Have the itch for a lever for some reason, maybe something to keep my new generation S&W Model 66 company. Was thinking of .38/.357 to keep things simple, I don't need this to hunt with. Truck use every now and then? Was on the Henry website and the All Weather stainless/black caught my eye. Any others I should be looking at?

Does it have to be new? An older pre-Remington Marlin lever gun is a great choice, for example, and lightly used examples can be found.

I'd prefer new for some reason, it's hard finding decent deals on new ones in my area. They tend to think everything is a Civil War collectible here in Middle TN. From what I understand the older the Marlin the better, the new ones are Remington-esque from what I hear.

See if you can find a Browning B-92 1892.

A new lever gun? A used, pre-Remington Marlin of course.

A pre-Rem Marlin would be my first choice, but you will be looking at high prices for a decent one.

You might check out Rossi lever rifles. I understand that their quality has improved a lot.

Jim

Some of the first Remington produced Marlins were junk. I know because I owned a couple! But recently produced guns seem to be back with up with the JM Marlin guns quality wise. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another new Marlin.

I have a Henry big boy in 357. It's a nice rifle.

Marlin 1894 CSS
Henry All Weather for use or “Big Boy” for pretty

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
...An older pre-Remington Marlin lever gun is a great choice...

Excuse my ignorance, but how does 1 identify a pre-Remington Marlin?

Might start looking for my first lever gun.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I have a Henry big boy in 357. It's a nice rifle.

I have a Henry in 45 LC. Very nice craftsmanship to the rifle.

I believe the 357/38 versions are not easy to come across. It's what I originally wanted but they didn't have any and I "needed" a lever action.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
...An older pre-Remington Marlin lever gun is a great choice...

Excuse my ignorance, but how does 1 identify a pre-Remington Marlin?

Might start looking for my first lever gun.

The barrel will be stamped (separate from the serial number) with the letters jm.

Thanks apprentice. After I posted my question I started looking around. There was some debate about whether or not, during the merger, if there were barrels that were stamped JM, but installed by REM. then, I read this, and it sounds like this guy worked for Marlin...

https://www.glocktalk.com/thre...tion-rifles.1520686/

"To my knowledge NO "JM" Proofmarked Barrels EVER left North Haven Marlin.
We kept making Barrels & Receivers up to December 2010 even after ALL our Assembly Equipment was sent to Remington in August 2010.
The Barrels were Rollstamped with North Haven Marlin by us, and Ilion, but you can't Proof Test & Proofmark a Barrel on a rifle that has NOT been Assembled.
Those Receivers would have had North Haven Marlin Serial Numbers Stamped into them, but when Assembled & Proof Tested in Ilion,NY Remington they would have had "REP" Proofmarks on their Barrels. Remington made Receivers would have the "MRxxxxxxxxx" Serial Numbers Stamped.

The first thing you have to decide is: Do you wanna load 'er from the the front or the back?
The Henry's are loaded from up near the front of the magazine tube which I always found to be slow & inefficient. Give one a try before you buy.
Winchester, Marlin, Taylor and others load from the traditional loading gate on the right hand side of the receiver.
My vote: Winchester 92 or 94 in .357. I have one of each and they are "a hoot to shoot"!

OP like you I've been lookin around, but I have no experience with these...maybe some of the guys do.

These looks interesting...if you like 16" bbl. (Threaded...not sure if you can get it w/o threaded barrel).

https://www.marlinfirearms.com...-1894/model-1894-cst

http://www.taylorsfirearms.com...added-stock-end.html

20" bbl.

http://www.taylorsfirearms.com...es/1892-alaskan.html

I have a Rossi 92 that I have been nothing but pleased with. Nice looking gun in 45 colt. They make them in 357/38 as well.

Yeah... 98% of all the Marin's ever made are pre-Remington, but somehow they're very rare now and priced accordingly.

What are the issues with the Remington Marlins?

Sloppy assembly, canted barrels, poor finishing, if memory serves.

Always hear good things about Henry.

I have an older Winchester 94 Trapper in 44mag that I got to mate with my S&W 4" 629 (no dash). Outside of being in my safe together, never had those two with me at the same time in all the time I have owned them. Little Winchester is a great gun.

Also have a Marlin GSBL 45-70 that has a Wild West trigger and Skinner sights ... amazing rifle. Almost have to change my underwear when I rack a round.