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Latest Acquisition—2009-vintage Marlin 1894C

2035 Views 20 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  halfmoonclip
Made before Remington screwed up by closing Marlin's North Haven plant and terminating the people who knew how their rifles actually go together. Near pristine condition, with the box.


Originally it came into my favorite local gun store sans box, on consignment for $649. I countered at $550. The consignee came back at $$600. I countered again saying that without the box I wouldn't go higher than $575.


Lo and behold, the consignee found the box and turned it over to the gun store. I got a call shortly thereafter.
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I own a real Marlin 1894 P.





It's a lot of fun.
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Beautiful.
Beautiful.

As I'm sure yours is.
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Great price on most any near-pristine JM 1894. Is it 357 caliber?
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Great price on most any near-pristine JM 1894. Is it 357 caliber?

Yep. Nine-round tube magazine holding either .38 SPL or .357 Magnum.
Fabulous price, IMO - the JMs continue to rise in price. I have an 1894css that I would not part with for under $1500.
Really?


They are worth that much now?


I admit I have not been paying any attention to JM Marlins, as I have no intention of selling mine, A:because it's the only .44 Mag I own, and, B: as I said, it's a lot of fun.
Well, the good news is that this is definitely a North Haven Marlin, made around two years before Remington moved production to Ilion, New York. The bad news is that it does not have a “JM” stamp. Still, that shouldn’t adversely impact the value too much. My guess from what I’ve researched so far is a value north of $850 and south of $1,200, but most likely right around the $1,000-range.

Yeah, at $600 I’m happy.
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Yeah, a nice blued JM 1894 in .357 will fetch at or near $1000, and a stainless (CSS) version is running up around $1500. Remlins...not so much ;)
Oh, and the .357 has the same advantage of a revolver in that you can shoot any variety of .38. If it is anything like mine, I predict that you will be impressed with how accurate and precise it is out to 150 or so feet with those iron sights, and how soft shooting it is in .357. You got a real keeper at a bargain price :D
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Oh, and the .357 has the same advantage of a revolver in that you can shoot any variety of .38. If it is anything like mine, I predict that you will be impressed with how accurate and precise it is out to 150 or so feet with those iron sights, and how soft shooting it is in .357. You got a real keeper at a bargain price :D

Thanks, Amigo.
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Here is a pic of my JM stamped Model 1895ss. Rifle, box, manual, and the most important accessory for shooting a 45-70.:D


Receipt says 1-14-94 and a mere $339.00



I would love to pick up a Marlin 1895 in 45 Long Colt. But if I ran across one in 44 mag i might have to buy it, sell my Ruger Vaquero in 45 LC and buy a 44 mag pistol of some kind.

Pudge
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Blitz, happy to hear you have the .44 Mag version, as do I. I had mine whacked to trapper length (what was original? 18"?)as a woods gun, and it has taken a bunch of deer over the years. It's an absolute hammer with warmish handloads, and I turned them down a little some years back so my daughter could take a deer with it.
For you iron sights guys, I have a Winchester 94 in .45 Colt that I tapped for a tang sight. Took a deer with that, but mostly it is just fun to shoot.
Moon
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I would love to pick up a Marlin 1894 in 45 Long Colt. But if I ran across one in 44 mag i might have to buy it, sell my Ruger Vaquero in 45 LC and buy a 44 mag pistol of some kind. Pudge
Well, I didn't have to sell the Ruger Vaquero. I finally found a deal I couldn't refuse on a Marlin 1894, actually a Remlin, in 45 Colt. Got it for $499.95 shipped with a discount coupon. When I picked it up at the LGS, he said "I saw what you payed on the paperwork I got". Then he pulled up one of his distributor's web site that had the lowest price. The same rifle was $566 plus shipping his price. He said I got it cheaper than he could even get one in the shop. :D

So here is my tribute to the venerable 45 Caliber. 45-70 45 Colt 45 ACP




The stock grips on the Vaquero were very slick and didn't offer a very good purchase on the gun. So I got some grips with a little more grasp.




Pudge
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Pudge, if you reload, it should be possible to cook up some mild .45-70 loads with Trailboss. I had a Ruger #3 carbine; neatest little thing you could imagine. It was in .45-70, and it would like to kick your brains out. I tried reduced loads with kapok and such, and finally parted with it.
Now, with Trailboss, you can fill up those phone-booth sized cases without any drama, and lob those big boolits.
Moon
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Over the years I have cooked up 45-70 loads from mild to hot. Even tried some black powder (actually Pyrodex) loads as the original 45-70 Govt loads were black powder as was the original 45 Colt ammo. Unfortunately my Marlin 45-70 has the micro groove rifling. With micro groove, black powder was a disaster. Mild (low velocity) also does not like micro groove. What micro groove is good for is med to high velocity copper jacketed boolits.

So basically I just leave the 45-70 for jacketed boolits. That is why I wanted the 45 Colt lever action. That will be my fun gun. All 1894 Remlin pistol caliber lever actions have have Ballard 6 groove deep cut rifling. Great for lead boolits or coated lead boolits.

So, I like your idea of Trail Boss powder that will fill up the 45 Colt's deep cartridge. Most of the other smokeless powders are dense and leave a big air space in the cartridge. This can be bad because some powders are position sensitive. Meaning they like all the powder stacked at the primer end as opposed to lying flat the entire length of the cartridge. Or even worse, have the powder stacked up and the boolit end and nothing but air at the primer. Trail Boss will fix that problem.

Thanks for the suggestion halfmoonclip. Now to find some Trail Boss locally.

Pudge
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Those are some purty guns. Mmmm hmmm. :)
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Luckily, Pudge, Trailboss seems to be available again. If you want loading data, now or later, PM me. Our late range officer used to cast for all of us, and I've nearly used up my stock of his boolits. I'll have to look for a new source.

I did clock some previous .45 Colt loads with denser powder (Unique), and there was a 60 foot difference between 'powder back by the primer' and 'powder up by the boolit'.
Trailboss meters well, too.
Moon
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