Pitchy,
You are doing much better than I am. I hate being sick, sometime I just don't know when to stay in bed.
My ratio of good to bad Marlins is 50-50.
>The first one was an 1894 CS .357 carbine. Fun, Fun, Fun little gun.
Had to sell it to pay bills
>The second one was an 1894 S (I think) 20" carbine in .45 Colt. That one was a sour lemon. The chamber was so huge when the firing pin hit the primer it would push the entire cartridge, including the rim into the chamber. I took that one back to the dealer and got my trade in back.
>The third one was an 1894 Cowboy. One of the early 24" barreled ones in .45 Colt. Oh how sweet it was. Perfect fit and finish. Perfect functioning. .............. But there was zero accuracy to it. Constant key holed bullets at 25 yards, might maybe hit the target at 50 and I almost never saw a bullet make it to the 100 yd line. I was really trying to diagnose the problems but that financial situation came up and it went bye bye.
>The fourth one is (present tense) an 1894 Cowboy Limited with the 20" octagon barrel, also in .45 Colt. The stock fit isn't near as good as the previous one, the front sight was WAY too tall, but it functions perfectly and shoot up a storm.
Yeah I know, I got a thing about Marlin and Winchester 1894s and the .45 Colt cartridge.
I'll be 59 this August and I too have seen and done a thing or two.
Joe