New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by Archer »

If1Hitu wrote:Like I said before i'm new to lever rifles,what's the problem with Remington built lever rifles?
The story as I've most recently heard it...
Remington bought Marlin.
Marlin had been making lever actions for 100+ years but basically had NOT updated their machinery in the past 40-50 years or more. As the machinery became worn they modified their manufacturing prints. They had essentially stretched things about as far as they could and couldn't afford to continue.
Remington moved the production and may or may not have moved any of the Marlin folks doesn't really matter since as I hear it the blueprints for the guns had been 'corrected' for the worn out machinery.
Remington was attempting to produce the old designs with some combination of bad prints and possibly bad equipment. They shipped out lots of bad guns that should have been quality checked at the factory and essentially weren't. They didn't start paying attention until the buyers started throwing fits and/or refusing to buy the guns that were OBVIOUSLY flawed.

Current word is they halted Marlin production and have been reblueprinting the guns one by one for production on new equipment. IF that's true they have probably done the .30-30s the .45-70s and the .357s at present. However as indicated in the initial post guns that are reaching the shelf are still not coming in 100% visibly correct and that doesn't mention problems that might be hidden.

That said, I know two guys with newer .30-30s, I have a .45-70 new production about a year ago myself and a buddy just picked up a .357 that looks pretty good and racked snap caps as fast as I could throw the lever.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by Ranch Dog »

With the retooling that Remington is doing and close visual inspection, I think I would rather venture into the Remlin than paying the premium for the "JB" stamp. With the redrawing and new tooling, I think this will eventually benefit the product line. This is from a guy that owns all the JB's he cares to own and at one time owned all the models sold from 1954 forward.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by GasGuzzler »

I think you mean JM and I'm with you maybe. I ain't paying $1100 for a JM 1894 but I ain't paying $600 for a Remlin 1894 either. I like my 92.

I've only owned one non-JM Remlin and it was merely a model 60 I bought to flip after fixing it. It sure looked plain and slapped together versus the other Marlins I've owned.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by Ranch Dog »

GasGuzzler wrote:I think you mean JM and I'm with you maybe. I ain't paying $1100 for a JM 1894 but I ain't paying $600 for a Remlin 1894 either. I like my 92.
Yep, that is what I meant.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by golfish »

Ranch Dog wrote:With the retooling that Remington is doing and close visual inspection, I think I would rather venture into the Remlin than paying the premium for the "JB" stamp. With the redrawing and new tooling, I think this will eventually benefit the product line. This is from a guy that owns all the JB's he cares to own and at one time owned all the models sold from 1954 forward.
I said that I wasn't going to do it, BUT I did. I looked at a couple new Marlin 1894s at my LGS (Turners Outdoorsman) and pulled the trigger (pun intended) .
The action was tight and smooth, the fit an finish was awesome. Its almost impossible to find a JM local and if you do its crazy $.

I'm hoping to get it out to the Mojave next weekend.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by Archer »

golfish wrote: I'm hoping to get it out to the Mojave next weekend.
Me too, or at least I'm hoping to get to the range I frequent in that area.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by golfish »

Happy Saturday to all. I picked up the Marlin on Thursday. I did some cleaning and worked the action a few 100x. It does cycle ammo really good. I like the fact that I can cycle really slow and it loads every time with no hang ups. It's a nice gun, the black walnut is beautiful and fitted really nice. The bluing is nice but not polished like my 20" CH oct Rossi.

I have a question about the trigger. It's really loose and has a lot of play, nothing like the tight trigger on my 92s. Is this normal for the 1894?

I hope to take it out tomorrow and give a better review, with pix
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by GasGuzzler »

'94's are 1000% easier to take apart so just have a look-see. +corn
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by Mad Trapper »

golfish wrote:Happy Saturday to all. I picked up the Marlin on Thursday. I did some cleaning and worked the action a few 100x. It does cycle ammo really good. I like the fact that I can cycle really slow and it loads every time with no hang ups. It's a nice gun, the black walnut is beautiful and fitted really nice. The bluing is nice but not polished like my 20" CH oct Rossi.

I have a question about the trigger. It's really loose and has a lot of play, nothing like the tight trigger on my 92s. Is this normal for the 1894?

I hope to take it out tomorrow and give a better review, with pix
Loose trigger is normal.

It can be corrected with a Wild West Trigger.
They are pricey, but will give you an excellent trigger, just like the 92s.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/18001 ... 1895-steel.

Beartooth mercantile also has cross bolt safety/saddle ring replacements.
but that is a personal choice, because the only safety you will have is the half cock safety.
https://beartoothmercantile-2.myshopify ... ety-delete

Ive installed these saddle rings and wild west triggers on a 336 and 45-70 guide gun, I was very pleased with the results.
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Re: New Marlin 1894C 357 pre purchase review.

Post by golfish »

Mad Trapper, thanks for the info.
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