Author Topic: Marlin levergun in 44 magnum. Opinions (Read 4811 times)

cbourbeau32 · « **on:** August 02, 2010, 05:18:51 PM »

My friend who I talk about GB Outdoors all the time to asked me to see what the good people of this site think of the Marling lever action chambered in 44 mag. What are some opinions of those who own them? Thanks in advance. Charlie

schoolmaster · « **Reply #1 on:** August 02, 2010, 06:46:39 PM »

I have a new stainless steel Marlin 44 mag and it handles quite nicely, I think the recoil is fairly mild even with heavier loads. Accuracy with reloads I have tried is so-so, most in the 2 to 3 inch range at 100 yards. It has functioned flawlessly. About what you would expect from a woods rifle.

Nobade · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2010, 03:06:15 AM »

Most of them have rather generous barrel dimensions internally. Because of this, normal 44 bullets don't shoot all that great. Feed them some .433" bullets in 250-265gr. range and they perform. Plenty of power for hunting at shorter ranges, and nice and light for carrying.

Bigeasy · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2010, 03:59:08 AM »

I have a standard stainless 1894, and a blued Guide Gun with the 16 inch ported barrel. Both guns shoot well with cast and jacketed bullets. The blue gun is a little smoother, but I don't care for the ports. I think they make the gun louder, but do not due much for the recoil, which is a non issue in 44 mag anyway.

Larry

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2010, 06:39:04 AM »

We have only one around here. A good friend of mine gave it to me long years ago for my wife to use on an exotics hunt we were planning. I think that hunt took place in '91 if I recall correctly.

The rifle is a Model 336 not a Model 1894. It doesn't have any of the problems folks speak of regarding the more recent guns. It shoots 300 grain bullets as accurately as 240s and doesn't care if I feed it cast or jacketed bullets. On that hunt Faye used it to take two corsican rams.

The only Model 1894 Marlin I've owned was in .45 Colt and I must say something was off on that one as it wouldn't hardly hit a bull in the butt with anything I fed it.

bubba.50 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 03, 2010, 08:32:29 AM »

i've owned two. the first was smooth working and very accurate. i had good eyesight then and could outshoot a lot of my friends with scopes on their guns at 75 yds or so. the second wasn't quite as accurate but accepably so. but it wouldn't feed worth a hoot. had to jiggle it sometimes while working the lever. for what it's worth and good luck neighbor, bubba.

DEACONLLB · « **Reply #6 on:** August 03, 2010, 09:09:36 AM »

I have one and love it ,it shoots factory ammo just fine and I would not take what I gave for it. I had a henry but it was way to heavy.
I have a 3x9 Bushnell on mine and at 65 yrds which is what I sighted it in for it holds a good group. Remember this is a pistol round and you will not get the grouping out at say 100 yrds that you will get with a rifle cal.
Deaconllb

Ranger J · « **Reply #7 on:** August 04, 2010, 06:05:58 AM »

I bought one several years ago and it came out of the box with the dreaded 'Marlin jam'. I guess I could have sent it back to Marlin but instead took it to a local smith that fixed that and also installed a limb saver recoil pad on it. As written above the bore is oversize and will not give acceptable accuracy with .429 bullets. After a lot of experimenting I found that mine liikes Hornady XTPs a lot. While it shoots all weights OK it does best with 180 or 200 gr. At one time I didn't care for it a lot but over time the gun has grown on me.

RJ

HL · « **Reply #8 on:** August 04, 2010, 10:05:05 AM »

I have a new 1894 stainless that I reload for. Using 240gr Remington JFP's it groups right at an inch or so at 50 yards.

The only problem I have is with the screw on the lever. I have to tighten it over the course of a shooting session. I guess I could use lock tite on it, but I just keep a screw driver with me.

Merle · « **Reply #9 on:** August 04, 2010, 03:27:00 PM »

I have one I bought used about 20 years ago. I use WW-USA 240 gr JSP ammo in it - never tried any cast. It will usually shoot one ragged hole at 50 yds and about 1-1/2" at 100 yds. Plenty good enough for my purposes.

cbourbeau32 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 04, 2010, 03:38:08 PM »

Thanks for all the replies. As I expected I got plenty of responses to pass on to my friend.

Rolandedwinjohnson · « **Reply #11 on:** September 24, 2010, 10:15:33 AM »

Over the years I've had both a .357 and a 44.
It seems that when one of the offspring gets a deer with one it (the gun) ceases to be mine and goes into the posession of the deer slayer. They are great firearms, just make sure the kids are grown and have moved out before you get it. Otherwise it won't be yours for long.

Waldo Pepper · « **Reply #12 on:** October 07, 2010, 11:24:19 AM »

I have a '94P (16.5" barrel) and with 430 hard cast lead or Jacketed ammo shoots 1" to 1.5" groups at 50 yards with the 3x9x32 scope mounted.

Love the little bruiser.

wreckhog · « **Reply #13 on:** October 07, 2010, 06:00:50 PM »

Have one. Hates cast and plated. Does okay with jacketed. Little lever rips up my hand on hot loads. It is a hunter, not a plinker.

Waldo Pepper · « **Reply #14 on:** October 08, 2010, 02:46:54 AM »

Quote from: wreckhog on October 07, 2010, 06:00:50 PM

Have one. Hates cast and plated. Does okay with jacketed. Little lever rips up my hand on hot loads. It is a hunter, not a plinker.

It has always amazed me at how like guns can be so different, especially in rim-fire mine loves the HC L/RNFT bullets.

Rapping of fingers and bruised shoulder are a real pain with with these guns if hand is in wrong position or if not shouldered properly. It's why I call my '94P "'Little Mule", it's known to kick and bite.

rsl · « **Reply #15 on:** October 21, 2010, 08:21:54 AM »

Love mine.. Seems to shoot anything with no problems.. .. Marlin made a run of plain ones a few years ago without the crappy checkering for Big 5... Good luck..

skinman · « **Reply #16 on:** October 28, 2010, 03:07:50 AM »

The Marlin 1894 in .44 .They can be really, really good or they can have their own set of problems. Mine, I was very lucky that I found a great one. Shoots 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards with Hornady's Leverevolution in .44 mag. I wouldn't trade mine for Raquel Welch(I already have one like her

). I purchased mine in 2005 brand new and I put the Wild West trigger on it, lighter pull...sweet shooting. Have never lost a deer with it here in Indiana. All my shots are not much over 100 yards. Great little woods gun, won't wear you out carrying it if your "still" hunting. I did have a Nikon 3x9-40 on it...tack driver...changed it out for the new Redfield 3x9-40....same results, but American made.

Just have to get lucky and find a good one. Best of luck to you.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #17 on:** October 28, 2010, 04:02:41 AM »

I have one with an octagon barrel, looks nice, shoots good. Cast bullets must be .431 or larger for good accuracy. If smaller, it can not hit the target at all @ 50 yards. I shoot Remington 240 grain HP's with great accuracy and buy them in bulk. Semi-wadcutters do not cycle well. I cast round nose bullets and they feed smoothly.

Cheese

Flynmoose · « **Reply #18 on:** October 28, 2010, 05:29:47 AM »

I just got a new 1894 44, shoots great! Love it! Now if it would
only feed. Tried different ammo with same result. Now that the
monsoons are back in western Oregon, I will send it in. I hope
they don't mess with the accuracy!

Waldo Pepper · « **Reply #19 on:** October 28, 2010, 06:52:41 AM »

Quote from: Flynmoose on October 28, 2010, 05:29:47 AM

I just got a new 1894 44, shoots great! Love it! Now if it would
only feed. Tried different ammo with same result. Now that the
monsoons are back in western Oregon, I will send it in. I hope
they don't mess with the accuracy!

Hope you are not doing what a friend wanted to do and that's not realize it's stiff when new and hangs up a lot, it just probably just needs a few hundred rounds to really smooth out like mine and my friends.

We had ours out the other day limbering them up, mine has really smoothed up after close to 130 rounds and some dry lever working. My friends 20" '94 was connecting holes at 50 yards even with gusts of 30/35 mph, but I guess him and the gun has connected. Since my '94P with the 16.25" is probably not as accurate as the long barrel model I just got it down to 1" to 1.5" group and called it a day because of the wind. May give it another try this afternoon or tomorrow.

GH1 · « **Reply #20 on:** October 28, 2010, 03:04:17 PM »

I can't comment on the .44 but I have one in .357 and I just love it. As far as feeding problems go, I had a little bit of a problem until I bent the ejector spring outward a little bit. Lever guns are pretty particular about overall length as well. I had a problem with my cast SWC loads that were a bit long. I've since changed bullet vendors and the problem is gone. There's also a mod that can be done to the carrier to allow for longer cartridges, it involves a little bit of grinding/filing to increase the length capacity. It's quite simple, but if you shoot factory ammo you shouldn't have a problem.
In my humble opinion, ther's just nothing cooler than a lever gun, except for maybe a Tommy Gun.

GH1

Flynmoose · « **Reply #21 on:** October 29, 2010, 05:57:11 AM »

Thanks for the replies. I have cycled the lever hundreds of times while
watching various hunting shows on TV. My wife looks at me funny when
I do this. I have tried several factory rounds with the same result. It seems
like the rear of the cartrige is not raised high enough to align with the
chamber. If I point the barrel at the ground and release pressure on the
lever, it will fall in. I have had an 1894C for years and since my wife adopted it,
I have wanted another 1894. I had to "settle" for a 44 as the 357s are hard
to find. This one has grown on me to the point that I "need" it now. This is a
disease, a pleasant one, but a disease nonetheless.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #22 on:** October 29, 2010, 06:27:34 AM »

My cycling problems ended when I switched to round nose bullets. Just a thought.

Cheese

Waldo Pepper · « **Reply #23 on:** October 29, 2010, 08:52:05 AM »

Quote from: Cheesehead on October 29, 2010, 06:27:34 AM

My cycling problems ended when I switched to round nose bullets. Just a thought.

Cheese

I would hope so, the lever gun was designed to shoot a nose flat tipped bullets, and anything else is looking for trouble. Know a guy that sold his lever 44 because it would jam a lot with semi wad cutters, and he was really hammered by a dealer. Just wished I could have been the one raking his dumb a$$ over the coals. I had told him the only problem was the S/W he was shooting and said he thought the gun should not have a problem with any ammo. He gave $425 + tax difference for a A-bolt Browning 30-06 that MSRP was $650 and thought he got a deal and got rid of his jamamatic octgon barreled POS as he called the Marlin. I told the owner of the store as we were leaving he owed me a dinner and he just smile.

What's funny is that the CBA Marlin probably sold for a minium of $650 to a cowboy action shooter.

Flynmoose · « **Reply #24 on:** November 03, 2010, 04:24:25 PM »

Update: I talked to the Marlin service center in Granite Bay Ca and he seemed
familiar with the problem and confident he could fix it. Thanks to all here for
the kind advice.

Flynmoose · « **Reply #25 on:** December 04, 2010, 04:43:27 AM »

Further update: I got my Marlin 1894 44 Mag back from the service center Thursday.
It was gone about two and a half weeks, and the short wait was well worth it! I am
very happy with the service from the Marlin service center. It feeds like a dream now.
Now if the weather would onlycooperate so I can sling some lead!
FM

ohiobenito · « **Reply #26 on:** December 23, 2010, 07:01:28 AM »

there was a great article about the 44 mag in a rifle by a great gun writer ed hall. check out October 2010 issue of fur fish and game. the article has some solid advice about making the 44 mag a point blank rifle out to 150 yds.. basically his advice use a heavier bullet. 240, 265 or 300 gr bullet. load these to the upper levels of safe saami pressures, or buy custom ammo from buffalo bore or similar. Sight the rifle in 2'in high at 50 yds. this puts it on again at 125, and only 7 in low at 175. Very intersting read, I always enjoy mr Hall's articles. good luck and be safe

animal · « **Reply #27 on:** December 28, 2010, 06:32:24 AM »

Yes, What Ohiobenito says. After conducting tests on the range with a chrono and shooting 3 deer this year I have to say that the 44 mag is superlative out to 125 yds and 150 if practiced for confidence. My handloads with H 110 powder and 240 grain jacketed bullets absolutely level deer to 150 yds.

Here is a photo of my 2010 Marlin 1894 with a new Weaver 1 x 3 x 20 ( made in Japan - not China ) scope.
This rig is rock solid and has been in the woods and swamps (knocked around) 22 days this year.

animal · « **Reply #28 on:** December 28, 2010, 07:18:36 AM »

2nd try to post picture

This would be one of my last to leave as less tracking as I get older.

RemingtonMagnum · « **Reply #29 on:** December 30, 2010, 01:24:21 PM »

The best advice you can get on a Marlin 1894 44mag is demand on shooting the rifle before paying anything on one.

Don Jackson Remington Magnum/Ultramag