TheHunter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Hi I am thinking of filling the lever action slot on my ticket with the Marlin 1894, has anyone had any dealings with this rifle, I know Uberti also have a range of under levers but i was advised the the Marlin were a better build? Thanks for your help. TH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I suppose it all depends on what you use it for, Marlin`s are a good gallery rifle and the easiest to scope up, as they eject to the side and if you get a jam, its just one screw to remove to clear it. Rossi underlevers are good for the money but the scope mount fits on the side of the action which could interfere with the top ejection. Uberti`s are expensive and you cannot scope them up, they are out and out cowboy replica rifles, I have a 24inch barelled 1873 in 44-40 and a Rossi in 38/357, good fast fire fun if you play John Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHunter Posted October 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I think I would be looking at some open sight shooting, I havent really thought about scoping it more towards 25-30m gallery range fun Have you had any problems with either of yours? TH Edited October 6, 2009 by TheHunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 If your not fussed about fitting a scope then the Rossi or Marlin are a good choice, if your buying secondhand, I think there was a Marlin in the for sale section on here a few days ago, I`d steer clear of the micro grooved model though, they only work with jacketed bullets, lead heads are cheaper. Rossi underlevers are usually cheaper either new or used, I tuned mine with a spring kit and polished the internals, the action is quite slick now but it tends to feed the 357 cartridge better than the 38. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I dont even have a fac but a gentleman was kind enough to allow me to use his Marlin Underlever in .44 to punch some paper last week. Open sights too. I have no idea about the technical side but it was great fun and I think I did ok at 50 m. He did say they were now allowed for fox.Its hard to believe otherwise as I can imagine they would have no trouble at all with a fox as the .44 round was developed for rather bigger quarry. He also had the .357 magnum underlever which had a scope. Edited October 5, 2009 by vole21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Good for `Pesky Redskins` and Varmints alike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Good for `Pesky Redskins` and Varmints alike Thats what I was thinking.There sure was alot of sand kicked up from the backstop with those big fat bullets. Very different to shoot than the .357 and the other calibres. Tiny little rifle,seemed smaller than my Greener GP ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I think they used to do a 16 inch barelled version, held 9 rounds instead of 10, I bet there has been many a mountain lion put to sleep by one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr smith Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 If you just want something different to play with on the range by all means get the uberti but if you want a decent gallery rifle go for the marlin.I've had mine cleared for vermin including fox though not really had a chance to try it out yet.Don't worry about the microgroove rifling either unless you want to use hot cast bullet loads,it works fine with lower powdered(target)loads or jacketed as mentioned before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexm Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I have a 44 marlin in stainless and it's a great gun. I use it for gallery rifle comps (target and practical) and it performs faultlessly. I got it new from South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies who did their 'trick and slick' magic to the action, replaced the hammer spring and put in a trigger happy kit so the action is very nice. I also put a spring kit in to reduce the tension in the clip that holds the lever closed and a one piece titanium firing pin which takes up the slack in the original 2 piece and allows you to run with a softer hammer spring without getting misfires. The only issue I had with mine was that it didn't like one particular brand of .44 special and it caused the classic 'Marlin Jam' where the lifter allowed another round out of the magazine and locked the whole thing up. This was a pain because I use .44 specials for practical comps because the shorter length allows me to get an extra two rounds into the gun (12) which is handy because a lot of our club's practical comps tend to be designed around loading in multiples of 6 for the revolver guys. I got around this feeding problem by tweaking the carrier, my post on the Marlin forum is here: http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.p...ic,46390.0.html Apart from that, can't fault it. I have a weaver rail on it that I had machined to give about 30 minutes elevation because you'll probably find that if you put a rail on it parallel to the top of the action you will be winding your scope upwards a fair way, especially if you are shooting at 50m+. The QD mounts are so I can change between scope and red dot for practical. The load I'm currently playing with is 6.2 grains of Unique in a magnum case with a 240gr round nose flat point hard cast bullet which is giving one hole groups at 25m and is a pussycat to shoot. Edited October 5, 2009 by alexm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineshooter Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Nice bit of kit Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHunter Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Am i right in thinking the Marlin will fire .44spl as well as .44 Mag? TH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcyboy Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 yes you can shoot .44 spl thru a .44 rem mag as long as you thoroughly clean the rifle before shooting .44 rem mag again. The Marlins are lovely as are the Winchesters, Rossi's are nice but not for me...& I know 2 people that have just bought new Rossi's & they had to be sent back as they were faulty! with different faults too, yet plenty of people down the club have Rossi's and have never had any problems, maybe they are made somewhere else now. Ubertis are nice but tend to break ...I've shot a lovely Uberti yellow boy in .38/357 it was very cheap...but I was put off after doing some research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 My Winchester came with holes for a scope mount alread drilled from the factory. The holes were blanked off with little screws. IMO although you may just want open sights at the moment the time will come when you get fed up with the limitations and want to fit a scope. Definitely go for a .44 mag because although a lot of people have them in .357 eventually you will start wanting a bit more power. You can load a .44mag up to the full power or just use a sqib load for plinking. Very versitile rifle and accurate out to over 100 yds with the right load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcyboy Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 you can get a weaver rail for the top of the Marlin which makes it a bit more versatile as Vince has stated and the loads can vary from cowboy loads for 25 - 100yds and FMJ loads for 100yds - 300yds...the underlever is excellent for the turning target competitions! I also know of a fella who is trying to get one passed for fox control because of the subsonic capability and weight of the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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