In Search of a lever action rifle.

[nyenthusiast]

I’ve decided I’d like to add a lever gun to my collection. Currently I’m considering both the Marlin 1894 variants, as well as 1892/1873 Winchester models. I like the Marlin 1894 CSBL because it comes equipped with a pic rail and XS sights as standard, but I know Marlin had some pretty serious QC issues for a time after being bought out by Remington. The rifles go for nearly a thousand dollars from what I’ve seen. I’d rather not part with that kind of coin unless I know that’s been resolved. I guess I’m just wondering what folks experiences have been with the company as of late. Would I be better off with the Winchester? Perhaps one of the Uberti reproductions?

 

[Gonzobird]

I have always been a big fan of the Marlin 336. I have one of those and I have a Marlin 39A. They 39A was my first rifle that my dad gave me for Christmas when I turned 10. I am now 40 and it has never failed on me. Countless fluffy tailed tree rats have been shot with that rifle.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I had a marlin 336 in 308 mx. The action would open when loaded and my first shot was always 3” to the right. Marlin did fix the issue with the action opening up. I sold the gun

 

[oc shooter]

should also look at Henry rifles made here and all I've seen are top notch

 

[Jaywmustang]

I’d like to get a Henry all weather 45/70 but if money was no object, I would get this

https://www.bighornarmory.com/product/model-89-carbine-18-500-sw/

 

[BDinPutnam]

Older Marlin 336 in 30-30.

 

[Nevar]

Real Hard to Beat a Winchester "94" in 30-30 My old girl was made in 1955

 

[ProgSpear]

It’s likely your choice will come down to preference between gate and tube loading. I prefer the gate loading of my Win 94 30-30, but love to shoot my Henry all weather .357, which is tube. Heck, I just love lever guns. Brings me back to when I was a kid watching the Rifleman...

 

[MuttCat]

I had a Browning BLR 308. Bought it used. It was a great deer rifle. Stupidly sold it.

 

[Tisto]

I bought a Marlin 1894 SBL in .45-70 Govt. four or maybe five years ago now. It was made by Remington in the Illion plant. When i got it home, i was going to clean out the bore and then take it to the range for an initial ten rounds. I found so much crap inside the bore that I had to take the entire gun apart and flush out all the metal shavings. Then i found something that REALLY frosted me. The hammer has two cuts in it that form the sear. One of the sear cuts (in my case, the one that holds the hammer at full cock) was BROKEN. I actually found the broken piece in the pile of metal I flushed from the gun. Having driven over three hours to the shop that I purchased it from, and of course more than three hours home, I was not too keen on the idea of returning there for replacement. The local store wanted nothing to do with a warranty repair because I didn't buy it from them (even though they told me that they couldn't get me that gun, which is why I bought it from another dealer in the first place). Marlin customer service failed to offer real assistance either. The CSR on the phone said that I could send the gun to them at my expense, and that they would repair it and ship it back in THREE MONTHS. They refused to just ship me the hammer because it contains the sear and they could only ship it to an FFL. I wound up getting a gunsmith I know to order the part and had it shipped to him, but even that took over a month, and then they wanted to be paid for the part. He had to fight with Marlin over it having been a warranty issue. A HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS.

Since then, I have no complaints about the rifle. It shoots very well.

I won't buy another Remington product though. At least, not until someone buys them and wants to make quality guns again. I had nothing but trouble with a 700 BDL 7mm RemMag which i bought new and later had to get rid of because I couldn't fix it, and one of my friends had all kinds of issues with a Remington shotgun which he sold because of quality problems. No more Remington for me, thanks. I've had enough.

 

[Celt]

I am not a lever action Guru, but I have done some research on the new line of Marlin lever rifles, and initially there were a lot of quality control issues. From what I've read, it seems that has supposedly been sorted out with new equipment. I recently purchased 1894 SBL in 44 Mag, but I haven't had a chance to get it out to the range yet.

 

[BDinPutnam]

I should have added too that I have a Win 1894 in 30-30 which I like very much. That said, I got it for free. One consideration is whether you like the straight or curved grip. If I were spending money on it I would've preferred the Marlin 336 - I prefer a curved grip and the side eject is nice too. My 94 is top eject and the scope is side saddle mounted.

 

[Reno]

I've had a lot of Marlins over the years and I haven't noticed any difference. One I baught in the 80's had really rough rifling. I have a 73 Uberti. They are much more polished but I still had to put about $400 in after market parts to make it a smooth reliable competition gun.

 

[Acer-m14]

I like the Henry's .. but the others with the side loading to top off the rounds wins it .,. wish Henry would do it ..

 

[Airborneguy]

I have an awesome 1952 Marlin 336 in .30-30 that literally was handed to me at work by some lady while I was luckily standing near the front door when she walked in. It’s one of my few rifles with no scope on it and it will stay that way

My other lever is a Marlin 1894 .45-70 which is one of my favorite rifles. My last deer was taken with that one. What a beast. Definitely going to spend a lot of time in the woods with me. I think it was made in ‘15.

 

[Tisto]

The Marlin I wrote about above was purchased as a hunting gun and nothing more. The stainless steel / laminated stock gives me the best weather protection in my view. The chambering ( .45-70 ) gives me everything I need to take down the game I bought this gun for ( moose ) and has ample power should I find myself face to face with a big bear. I must say though, that this gun did not come with a silky smooth action. I had to take it all apart and polish off rough or sharp edges with a dremel tool. Still, it's not beautifully smooth. Part of that however, is due to the cartridge itself. Long, straight-walled, and having a large rim makes smooth feeding more difficult.

My only other lever gun is a Winchester 94 ae. It has a silky smooth action, and one absolutely beautiful piece of wood on it. So nice, in fact, that I refuse to hunt with it. Being chambered in .45 Colt rather limits it's hunting capabilities anyways. I have used it on white tails, but I'm scared to scratch it.

 

[Podmonkey]

The Marlin I wrote about above was purchased as a hunting gun and nothing more. The stainless steel / laminated stock gives me the best weather protection in my view. The chambering ( .45-70 ) gives me everything I need to take down the game I bought this gun for ( moose ) and has ample power should I find myself face to face with a big bear. I must say though, that this gun did not come with a silky smooth action. I had to take it all apart and polish off rough or sharp edges with a dremel tool. Still, it's not beautifully smooth. Part of that however, is due to the cartridge itself. Long, straight-walled, and having a large rim makes smooth feeding more difficult.

My only other lever gun is a Winchester 94 ae. It has a silky smooth action, and one absolutely beautiful piece of wood on it. So nice, in fact, that I refuse to hunt with it. Being chambered in .45 Colt rather limits it's hunting capabilities anyways. I have used it on white tails, but I'm scared to scratch it.

You could probably take a blue whale with 45/70! They used to take down 2,000lb + bison with the black powder loads. Teddy Roosevelt hunted lion with a 45/70. I wonder if 45/70 could take out a T-Rex?

 

[Tisto]

If you've ever been moose hunting, typically you can hear them breathing before you can see them. The brush is that thick. And, they happen to live where it is either raining or snowing 90%of the time. Also, most moose hunts involve a canoe trip, almost guaranteeing your gear will get soaking wet. If that gun had been available with a composite stock, I would have bought that instead. It has been on many trips now. It has some battle scars, but functions as it should. Surprisingly heavy for it's size though.

Yeah, the .45-70 is a bit of a beast. You can always load it down though. The nice thing is, the construction of this gun allows you to load it quite a bit hotter than other lever guns with the same chambering. Not as hot as a Ruger # 1, but that is a single shot rifle.

 

[Tisto]

" I wonder if a .45-70 could take out a T-Rex "

Funny you should ask that. It seems that the Tyrannasaurus Rex went extinct just shortly after the .45-70 became commercially available....I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but I'm betting that the .45-70 had something to do with it. I could be wrong though.

 

[Airborneguy]

Interesting question honestly. Something fun to experiment with in retirement maybe lol.

Dinosaur Hunting Guns: Taking Down T-Rex and Other Extinct Reptiles

 

[Celt]

I like the Henry's .. but the others with the side loading to top off the rounds wins it .,. wish Henry would do it ..

Same here, I do like the Henry's, but I despise to bloating. Side loading is definitely better.

 

[S&W Fan]

You could probably take a blue whale with 45/70! They used to take down 2,000lb + bison with the black powder loads. Teddy Roosevelt hunted lion with a 45/70. I wonder if 45/70 could take out a T-Rex?

It seems Chris Pratt thought so.

 

[S&W Fan]

Personally, I’d stick with this .600 Nitro Express double rifle, used in “ The Lost World”

 

[S&W Fan]

Thread drift aside , I’ve read about and heard of so many horror stories about the Remlins that I won’t buy one. I’ll stick with the older JM stamped Marlin built guns. I have a Marlin model 336 in both 30-30 & 35 Rem. and they are both outstanding guns built in the early eighties. I’m currently looking to pick one up in .357/.38 soon.

 

[Jaywmustang]

Thread drift aside , I’ve read about and heard of so many horror stories about the Remlins that I won’t buy one. I’ll stick with the older JM stamped Marlin built guns. I have a Marlin model 336 in both 30-30 & 35 Rem. and they are both outstanding guns built in early eighties. I’m currently looking to pick one up in .357/.38 soon.

My marlin was bought after Remington bought them. I will not be buying another marlin.

 

[tony]

If you are recoil conscious the big thumpers may not be a good choice in a shorter barreled lever rifle. If the recoil bothers you range sessions will tend to be short. I would certainly consider a .30-30, ammo is easy to get and less expensive than .45-70 or .444. IMO a .35 Rem. is probably at the lower end of the "thumper scale". Ammo might be a little harder to get too.

If you have a good eye and a sensitive touch you can probably spot a bad " RemLin " before you put your money down. I have read where their quality is getting better although still lots of sharp edges and lack of smoothness in working the action. Lots of used Marlins out there. I sure there are lots of beaters that can use some kind of work as well...

I probably haven't helped you in making your decision but hopefully you are a little better informed.

 

[S&W Fan]

I’ll add that you would be equally satisfied with any of the Winchester models in the caliber that you are looking for. Winchester has always made a quality lever gun. My Only pet peeve with Winchester is the top eject. I’m left handed so when the hot casing ejects up and slightly to the right from the Winchester it hits me in the forehead.

 

[Vapor]

I have a Remlin made in 2016-2017. The fit and finish is so-so , but with a William's peep is dead accurate. Has functioned 100%.

 

[ManrisFrack]

This thread has me looking hard at Henry's Long Ranger. Everything I've seen so far has been pretty good. I think that might be my next purchase when I think I have enough good will built up with my wife.

 

[Jmac00]

I’d like to get a Henry all weather 45/70 but if money was no object, I would get this

https://www.bighornarmory.com/product/model-89-carbine-18-500-sw/

Last year I bought a Remlin 1895G 45-70 Guide gun, No issues at all. I was looking at the Henry, but I just could not get passed the tube feed? If you need to reload in hurry, tube fed ain't it. Otherwise the quality of the gun is unmatched by anyone, as far as Im concerned. except for that damn tube feed thing

Big horn is just too expensive for me, but also a beautiful gun