean modular solid-top design, with a stock in a whole different class, is simply a much better rifle for the money, when the prices are nearly identical around here ($455 is about the best price for a new 1894C).
That said, I pay good money for things like black powder revolvers and sidelock muzzleloaders. If you want something like that brass/stainless beauty above, or just want the Winchester replica like they used in the movies, that has value in and of itself. "Superior design" isn't everything when you're buying a vintage gun, new or antique.
Don't think, however, that the real westerners all used Winchesters instead of Marlins. A trip to the Tombstone museum will cure you of THAT little bit of marketing. Winchester accidentally pulled off some of the earliest "product placement" successes in movies and TV, without even knowing it. Too bad they didn't know how to reap the benefits, like the Brazilians and Italians do. Winchester's gone, and Uberti sells replicas of their old guns for $1200.
All of that said, if you can find a REAL 1892 in good shape, those old guns are really neat!