Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin Talk Marlin 94 44 mag

What is the present state of these nice little rifles in the context of their and Marlin's history? Has the quality declined? Is it better?

Weaknesses? Strengths?

Thanks.

they had a few bad years wen rem moved marlin shop after that they are sopost to be as good as before

plenty of good ole 44's out there before Remington screwed the pooch.........

Save yourself the heartake and get a JM

JM?

JM = John Marlin

Marlins produced before about 2010, when a remington took over, will have a JM stamp. Usually or always on the barrel near the receiver.

some Marlin history...........

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/marlin_history.htm

Thanks all for the info.

I was in a Scheels the other day and compared a Henry 44 and a new Marlin 44. The Henry gave the impression of higher quality but I bet it was at least a half pound heavier.

the octagon Henry is pretty hefty............

I'd buy a Henry 16" long before a RemLin anything........

even with tube feed.......

Henry builds quality stuff......

Tikka-, that was certainly my impression. Why is the tube feed a disadvantage?

I also found the Henry's sights much better certainly for my eyes and the "Remlin" I looked at had quite poor wood at $629.

The Henry was a synthetic stainless and was $999. Ouch!

Many lever guys prefer the side loading gate....as in Marlin......Win.....Rossi.......

faster.........I could live with the Henry tube feed......but I have enough lever 357's...44's

and 45 Colts in Marlins to justify a Henry 45 Colt......my only Henry in pic.......

Silver Eagle 2nd Ed.......22LR......very impressive fit & finish.........tube fed !

Less $$ than a Marlin 22 Mountie 39..but still not a Mountie......

Deleted.Double post

I have a Marlin 94, cross bolt safety, in 44 mag along with a Ruger SS 4&5/8 SBH I am selling as a pair, along with brass, ammo, bullets,dies. Probably could work out a fair price if you are interested.

JM stamp, S/N 98212xxx if you want to checK MFGR date. (2002 ?) It has to o-ring on the safety fix to lock the cross bolt safety in the off position.Easy to take off if desired

The Marlin has new wood on it because I hate those fat forearms , but original like new wood goes with it. The new wood has a recoil pad on it ( bad shoulder). Also has a Necstar 2-6x scope on it( bad eyes). Not an expensive scope ,but served the purpose.

I need a shoulder replacement as I can't hold up a 4# handgun, and even with the recoil pad, I can't handle the recoil anymore of the rifle. Neither has been shot very much.
I killed an elk with the Marlin several years ago and besides working up a load for it that is all it has been used.

Have to sell both as a pair though. I won't split up

2002...............good one..........

Thanks Saddlesore. I might have been interested in the M94 but not both guns -- I'm in the trying-to-cut-down phase!

The best to you!

Nice pic Tikka- and thanks for the info.

This^^^^^^ My 78 JM is all I use for Deer these days.
I won't say you couldn't give me a Remlin but if you did I'd sell it.

speakin' of Marlin 44's..........

here's one of my pre safety fav's.......

1973 Octagon....

Saddlesore, I'm sorry about those problems. I understand all too well.

If lust is a sin I'm guilty.
Mine's a pre safety but the woods not that nice and it doesn't have an octagon barrel.

I recently bought a new-production 1894 .44 mag. I didn't need one, but the store was going out of business and it was discounted to the point that I couldn't not buy it...Anyway, I looked it over real well before deciding to purchase and I could find nothing wrong with the rifle other than some minor cosmetic flaws that are present in most all modern mass-produced firearms. It has turned out to be a good shooter. It's my only non-JM Marlin, but I can't really say I have any complaints about it. I installed a Skinner peep sight and a safety delete from Beartooth Mercantile. Both are well-made products from good companies and they make the rifle that much nicer.

After I get my rebate in, I will have $350 in a brand new Guide Gun. When I compare it to my revered JM 1894, the quality between the two is very similar. The sight hoods and sights are the same. Wood to metal fit is a bit better on the GG. The forearm on the 1894 has rounded edges vise the squared off edges of the newer Marlins. The 1894 is stainless, so it is kinda hard to compare metal finish, but both are fine. I have yet to shoot the GG, but it WILL be more accurate than the 1894. The wood on both is pretty nice. The GG has a little more figure, but that's luck of the draw. Most of the people running down Marlin these days are doing it based on what they read on the internet about the problems Remington had getting the newly acquired Marlin off the ground. Those are the same people that will swear Nosler Ballistic Tips blow up on deer. Remington had some pretty serious issues. They have worked through those for the most part. My experience with modern Remington products is better than my experience with modern Ruger products.

Photo bucket is gone...........

another pre safety 44 Marlin.......

just call me Marlinnut...........

pic 2 is '73 Octagon 44.......

Very nice Tikka-.

Lots of Marlins guys will tell you all Remlins are junk and JMs are the best. But if you spend anytime googling or Marlinowners forum, you will see lots of fixes for old JMs. I like levers, but there are more moving parts.

Thes one that were being producd whened Remington bought them do have quality issues. I had buggered screwes and stripped holes. They retooled around 2014, and they seem to be pretty good. I just bought an 1895. Lamintated stock has a line I can feel in it, when I try. But the actually function of the gun is great. Not as smooth as my 1894, also Remlin, but I think that may because it is stouter. I'd probaly avid 2008-2014ish. But I would not over pay for a JM. Some people have been gouging on them IMO.

Lets also keep in mind, Marlin has been sol a few times, as most gun companies have been. Do we consider all of them out of business in 1890 or 1930?

My Marlin 94 44 mag only made one year either 1972 or 1973

cts. [/quote]

If I look in the thread where some claim more people are using 223, than 45-70 for deer, how would your posts read?

yep.........thats a Marlin Classic fur sure.........^^^^^^^^^^^^



for your Marlin reading is linky......



http://www.sixguns.com/range/Marlin.htm

If I look in the thread where some claim more people are using 223, than 45-70 for deer, how would your posts read?[/quote]

Why don't you read my comments? And what in the name of [bleep] does that have to do with this thread? Stop littering threads with your idiotic spew.

In this thread you wrote about buying a 1895. In thread mentioned, many claimed no one is using the 45-70 anymore for deer, and that more people use the 223. I don't recall you mentioning in that thread you just bought one.

Why bring it up? Cause it is fun.

Marlin 94 in .357 and Model 1895 45-70. Both JM early 70's guns

is it Zerk or Jerk..............

bea that is a great Marlin with a 1/2 magazine.. tika, that octagon.44 is a dandy also.. Too bad I didn't get in to them earlier.. Enjoy!!

Depends if the question bothers you.

I think it is calling someone out.

Zerk, I'm not sure what you are asking. Would you help me out?

Henry is introducing a break open single shot in 44 MAG before long. It should be a good one.

Sherwood

I just bought a new marlin 44 mag last month. I have an old 336 and an old 45-70. This one seems to be pretty good. It shoots my hard cast 240 load that I use in my 3 screw Blackhawk. The loads are what I would call med/mild, 1000-1100 fps out of my ruger. Just leaning over my sxs they shoot minute of Copenhagen can at 40-50 yards. I paid $465 for it and don't regret it.

Glad to here it.

Just got around to shooting this thing and the first thing that happened was a jam with Win white box 44's. So tight that I couldn't budge it without proper tools. The 'smith freed it in a couple minutes claiming the loading port spring was loose -- it was -- but back at home the next Win round jammed again but not so tightly that I couldn't free it.

Having some Buff Bore Deer Grenades, I tried one, then two; they worked. Looking at the profiles of these rounds, the BB hard cast bullet seems to have a slightly more sloping profile to the the front of the slug than the Wins'.

Do 94's have any history of feeding some rounds and not others due to bullet shape? Or, anybody have any similar experiences?

yes GDV3, they do . and as you discovered the loading gate spring is a often time culprit. go to marlinowners.com and find the thread on slicking up the action, well worth the effort, plus it is fun

My JM barreled Marlin 1894 44 mag with ghost sights.
Love this rifle. I typically shoot it at the range with my Ruger 44 mag carbine and Dan Wesson 44 magnum.

I've got both the 357 and 44 mag in the Marlin I'd let go if anyone wants to go big or go home.