Sooper Stoopid levergun question

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19-3Ben

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Is the infamous "Marlin Jam" something that only happens with Marlins 1894c models?

I'm looking to get a .357mag levergun but this would be for serious "social purposes" rather than paper punching/CASS/hunting, so reliability is a must. I love the feeling of the Marlins, but I've also checked out the Rossi/Puma rifles and they feel fine as well. Since the Puma is based on the 1892 action rather than the 94, is there an issue with jamming or not?
 
I have heard good things about Rossi lever guns, but I inherited a couple of Rossi's and they were junk.
I would suggest a Winchester, or better yet, an Uberti Lever Gun. I have an Uberti 1873 in .357 mag and it is just gorgeous-and unstoppable.
Personally I would not rely on a Rossi if my life was on the line.
 
The 1892 design was originated by John Moses Browning and it is an excellent design. That said, I think some older Rossi lever guns might have had problems, which is what dgarvin1 was refering to.
If you could find some more recent repros they'll probably be good. I have a Browning B-92 which is the .44 magnum version (IIRC it was also made in .357 mag) and it is a very well made rifle I would certainly trust.
I think I've seen modern '92s that were either Winchester or Browning that were made in Japan. If so, they were made by Miroku (which made my B-92) and they're top notch.
 
I would suggest a Winchester, or better yet, an Uberti Lever Gun.
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Winchester has too much collector value built in, and Uberti is out of my price range although I'd love one because they are so beautifully made.
My ideal would have been the Winchester Trapper with 16"bbl.
Instead though, Rossi makes a 16"bbl model. I really like the shorter bbl. I wish Marlin made one shorter than 18.5". I know they used to with the 1894cp. But then again, why in the heck would they need to port the barrel on that gun?

Thanks very much Tommygunn for the info on the 92's. If I do go with Rossi, I'll get a modern one.
 
my 1894c hasn't had much use, the action is still rough, but it doesn't "jam".
You must,however, operate the lever with some authority. I assume it will loosen up with some use
 
The Marlin Jam only occurs with Marlins, and happens mostly (not exclusively) with the pistol-calibered small framed leverguns.

If you plan to get a .357, best to ship it to somebody who understands the fix.
Not all Marlins have the problem, several eventually develop it with use.

I'm pretty fond of my .357, by the way.

Denis
 
I also have a 357 Marlin for HD and was interested in this "problem". Most cases I read, the "jams" or double feeds only begin to occur after a few thousand rounds or so. Not many folks will shoot that many rounds through their Marlins at 50-75 cents a pop. Not me anyway, and from what I have read it is quite fixable.
 
"Infamous Marlin Jam" ??? I've owned 1 been around 3 others, only FTF have been when limp wristing the lever. Oh yea, one other time it was shooting 38 special in the .357 gun, the cartridge is too short, (not to mention it's not the proper ammunition) didn't like em much. IMO, can't beat Marlin at all. Quality reliability and AMERICAN MADE.
 
I have a Rossi '92 stainless .357. Very accurate, and very good action......gets slicker everytime I take it out. Don't think anybody else makes a stainless .357 lever.
 
My Marlin 1894 in .32 H&R Magnum had to go back to the factory three times. Each time because of the heinous Marlin Jam. After it came back the third time I sold it before it could jam again. I have found the Winchester 1892 action to be much more reliable than the Winchester 94, Marlin ,Marlin 95, and Marlin 336.

As an added plus, with just basic mechanical skills, a fellow can slick-up his '92. The other actions mentioned are much harder to work on IMO.
 
My 357 1894c will jam up pretty tight BUT only when feeding shorter 38's. When fed a diet of SAAMI length 357's all is good

IMO most of this problem is related to short loaded 38 loads as are used a lot in CAS


Much worse was the 44 mag Winchester 1892ranger I owned that would allow cartridges to jump past the interrupter and enter the action under the bolt really locking stuff up.
 
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Never had it with any of my Marlins. What was said about being authoritive with the action is true. Marlins are tighter than the others, even with use. It lends well to accuracy, but means more effort on the shooters part. Still, the short throw on the 1894 rifles is easily done with speed.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

A lot of my practice will be with .38spl. It sounds like that is where a lot of the problems come in right?
I wonder, does the Rossi/Puma have the same problem shoot .38spl?


Total side point here. I hope I'm not about to derail my own thread.
IMO, can't beat Marlin at all. Quality reliability and AMERICAN MADE.
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Actually, they are made right down the street from me! I'd love to support the company and I DO buy USA made products whenever I can. But let's face it, Marlin is a total slacker with their 1984c line.
There is only the big heavy ocatgon bbl (nice for SASS but not really for me), or the 18.5" round barrel model and to paraphrase Henry Ford "you can have any finish you want so long as it's blued."

Rossi has barrel lengths from 16" to 24", octagon and rounded, in stainless and blued options, and with large or "normal" loop size levers all from the factory.

I'm not downing Marlin at all in their quality. Just their selection.
 
No no. Like I said, they make GREAT guns. I'm just saying they lack the diversity in their line up that Rossi has.
 
I'm just saying they lack the diversity in their line up that Rossi has
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We can probably thank Cerberus for that one.

As far as looks, I'd take the Uberti over any other currently manufactured. But they only offer a '73 replica, the .44 mag is only offered in the rather plain carbine, and the Marlin and Rossi are alot more wallet friendly
 
I've owned pistol caliber winchesters, marlins and the SS rossi puma

Far and away the rossi was my least favorite. Mainly because the action was extremely rough and notchy even after an action job

my favorite is by far the marlin.
 
I inherited a Marlin 44 magnum. My husband uses it far more than I do but he's had no problem with jamming. Just getting me to allow him the discretionary money for ammunition.

Personally if I wanted a 357 rifle I would go with a Henry rather than a Marlin but to each their own.
 
Thanks agaon for the input.

Let me ask again though-

the problems with the "Marlin Jam"- are those only when using .38spl, or is it with .357mag as well?
 
I've got a late model Rossi and it too had trouble with short .38's. But the ones that caused issues were wadcutters so no wonder... :D But if you want to try shooting really small and deep loaded bullets in .38spl cases you may run into the same trouble. However I know it shoots 124gn JHP that were not all that long just fine. Once you move up to .357 cases you can even shoot wadcutters with no more than 1/16 exposure. I shot a box of 110gr Magnum loads out of it where the bullets looked like little copper peas stuck in the ends and there were no issues at all.

For regular 158gn bullets loaded in .38 or .357 casings the action works great. And since I tinkered with it to smoothen it up following the popular online instructions along with my own considerable background in other metal working it's even better.

For quality the wood leaves something to be desired but it is an inexpensive rifle so there's no point in expecting art grade walnut. However the metal work was very nice on the outside and the internal tooling marks were no worse than I expected for the price point. My only beef was the rear bullhorn sight that looked like a metal shop newbie made it. It was crooked and bent. However with some tweaking and fileing it's now doing just fine.
 
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