hey Mauser

[65mustang]

I just got this 1894 Marlin in 357 yesterday and did a search on here and seen you have one as well. I was going to try to make it out for an hour to meet whoever was at the shoot when the original owner of this Marlin contacted me about trading for a 9mm S&W I had on here.
He said he bought it new in 08 and never fired it. The only problem I noticed is that this gun must be a lot older than that as it does not have the cross bolt safety. I agree it seems to be unfired.
Yours does not have the safety either according to your pic. I figured it would probably be best to not chamber a round until ready to shoot.

How old is your gun as mine appears to be the same minus the scope and mount?

Do you think mine has any collectable value or just shoot it?

[mauser]

I just got this 1894 Marlin in 357 yesterday and did a search on here and seen you have one as well. I was going to try to make it out for an hour to meet whoever was at the shoot when the original owner of this Marlin contacted me about trading for a 9mm S&W I had on here.
He said he bought it new in 08 and never fired it. The only problem I noticed is that this gun must be a lot older than that as it does not have the cross bolt safety. I agree it seems to be unfired.
Yours does not have the safety either according to your pic. I figured it would probably be best to not chamber a round until ready to shoot.

How old is your gun as mine appears to be the same minus the scope and mount?

Do you think mine has any collectable value or just shoot it?

Nice looking gun! I don't really know what to tell you about the collector value of it. I bought mine as a shooter, it definitely has been fired and probably carried for hunting but it has been fairly well taken care of.
It appears that mine was manufactured in 1979, you can find serial number/date information here:
http://oldguns.net/sn_php/marlinlookup.php
You'll want the second search on the page, enter the first 2 digits of the serial number and click "submit". Or you could subtract the first 2 digits from 100 and get the year of manufacture, for example, the first 2 digits of mine are 21. 100-21=79. That appears to only apply to guns made prior to 1991 from the information on that page but I found another site that says this holds true for newer guns. I don't know how trustworthy that information is, you know how Internet information can be. If your serial starts with 92 it would seem to support the claim of 2008 manufacture.
http://www.marlin-collectors.com/for...pic.php?t=2288
If you want to contact Marlin directly you can find their phone number and address here:
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/about/contactus.asp
(Seems odd that they don't have an email address included).


I'll probably never hunt with mine, it's a fun gun for the range so chambering a round will only happen when I'm ready to fire it. If you want to preserve yours in pristine condition but have an itch to shoot it too, we can do the next best thing, I'll let you shoot mine from time to time. It's fun and it's a pretty accurate gun. Hand loads that give me around 1200 -1400 fps from my revolvers are giving me a bit more than 1900 fps from the Carbine.
I put the scope on it, it was naked when I got it but my eyes are getting as old as the rest of me so I had to get it a piece of glass. I had a 6X Burris Mini just sitting around getting lonely so I bought a used mount from Glenn's and put everything together. What happened next was a rare occurrence, I took it out to sight it in and it was dead on at 50 yards. I didn't adjust it at all, I still haven't touched the adjustments. That'll never happen again.

[65mustang]

Thanks for the info, mine was made in 1982. You guys are amazing for all the resources you come up with everytime you get asked a question like this.

[mauser]

Thanks for the info, mine was made in 1982. You guys are amazing for all the resources you come up with everytime you get asked a question like this.

So when are we going to get together for a shoot? Today doesn't look real good, Valentine's Day ya know, although I do have to go out and finish the cleanup from our cookout yesterday and try to find a way to get my snowblower back home before the next "snow storm" hits. I'll be there for a little while, I could easily take my Marlin and some ammo.

[mauser]

I've asked around about this so I can try to give you a bit more insight, I just got a few answers from a friend of mine who is a collector.
He told me that according to the Blue Book he has, that gun in "As new in box" condition with paperwork (100%) should be worth $350.00. New condition without box or paperwork, possibly fired (98%) should be worth $275.00. Slightly used but near perfect, possibly with some slight blemishes (95%) should be worth $225.00.
If it has the box and paperwork and is unfired I'd leave it as is. (It's survived almost 30 years in pristine condition, why degrade it now?). Without the box and paperwork and any slight blemishes it's lost around $125.00 of any collector value. That being the case I'd take it out and have fun with it but do my best to keep it in nice condition.
The choice is yours depending on the condition of the gun and what you want from it. I'm not trying to sway your decision, I'm trying to help you make an informed decision.

[65mustang]

Thanks for the info. They don't compare to the GB prices though in fair condition these bring $400 and up. In the condition it is in now I would think between $500 and $600. Unfortunately I do not have paperwork or box. These seem to be in demand right now for some reason everyone else always wants what I am looking for. But I made a deal on this so all is good.

I do like the fact that this was a ftf rifle transaction that I may or may not currently have if things ever get that way down the road.

As far as hooking up to shoot I am available throughout the day during the week or weekends. I only have a membership at the Police Combat range.

[mauser]

Thanks for the info. They don't compare to the GB prices though in fair condition these bring $400 and up. In the condition it is in now I would think between $500 and $600. Unfortunately I do not have paperwork or box. These seem to be in demand right now for some reason everyone else always wants what I am looking for. But I made a deal on this so all is good.

I do like the fact that this was a ftf rifle transaction that I may or may not currently have if things ever get that way down the road.

As far as hooking up to shoot I am available throughout the day during the week or weekends. I only have a membership at the Police Combat range.

I based my reply on the info that was given to me by a collector (who doesn't buy anything unless it's a bargain).
Based on the pricing he gave me, it seems as though firing the gun would decrease the value by more than $100.00.
I have to go out Wednesday or Thursday morning to mop the floor and finish the cleanup after our cookout. If it's convenient for both of us we could meet when I go out to finish up, or if we want to have a bit more time we could meet this weekend or next, I'll take you as a guest either way.

Honestly, If I had a $400.00 gun that's almost 30 years old and never been fired I think I'd try to preserve it in that condition.
Another consideration is this; if my source is correct, that particular model/configuration was only made for 5 years, that may influence your decision.
If I had an offer to shoot another one just like it I think I'd be on it like stink on shit and leave mine in the safe.

[65mustang]

I don't know if I will shoot this or not. I do like the idea to shoot it's twin and then deciding later. As far as shooting goes I don't get home from work until 11 so it would be around noon to meet throughout the week. I don't have anything going on the next couple of weekends that I know of...let me know what works.I could bring my PF9 as well.

[mauser]

With my work schedule I need to be home by noon or shortly thereafter, it looks like weekends would be better.
I'll PM my contact info, let's see when we can get together.