1894 Marlin Jamming

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Powhs
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1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by Powhs »

I have a older 1894 Marlin 44 mag. Never keep more than 4 or five rounds in it. I loaded it full today and worked the lever. It will not raise a bullet up to the chamber. I put pressure on the carrier and it would not raise up when working the action. It will only work with four bullets in the magazine tube. Any ideas on how to repair it?
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AJMD429
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by AJMD429 »

Welcome; there is a ‘jam’ the 1894 can have that may be the cause. Whilst waiting for someone more knowledgeable than me to speak up look for threads on this forum - here is one:

viewtopic.php?t=32740

(updated link)
Last edited by AJMD429 on Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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marlinman93
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by marlinman93 »

This is a somewhat frequent flaw in some Marlin Model 1894's in .44 Magnum. One fix is to simply cut the magazine tube spring about an inch shorter. But some people have still had issues after shortening the tube spring. I'd guess yours working fine with less rounds will work with a shortened spring though.
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Powhs
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by Powhs »

I tried cutting off a inch of the spring before posting. It helped get me up to 4 rounds in the tube. Was wondering if a new carrier assembly might help but no one has one in stock.
kaschi
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by kaschi »

I received as a gift a NIB 44 Mag Model 1894 back in 1975. That thing jammed from the getgo! Sent it back for repair, and it was returned with a new carrier. Sounds like the perfect solution, right? You'd think so but it still jammed......
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marlinman93
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by marlinman93 »

Back when I had my FFL I got numerous 1894 Marlins in .44 Mag in to repair jamming, and failure to feed problems. Some were fixed by shortening the mag tube spring, while others took work to the carrier to smooth them up. Yet still others needed ramp work at the chamber to polish and smooth up feed ramp.
But some just wouldn't stop jamming, no matter what I tried to replace, shorten, or polish. I just ate up my time, and couldn't charge a dime for them. They'd often work for awhile, and then suddenly jam again, regardless of ammo used. Frustrating, and I felt bad for their owners. Most guys ended up either shooting them at the range singly fed, or selling them.
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AJMD429
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by AJMD429 »

Here is the link I MEANT to post above.... :oops:

viewtopic.php?t=32740

There are others describing the fix.

Between me and relatives and friends we have over forty post-1970 or so Marlin 1894’s and the 336’s and their derivatives, in 218 Bee, 25-20, 32-20, 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 30-30, 35 Rem, 375 Win, 444 Marlin , & 45-70, and the only one of us ever to have any real ‘jam’ issues was me, with one of my 1894’s (1974 mfg, 2,000 rounds through it; jam happened when working action s-l-o-w-l-y to not disturb a deer that snuck up before I was ready). I’ve owned I think four other newer 1894’s (current favorite is a Remlin 1894 Stainless) with no issues. I wound up re-barreling the offending 44 Mag to 45 Colt and no more issues; I didn’t ‘fix’ anything on the original gun and fired 500 - 1,000 more shots after the jam without issue. I do make it a point to operate the action when the gun is horizontal, and I operate it with attention to being ‘brisk’ and avoiding short-stroking.
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Powhs
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by Powhs »

Fixed my problem yesterday. Bought a new Rossi 357 trapper made in the new Georgia plant. It is slick and accurate. No need to take it apart. With 38 s there is no recoil. Great truck/four wheeler :) gun.
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AJMD429
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Re: 1894 Marlin Jamming

Post by AJMD429 »

.
One way to fix a gun is to buy another one... :mrgreen:

Would that be considered a ‘New York repair’ analogous to a ‘New York reload’...??

I do find I’m more patient fixing Gun A, when I can shoot a functional Gun B in the interim...
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