The Marlin Model 1894 Deluxe is one of those guns that is a little too fancy to not handle with a little extra care, but not so fancy that it isn’t made to shoot and take hunting on a routine basis.
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Marlin Model 1894 Deluxe |
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| Manufacturer | Marlin Firearms – Madison, NC |
| Model | Model 1894 Deluxe |
| Type | Lever Action Side Eject |
| Caliber | 44 Remington Magnum & 44 S&W Special |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 |
| Barrel Length | 20″ |
| Twist Rate | 1:38″ Ballard Type |
| Weight | *6 lbs 10 oz. |
| Overall Length | 37.5″ |
| Stock | #1 Fancy Black Walnut – Cut Checkering |
| Hardware | Blued Carbon Steel |
| Length of Pull | *13 1/2″ |
| Drop at comb | *1 1/2″ |
| Drop at heel | *2″ |
| Sights | Semi Buckhorn – Hooded Ramp Bead |
| Scope | Receiver Drilled and Tapped |
| Trigger Pull | *5 lbs. 11 oz. |
| Safety | Cross Slide – Hammer Block Safety |
| MSRP | $1068 |
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* Actual weights and measures. Extras: offset hammer spur, padded hard case, sling swivel studs, decorative retail sleeve. |
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When I heard there was going to be a 2010 run, I placed my order and waited eight months for the production run. Compared to the standard Marlin Model 1894, the Deluxe has a little fancier grained stock, a little nicer hardware finish and the guns are listed as being assembled by a senior Marlin craftsman. I believe the gun I received was consistent with those representations.
Fit and finish is very good, bluing uniform and the stock’s Mar-Shield® finish give the wood a very natural oil rubbed appearance. Inletting at the tang and receiver is tight and uniformly follows the metal parts. The cut checkering is formed into a simple borderless design. The buttstock ends with a decent tan colored recoil pad, the gun is supplied with swivel studs. Metal parts are deep blued, but with enough fine tooth in the finish to make it obvious these are nicely finished steel parts.
As a gun that shoots…
The factory sights are semi-buckhorn rear and ramped bead front. The Model 1894 Deluxe has a Wide-Scan™ hood, a low aspect ratio piece that shields the front sight, but doesn’t obstruct a target. The front bead, just like the gun’s trigger, is brass plated as is the tradition with Marlin.
The 20″ barrel is more than adequate in length for the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. The gun’s rifling is Ballard type rather than the company’s proprietary Micro-Groove®, which is intended to reduce leading where cast lead bullet use is common.
Marlin’s Model 1894 Deluxe has a ten round magazine capacity. That’s a lot of lead. As a function of the feed mechanism, the rifle is deigned to function reliably with .44 Remington Magnum or .44 S&W Special cartridges 1.535″ – 1.610″ in length, with 1.610″ the SAAMI indicated maximum length for a .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. Lever rotation is approximately 60°, or 5.5″ of travel when measured at the central finger position in the lever loop.
For as much of a handful as the .44 Remington Magnum can be when shot from a handgun, it is shoulder friendly when fired from the Marlin, but a lot more powerful thanks to the extra inches of rifle barrel length and no influence of an air gap between a cylinder and barrel.
Ballistic Performance
Ballistically, the 44 Remington Magnum moves like a 170 grain 30-30 WCF… but it leaves a much bigger hole and it carries much more kinetic energy. For a lot of people who have not hunted with a 30-30 WCF this may not seem impressive, but for those of us who have dropped a deer in its tracks or shot a Silvertip hole through a 200+ pound hog with an exit wound the size of a fist, its actually really impressive. For some reason I was surprised by the chronograph results even with a good deal of revolver experience with this round.
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Cartridge |
Bullet Weight |
Redhawk 4″ BBL MV |
Redhawk 4″ BBL ME |
Marlin MV |
Marlin ME |
| Federal Classic | 180 | 1482 | 878 | 2178 | 1896 |
| Hornady Custom | 180 | 1584 | 1003 | 2247 | 2019 |
| Federal Fusion | 240 | 1357 | 996 | 1819 | 1764 |
| Speer Gold Dot | 270 | 1202 | 866 | 1610 | 1554 |
| Comparison | |||||
| 30-30 WCF | 170 | – | – | 2012 | 1528 |
Shootin’… ability
I shot these targets… shot ’em dead, for a piece I wrote addressing sight options for the Marlin Model 1894, but they were shot with the gun featured here. They are fifty yard groups, which is about my limit for critical shooting with open sights, but the bottom right group shot with the aid of a scope begins to demonstrate the little rifle’s potential.
The days of big groups from lever action rifles is gone, apparently, as these are very respectable for a hunting rifle. Moved out to a hundred yards and shooting off a bench, the Model 1894 shot 240 grain moderate handloads shot between 1½” and ¾” with both jacketed and hard cast bullets. The rifle was well behaved, easy on recoil and rapport was minimal for a cartridge of this size.
Conclusion
This is the first Marlin I have purchased since Marlin became a part of Remington. I know there has been a reshuffling of Marlin manufacturing and some consolidation, but the quality of the product seems to have actually improved. The more I carried and shot the 1894, the more I liked it and its performance did a god job of building shooter’s (that would be me) confidence.
If the Deluxe model isn’t for you, there are four other versions available, split 44 magnum and 357 magnum, both stainless and blued steel, some short, some long, some with a CAS bent. I handle a lot of firearms through the course of a year. Most our fun to look at and shoot or poke at a bit. This is one of the few that became a personal firearm. Excellent gun for woods and hills hunting.
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