Dale,
Sorry to hear you had such bad results with the Marlin 1894s in .357. Mine were always the opposite.
When shooting from a bench, I never set the forestock or the mag tube on the rest. I always set the receiver itself (just in front of the lever) down on the rest. And, I always used PMC ammunition. 158 grain soft point .357s.
I had no problem gettting consistent 1 inch groups. Maybe other brands of ammo or different methods of benchrest would have given me problems, but I never tried them.
As for the brand new Marlins, I have heard that they are pretty bad, though I've never shot one.
Best Regards,
Mannyrock