A new Marlin 1894P 44mag ported 16" bbl -- pics

[ccw9mm]

Well, a photographer I am not. But here are a few pics of a new, unfired, in-the-box Marlin 1894P that I just picked up. It's 44mag / 44spl, 16" ported barrel, with wood stocks. Even has the warranty card. Found a guy with a large collection and a need to empty out the safe. The best combination.

On the day I made the offer for this 1894P, I came across a 98% Winchester 94 Trapper 44mag w/ 16" bbl on the rack, for ... get this! $395. I swear, walking out of the shop without that Trapper was tough.

Still, it feels wonderful. Not quite so perfectly balanced as the Trapper, but still very good.

Have not yet shot it. Time to disassemble, clean it and ensure it's well-oiled in all the right places. Then, range time.

First order of business will be to find the right load(s) for this bad boy. A good mid-power and high-power 44mag bullet in soft-point lead, or semi-jacketed lead, in ~240gr, 1.610" OAL. Time to hit the range and go "hunting" for the right load. Where are those engineer's calipers. Hm.


Merry Christmas to me ... merry Christmas to me ... tee-hee!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

Nice find Michael

That short barrel will make it a breeze to carry around all day.

[RSSZ]

Have owned a similar weapon since '96. A 1894S "Marlin Limited". It is blued,16" NON ported,in .44Mag/44 Spec. It was a limited run at Lew Horton's.

I use it for close range hogs and deer. I have several loads for this weapon and have discovered that it will shoot most anything. It works great with a 700fps special load and a 300gr.XTP,+P+ load.

That crappy cross boly safety can be defeated by use of a small "O" ring.Take it OFF safe and slip the "O" ring over the safety "button"(it already has a groove) on the left side of the weapon. If you ever want to use the safety simply pull the "O" ring off.

I love the compactness of the weapon and the short strokeability. This is a couple of the reasons why I'd rather have a lever carbine in the pistol calibers.It's fast when the hogs want to try to cut you. Plenty of firepower also. After all, the very first levers were in pistol calibers.

Enjoy your new found friend. -----

[raevan]

The one I bought isn't ported, I keep mine loaded for the farm with 180 gr JSP lead nose Remington, these will work well for animals up to dear size, if you going to face Bear go with 240 gr on up.

[retsupt99]

They really are nice hunting guns...well-balanced...and don't frighten the as much as an AR type weapon...

Sounds like you did well for yourself, and Merry Christmas, indeed!

ret

[frankmako]

nice gun, what the luck. let us know how she shoots. feed her flat nose ammo and she will do fine. got to love a good lever action gun. old school is hard to beat.

[ccw9mm]

Have got a couple of parts on order: A Leupold FX 2.5x28mm IER scope, with an XS Lever Scout mount and Warne quick-release rings.

After a few hundred rounds, I'll crack open the 1894P and think about what needs adjusting, honing, improving. Might be off to the 'smith for a little work, particularly if any jams start up.

Have got a small stash of various ammo, for testing.

More pics soon, once I get everything mounted up.

[Warhawk]

See if you can find any loads using the Speer 270gr Gold Dot bullet. I have a supply of this bullet in heavy handloads, it does the trick on big game.

[Airborne Falcon]

I love mine long time ... and killed a lot of whitetails with it over the past twelve or thirteen years but....

With regard to using it for home defense, there are better options. Not that your 1894P will not do plenty of damage, but if you ever shoot it at night you'll understand why it's probably not the best indoor home defense weapon going. That port puts out some serious bang and muzzle flash ... worse than a shotgun IMHO. Probably has to do with a lot of un-burned powder coming out of that 16 barrel, but whatever it is, it is what it is and it makes for a very bright flash and a lot of noise in confined spaces.

[glockman10mm]

I've had my 1894P for years, and killed much game with it, all 1 shot kills, they go down right where hit.

I can take the guess work out of load work up for you. 21-22 grns of H-110 under a 240 Hornady XTP for 1590 fps chronoed.

If you want to use it for home defense, load same bullet over 7.5 grns of Unique, and you won't get the flash from the porting.

[ccw9mm]

The thread's back from the dead! Thanks.

Glad to see others who love the 1894P as well. It's a hard-to-beat format.

Yeah, I know about the low-light blast characteristics. A "personal fireworks" display, with the right ammo. Buffalo Bore's 270gr JFN "hot" stuff works very well, in that regard.

[ccw9mm]

I can take the guess work out of load work up for you. 21-22 grns of H-110 under a 240 Hornady XTP for 1590 fps chronoed.

If you want to use it for home defense, load same bullet over 7.5 grns of Unique, and you won't get the flash from the porting.

Nice to know.

glockman10mm: Do you happen to know the chrono results of H-XTP 240gr + Unique 7.5gr, on the 1894P?

[Airborne Falcon]

I've had my 1894P for years, and killed much game with it, all 1 shot kills, they go down right where hit.

I can take the guess work out of load work up for you. 21-22 grns of H-110 under a 240 Hornady XTP for 1590 fps chronoed.

If you want to use it for home defense, load same bullet over 7.5 grns of Unique, and you won't get the flash from the porting.

Thanks :)

Yeah, I've loaded mine every which way from Sunday but still ... I don't know what I would do with one specific load just for use in my 1894P indoors when I have so many other better options. I can see why I might consider it if it was my only option - but for me it's not purpose built for home defense. However, it does sit in a special place where I can grab it and fight my way to my other stuff if needed (I would hope anyway.).

I do roll my own, lots of it and for a lot of different sticks, but I'm all about hitting hard when I pull the trigger on my 1894P these days, otherwise it's just not worth even shooting and having to clean. I do love that little rifle though and it will always be my favorite back forty rifle out of my closest-to-home stand or when we ride down to the river bottoms to shoot pigs out of the bean fields.

[glockman10mm]

Nice to know.

glockman10mm: Do you happen to know the chrono results of H-XTP 240gr + Unique 7.5gr, on the 1894P?

I checked my notes, and have for some reason not recorded this load data, although I made a mental note of how nice it was to shoot. I would guess about 900-1150 fps.

[40Bob]

The 1894P is one of my favorites.