Henry Rifle Forums

Yeah it's not a Henry, I sold my Winchester '94 and waited for a nice use Henry or Marlin to show up and I decided I would buy the first one that came available. (been waiting/looking for 11 months) Well.... the Marlin showed up first and I bought it, it was list as BNIB Marlin 1894 .44 magnum 500$.

Has anyone experienced/owned/own one? can you give your opinion between the two? I plan on a range day tomorrow, I hope I didn't screw up too bad buying this Marlin vs the Henry.

The Marlin has a pretty smooth action but I never cycled a Henry so opinions will be appreciated.



http://henryrifleforums.com/download/fi ... ew&id=9731

It seem the pic looks a little strange, here's a link

http://henryrifleforums.com/download/fi ... ew&id=9731

I hope I didn't screw up too bad buying this Marlin vs the Henry.

While it is a crossbolt safety Marlin you did OK. True 'JM' marked Marlins are the Holy Grail but are getting few and far between. Hopefully your Marlin will be OK and not give you the grief a lot of the newer Marlins have for some owners. There is no denying the fact the earlier Marlins are superior rifles but after the acquisition by Remington they basically went to he11 in a handbag. The last couple years seemed to be a little better for those produced but the recent bankruptcy of Remington has left a lot of uncertainty about their future. While Henry rifles may have their 'quirks' (and some truly great improvements over 'other' rifles) they did a great job of picking up where the others left off and created a lot of new 'believers' in the lever action and their products in general.

I own some Marlins. Some people think the JM is the god of leverguns. I also own a Marlin that was made after the Remington take over. It was a terrible gun and should have not ever left the factory. I sent it to a levergun specialist in Colorado and he got it running like it should. I wont buy another Remington of any kind because of there customer service. Its terrible and probably one of the biggest reasons there where they are now. Have you run some rounds thru the gun to see if it will cycle yet? Hopefully yours will not give you any trouble. Nothing more aggravating than buying a used gun that doesnt work. Al

Is it a Remington made Marlin or a Marlin made Marlin?

Have owned several of the JM 44 mags. They're fine shooters, but make sure you grip and hold down the forearm when shooting off a bag or a rest. The guns are light enough to have a lot of bounce off the bag and that does affect accuracy when shooting off a bag. I learned this the hard way with my first one. It actually bounced off the rest, hit the bench and put a nasty gouge in the stock.

BigAl52 wrote:I own some Marlins. Some people think the JM is the god of leverguns. I also own a Marlin that was made after the Remington take over. It was a terrible gun and should have not ever left the factory. I sent it to a levergun specialist in Colorado and he got it running like it should. I wont buy another Remington of any kind because of there customer service. Its terrible and probably one of the biggest reasons there where they are now. Have you run some rounds thru the gun to see if it will cycle yet? Hopefully yours will not give you any trouble. Nothing more aggravating than buying a used gun that doesnt work. Al

Yeah, I loaded up 10 rounds and ran the action like I was running the 50yd dash, perfect, I did this 3 times and it's just fine, I have read that their biggest problem is jamming and the "trying to load two rds problems" but it's doing well and it ejects like you're running a full auto firearm.

I bought a Marlin 1894 in 45 colt last November. The date of manufacture was 11/2016. I’ve had no problems with it, and it is pretty accurate. Killed a doe in December at 105 yds. She dropped in her tracks. My marlin likes Federal American Eagle ammo. The action is not as slick as my Henry’s but not bad either.

I got mine for $500 as well. It was definitely worth it.

Tape wrote:I hope I didn't screw up too bad buying this Marlin vs the Henry.

Time will tell. Personally I would have waited for the Henry, but if you are happy with your Marlin's fit and finish and it reliably cycles and shoots the ammo you like to feed it, then you probably did ok for $500. Good luck with your new rifle and I hope you never have to call Marlin for customer service.

Well, I have a 30-30 in both. The one issue I have had with my Marlin is the load gate screw broke while I was checking the screws. Marlin did sent a new one. On the other hand, I had to smooth the rim of the loading tube for my Henry, so I could load a full magazine of any brand of ammo. I could only load 3 round of one particular brand before the lever would pop out.

As far as smoothness, they have been fairly close to me. They both cycle well. I think I like shooting the Henry more. I seem to have more of a rhythm with it. But, I like the simplicity of the Marlin. I plan to shoot them both a lot. I have been debating which one to take to the range next. I probably will only have about a two window. That about enough time for me to bond with only one. It has been awhile since I took my Marlin to the range. But, I just got my Henry. Decisions, decisions.

While I really like my BBB .357 I don't believe I would ever own a Henry 30-30. I am sure they are excellent but when it comes to 30-30 there are way too many other options such as vintage Marlins and Winchesters (heck I own three Winchesters) and I like to tinker and mess with older guns so this is a natural for me.