Review: 1894P vs. Win94 Trapper

D

Dave3006

New member
I could not decide which to get. The Winchester Trapper in 30/30 or the Marlin 1894P. I bought both. I have had some time to gain some range time and impressions with both. I have to say up front that I am very happy with both. Here is my comments and comparisons of the two:

1. The length of the 30/30 round seems easier to load when you are in a hurry. The shortnest of the .44 mag round kind of makes it more fumble prone.

2. The Marlin short action cycles faster. Not a lot faster. Just faster.

3. The Marlin is a dream to disassemble and clean. Of course, I don't disassemble the Winchester. I just use a q-tip to swab around. That seems to work fine.

4. The Winchester loading gate is a little stiff. After you put a few rounds in the gun, you have to use a little force to get the gate depressed.

5. I hated both the sights. I installed the Williams peep sights. 300% better. I still hate the Marlin front sight. It is circular at the top.

6. The Marlin is a little shorter and has a shorter length of pull.

7. I HATE the ports on the Marlin. When I shoot, little pieces of lead fly back and hit you in the face. It bugs the heck out of me.

8. The .44 mag and the 30/30 seem to kick equally.

9. I hate both of the stupid cross bolt safeties. Anyone know how to remove these useless things?

10. I like the fact that you can see the Winchester feed the round. If it hangs up, it is easy to see why.

11. I like the lever on the Winchester better. The shape seems to fit my hand better.

12. .44 specials make the Marlin act like a .22 long rifle. They just don't hit the same point of aim.


Both of these guns are back up guns. My M1 Garand is my main fighting rifle. They are both good guns. In all honesty, I don't see how anyone could go wrong with either. If they were all I had, I would be just fine in a SHTF situation.
 
I've come to prefer Marlins to Winchesters, mostly because Marlins are so much easier to take apart and repair than Winchesters. Also, I had terrible carrier problems on my Winchester '94 in .45 Colt. I think that design was made for the .30-30 and it just didn't seem to work well with small, narrow-rimmed handgun cartridges. Maybe the '92 would be better.

Ditto on the safeties. I HATE THEM! They are the most idiotic devices, and IMHO make the weapon less safe. They flip back and forth with a tap, and cannot be relied on like the safeties on good bolt actions. And you don't need a toggle safety on a lever action with an external hammer! The hammer itself, properly designed, serves that role. I got so fed up I dumped all my modern lever actions and have now started collecting pre-lawyer models. The difference is wonderful, both in trigger pull and safeties. On the down side, I've had to do a lot of repair work.
 
...when I shoot, little pieces of lead fly back.....


My first guess wouldn't be lead. More likely unburned powder blowing past the case before it has expands against the chamber wall. Faster powder, more primer, or more crimp would get the burn off to a better start.

Tom
 
I agree with Tom. When I used around 12 or 13 grains of 2400 in a magnum case, I got some unburned powder flakes in the face. That is the only load it's happened with.
 
The comments on unburned powder make sense. I have not had a chance to compare the accuracy between the Win 94 and the Marlin 1894P. My initial impression was that they were comparable. I was kind of surprized to see how much of a difference in the point of impact on .44 mag vs. .44 special. It was several inches at even 25 yards. The .44 special had a higher POI. Does anyone know why?
 
Dave,
You may want to try a 1/4" O-ring on the safety. I've heard that this is the perfect remedy short of a gunsmith. Also, if you ever sell the rifle, just remove the O-ring and the weapon is stock again.:D
 
The .44 special had a higher POI. Does anyone know why?

Barrel jump. 44Special may seem to you to kick less, but may have kicked up more by the time ole slowpoke got around to leaving the barrel. Expect 180's or 200's to shoot way lower than 240's. 8 or 10 rounds in the tube will lower your impact point over an empty tube.

The higher bore(lower stock) of the 44 plus the slow acceleration of the bullet means you have to think 50% pistol and 50% rifle to master the gun. Same is true( but less so) of the faster 30-30

Tom
 
The porting of the .44 Mag rifle is a mistake!

On the 45-70 it serves a function but a .44 Mag rifle just doesn't need one. It's not a high recoil caliber in a rifle!
 
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