Marlin 1894 questions

[bluejay]

Greetings Gentlemen,

I hail from Ontario, Canada. I am collecting the gear to do some cowboy action shooting. I intend on being a "participant" only. This means I don't expect to ever win anything. This is because I am not likely skilled enough, and will never practice enough to get good. I might just get out there and have some fun though.

I am currently looking at the selection of Marlin 1894's. Some are called "cowboy", some are just the "C". Anyway the plain 357C models are the cheapest. The 44 mag stainless are next in price line. The cowboys are all more money.

Would anyone care to explain the pros and cons here? Maybe the stainless can not be used in CAS? Is the 357 too anemic a round to do the job? Just wondering? If I get up to the cowboy price line, then I am closer to an 1873 price, which I read is a very good choice. Do the Marlins have an ugly safety that people don't like? If so I want to avoid it.

I am already have 2 sixguns, holster set, and a 20 gauge hammerless coach. I have a Win 30-30 pre 64, and a Win angle eject 44 mag. with button safety. I don't think these Winchesters pass the rules do they?

[Blackpowder Burn]

Bluejay,

Welcome to the game - especially given the hoops you have to jump through in Canada to obtain the gear!

To answer some of your questions:
1. Your Winchester 1894 in 44 mag is acceptable in SASS.  The only requirement is that you use a firearm design prior to 1898
    and it have an external hammer.You just have to load the 44 mag down to velocity levels that meet SASS standards.  Or you
    can buy and shoot 44 Special ammunition and you should be OK.
2.  The Marlin is an excellent rifle, and any model will work.  However, the Cowboy versions do not have the "microgroove" rifling, 
     but, rather have the deeper cut "Ballard" type rifling.  This is designed to perform better with lead bullets (as required by
     SASS), especially if you use black powder.  Most folks also consider the octagon barrels on the Cowboys more period correct,
     but it is not required.
3. Stainless steel is acceptable for SASS.  Many manufacturers are selling revolvers, shotguns and rifles in SS.
4. Any caliber 32 or larger is acceptable.  The most common one used is 38 Special/357 mag.  Every caliber from 32-20 to 44 mag
    (properly loaded) can be found at a match. Every centerfire calibre available prior to 1900 is available in the market.

As a personal matter, I have a Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 45LC, an original Winchester 1892 in 44-40, a reproduction Winchester 1873 in 44-40 and a reproduction Colt Lightning in 44-40.  They're all fun, and I use them all, but my favorite to shoot is the Winchester 1873.

[J.D. Yellowhammer]

What caliber are your sixguns?  Most CAS shooters use rifles/pistols of the same caliber, because it simplifies everything including loading at a match, reloading shells, buying ammo, etc.

My wife's been using a .357 Marlin Cowboy since Feb., 2006 (shooting .38 special ammo).  It's a great rifle, but it developed the dreaded "Marlin jam." You can google that to learn more, but here's a basic description:

"The first shell comes in on top of the carrier as normal, and the second shell slips past the carrier nose and gets trapped between the top of the carrier and the magazine opening in the frame.  The lever has a snail shaped cam surface that goes around the pivot screw. Every time the lever is cycled the carrier bounces on the forward edge of the cam. The forward most edge of this cam was apparently left sharp at the factory.  After many cycles, the sharp edge has cut into the carrier enough so that the timing has been slightly changed.  The bouncing forges a notch into the bottom of the carriers' slide surface and over time it lowers the carriers' initial pick-up height allowing the rim of the next incoming shell to slip over the front and jam it up tight.

As I understand it, at minimum the carrier must be replaced.  But I've also heard that this is only a temporary fix at best. The new carrier will get a notch forged into it from the sharp edge of the lever cam and over time the problem will re-occur.  To fix it, you must take the sharp edge off the cam, then rebuild the metal so that the timing is correct."

I sent the rifle back to Marlin along with a letter describing the above, and they fixed the problem. It has run fine ever since.

[Camille Eonich]

You've got good replies here.  I'll only add that the Marlin Cowboy has a little smoother action that the C does from the factory and if you do buy a '73 you'll probably want to get at least an action job on one of those.


Oh and take a look at the categories as well and make sure that your rifle purchase won't knock you out of any category that you may want to shoot in.  A '92 or '94 is required for B Western but you'll need a '66 or '73 for Classic cowboy.

[bluejay]

Thanks for the feedback, people.

Well I am happy the model 94 passes muster. By the way, it is the Wrangler carbine model with large loop and 16" barrel. I have a few 44 special around so I'll try them. I have a Williams aperture sight on it now. I kept the buckhorn sight in my parts bin.

Both of the sixguns are 45 Colt. One is a Uberti Cattleman 7.5" inch with antique finish. The other is a Uberti 1875 Remington 5.5", colour case and blue. Yes, ideally my carbine would be the same caliber. I just bought too much stuff lately and need to slow down.

Anyway, it sounds like I have lots of time to think about things before I buy again. I think you can prevent or delay the Marlin jam by carefully rounding that sharp spot when new, or when you buy a new replacement part. I like the sounds of the Uberti 1873 from all reports, but it is a little expensive at this point. A Chaparral 1873 is also supposed to be nice, excepting it has a non Walnut stock? I can save $500 if I can live without a walnut stock, hmmmm? Does that make the walnut Marlin $500 more valuable? In that case the rest of the Marlin is only $100. A 357 could be pretty handy because I have other stuff that needs 357 or 38. I could keep them in a leather pouch for CAS and they wouldn't get mixed up because of their size.

Oh a new post about Classic Cowboy. I do think I need to get geared up for classic. A bit more to think over now, hmmm?

[Camille Eonich]

There's your perfect excuse for jumping right in and buying the '66 or '73 then!. 

[bluejay]

There's your perfect excuse for jumping right in and buying the '66 or '73 then!.

Yes, it is looking that way more all the time. 

[Big T]

Another thing to consider is the Rifle MUST hold 10 rds in the magazine , or you will have to drop in the last shot from the top on a 92 or the side on a 73 , if you buy the marlin 357 you will have to teke off the end cap on the magazine an cut the spring down till it sticks up 2 inches above the magazine this way it will hold the 10th rd , I had to do it on mine now it will hold 10 357 mags or 38 spcls I havent had any problems with it either it is a great gun , T

[Blackpowder Burn]

The number of rounds of ammunition any of these rifles hold is determined by the barrel length.  Any of them with barrels of 20" or more will hold 10+ rounds.  I have an original '92 carbine w/20" barrel that holds 10 rounds, and my 24" Marlin and '73 both hold 12 rounds.

[Big T]

Yep your right for sure but when i bought my first 92 it was a 16 in trapper No one told me I had to have 10 in the mag before I went out to the first match with , I didnt count or realize it beforhand when i was going to check out the matches , T

[Harley Starr]

I've got a question regarding the Marlin 1894.

How does a .45LC version perform compared to the .44 Magnum/.44 Special version? 
I've heard some complaints about the .45's performance in the lever rifle department, but I want to hear other opinions and/or experiences.

[Professor Honeyfuggler]

Another thing to consider is the Rifle MUST hold 10 rds in the magazine , or you will have to drop in the last shot from the top on a 92

You can open the action and drop one in from the top, or leave the action closed until you've loaded another round in the side gate, and then cycle the lever. I do that all the time on 10+1 round stages. Some say the first way is faster, but I just like doing it the second way better. It also gives me the choice of when to load the additional round, like after the first half of a double 5 sweep, so that I'm already set for that bonus shot without breaking my rhythm. 

Try it both ways and choose the one that best fits your style.

20" rifle magazine capacities on .357 rifles are listed by some manufacturers as 10 / 8, meaning 10 rounds of .38 Special or 8 rounds of .357.  Makes sense because a standard .357 round is 1/8" longer than a standard .38 Special, so 10 .357 rounds are 1 1/4" longer than 10 .38s stacked end to end. 24" are rated 12 /10 for the same reason.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

I have four of the 1894 Marlin models, .38 CBC, .38/.357 Model CS carbine, .44 Mag./Spec Model S, and a .45 Colt CB. For CAS matches they all run fine no matter which one is used. Guess I just have an affinity for Marlins. The newer Non CB Marlins also have the Ballard type rifling dating from around 1998 on..................Buck