Marlin's stainless .44 Magnum

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2003 by Charles E. Petty

In the eastern half of the country there are plenty of whitetail deer and lots of guys who hunt them. For the life of me I've never been able to understand why super magnum rifles are so popular there. To be sure there cam be some long shots but most aren't. Of course there's no way to be really precise about this, but from my own experience I would wager the majority of deer in the east are taken at ranges of 100 yards or less. That's why the .30-30 lever action rifles from Marlin and Winchester are still standard equipment. You simply do not need a .300 Ultra Mag.

And if the .30-30 is king of the east-coast deer cartridges, can the .44 Magnum be far behind? Outside of handgun hunters who use it extensively, there are several handy lever action rifles chambered for the big .44. Both Marlin and Winchester have offered them for years.

Stainless Advantage

This time though the new Marlin is made of stainless steel, I have been witness to the stainless revolution--that's really what it is--since way back in 1965 when S&W introduced the Chief's Special Model 60. It was a huge success because the idea of a material that required less attention was obviously appealing. Some folks inferred that "stainless" steel was rustproof. That never was the case, and even today stainless guns are better called rust resistant. They still need care, you just don't have to be so afraid of rain and snow.

It was a long time before S&W saw much competition in the stainless market. One reason was because the older stainless alloys were very difficult to machine. But over time alloys improved and the shops learned how to work with stainless with the same ease as they had with carbon steel. Probably the next big advancement came in barrels as custom gunsmiths began to install stainless steel barrels in varmint and target rifles. The final step in the evolution was when rifle actions were made of stainless.

Now we have a stainless steel lever action Marlin Model 1894 SS, and this just may be the ideal woods rifle. The material is the main thing to distinguish this model from other Marlin .44s. It's compact with a 19.5-inch barrel and straight grip stock with 14-inch length of pull. These dimensions fit most folks and I found the little carbine to handle with ease.

The stock has nice straight grain with checkering in the grip area. There is a rubber butt plate which can't really be called a recoil pad, but doubtless softens things a little. Not that recoil is a major issue with .44 magnum in a 6.5 pound carbine. The forend has equally nice wood with a large area of checkering. It is wide enough to be comfortable without getting in the way. In keeping with the likely use, sling swivel studs are installed. The receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts.

Making The Most Of The Magnum

I've heard some debate about the suitability of the .44 Magnum for big game hunting in terms of both power and accuracy. Neither of those arguments hold much water. Since its debut in 1956, the .44 Magnum cartridge has been the darling of handgun hunters and has taken just about every game animal in the world. All the carbine does is make it better with improved velocity and accuracy. The cartridge has proven time and again that it is capable of superb accuracy and those who claim that it isn't may be blaming the cartridge for shooter errors of trigger control or flinching.

In full power loadings, the big .44 can be uncomfortable in handguns but those concerns are virtually eliminated in a shoulder fired weapon. The M94 definitely has some recoil and it is proportional to the intensity of the load. Hot 300-grain loadings give you a pretty good thump, but more customary 240-grain factory loads feel very moderate. The carbine makes things better in the accuracy department too, for 1 inch, 50 yard groups are common with the standard iron sights and would doubtless be much smaller with a scope.

During the course of testing the Marlin was fired with .44 Magnum ammunition ranging from 185 to 300 grains in projectile weight. All functioned through the magazine tube without incident. And just because you can shoot magnums doesn't mean you have to. Several cowboy style .44 Special loads were shot for fun and the little Marlin is a formidable plinker with those.

The instruction manual tells us the action will function with ammo from 1.535- to 1.610-inches overall length, but this one worked just fine with some cowboy loads that were a bit shorter. There is the obligatory warning about not using pointed bullets in tubular magazines. In a way, it seems surprising anyone would use them--since we know that pointed things make primers pop--but it will rain your day if a tube full goes off. I've seen the results and am glad I wasn't there.

The mechanical stuff is pretty standard for Marlin rifles. It weighs 6.5 pounds, and holds 10 rounds in the full length tubular magazine. There is a hammer block safety that has become a standard feature on new lever action designs. Trigger pull is an average 5 1/2 pounds, with just a little creep.