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cumminscowboy: You make a good point and yep, levers are indeed fun. I'll look into a 94c. Thanks.


l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right.
- Del Gue
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I am not the only one my kids love it too, i shoot 148 fiocchi jhp’s about $16 a box. Skinner sights. Another cool thing is they aren’t that loud either, that pistol case burns up pretty well in a rifle barrel. At off hand ranges pretty much as accurate as anything else. Mine is a new production marlin. I did some mild smoothing with flitz and a Dremel polishing attachment. Levered it about 1000 times and put about 600 rounds through it. It’s pretty smooth now.

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pic one......posted a 100 times......my favorite Marlin 45 Colt

2001 Cowboy chopped to 16"

pic 2 a recent purchase...not so common '07 Marlin 45 Colt round barrel

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


T R U M P W O N !

U L T R A M A G A !

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Noon, Nothing is gained, including velocity, with more barrel than 16" when shooting pistol cartridges (and 22LR) with such small powder charges. And the whole point of these rifles for me is small, light and quick, which means no scope and a 16" barrel. As I said, I've never encountered an old Marlin 357 or 44 with 16" barrel or they would have certainly been a consideration.

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They made some with 16” but they are rare, I think there is also a stainless big lever loop version with xs sights. I am one that likes the standard lever, not a big loop guy. I think Jm also made some with ported barrels 18.5 is short enough for me when carrying I am not sure I would want it shorter you may feel like the muzzle is harder to keep away from you when walking and bounding over terrain. Tikka would probably have a better opinion of 18.5 vs 16. Imo these guns are best suited as walking hunters and plinkers shot off hand mobility and handiness is the secret sauce.

I would like to see a 92 modernized I might like it better than an 1894

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I have several JM Marlins and several Winchesters. The Winchester, I believe will handle a longer loaded case. I sold my first Marlin 44 because it would not handle Keith style bullets. But I have one again. I understand that a person can modify the carrier on the Marlin so that it will handle the longer loads.
Otherwise it's a toss up for me, I like them both!


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cumminscowboy: Are those Fiocchis .38s? How do you like that Skinner sight, they look interesting? Whatever I end up with will certain get slicked up. & I don’t have any experience with big loops as I’ve only used standards in the past. A buddy has a ported Marlin .45-70.

tikkanut: Thanks for posting that photo again and that new ’07 looks great. Do you prefer the octagon or round barrel?

winchester70: Thanks. I guess I never really thought about it, but your explanation about barrels longer than 16” certainly makes sense and I agree that light and quick are qualities I’m looking for in a lever. The 16” Marlin 1894S I found may have been cut down, but I suspect it’s a factory 16.”

Bugger: Thanks. I didn’t realize there was a long case issue with the Marlins. Would there be a problem with hardcast reloads, or can the case length be adjusted during the reloading process? (I'm a novice reloader).

Last edited by High_Noon; 03/22/20.

l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right.
- Del Gue
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Originally Posted by High_Noon
cumminscowboy: Are those Fiocchis .38s? How do you like that Skinner sight, they look interesting? Whatever I end up with will certain get slicked up. & I don’t have any experience with big loops as I’ve only used standards in the past. A buddy has a ported Marlin .45-70.



there really isn't a reason to shoot .38's IMO recoil is a non issue, I am not even sure they would cycle right. I shoot the 148 fiocchi fractory stuff because it shoots decent and is cheap. I tested probably 10 different factory ammos. I really would rather be shooting 125's just for the extra speed. My gun really doesn't like anything under 140 grains. it shoots best with 158's actually.

as for the skinner sight. its boss on a target that isn't moveing. I really like it. its cleaner than the williams. the williams sights mount on the left side and when I bring them up I have to remind myself of that stuff hanging off the left and it takes a split second for me to say to myself, its straight. The skinner is centered on the top. not and issue. I am not sure however if I like the skinner setup quite yet on moving jack rabbits in the sage. I think I like the factory sight possibly better. We had something kill most of the jack rabbits in our entire region for hundreds of miles, so I didn't get to use the skinner sights on rabbits much on them this year. I recommend getting the bear buster front sight if you can,

these guns are flat out a riot to shoot. They aren't very popular around me because everyone wants something that shoot a long ways. winchester 94's are very rare here even though they were invested 50 miles from me. its pretty rare to see used '94's or 336's even. The old timers knew how to make a practical gun. For off hand shooting at off hand distances is flat out dang near impossible to beat a traditional lever action. its also why the 30-30 got it done so well. it shines in that use. its just a friggen simple setup. I have 2 of these belts that hold 40 rounds, I just grab the belt and the gun and head out the door. Throw it over my shoulder bandoleer style and people laugh, it looks like I am ready for battle but the reality is its insanely functional. just pluck out the cases and keep the gun topped as I blast rabbits, rocks, can's squirrels etc. its a walking plinker. I also use another identical belt and keep it loaded up with 30-30, it carries those cases just fine as well. https://www.buffaloarms.com/leather...t-38-cal-extra-large-43-48-waist-olp7513

Last edited by cumminscowboy; 03/22/20.
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With any of the short cartridge lever guns it’s a good idea to use as large a diameter cast pill that will still chamber. The 45LC chambers (and others) can be a bit generous and using a large diameter cast pill that takes up that space helps to centralise the cartridge to the bore and assist in greater accuracy.

With cut rifle vs microgroove barrels the main issue is using cast. Microgroove barrels have multiple shallow grooves and often larger groove diameter dimensions. This is not a problem for jacketed bullets but for cast to work well they need to be larger than the groove diameter. Bearing in mind what I referred to in first paragraph, it makes to use as large a diameter cast pill that will chamber and feed. It sorts out two problems. Once you work your way through this accuracy will be as good or better than jacketed pills. I have Marlins with microgroove barrels in 45/70 and 35 Rem and they are very accurate with cast bullets.

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cumminscowboy: I don’t believe I have ever see a Marlin with a Williams sight mounted but I can certainly see how a semi-buckhorn would be better for moving targets. Yep, I’ve shot a few Marlin levers and they are indeed a lotta’ fun and I agree they are hard to beat when used for their intended purpose. I haven’t seen any Marlins or Winchester rifles for sale in my area either, but then, there’s several internet sites that have plenty available. And thanks for the link.

JFE: Thanks for the information. I wasn’t aware that using large for diameter bullets was beneficial, and thanks for the info on microgroove vs. cut rifling. I understand, based upon your explanation, that cast pills can potentially provide greater accuracy, but do you have a preference regarding jacketed vs. cast bullets and if so, what are your preferred bullet choices (both cast and jacketed) or do you cast your own pills?


l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right.
- Del Gue
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I still use jacketed in some cases but I mostly use cast. I cast my own and have a number of moulds. It can be another hobby in itself.

You will read of references to SWC style bullets - this style of bullet was made famous by Elmer Keith. They work fine in revolvers but the sharp edges can hang up in lever guns and generally the nose is too long to cycle in a lever gun when the bullet is seated to the crimp groove. It’s best to used RNFP or truncated cone styles in leverguns. They feed really well. If the alloy used is not going to expand then improved killing effect can be had by using a bullet with a wide meplat, but if it’s too wide it may not cycle well. There has been a resurgence of interest in HP moulds in recent years and a few makers now offer interesting HP designs. Casting your own offers a lot of different options as you can tailor the bullet style, weight and alloy to the application.

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JFE: Thanks and duly noted.


l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right.
- Del Gue
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Both are good rifles.

Marlin- forearm that's needlessly thick, and I've known a few to have the "Marlin Jam". I'd look for a Pre Safety model.

Winchester- in a pistol cartridge, I'd look at a Trapper model. I've never had an issue with jamming in my .44 mag. The sixteen inch barrel is handy and all you need in a pistol cartridge for velocity.

I'd go with a Winchester 94 in a Trapper model, pre safety if possible.

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paint: Thanks, I found a nice color case hardened pre safety in .45 Colt - very nice, but at $1.5K, I'll have to wait a bit.


l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right.
- Del Gue
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I don't intend to ruffle any feathers here but this is my experience with Marlin vs Winchester....just overall not to compair the 2 specific rifles as I have only an opinion on brand....
As a gunsmith I have had my hands on many Marlins that were finicky feeding...most are easy fixes if the mfg would have done just a tad more work they would have been flawless..winchesters seem to always just work..
I do really like my Marlin 357. It's a hard choice between that and a 92 src

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