Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin Talk New 1894 very stff?

I just bought a new Marlin 1894C in .357 magnum. I realize that I need to shoot the gun some before it will begin to smooth out. However, this rifle is not only very well finished with sweet wood; it is the roughest, grittiest lever action I have ever handled. Is there something I can do to speed up the "break-in" process? What say you? Thanks...

At my age "stiff" is good!

Get some JB bore paste and put it on the mating surfaces (NOT the locking lugs) and cycle the action while watching Oprah. You could pull it apart and look for any really rough spots and hit them with a Dremel buffing fob.

Took me about 2 hours to get my Kimber 22 conversion kit to cycle on my ancient Kimber 1911 45 (from OR !). It was so tight initially, that you could hardly move the slide.

Thats what I used to smooth out my 1894 as well. I coated the top and bottom of the bolt and in the guides. I also lightly hand buffed the bolt with a fine emery cloth. You do want to keep it out of the locking lugs.
It took a while but between that and just plain using the gun it has smoothed out very nicely. Mine is a 44 mag. It has turned out to be one heck of a fun gun to shoot.

This might sound a bit nutty, but I have smoothed up more than a few of them with regular old tooth paste. Just apply to the logical areas and work the action. Tooth paste does a great job. Will stay in place. And wil not cause any rust. Just wipe it off when you want, and reapply. I read that a long time ago, and talked to a few other guys that do it. It works very well, and does an excellent job.

JB also works great. But I think toothpaste is a bit less agressive. Tom.

Ya know, I heard that somewhere many moons ago, had forgotten about it.
Mint cover scent anyone?