i think i was overthinking the dating process a tad! i figured it was in the '05/'06ish run, but after reading all the threads, i thought the "94" might be some kind of reference (especially with the "00" after it!), as opposed to just the first 2 digits of the regular old serial number. 2006 makes perfect sense. i was just confused!
man, i love the little thing!!! i reluctantly went to a tiny gun show this past weekend, about 3 hours away. i had been a time or two before, and while usually interesting, they had been very tiny, poorly attended shows. good grief! it was a marlin-fest! first table through the door, there was a early 60s era (i suppose!) .444 with the monte carlo stock. first one i had ever seen. same guy had two very nice older 30-30s. the man i dealt with had the 32-20 in absolutely perfect, new-in-box-with-all-goodies condition, and a really nice 18.5" .357. two tables up from him was a beautiful 38-55 octagon-barrel cowboy with a stunning stock. a man was carrying around a first-year 39 in pretty nice condition.
i had missed one of the 32-20s at a show a couple of years ago, and regretted it ever since. i hadn't seen one of them since then. man, it is a beautiful thing! wood is nice, checkering is perfect, wood/metal, and metal/metal fit is perfect, blue is flawlessly perfect. it was really a breath of fresh air after looking at the new offerings for the last few months!
i had a hard time deciding which one to go after. the cowboy was very tempting, but it had a few tiny scratches, and a couple tiny safe-dings in the wood. i have been looking for a 357, but its stock didn't match the forend very good. i wasn't really familiar enough with the monte carlo gun to know what i was doing, and the 39 was a tad rougher than i would have liked. the 32-20 was a little jewel, and i was sold! i am tickled with it!
