winchester 94 ae vs. henry vs. marlin 336

It is easy to remove the bolt from a Marlin and clean the chamber and barrel from the breech. I am certain someone has disassembled a Win 94, but when I look at disassembly procedures for the action, I would not want to do it.

I like the cross bolt safety on my Marlin 336. It allows me to dry fire without worrying about breaking the firing pin. I stopped drying my Marlin 1894 after the firing pin broke in about three pieces. It does not have a cross bolt safety.
 
My first deer rifle was a (bought new in 1978 ) 94 that I proceeded to bugger up trying to fix a little rust spot on the receiver. Found out about the plating/wash Winchester put on the receiver that would not take cold blue:mad:. Took it apart several times and it was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to put back together, worse than an old Rochester Quadrajet!
 
For all the reasons you listed, T_PRO_Z, my hands down choice is the Winchester. Mine wears a Williams "Fool Proof" receiver sight.
 
A LA .44 Mag is on my bucket list.

Up until recently it was the Marlin without a doubt. I am now intrigued by the blue steel Henry and the tubular mag but haven't fondled or shot one yet. If the action and shootability of my Henry H001 LA .22LR is any clue the .44 will give the Marlin a run for its money!
 
Never had a smoother lever action rifle than a 1953 SC model 336 marlin my Father let me use at my whim. Little 30-30 sure downed allot of deer partridge & rabbits of all sizes and gender back in the late 50s & early 60s growing up off grid in Northern MN with my parents. In a few short years I got to know those Big State woods pretty well by my early teens. Old Marlin was my preferred companion back in those days. "What a dandy shoot'in 30-30 that one was."
 
they are all beautiful guns. the way you load it doesn't really affect my opinion on the gun. id say in order my favorites would be :
1. Winchester
2. marlin
3. henry
4.
5.
6.
7.browning

sorry for throwing the browning in there but I had some bad experiences with a blr 22. It would jam or just not shoot the entire time I owned the gun, which wasnt long.

I do love my winchester. I am thinking of getting a 44 mag lever action rifle but I don't know which one to get.
 
None of the above

My favorite lever 30-30 is my Savage 99. (it's the only 30-30 I have!) But I used to have a Marlin 336 35 Rem that I traded away because I never used it. If it was a 30-30 I'd still like the Savage 99 better.
 
Never cared for the Winchester 94 either. I had quite a few Marlins and 94's I picked up over the years and the Marlin is a better manufactured rifle. However, I do consider the model 88 a great deer gun. If I want a great deer gun and nostalgia, the 99' Savage is my rifle.
 
I don't have much or any experience with the Winchester or Henry. I do have a mid 60's Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. I am aware of the mechanical differences and appreciate the differences the Marlin has to offer. The Marlin fits me well, shoulders very well, and is quite accurate.
 
I don't have much of a dog in this fight since the only one I own is a Henry big boy .357. Very good quality I have to say. My dealer said after the hurricane flooded them they got new tools and machines and quality improved. Gotta like the made in America part. Not sure where the others are built. Like others have mentioned I really wish it had a loading gate- that is the only complaint I have. Wouldn't mind a half cock but really isn't that big of deal. Very, very easily to disassemble.

My brother has a trapper .357. That gun simply put a bad taste in my mouth with that God awful hammer and cross bolt safety. The lever mechanism just seems more complicated and nowhere as smooth as my Henry. I haven't had access to other models so take my opinion lightly. Needlesstosay I agree the right Winchester probably belongs at the top of the list.

Years back I thought it would be awesome to get a Navy Arms, but I like my money to much......:D
 
My Henry 009 30-30 has the best wood I've ever seen on an over-the-counter rifle. Shoots good, too. I'll see about a picture
 
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I like my Pre 64 Winchester 94 30-30 with a peep sight and my Miroku Japan 30-30 94 with Glass over my Marlin 35 with glass. I always like the Winchesters better than the Marlin. Not that one is better, it's just a personal preference. The Winchester Miroku is built to a extremely high quality the way they use to build the Pre 64 Winchesters, and the price reflects that.
 


I only have one lever action 30-30 at the moment, a Winchester Trapper model-94 from 1980, it's the top eject model before Winchester went to the AE version and became US Repeating Arms.

I bought two of them, one had the standard 20" barrel. I sold the long one but hung on to the Trapper. It's light and quick handling but best for open sights.

Back in the 1960's I had a Marlin 336C in .35 Remington. It was a beauty and very solid. If you need to use a scope, this would be my pick.

Don't know about the Henry but if it's anything like my Henry Golden Boy .22 it's probably very smooth and dependable.

Any of these lever actions will get the job done. For me, it's like choosing between a Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang or Dodge Challenger for a trip from Florida to California. They'll all get the job done.

Just check them all out and buy the one that speaks to you. If you're wrong, buy a different one. I wouldn't be happy until all three were in my safe.
 
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What don't you like about the "way they carry in the hand" Sarge? My AE model carries like any other Model 94 I've ever toted in the past.
 
3 levers

I have a 1974 top eject Model 94 in 30-30, and a Marlin in 375 Win, they are my go-to guns for deer and black bear in tight timber conditions,
when the clear cuts open up I pick up the Model 99 Savage in 300 Savage.
I don't really prefer one over the other, they each have a designated purpose (IMO) and they work well for each application.
Both the carbines have peep sights and I'm good to about 150-200 yds, but the Savage is scoped and I can hit out to 300 with it. :D
 
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