Curious. Why straight vs pistol grip?
I'm in the same boat so to speak. My eyes are on the Uberti or Taylor Firearms 1873 Short Rifle. All my Marlins are PG - 336s & an 1895.
I can't speak for Viking, but I prefer a straight grip because the vast majority of '73s were configured that way. There were special orders and such, but most of them were straight gripped. Most were either full rifles or carbines too. The short rifle is a very popular REPLICA configuration right now.
The current 1895 is a bigger 336, differing from the original 1895's...which were mainly straight gripped, I think. The one I owned was. The later 1895's are vastly more popular than the originals which did come out at the end of the western era. I'd guess most 336's are pistol gripped with the straight grip having been a pretty popular variant for a long time though. Thinking the 336 T (Texan) and such.
