|
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 390
Campfire Member
|
OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 390 |
One day I'll walk into a pawnshop and see a Marlin lever action in .357 and my mood will be right and the price will be right. Hasn't happened yet - but ...
If it happens is there a range of serial numbers that I should be looking for - or staying away from? What are the good years of manufacture - and the bad years?
All things are always on the move simultaneously. - W.S. Churchill
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 390
Campfire Member
|
OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 390 |
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
All things are always on the move simultaneously. - W.S. Churchill
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,225
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,225 |
Those pre-safeties feel the best to me. I just picked up a 1894 FG .41 and it's not nearly as nice feeling as my old Pre-safety .357.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 27,926
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 27,926 |
I heard ‘81 is a good ‘ un.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 466
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 466 |
I have been a Marlin fan since the 1950s having owned dozens of them thru the years. All this yap about JM stamped, Remlins, etc. is just that. Marlins always were always will be a working man's gun that sells in the lower 1\3 price range of American made firearms. With that said the fit\finish of most mass manufacturing rifles of this price point will never nor was it ever meant to be that of hand made guns that sell for thousandS more than a Marlin. I have never purchased any model be it 1894 or 336 pre or post Remington that was not functional. Has Remington for returns for mistakes yes they have but so did the original owner of the name. Buy the .357 Marlin your eye likes and have fun
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 547
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 547 |
I suppose I'd rather have a pre-safety, but you don't run into them enough to be real picky. I'd rather have a JM than a REM.
I'd look the gun over carefully. If it's a good one and the price feels right, I'd give it a run.
It's not like you can't resale one easy enough.
"The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution." Thomas Jefferson
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 2,724
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 2,724 |
Been getting a few JM Marlins here at pawnshop.
1895G .45-70 1999 pd. 650.00
357 1980 pd. 700.00
.35 rem 1980 pd. 375.00
All are 85 % good or better.
Bought them all.
Last edited by LazyL0228; 01/24/20. Reason: added
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,436
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,436 |
Hammer back is a good look for leverguns, a serious and lethal intent, straining at the leash. The cross bolt safety makes it sane.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 171
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 171 |
I've got a 1980. I'd sure like to shoot one of the new ones to see how they compare.Some times one of the local dealers has 3 or 4 of most models out on display that you can actually pickup and handle.Even in the same model I notice some look good some not so good.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,513
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,513 |
I've been in hundreds of pawn shops and seen exactly one 1894 in 357. It had the 24" octagon barrel and they wanted $700 for it around six years ago. Probably a good price. And a really cool looking rifle. With it's long barrel it would mostly just be a range gun for me. And I like rifles I would carry around in the woods and hunt with. The 18" 1894c is more my style.
Seen a few 44's but they're a lot chunkier.
Now I have seen quite a few of the 92 knockoffs in 357. They're pretty cool. And I imagine a blast to shoot. Compact and lightweight. Would make a great pack gun. But not really collectible.
The last Marlin I got was a JM gun, 30TK, and the first levergun I've had with a safety. I don't mind the safety. And this particular rifle was never offered without the safety. So sometimes there's just no way around it. I do think that if you're buying it as an investment that the pre-safety adds some desirability.. But you might pay a premium for a real nice pre-safety model.
|
|
|
|
532 members (10gaugemag, 1337Fungi, 1beaver_shooter, 1minute, 1Longbow, 10ring1, 53 invisible),
2,298
guests, and
1,156
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,191,327
Posts18,468,523
Members73,928
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
|