Marlin 1894 not cowboy

[oldgunsrule]

Howdy guys and gals,
I'd really love to get into this, and my only drawback is going to be price.  That being said, our local Big 5 Sporting Goods has a sale going on for their Marlin 1894's and there's a .44Mag that's calling to me.  It's not a cowboy model though, is that going to be a problem?  The obvious difference I see is the hooded front sight.  Thanks everybody!

[Silver Creek Slim]

I assume these are the 20" barrel carbines with ramp front site. I own two of them. If you use them for SASS matches, they will do the job. But, the ramp front site is not legal for NCOWS.
BTW, how much are they wanting for them?

Slim

[oldgunsrule]

Thanks for the reply!  The 1894s and 336s are going for $334.95, which is just about as much as I can afford (are there other options in that range?).    Are most clubs going to use SASS or NCOWS rules or is it pretty even?  I'd only heard of SASS.  How do you like your 1894s?  One thing that draws me to the Marlins is that they're made in the USA.
Thanks again,
Chris

[Silver Creek Slim]

That is a great price. You're not going to find anything less expensive. Most CAS clubs use SASS rules. I used my Marlins for the first 4 years I was in CAS. I switched to a .44-40 Henry clone because I went to Black Powder and was so much fouling in the receiver of my .45 Colt Marlin. I am still trying to find a reasonably priced .44-40 Marlin. The Marlin carbines are lighter than most of the other rifles used in CAS and built like tanks. With a little work and or time, Marlin can have very smooth actions. My Marlins I bought used and were broken in very nicely (smooth). Hope this helps.

Slim

[Sgt. Manse Jolly]

Before getting into Cowboy Shooting, I had a .357 Mag Marlin 1894, built in 1979. When I decided to get into Cowboy Shooting, the rifle determined what caliber pistols I would use. My marlin had the rear sight, so I bought a Lyman Tang Sight and installed it. The original rear sight was removed and a blan tapped into the slot. The Tang Sight really made it easier to shoot with than the originals! I like my Marlin a LOT!

[oldgunsrule]

Thanks very much, everybody!
I'm off to go purchase my 'fish gun' now.
Chris

[Silver Creek Slim]

Enjoy.

Slim

[Howdy Doody]

I got one last spring for $319. I should have gotten one when they were $299. Oh well. Anyway, comparing them to my regular 1894s the only difference is the wood. I took my Big 5 and tuned it up to be just like the others and it shoots just fine and I could not be happier. I do sort of miss the checkering though, but not the expense the regular 1894s were in the $600 range as I recall.
You are gonna like yours.

[oldgunsrule]

I can't wait!  This 10 day thing stinks, every kid is waiting for Christmas and I'm waiting for the day after so I can go pick up my gun!  I got in there and the other two Marlins had mysteriously dissappeared from the rack... only my .44 was left so I guess it's good I got there when I did.  I asked about the sale and the woman behind the counter said "It's crazy, we've sold like 20 guns in the last few days"  come to think of it, the other day when I was in there and spotted the Marlins, there was somebody filling out a DROS form on the counter. 

One more thing, are used Rugers the only option for a .44 mag sixgun?  What about .44 special?

Thanks!
Chris

[oldgunsrule]

Just picked it up!  Can't wait to get out and blow things away.  It seems very nice, feels tight and comes up and points naturally. 

[Silver Creek Slim]

Congrats! You will enjoy it.

Slim

[litl rooster]

Ten day waiting period.............I'd run a new canidate for what ever state ya live in.........

Your going to see the money you spent for the Marlin was worth it. There's alot of info around these boards to tune it up at home.   Enjoy it.

[Mustang Gregg]

Not too much in the way of choice or manufacturers of the .44 Mag six-guns.
But I don't think you'll beat Ruger's Blackhawks, Vaqueros or Super Blackies.  They'll last you a lifetime (or close to it).

Did you buy the BIG 5 Marlin?  They seem fine & they beat everybody's prices on a similar model.
However----Understand that model has stained hardwood furniture, not walnut. 
And it has Microgroove riflin' instead of Ballard.  That is NOT a problem as long as you don't shoot "soft" bullets at high velocity.

If you really end up hatin' that ramp front sight, it can be changed to the dovetailed blade type.  But that is a gunsmith job.

MG

[Roland]

I can't wait!  This 10 day thing stinks, every kid is waiting for Christmas and I'm waiting for the day after so I can go pick up my gun!

Now, now, you americans don't realize how good you have it sometimes

Say I wish to get a gun, first I would have to fill out an application form. This can be found on the police's website and printed, thankfully, saves me trips to the police station.

On this form I have to fill out my personal information, explain why I NEED to have this weapon (fortunately I can just check "hobby / target shooting"). List which gun club I am member of (not required technically but without this don't expect anything more than a .22 rifle to be approved) and how I plan to use this weapon. If I have more than 5 weapons the law also mandates an approved gunsafe to keep them in. Then I have to wait atleast a week until they approve/deny the application. And still our laws are some of the most liberal(as in free) in europe.

Add to that inflated prices from higher taxes and BATFE regulations making american made guns even more expensive, Ruger New Vaquero jump from around 450 in america to 900 in Finland.

Atleast we can comfort ourselves with silencers being completely unregulated and having no magazine restrictions (looking at you, California).

[oldgunsrule]

Hi everybody, or do I say 'Howdy'?

ROLAND-  Man I guess I am taking the 2nd for granted a bit.  I'm less bothered by the annoyance of filling out forms and waiting 10 days than I'm worried that this "free" country is less and less free every year and we "crazy right wing gun nuts", especially us in California, seem to be ever on the verge of loosing our right to keep and bear.  But at any rate, thanks for making your point and good luck on your future purchases.

MUSTANG-  Yes, I got the BIG5 Marlin and I love it.  The wood has no checkering and understand that it's cheaper wood than normal but I must not be a lumber connoisseur because I think it looks pretty.  As for the rifling, thanks for the heads up on the lead bullets!  I just took a look down the barrel and counted six grooves and they look pretty deep... maybe they throw these BIG5's together out of whatever they have left lying around after another big order and this one happened to get a standard Ballard rifled barrel?  I read though that the 1:38 twist is too slow for the really heavy bullets, so if I decide to take it bear hunting (doubtful) I'll have to stick with 240's or lighter.  However you slice it, I love this thing.

SLIM and everybody else-  Thanks for all the encouragement, this seems like a great friendly place with a lot of knowledge.

I finally got out to shoot it yesterday, went up to our local (hour and a half drive) "recreational shooting area" in the mountains and plinked through the trash.  This thing has a punch to it!  It's not uncomfortable to shoot by any standard, but it's got a deep booming THUMP report with the heavy loads and the targets react like you hit them with a freight train!  With tamer loads like some 180 grainers I took with me, it's still a blast but has almost no kick and not nearly as much noise, like light target loads in a 12ga after shooting turkey loads.  I imagine this is what cowboy loads will be like, but BIG5 didn't have any when I picked it up.
I also shot my new Cabelas/Pietta 1858 Remington for the first time (you gotta love a $179 mail order handgun).  I've never shot cap and ball before and I had a great time.  It went "POW... click... click..." and I realized that after the first shot, all the other caps fell off!  I started pinching them as I put them on and had no other issues.  I hope I cleaned it the right way, I scalded my hands over and over scrubbing it in the hot soapy water and then rinsed the individual parts with boiling water out of a kettle and then blew them dry and oiled them with cooking oil like I read somewhere.  Sound OK?  Anybody want to sell me a .45 colt conversion cylinder cheap? 

[Mustang Gregg]

I just checked out them BIG 5 marlins in Salt Lake & Elko. 
They are on sale again.   But they are now $389 + tax.
Went up 2 weeks ago.   
MG

[Drayton Calhoun]

I got my '94 Cowboy Special, Limited Edition in .45 Colt back in 04 for a bit over 600.00 but  worth every cent.