Marlin 1894 .44 Mag

I just bought a Marlin 1894 .44 Mag and have a few questions? It was somewhat of an impulse buy as the price was too good to pass up ($300).

The first two digits of the serial number are "27", if I read right elsewhere it was made in 1973. Am I reading this right? It doesn't have a crossbolt safety.

It has a Micro-Groove barrel, is it fine to shoot lead bullets? I have a bunch of .44 Mag and Special brass and a bunch of cast bullets which was part of the appeal.

Last, what are these going for these days? The metal/bluing is in good shape and the wood has a few nicks. Probably a 90-95% gun. I was thinking of modifying it but want to make sure its not something special before I do modification.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I'll try to get some later.

Here are some pictures with big brother Guide Gun:

it is fine to use cast lead. Just as a tip, use the largest ones you can get .431 if possible .430 at a minimum, trust me on this.


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/150058/oregon-trail-laser-cast-bullets-44-caliber-431-diameter-240-grain-lead-semi-wadcutter-box-of-500

Great find at that price –– I woulda.

Lead will often shoot well in the Microgroove barrel, use large bullets and don't load it too hot.

Octagon or round barrel?

The value will differ if it has an octagon barrel or a round one.

1894 Octagon 44 Mag, only made in 1973, one of 2,957
Someone before me added the recoil pad.

Round barrel, that octagonal is great looking. I looked at a Canadian Centenial Win 94 earlier in the day that appealed to me due to its octagonal barrel. Didn't buy that one though.

Great find god I have been on the hunt for a 336 or 1894 in .357 or .44 mag and had no luck getting a deal yet sucks glad for you great find.

I found one very similar to the way you found for ~$350, and I am very tempted to pick it up. I know the Marlins had a "oversized" barrel, and I was wondering if it really affects anything if I shoot factory loads.

Added a couple pictures with the 1895 Guide Gun I picked up a few weeks ago. It just a partial family picture because my 1895 LTD-IV .45-70 and rough 39M are not in there.

I have one with crossbolt safety. It was doing Marlin jam all the time(got it new). I fixed it myself by welding the cam and reshaping it. Now feeds anything and is very accurate. I have to clean it after shooting about 40 rounds(at least brush it few times)

I have one also that I picked for a steal at $100 some years ago. Lots of bluing gone. Parkerized it then black powdercoated it. It has been a great little rifle. It has a MicroGroove barrel too. Shoots cast leads extremely well.

I just picked one of these up, I figured it would be a good animal dispatching round without the sound of a rifle going off. I'm currently working on sub sonic loads.

I shoot my 1894 all the time with big (.432") cast bullets. It likes the 200 gr Lee RNFP, 265 grain Ranch Dog, and 310 Lee WNFP all equally.

I use Unique for the light bullets, and H110 for the heavies.

It's easily one of my favorite rifles. I think I got mine for $175 but that was a LONG time ago.

I recently picked up a 39M octagon, basically the .22LR version of your .44. Also made in '73. These originally had a curved hard rubber buttplate, I would imagine that it wasn't the hot setup on a .44 Mag.

Yeah, I noticed that when I shot it the other day. It wasn't too bad but a softer butt pad/plate would be a bit more comfortable. I may add one at some point.

Very nice 39M BTW, I have a '57 39M round barrel that is in much more rough shape.

Hard to tell from the pics I posted, but the buttplate on these '73 octagons is curved some, where your 1894 is flat (the cut on the wood). Marlin made the 336 (30-30), 1894, and 39M with octagon barrels in 1973, only that one year. The 1895's made in '74, '75 to ??? also had this curved buttplate. I also have a 1975 model 1895, but it's had a recoil pad on it since before I got it about 20 years ago.

Great bullet, specially designed for the Marlin rifles. I shoot them sized to .432 in my .44s (Rossi Lever + Ruger SBH)
Good all around powder for light to mid range loads. I use the RD 265s unchecked when loading as plinking loads with Unique, and slap a gas-check on when loading with 2400.

Nice gun, I wish I could find an old one in that condition.

Nice score! I picked up a brand new in the box 1895MR .450 Marlin for $225 at a gun auction in 2008. If I had known its rarity at the time I wouldnt have thrown the box away.

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