Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin Talk 1894C.

My Love affair started with this little .357 rifle last January, I Bought it new and have put 100's of rounds of ammo through it thus far.I am absolutely in love with it.It is amazingly balanced, and points more quickly than any rifle or shotgun that I have ever had the privilege of shouldering. I can shoot 2-3" groups with it anywhere shy of 100 yards, regardless of what type of ammo I feed it(.38's included).

I don't reload, so my original intent was to by a fun to shoot rifle that shot reasonably cheap ammo with light recoil, so the wife ,kids and I could shoot up some targets with something more than a .22 that still wouldn't break my wallet.It serves this purpose better then I could have imagined so I'm going to push it's limits a little farther;
I've decided to take it deer hunting this year and leave my .270 in the gun Cabinet. I have complete confidence in my shot placement and I know that the .357 has killed many deer.
My question is this: Does anyone have any real world deer killing experience with an 1894c, or any .357 for that matter? How about ammo suggestions? I'm especially interested in hearing about deer taken with Hornandy's .357 Lever revolution ammo. Or If you think it's just plain not enough gun and I'm nuts for attempting this.

Within range, I think the .357 Mag. IS sufficient for Whitetail Deer, and I know hunters who have taken deer with a .357 Mag. Revolver.

If you look at the ballistic figures for the .357 Mag. round when fired from a handgun barrel ... and compare those ballistcs when fired from a rifle barrel ... that just ain't the same cat when coming out of a rifle barrel. Not even close.

I also have the Marlin 1894-C and have shot it a lot and have also run many .38 Spl's. through it. It is and does everything you say ... as to accuracy and performance. I too love this rifle.

My 1894-C also packs along when traveling or camping, and for any defense consideration- home or outdoors. It's perfect to grab and go. It also flys under the Black Rifle radar and doesn't cause the scrutiny or raise red-flags from Law Enforcement that an "Assault" type rifle just may ...

I use this little rifle more than any other I own ... and it is always a JOY.

At the first of the summer I traded a friend my Savage 93R17 for his Marlin 1894CS. What a great little gun. I have had more fun shooting this gun. I haven't shot any .357's through it yet. Only .38spl but it is a blast to shoot. I didn't have a whole lot of confidence with the open sight since I haven't shot without scope in about 15 years but I was able to hit rabbits every time from about 125 yards. I am hoping to get to go hog hunting after Christmas and I am gonna use my little marlin.

coyoteman23

Wish I had one! I shoot a 30-30, still fun and shoots straight.

However, I have killed deer with a .38 , 158gr hollow points (jacketed) out of a Yellow Boy reproduction. A few shot with a lighter 125gr smjhp too. My son shot his first deer with that gun. It too is amazingly natural and easy to point, fun to shoot big cans in the air. (carefully)
The 357 should be even better, but keep it around 75 yards at most. The key as You say is shooting straight! Bullet placement is everything. The 357/.38 just does not have any real knock down energy, so it is more like bow hunting that way. That's why I don't hardly use mine any more, I want more reach and shock value these days.

Have fun and let is all know if You get your deer with it.
It is a great first hunting rifle for a kid, if they are good shooters.

This is my beauty; Opening day here in upstate NY is Saturday. Hopefully in my next picture she'll be leaning across a big buck.

I tried as hard as I could, but I didn't see any deer while carrying the .357 this year. Maybe next year.

Haven't taken a deer with the 357 LeverEvolution ammo because it exhibits very poor accuracy out of my Marlin 1894c. I have not tested accuracy of it with my Ruger Blackhawk.

It's been many years but I have killed a few deer with a .357 levergun. Sadly that rifle was stupidly traded away for a "real" gun but was replaced a couple of years back with an 1894C. I love this thing! No deer hunting with it but many groundhogs & squirrels have given up the ghost to it. It'll be a fine deer rifle with the correct load & good shot placement. I remember one particular doe that I shot with my old one that nose dived into her shadow at about 65 yards with a complete pass through of a 158 gr HP. The best I can remember that was the furthest that I shot a deer with it but with good bullet selection & shot placement you'll do fine. Good luck.

BTW, with a cast bullet it's a fine little turkey gun if legal in your area. We're limited to fall season with a rifle but I've popped several & it does a great job.

Love my 1894C. Good for lots of stuff - plinking, targets, small game. Easy to shoot. Have a Skinner sight on it. It came with a terrible stock having a knot at the front of the comb, which Marlin replaced at my instruction with a Cowboy stock. I took the checkering off the forearm and finished it and the stock in tung oil. It looks great.

Haven't used it for deer, though it probably could do the job at short range with a very careful shot as others have mentioned. My camp gun of choice. I stay away from wadcutters but longer .38s feed fine as of course also .357. It think it is a great and somewhat underrated firearm.

Ive whacked a few with mine. I shoot the Hornady 158 FP XTP. They all ran 20 or so yards hit through the lung. Very handy and accurate.

Joseph

I've enjoyed prowling around these forums for some time and thought I would chime in on this one.

I'm currently living in Indiana and am basically limited to long arms being of the pistol caliber variety. My decision after moving here was between a 357 or 44 lever. Since my carry weapon is a 686, I decided to get a match for it in the 1894c. I'm glad I did. I had heard and read all of the advice against the 357 for deer, but the buck I was blessed to take with it last season didn't seem to mind! A shot to the boiler room ended the ordeal cleanly and decidedly after a twenty yard walk and drop.

I found Plinkers comments on the Hornadys interesting because that is the exact experience I had with them as well. It's not the bullet weight, however, because I loaded a batch of 140gr Speer Unicores over some 2400 to produce and incredibly accurate (and screaming fast) round. This same round grabbed the buck. There's just something about the leverevolution stuff mine and other Marlin owners just doesn't like.

My limited experience with 357 whitetail hunting has educated me on a few things. Like with any caliber, shot placement is the key. Along with placement is hunting ethics. After a hundred yards the 357 out of carbine will remind you real quick like that you are dealing with a pistol round. This will become most visible, I believe, with the bloodtrail the 357 leaves- or lack thereof- making an ill taken shot all the worse. In light of this, I believe a good recommendation if one doesn't reload is to grab something in the 158gr or heavier to help the bullet push on through. I'm really glad I saw where last year's buck dropped- tracking it any distance would have been a nightmare.

But, this is where the 44mag picks up and begins to shine. It also gives me the excuse I need to put another pair together- a model 29 and a Marlin in 44! But that's a bit off topic.

I just wanted to comment that since my originally post I too, have bought and shot a box of LeverEvolution. I agree, Their accuracy was horrible. I've had no accuracy problems with regular Hornandy 158grain JHP's.

I chose Buffalo Bore 180 grain Cast bullets for my deer hunting; which have been fantastically accurate. Too bad I didn't get an opportunity to shoot at a deer, so I could comment on their performance. Hopefully next season!

Marlins are notorious for liking or disliking a certain brand of ammo. One of the best parts of these rifles for me is learning what each likes. Its what I call "work" to the wife. "Gota go work on that little trapper a bit this weekend." She knows that means I am going to go out mid morning and shoot till she reminds me I got chores to do. I have had some that like the LE and some that dont. Had one that really disliked the Rem. last weekend.

My wife has killed a half dozen whitetails with her 1894 CB LTD with open sites. It was more than enough to get the job done for her. Matter of fact, my son carried it this year at 11 years old, and he got one this year with the same rifle/carbine.

The 357 makes for a decent deer cartridge. Especially in a Marlin 184 rifle. It sounds like you are limited to factory ammo. If I were you I would take a look at the Federal Hard Cast Loads. they are pretty heavy loads, and do a good job on deer. I prefer cast bullets over jacketed bullets for hunting in rifles that are configured in revolver cartridges. IMO they are better for penetration. IMO penetration is more important than mushrooming in revolver cartridges-even when shot in a rifle. Take a look around at different factory cartridges that are loaded for rifles, not pistols. There are a couple out there. I am not saying the Hornady's are bad-because they are not. I am only saying that I believe there are better choices available.

Bullet performance can be finicky in rifle shot-revolver based cartridges. A good cast bullet will perform more consistent at different velocities(in a rifle with revolver based cartridges) IMO. And a good bone breaking-shot thru and thru bullet is far more effective as far as I am concerned. Just an opinion. Tom.

Several people at marlin owners have used theirs successfully on deer.

Well I hope yall are happy. Now I gotta go find me a marlin 94 357. Anybody got one they want to get rid of?

Not here. I'm being buried with mine.

That's what you think! I bet the funeral man sneaks it out of the coffin and leaves you a check...

Well, it's almost time for me to try again.

I'm new here, but just had to chime in on this thread. I love my 1894c. It was given to me by my parents and grandparents when I was about 14, I've used it a bunch over the past 30 years. I've taken a numerous deer and black bear with it, and of course lots of smaller critters.

Your choice of the Buffalo Bore 180s should be a great one, I want to get a couple boxes of those and try them myself. I've always used a Speer 158gr semi-jacketed sp over a near max load, it's pretty effective on game.

Just be sure you stay away from the defense type loads for hunting, stick with the tougher bullets and you will do fine.

Good luck!

Hope you get one this year Hawken, took one a yr or two ago, 158 RP JSP, Lil Gun, runs 2050 fps, knocking on 30-30 territory.

Lack of power? Kidding? Plenty, would use it to 150 yds w/confidence so long as I felt good on my shot.

H110/W296 should run 1850+ and plenty on deer.

BTW, my deer went straight down in tracks, 70 yds, RP JSP.

Mine doesn't shoot (Rem) 180 grain ammo worth a darn. It prefers 158 grain 357 mag fodder, with American Eagle and PMC ammo giving the tightest groups.

YMMV

Not sure on twist rates, but IIRC, there were two different types of rifling, I believe Micro groove, and Ballard. It may be that the 180 prefers the older, or newer model, but I would be running 125s for plinking, and less recoil/flat trajectory and 158s all else.

FWIW, cast bullet users found one rifling type preferable so it seemed to surely affect those types of bullets.

You guys must be kidding, everyone knows the 357 is only capable of killing deer with a perfect shot. It has barely enough power to do the job. All the PROS will tell you so...
This guy just barely died...

And this guy was only a little deader than the first.
And this guy last Sunday morning was just barely deader than the others...

I'm sure glad deer can't read or my son would have been in big trouble using such an inadequate cartridge...

Great looking scope setup. Sent you a pm

My youngest used the Marlin yesterday morning for his first deer too. Apparently all our deer are illiterate...

looks like fun!!!!!! might have to get one of those.

my dad shot a few deer with his 686 long shot of 90 yards

I owned a Marlin 94 .357 when I lived in CA and hunted blacktail & pigs with it. Blacktail with a 158 JSP always laid them down, farthest shot was 145yds with it, every blacktail I took was a 1 shot deal, average walk/stalk shot was about 80yds also. Wild pigs at about 3 feet to 40 feet max, put them down, out of 20 or so pigs only 4 took 2 shots due to dogs and moving so fast.

I'll echo LBP's sentiments though with less experience. I have used my 1894CP to take a large doe in Kansas and let my petite 8 year old daughter use it (with a shortened stock) to take her first deer this year. It was a 50 yard quartering on shot and she dropped it with a 158 grain Hornady. Clipped the bottom of the spine going in and landed against the hide of the opposite rib cage. Fine little rifle and though recoil is light, the porting helps for her.

For those interested all of these deer my boys have taken were one shot kills. Everyone ran about 40 yards and left a blood trail Ray Charles could follow (and he was blind and now dead). We use the Buffalo Bore 158gr Speer Gold Dots and it really penetrates and will not break up as its a bonded bullet.

LBP I believe your post removes any doubt or chance of argument as to the 357 Mag's capabilities. Those young men appear to be well versed in their rifles.

Pat them on the back from the Fire members.

Joseph

They are well versed indeed. I will pass along the congratulations, Thank You Sir...

LBP it is a wonderful thing to see youngsters learning the fine art of hunting and shooting.Job well done boys.

LBD,Great Pictures.