I have a 94BB in 375 and a Marlin in 35 Rem. The platforms are different - they have a different weight and feel to them. There are other differences too. The Winchester has a faster twist (1 in 12”), deeper rifling and a large throat (by levergun standards) whereas the Marlin has a slower twist (1in16”), microgroove rifling (shallow) and no throat.
With a 375 these days you really need to be a bullet caster to extract the best out of it. It easily handles 300gr cast pills at 1850 FPS. Hornady dropped their 220gr FN bullet for this caliber, which was a useful bullet. Cases are now available from Starline but you can easily form them from 30/30 brass.
Microgroove rifling is no impediment to getting cast bullets to work. In my 35 Rem due to the slower twist the best I have managed is a 247gr cast pill (Saeco 352) at 2000fps. Accuracy is brilliant.
The throat of the Winchester is designed to dissipate pressure quickly. It’s somewhat like a 458WM throat.
The other point of difference is that 35 Rem factory ammo pressure is held to a low level - around 33K. Back in the pre WWII period Remington marketed faster ammo but some rare models (not Remington) were having problems. Boosting pressure to 40K (same as a 30/30), which is safe in a Marlin, will yield another 200FPS.
IMO the two cartridges can be handloaded to broadly similar performance levels.
The weakest rifle action that I can think of that was cataloged in .35 REM was probably the Standard.
IIRC, Paco Kelly published some higher pressure loads for the .35 REM. I assume that since he is a lever action fan that the loads were for the Marlin 336, but I don't recall the specifics. I've had Regan Nooneman rechamber Marlin 336s from .30-30 to .307 WIN and .35 REM to .356 WIN without any pressure issues, so pushing the pressures in a Marlin 336 chambered in .35 REM is very doable if pressure increases are done incrementally and tested with a chronograph.
