The Marlin lever family

[MachIVshooter]

I recently acquired the 10th Marlin lever action and felt like sharing!

It started 21 years ago with my 1895SS, second gun I ever bought, literally an hour after the first (700 BDL C/D .25-06) on my 18th birthday.

About a year later, a house-poor 19 year old spent money he shouldn't have on a 336W .30-30. It was just these two until I happened into the 1894 .44 mag and 39A at good prices in 2006, then another 12 years passed, when I got the bug real bad for something I'd put off for a long time; an 1894 in .25-20.

A bit over a year ago, I came into another 1894 .44 mag, which I traded to another THR member for his 1894 .357. More recently, the wife and I decided the family needed to grow, so we added a first year 1889 .32-20, a nicely redone 1897 .22, her 1894CB .45 Colt, the newest of the bunch being a 2016 REP gun, and finally the 1893 .25-35.

And yes, I like to suppress them! I haven't got around to the .30-30 or .44 mag yet, and don't feel the need for cans on the 24" barreled rimfires, but the rest we just find so much more useful and enjoyable that way!

Still need to add an 1881, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, original 1895, 36 and others, but making progress!



From top to bottom,
1903 mfr 1894 .25-20
1995 mfr 1894 .357 mag
1901 mfr 1893 .25-35
1889 mfr 1889 .32-20
1999 mfr 1895SS .45-70
2016 mfr 1894CB .45 Colt
2000 mfr 336W .30-30
2004 1894 .44 mag
~1908 mfr 1897 .22
1976 mfr 39A Golden .22

Perhaps surprisingly, we don't have any non-Marlin lever actions. I appreciate what the Winchester rifles are, but the 92 and 94 have always felt clunky to me, and the 1876, while smoother, doesn't do anything the Marlins can't do better IMO, except collect debris from the top. I do plan to add the beautiful Uberti 1886 sporting at some point, though, and certainly not opposed to Winchesters, Brownings, Henrys or even Savages if they come along at the right price. But Marlins are the ones I seek out. J.M. Marlin and L.L. Hepburn were design geniuses, ahead of their time.

 

[BigBore44]

I too am a Marlin guy of the JM breed. I can’t honestly say I like the suppressors on them. But I certainly don’t fault anyone who does. If I was a machinist and built suppressors, I very well may have a couple threaded. You put suppressors on leverguns. @LoonWulf has an affinity for pink pistols. Even if he says it’s for someone else. We all have our quirks. The wood on that 1897 is gorgeous.

 

[Tommygunn]

Cool. I have a Marlin 1894 Cowboy that's the twin of yours #6 down fromtop. Mine is not silenced.

 

[DocRock]

I recently acquired the 10th Marlin lever action and felt like sharing!

It started 21 years ago with my 1895SS, second gun I ever bought, literally an hour after the first (700 BDL C/D .25-06) on my 18th birthday.

About a year later, a house-poor 19 year old spent money he shouldn't have on a 336W .30-30. It was just these two until I happened into the 1894 .44 mag and 39A at good prices in 2006, then another 12 years passed, when I got the bug real bad for something I'd put off for a long time; an 1894 in .25-20.

A bit over a year ago, I came into another 1894 .44 mag, which I traded to another THR member for his 1894 .357. More recently, the wife and I decided the family needed to grow, so we added a first year 1889 .32-20, a nicely redone 1897 .22, her 1894CB .45 Colt, the newest of the bunch being a 2016 REP gun, and finally the 1893 .25-35.

And yes, I like to suppress them! I haven't got around to the .30-30 or .44 mag yet, and don't feel the need for cans on the 24" barreled rimfires, but the rest we just find so much more useful and enjoyable that way!

Still need to add an 1881, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, original 1895, 36 and others, but making progress!

View attachment 990784

From top to bottom,
1903 mfr 1894 .25-20
1995 mfr 1894 .357 mag
1901 mfr 1893 .25-35
1889 mfr 1889 .32-20
1999 mfr 1895SS .45-70
2016 mfr 1894CB .45 Colt
2000 mfr 336W .30-30
2004 1894 .44 mag
~1908 mfr 1897 .22
1976 mfr 39A Golden .22

Perhaps surprisingly, we don't have any non-Marlin lever actions. I appreciate what the Winchester rifles are, but the 92 and 94 have always felt clunky to me, and the 1876, while smoother, doesn't do anything the Marlins can't do better IMO, except collect debris from the top. I do plan to add the beautiful Uberti 1886 sporting at some point, though, and certainly not opposed to Winchesters, Brownings, Henrys or even Savages if they come along at the right price. But Marlins are the ones I seek out. J.M. Marlin and L.L. Hepburn were design geniuses, ahead of their time.

Fantastic collection! Love the suppressed lever guns.

Funny you should mention no need to suppress the 24" rimfires. I have an 1892 that I shoot in competition and one leg is a timed, five shot offhand. We use one of those timers that runs off the gunshot and my Marlin1892 in 22LR is too quiet to set off the timer. With the CCI Quiet ammunition, it's remarkably quiter than a .177 Springer air rifle.

 

[Big_Al]

Really nice collection of marlins! Like them better original, seems like the older ones are getting harder to find these days.

 

[LoonWulf]

I recently acquired the 10th Marlin lever action and felt like sharing!

It started 21 years ago with my 1895SS, second gun I ever bought, literally an hour after the first (700 BDL C/D .25-06) on my 18th birthday.

About a year later, a house-poor 19 year old spent money he shouldn't have on a 336W .30-30. It was just these two until I happened into the 1894 .44 mag and 39A at good prices in 2006, then another 12 years passed, when I got the bug real bad for something I'd put off for a long time; an 1894 in .25-20.

A bit over a year ago, I came into another 1894 .44 mag, which I traded to another THR member for his 1894 .357. More recently, the wife and I decided the family needed to grow, so we added a first year 1889 .32-20, a nicely redone 1897 .22, her 1894CB .45 Colt, the newest of the bunch being a 2016 REP gun, and finally the 1893 .25-35.

And yes, I like to suppress them! I haven't got around to the .30-30 or .44 mag yet, and don't feel the need for cans on the 24" barreled rimfires, but the rest we just find so much more useful and enjoyable that way!

Still need to add an 1881, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, original 1895, 36 and others, but making progress!

View attachment 990784

From top to bottom,
1903 mfr 1894 .25-20
1995 mfr 1894 .357 mag
1901 mfr 1893 .25-35
1889 mfr 1889 .32-20
1999 mfr 1895SS .45-70
2016 mfr 1894CB .45 Colt
2000 mfr 336W .30-30
2004 1894 .44 mag
~1908 mfr 1897 .22
1976 mfr 39A Golden .22

Perhaps surprisingly, we don't have any non-Marlin lever actions. I appreciate what the Winchester rifles are, but the 92 and 94 have always felt clunky to me, and the 1876, while smoother, doesn't do anything the Marlins can't do better IMO, except collect debris from the top. I do plan to add the beautiful Uberti 1886 sporting at some point, though, and certainly not opposed to Winchesters, Brownings, Henrys or even Savages if they come along at the right price. But Marlins are the ones I seek out. J.M. Marlin and L.L. Hepburn were design geniuses, ahead of their time.

That theres a collection that makes that makes me smile.
Not being a huge lever gun fanatic, ive has a few but havent kept any. Im doing way more "fun" shooting than i used to, and the hankerings coming back.
If we could just have suppressors and SBRs........

I too am a Marlin guy of the JM breed. I can’t honestly say I like the suppressors on them. But I certainly don’t fault anyone who does. If I was a machinist and built suppressors, I very well may have a couple threaded. You put suppressors on leverguns. @LoonWulf has an affinity for pink pistols. Even if he says it’s for someone else. We all have our quirks. The wood on that 1897 is gorgeous.

Keep it up! Ill paint a vintage marlin pastel pink and fushcia ro go with my pink 1911

I also have an admission, i put pinky down last night....

 

[Deus Machina]

Okay, I'll admit it, I hated the thought of a suppressor on a lever-action.
But now I realize it's just the matter of anachronism. Or the design not fitting the rest of the gun--like if someone put an AK front grip on an AR. If it works better than anything else, great, but it's ugly and I don't have to like it.
But that antiqued octagonal can? That. That, I love.

 

[NTSO2150]

Beautiful collection. I dream of owning a 336 in .35 Rem one of these days. I get goosebumps thinking about carrying it through the woods in eastern washington where I hunt elk in dense timber.
Love those Marlins!

 

[ms6852]

Beautiful collection! Almost short circuited my keyboard from drooling. I love lever actions mine is not as extensive as yours but I just recently acquired a 94-22M Winchester that my brother gave me as an early birthday present. My other levers are a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington and my Winchester 94 30-30

 

[MachIVshooter]

If it works better than anything else, great, but it's ugly and I don't have to like it.
But that antiqued octagonal can? That. That, I love.

Eventually I'll get around to building dedicated cans for each of them that blend like the octagonal one. Just takes time, which is in short supply these days!

The unfinished titanium can on the 1889 might be permanent if I can get an anodize color on it that looks good to the rifle, going to shoot for a golden brown.

 

[LoonWulf]

Eventually I'll get around to building dedicated cans for each of them that blend like the octagonal one. Just takes time, which is in short supply these days!

The unfinished titanium can on the 1889 might be permanent if I can get an anodize color on it that looks good to the rifle, going to shoot for a golden brown.

Can you anodize titanium with the same color and patterns as aluminum?
Because there were some acid washed Phantoms that were awful close to case hardening coloration.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Can you anodize titanium with the same color and patterns as aluminum?
Because there were some acid washed Phantoms that were awful close to case hardening coloration.

Ti anodizing is mechanically very different from aluminum. Biggest difference is that the anodic layer is super thin, and does not add any hardness or strength to the material. Well, not type II "cosmetic" anodizing, anyway.

Ti won't take dyes, but there is an array of colors achieved by simply applying the appropriate voltage in the electrolyte bath, or you can use a brush, stamp, etc. soaked in electrolyte as the cathode to get different colors on the same part.

There's also flame anodizing, which can produce really cool finishes, and I've done it on prototypes, but heating Ti over 1,000°F in atmosphere causes hydrogen embrittlement, so I wouldn't do that on a can that was going to leave here.

Flame anodizing:

 

[LoonWulf]

Very interesting! Ive never done anything with titanium, always been kinda curious as ive only ever seen it in gray.

 

[3Crows]

Beautiful rifles.

Speaking of the Marlin family at large, I was speaking with a person who has communicated with Ruger-Marlin regarding orders and stocking for the store he works at and he tells me that Ruger plans to have some rifles flowing out in June, per him, Model 336 rifles first then followed by 1895 models, no other specifics. Further, he states that 39A are going into production with no specified delivery window. Take it as you wish, pie in the sky, fact or somewhere in betwixt.