[hof740]

Okay, here goes.... always wanted a marlin .357 lever action rifle. Took some looking but I found a 1894 in 357 magnum made in 1979 in good shape. Here is the only problem, as the round comes up on the carrier the back end of it appears to low and it jams up trying to go into the chamber and I have to double clutch the lever. I have looked at the bottomb area of the carrier where it rides on the lever and it has no grove. Nor does it try to feed two onto the carrier ever. I wish I knew more about these rifles. I have done much online research and first thing I noticed is that my parts do not look like the parts in the pics online. For example, my extractor on the bolt is a flat piece of spring steel with a bent over hook, not a small square-ish piece of steel with a formed hook. My ejector in the side of the receiver also looks different and the spring goes all the way up to the chamber and tucks behind the chamber edge and the receiver. Hope that makes sense. When running the action slowly I notice the carrier brings the round up just in front of the bolt, is it supposed to bring it up and slide it in the bolt being held by the extractor? mine just comes up in front and the bolt pushes it forward but its not held by anything. I have cycled the rifle with the bolt removed and it loads perfectly, just dosent extract of course.

I have heard others solving this type of issue by polishing their extractor or rounding off the point a bit but theres looks nothing like mine. ??? I dont know, sorry for rambling but I hope someone knows about whats going on because the best gunsmith in town passed away last year and I dont trust anyone else around here.

Thanks for any replies, Keith

 

[erik7181]

It's really frustrating when you get anew rifle and you have a problem with it. The best thing I can tell you is take it either to the gunsmith or where you bought it and have them fix it. You could need a new extractor and your timing could be off. I'm not an expert but the good news is, you found this forum and there are plenty of experts. Good luck, sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[hof740]

Yeah, I may have to find a new gunsmith and give them a try. Did something change in the internals on the bolt around 1979? Any ideas why mine looks different than all the diagrams and pics I see of everyone elses? Thanks for the reply erik7181

 

[erik7181]

Honestly it's very posseble, i would recommend the 1894 take down guide, it explains all the basic field strip down it's just a good go to if your unsure about basic stuff, but again im not sure if they changed the parts. Go to google and look up cowboy action gun smiths and maybe you could call them and they could help.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=673457

 

[hof740]

The basics are easily enough understood, however sometimes the engineering of the correct operation may escape me...lol. I have built and trouble shot several ak47's that had some problems and have acess to a full machine shop, just dont want to rush into anything untill I understand a little more about the way this firearm is supposed to load the rounds. You are probably right...Im thinking maybee a timing issue. Just a pooper because the gun is beautifull and I got it for 475.00 it just needs a little love. It will be solved and Ill let you guys know.

 

[hof740]

I have completely torn the gun down, first thing I did and gave it a good cleaning, although it wasnt very dirty 8)

 

[Widowmaker]

HOF:

these type of problems are hard to address on this type forum. Someone 'in the know' might have to actually look it over to tell you where the problem exist.

But I will comment on a couple items.

The description of your extractor might indicate its either a very old style (which I'm not familiar with) or someones 'custom' experimental extractor that didn't work right. As mentioned, ask a gunsmith to check it out.

On the round appearing to be sitting low on the carrier as the bolt makes contact with the rim does appear to me to be a timing issue.

And if it is, its a timing issue on the 'upper' end, as I would call it.

If someone has 'tweaked', smoothed and polished the knife edge of your lever, its possible that the upper end of the timing has been 'compromised'.

PLUS, another issue could be with the 'stud' in your carrier either being full of crud and/or not pushing in/out as it should.
The spring inside could either be broke or edging out of that hole.

IF that stud is being held by a washer, you can snip that washer off, take out the stud and spring, and clean that hole. Then when you put the spring and stud back in, you can secure it with a 1/8" E-Clip. One end of that stud has a little groove around it and the e-clips work perfect.

I use those e-clips on all my Marlins and in Cowboy Action Shooting, those Marlins really get a workout. The e-clips seem to be stronger and more reliable than that factory washer.

Well, thats about all my ity-bity brain can think of right now.

Keep us informed.


..........Widder

 

[hof740]

Yeah, I think its an older style, it has no cross bolt safety and the ser numbers put it at 1979. The stud you speak of on the carrier ia a small spring loaded lever on the side of my carrier with a machined nub on it. Most of my parts are very similar to ones I have seen but not quite the same. Dosent look like a custom job to me for a couple reasons;

1.the rifle is in such good shape on all the screw heads, blueing and wood stocks.
2.All the parts appear to be slight variations of the ones I have seen on line in my quest for a solution.

I will try to take some pics and see if I can figure out how to post them. Very interesting stuff never the less, and thanks for the reply

-Keith

 

[hof740]

Just found out that 1979 was the first year for the 1894c.....does this sound right. Friend of mine told me this as he owns many lever guns including Marlins he also said their internals were a little different for the first couple of years and they were a little finicky on different types of ammo. As I have only tried Remmington 357 mags this will be the first thing I try. I needed an excuse to go to the gunshop and look around anyways. Ill let you guys know if different ammo helps.

 

[kelbro]

You might try some American Eagle ammo. Seems that a lot of folks have good luck with that brand.

 

[papajohn]

It often comes down to the shape of the bullet in use. Some guns feed anything, some are more finicky. My 1894SS was really finicky with almost anything I fed it when it was new, and I had to point it downward and jiggle it to get the rounds in the chamber. Over time, it seemed to learn to feed most of them, and I convinced myself that it was "learning" how to eat properly. I can't explain it any other way, other to say that as the parts wore in, it got better at feeding most any bullet profile I fed it. After six or seven thousand rounds, it seems not to care what I feed it.

Whether you can use any of this drivel for anything real is up to you to decide. It's late. But I tried.

 

[44-40 Willy]

Yes, 1979 was the first year for the 1894C.

 

[hof740]

I ordered the new style carrier as advised from the gun shop for it and picked up a few boxes of cheap ammo...blazer I think is one. Brass of course, cant wait to get the new carrier and try it. On an up note I did see a rifle like the one I bought for 475 go for over 700 on gunbroker, advertised as first year 357 caliber in marlin 1894. Anyway, looks like I got a good enough buy.

I will cycle some of the ammo tonight with the existing carrier as soon as I get off work. Will keep you all posted, and thanks for the replies.

 

[Leverdude]

a 1979 will have the older typr lifter with a rocker I believe instead of the button. Whether or not theyre interchangable I dont know, I never had a button one to tinker with.
I have one about the same year. Marlins dont "hold" the case so to speak as it feeds. Its loose on the lifter initially, as the bolt pushes it forward the rim SHOULD ride up the bolt face & under the extractor. Dont always work that way though. You can file a small radius on the extractor helping the case to slip under it sometimes but without actually looking at it its hard to tell.

 

[hof740]

Thanks lever dude, I did just that and polished up a few things, it cycles slick now with no ammo and feeds shells. If I cycle it faster, theres barely a hitch. It wont do anything but jam if I cycle it slowly though.....oh well, I dont wanna go to far all at once and create more problems in timing and all. It still just pushes the round with the extractor, it never snaps in but I think its time to let a hundred rounds or so fly and see what I get. Im told it was so tight it might get better with time. Thanks to all for the helpfull replies. Ive only shot it once but I love this rifle already.

-Keith 8)

 

[Leverdude]

Thanks lever dude, I did just that and polished up a few things, it cycles slick now with no ammo and feeds shells. If I cycle it faster, theres barely a hitch. It wont do anything but jam if I cycle it slowly though.....oh well, I dont wanna go to far all at once and create more problems in timing and all. It still just pushes the round with the extractor, it never snaps in but I think its time to let a hundred rounds or so fly and see what I get. Im told it was so tight it might get better with time. Thanks to all for the helpfull replies. Ive only shot it once but I love this rifle already.

-Keith 8)

It should work slow too, but nothings 100% 100% of the time. Does it feed nicely other than not sliping behind the extractor?

 

[rattes]

I havnt read all the posts but I occassionaly have to tighten up the loading gate screw. Failure to do so results in loading problems. It fixed my problem.

cheers

 

[Leverdude]

I was just looking at mine & the shell doesn't actually slip under the extractor, it looks to be pushed initially by the ejector & the bolt, as it slips into the chamber it centers on the bolt & the extractor snaps over the rim when the bolt closes.
Works fast or slow though & mine has the same extractor as you mention.

 

[hof740]

Got the new style carrier in from Brownells, even they said back ordered it arrived in five days. This made all the difference, the round now comes up way closer to level and feeds right in. It feeds smooth slow or fast. If your tired of fighting feeding problems I would highly recommend the new style carrier. I tried it with .357 and .38 special...both flawless.

Now for my peep sights..... 8)

Thanks all, and happy shooting, -Keith

 

[bowhunter472401]

I'm glad you got your feeding issue figured out. Just another tidbit, make sure your ammo has a good crimp on it. I have a 1894 in 44 mag and in 45 colt. I bought the 45 colt first and when I got it I bought a couple boxes of winchester silvertips and I couldnt get them to feed at all in a brand new gun. Come to find out the silvertips werent crimped and the edge of the brass was catching on the mouth of the breech during cycling and I had to manually push each one in to get it to load. A friend of mine bought a 44 magnum and bought some remington loads and had the same problem, the factory loads werent crimped and there was a canelure on the bullet. I took his box of bullets and crimped them a little in my press and they worked flawlessly for him. Hope this helps. Dan

PS I reload all my ammo and all of the loads I load has a crimp on it