Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

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Matt74

Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Matt74 »

Hi Guys,

A friend of mine who's into Marlins pointed me in this direction. I'm personally into Winchesters myself ( I know, I won't mention the W word again:) but recently I'm liking the looks of the old Marlins more and more. That said, I've come across and old Marlin 1894 25-20 that has caught my eye. However, I want to make sure it was "right" and he suggested I ask the good folks over here. From what I have been told,the rifle is a target rifle...take down, with #3 heavy barrel, spirit level front sight, Lyman tang, really nice wood. TD mechanism is a little dinged up, but wood is very nice, lots of blue, and CC, though it looks funny in the pic of the loading gate side). My friend wasn't sure from the pics that the barrel "looked right", and this is all the info I have for now. I'm going to try to get the s/n and additional info (i.e barrel length, barrel markings, etc) tomorrow. Any thought from the pics?
Image
Image

Thanks,
Matt
Regnier (gunrunner)
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Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Regnier (gunrunner) »

Matt;

Interesting looking gun. Is that a carbine ring stud on the left side of the receiver, or just a dark spot in the case-coloring? Is this a Model 1894 or a Marlin Model '94?
The rear sight looks like either a sporting leaf rear sight or a carbine sight. What is it graduated for?
The serial number might help somewhat here. That barrel does look extra heavy for a .25-20 caliber gun. Most .25-20's had lighter barrels. Since this is a takedown action, it had to be either a .25-20 or a .32-30 caliber gun originally. Those are the only two calibers that work together in this Model 1894. The .38-40 and .44-40 caliber barrels would interchange in other takedown Model 1894's, but each Model 1894 could have only two barrels whereas the Model 1893 and 1895 could have as many barrels as there were calibers available.
Will wait for more information on the gun itself.
Due to the increasing cost of ammunition, there will be no warning shot!

The growing federal deficit = generational slavery to the national debt.

If the world was perfect.......it wouldn't be.
Matt74

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Matt74 »

Regnier,

Thanks very much for that info. Actually, my buddy up here in Canada (Karl) told me you'd be a good fellow to chat with. I emailed back the seller and got the following info on the gun, stemming from your questions and other concerns of mine:

Serial# is 196639, the model says 1894 under the tang sight, it is a carbine rear sight graduated for 2-9, there is no saddle ring stud the barrel is exactly 24". The cc is excellent on the loading gate side, the flash from the camera made it look shiny.

Anything you can tell me from this? I have a Blue Book, which seems to date this gun to about 1900. Does this gun "look right" to you considering the above? What would an approx value for this gun be? I don't want to end up paying too much for it!!

Matt
Matt74

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Matt74 »

Well,

Got some disappointing info...doesn't letter with any of these features at Cody.

Here's the info:

Marlin SN 196639
Model 1894
25 caliber
24 inch Round barrel
Date shipped: 12-28-1899

Any thoughts on this? Don't know I want to spend a lot of money on a gun like this that does not letter. I know old Winchester records would sometimes miss something here and there, but I'd have thought something would have showed up here. If it was sent back later for rework, would Marlin restamp the barrels similar to Winchester? I'm leaning towards passing on it right now. Thoughts? Thanks in advance for all the help.

Matt
Regnier (gunrunner)
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Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Regnier (gunrunner) »

Matt;

Everything listed in the records describe your gun. The only thing missed is the takedown feature, but that does not concern me as there are lots of takedowns in that area of the records. Besides, why fake the takedown feature. Lots of work, and not much benefit at the end of all the work. The Marlin records generally do not mention barrel weights. In most cases, the records will have a second ship date listed if the gun was ever returned to the factory for whatever reason.
I would be more concerned about the barrel markings. Have the seller tell you what the markings on the top of the barrel are. If this is a Marlin barrel, it should have the standard Marlin barrel markings. If those are there, then I would really want to look at the gun first hand after that. Then, once it is in hand, I would be looking to see if a heavier, larger caliber barrel had been lined down to the .25-20 caliber.
One thing to remember about the time that gun would have been made, the customer got what he wanted, not just what the factory wanted to put out like today. Marlin would have put a heavy barrel in a Model 1894 if the customer wanted a heavy barrel. I have seen Model 1897's with heavy barrels that were installed by the factory, that you cannot find anything about in the old catalogs.
What is the seller asking for the rifle? If it checks out, it may not be out of line for something so unusual.
Due to the increasing cost of ammunition, there will be no warning shot!

The growing federal deficit = generational slavery to the national debt.

If the world was perfect.......it wouldn't be.
4K66ZAD

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by 4K66ZAD »

Regnier,

Thanks for that info. You said that "Everything listed in the records describe your gun" but, I guess I just assumed that the Lyman tang sight, front spirit level sight, and heavy barrel were special order options that would have been mentioned in the ledgers, as they generally are for Winchesters. And, you're right, I don't see anyone faking a TD. Something interesting which the lady at the BBHC said though was that "SN 196639 is actually written in the ledger twice. One has the information which I sent to you and the other one is blank." What would you read into that, if anything?
I'll see if I can get the barrel markings from the seller. I may then be able to drive over to see the gun Sunday, it's close to 4 hours away.
Yeah, that's one thing I don't like about guns today. Back then, Winchester or Marlin would make you what you want, and with such skill, pride, and craftsmanship. Those days are long gone I'm afraid.
The seller is asking $2500 firm for the gun. This is at a shop, and since it is in Canada, you can add 13% tax to that bringing the gun to over $2800! Yikes!

Matt
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Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Killer Kanuck »

See Matt, told you these guys know what they're talking about. :D
Regnier (gunrunner)
Distinguished Expert
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Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2002 2:33 am
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Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Regnier (gunrunner) »

Matt;

Sights are almost never mentioned in the records. About the only mention will be of the rear sight slot omitted when no rear sight was to be installed. This is quite unfortunate to us today, but I seriously doubt that they were concerned with modern day collectors when they were recording information in the records. Marlin records are very sparse when it comes to information. Very seldom will factory engraving or stock checking be listed on guns receiving such ornamentation. It is unusual that the hard rubber butt plate is not mentioned. Usually if a model had a steel crescent butt plate as standard, that would not be mentioned, but if that model had a hard rubber butt plate installed instead, it would be mentioned. This one is not, but that is not totally out of the ordinary either.
As to duplication of serial numbers, that is very common. I have seen as many as five guns listed for one serial number. That is an unusual case, but to see two guns listed for one number is quite common. The fact that one is blank is unusual, maybe just a simple error by the person writting the numbers in the book.
Take a good look at it when you go see it, it may be just unusual enough to be an interesting piece to someone.
Due to the increasing cost of ammunition, there will be no warning shot!

The growing federal deficit = generational slavery to the national debt.

If the world was perfect.......it wouldn't be.
Matt74

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Matt74 »

Thanks, that's great advice, and some very interesting information. I'm always impressed with the knowledge of some of the folks on these websites, and their willingness to help a fellow out.

Yes, it's too bad the records aren't more complete, but like you noted, the last thing someone was worried about back then when recording this information was what a collector 100 years down the road would be concerned about!

If I do decide to take a drive over to see it, i will be taking a very good look, and I'll report back on the outcome. What do you think of the price?

Thanks again,

Matt
Guest

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Guest »

Matt74 wrote:Regnier,

Thanks very much for that info. Actually, my buddy up here in Canada (Karl) told me you'd be a good fellow to chat with. I emailed back the seller and got the following info on the gun, stemming from your questions and other concerns of mine:

Serial# is 196639, the model says 1894 under the tang sight, it is a carbine rear sight graduated for 2-9, there is no saddle ring stud the barrel is exactly 24". The cc is excellent on the loading gate side, the flash from the camera made it look shiny.

Anything you can tell me from this? I have a Blue Book, which seems to date this gun to about 1900. Does this gun "look right" to you considering the above? What would an approx value for this gun be? I don't want to end up paying too much for it!!

Matt
Rwd277

Re: Marlin 1894 25-20 target rifle questions???

Post by Rwd277 »

I have a marlin model 94 2520 breakdown model serial # 347154. I noted you guys had some basic data on file. I am interested in a value for insurance purposes and some basic history on the rifle. Thanks,

Bob
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