Just ran 100 rounds through the new Ruger built Marlin 1894. I was shooting 9.8 gr & 10.0 gr of Unique behind a Missouri Bullet 240 gr TCFP in Starline brass. First impressions are so-so.
Pros:
Accuracy was good and the bore was able to stabilize the cast bullet unlike my Rossi 92 with its larger bore size.
Fit and finish was decent. Bluing on the barrel was shinier than the matte receiver.
Cons:
Trigger broke around 4.5 lbs. However, it had some creep in it that was noticeable, almost like a two-stage trigger.
Rounds were hanging up from time to time when coming out of the follower and being presented to the elevator. OAL on the rounds were 1.600 and being a truncated-cone flat-point, they shouldn't have had any issues. The ejection area of the receiver was as sharp as a utility knife.
The lever was smooth enough but wasn't what I would call smooth. I also noticed that the lever was wanting to open after the shot. It could have been that 10.0 gr of Unique was too much for this chamber. I have not chrono'ed the loads yet.
With that said, I also have a recent production Rossi 92 in .44 Mag. I have to say that the Rossi has it beat in the areas of feeding and extraction. The trigger on the Rossi was better than the Marlin. The Rossi has an oversized chamber which causes some minor "Glock" bulging. Price wise, I feel the Rossi is a better bang for the buck provided you size your cast bullets to its bore.
