after looking at garrettcartridges.com and some of their flavor offerings, a 45/70 is an amazing potpouri of different bulletos to choose from. kind of like 31 flavors with the 30.06. now garretts custom loads aint cheap by any stretch but if yer going for BIG BIG GAME they have some very nice offerings. with what the bullet mfgs offer for reloaders and the custom stuff out there, there aint a critter on this planet that will walk away from a 45/70!

hell i think they offer a blue whale round as well as baby fur seal rounds! LOL!

would make a great praire dawg round also! SPLATTTTTT! knock 'em into the next county!

i forgot the exact numbers on the hornaday 325 leverevolution bullet but my son was doing some damn nice groups with it and did so on his 3x4 bull elk. what a round!

buy your sons lever action stainless marlin 45/70's and keep the economy rolling like me. i guarantee you'll get .............."your the best dad in the world" when he opens the box!

the mega custom 45/70's coming out of gun mfgs. with extended tubes, big levers for when its cold-gloves(not the rifleman), ghost ring sight systems are really really nice to see these days.

So the question is do I get 1894 in .44mag or .357mag? Or just get the 45/70? I'm leaning towards .357 because it'll be cheaper to shoot...and it gives me an excuse to get a wheelgun.

The 39A is already in the works.

I vote for a pre-64 in .30-30. A blue chip gun and they were good enough for the Duke.
Jim

There are a lot of 336 models in 30-30 (and plenty of cheap used ones). Looks similar to the 1894. The local shop had a 1964 336 chambered in 44mag (evidently only done for a few years). Roughly a wash between .357/.44mag/30-30 ammo prices (though .357 is hard to find right now). The .45LC seems to be not as common, and the 45-70 definitely more expensive.

Sorry for my confusion, are you looking only at Marlin rifles? If so the pre-64 doesn't mean much. I would pay some premium for one (Win or Marl) without the push button safety, became standard in the mid '80's.
Jim

Yeah, Marlin seems to be pretty bombproof plus I have in-house expertise with tweaking them. Though they are more expensive I have to admit that I like the 1894 "cowboy" versions (as opposed to the straight 1894) with the octagonal barrel. Those are harder to find in .357 - most are .45LC.

Just get the 1894 in .357/.38 and call it good. I love my Cowboy in .45 Colt, but for a guy that doesn't reload and just wants a fun plinker, you can't go wrong with the .357/.38.

I would not recommend a lever gun in .44 mag. Most are plagued with the same problem (including the Marlins): the rifling twist rate is far too slow and will not stabilize heavy bullets, or sometimes even standard bullet weights. These rifles still have a 1 turn in 38 inch rate of twist. Standard for the .44 mag in revolvers is 1 turn in 18 inches; the .45 Colt and .357 mag/.38 Special also use this 18" twist. And, unlike the .44 mag, this faster twist is used in these other calibers in rifles as well.

So why are the .44 mag rifles the oddballs of the lot, rifled with such a slow twist? In a word, tradition. It's the only "modern" caliber that is chambered in these pistol caliber lever guns that had a similar bore size equivalent back in the day, in the form of the .44-40, aka .44 Winchester Center Fire, or .44 WCF. The old .44 WCF fired a light for caliber 200 grain bullet over 40 grains of black powder. The slow 38" twist adequately stabilized this relatively light bullet, allowed a bit more velocity, and fouled less with black powder. So, over one hundred years later, all .44 caliber lever guns still have that twist, whether they are .44-40's or .44 mags. The .44 mag, with its standard 240-250 grain bullets, really needs that faster 18" twist to be accurate.

The .357/.38 and .45 Colt were never chambered in lever guns back in the day. They are modern chamberings of convenience, replacing many old rounds that were chambered, but have fallen by the wayside. Odd that the .45 Colt was never chambered in lever guns until modern times, but that's the way it is. Colt did chamber the Peacemaker in .44-40, by the way, providing a sidearm in a "rifle" caliber, so the frontiersman only had to pack one kind of ammo. Odd that Winchester didn't reciprocate and chamber the '73 or '92 in .45 Colt. Either would have been a far better rifle.

Anyway, enough of the history lesson. Just get the .357/.38 and never look back. Hold out for a Cowboy - it's well worth it.

Why are Marlins better than Winchesters? Is the action stronger or something?

Well, I've found a 39A, and there are 1894s in .357 to be had - non-cowboy though. I'll keep searching...while it is about $175 more, I like the non-checked stock and octagonal barrel.

Then I'm done. Really...

I've been thinking of a Marlin 1894 in .357mag as well. The concept of sharing a variety of loads between wheelguns and rifles seems cool. Looking forward to hearing any comments/real-world experiences.

Did you save the brass for me?

You will be glad you held out for the Cowboy. The longer octagon barrel not only looks cool, it also adds a bit of muzzle weight that makes the gun "hang" a bit better in off-hand shooting. I think the overall fit and finish is a bit better on them as well.


It's a great idea for guys who don't reload, because you can buy ammo in bulk and save some money. It's better than buying two kinds of ammo and not realizing the quantity savings on any one kind.

The historical justification for this, being in remote areas far from any resupply, is pretty well moot today. The old rounds that were meant to be used in lever guns and sixguns were fairly powerful as sixgun cartridges, but fairly anemic as rifle rounds. I think most of those rifles and carbines were kept as defensive, rather than hunting, arms. They held a lot of rounds... Which, by the way, is not an altogether bad plan in today's world. They make great home defense arms. Many women who are intimidated by a big handgun or shotgun find pistol caliber lever guns entirely non-threatening (to them, not the other guy) and can learn to handle them quite well with minimal practice.

Many feel the solid top on the action provides more strength. Both the Marlin and Winchester lock up at the rear of the bolt, with a rising block right above the trigger guard that engages a mortise in the action and the bolt. The open topped Winchester has only the sides of the receiver between there and the front, where the barrel screws in, where the Marlin adds a third side - the top - for additional strength. That closed top also (arguably) allows less crap to get into the action.

The action itself is also simpler on the Marlin. There are fewer moving parts, and those moving parts are more robust than the Winchester. Just less to go wrong inside. Probably a moot point, as I have never seen a broken lever gun from either manufacturer. Both are really pretty darn stout guns.

Lastly, Marlins of modern manufacture have been of noticably higher quality than the Winchesters. The fit and finish is better. They tend to be more accurate. Don't get me wrong, Winchester built some outstanding lever guns. But they are all older than we are...

Anyway, the Model 70 is back. Rumor has it the '94 Winchester will be back soon as well. We will have to see how those turn out; the new Model 70 is, by all accounts, a winner.

Push button safety...yuck :(. When did the checkered stocks appear (I just pulled up a pic of a 336C out of curiosity to see "what's what" these days and noticed them)? The stocks on mine are smooth (purchased in '78).

Well, never let it be said that I drag my heels. I'm nothing if not obsessive. Found a 39A and a 1894 cowboy in .357. They should be at my FFL by the end of the week. Now the problem is finding .38/.357 ammo - cheaperthandirt is *totally* sold out.

Todd's found a new drug to be addicted too :)

Pump guns seem cool until you shoot a gas operated auto. Nothing sweeter then emptying the mag twice as fast as the guy next to you with a pump gun.

Bush banned the import of Norinco's in the early 90s.

So far still cheaper than the track. Though I spent $500 on ammo today...the equivalent of tires I suppose.

How much does your ffl charge for a transfer?

I think it is $40 plus I have to pay CA sales tax (he does everything by the book). That is fine because the price from the dealer in WA is more than fair considering the market and he only charges $15 shipping (for both of them).

Found a little blazer brass .357mag today in anticipation. 100 rounds of that, 100 shotgun shells and 1K rounds of Fiocchi .223 since my local shop had it for a good price.