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Posted: 4/22/2025 7:42:55 AM EDT
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Backstory: Well, I have been given expressed permission to purchase one (Always nice to get an excuse and endorsement to get something new). We now live in extreme suburbs/almost rural, wife and kids are not use to seeing so many animals. The other night a large black bear (I think male, and maybe 300-350lbs???) surprised my wife and 2 girls when they went to throw away the trash and head out to the dance school. The bear ran, but I have been seeing it much more on my morning runs, usually its hind end and running away. My wife wanted a gun she can use, but after running suppressors on my .22s and 5.56s she asked to get something bigger, suppressed, and easy for her to use. We settled on a lever gun (she has used them in the past and has the most experience on them) and 44mag. I looked at 45-70, we had one in the past, and she shot it with one full power round, still did well, but was kinda done. She wants it suppressed too. Need help deciding: I have been out of the lever actions for a while. Both options are about the same price. Looking at the Marlin 1894 SBL in 44mag, has threaded barrel now, I think ruger is making them? How is quality since the takeover? I have had a 45-70SBL and a .357CSBL both were decent, but actions were very rough. I cannot find any local to me to look over, so hoping the forums can help me. I am also looking at the S&W 1854 44mag Stealth Hunter. same features as the Marlin, but in black, aluminum handguard with MOE slots ( im kind ehhh about, but its extra.), and a flat faced trigger. I have heard the actions are very smooth, and quality is very high, but again i cannot find it locally to put my hands on. Not looking back to yesteryear, I'm looking for insight on whats new on the shelf today. Once in my hands I will suppress it within a month, not sure about optics as this will be a 50 yard or less gun. |
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What is the intended purpose for this? Are you looking for self defense to “stop” this critter or to “scare” the critter off? If it was me, I would look at a semiauto shotgun maybe a Beretta A300 Patrol or the 1301 Tactical for the sole purpose of follow up shots. I have both and they are excellent guns!! A lever action can be short-stroked when the adrenaline is pumping; one less thing to worry about in this situation if running an semi shotty. I would not want to suppress a bear defense gun either, if I were to miss, I’d hope that the sound of the shot may scare off the bear or shock it for a second to allow me to get a follow up shot off. As far as the Ruger made Marlin’s, I have the Ruger made Marlin 1895SBL (45-70); fit and finish is excellent and the action on it is buttery smooth right out of the box! I have several other “REM” Marlins, and all have needed action work to smooth out… I’d stay away from the older used “REM” Marlins and just get a Ruger made one, unless you like working on guns and find a smoking deal on one. I handled a S&W 1854 in 44 mag at Academy, they had the action locked, so I was unable to test the action on it. Fit and finish looked good though. Both lever guns feel handy and wieldy! My $0.02, hope it helps! D |
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Ruger is a better company if you have any problems with the rifle. I was just reading about someone's recent S&W revolver purchase. It had some trunk monkey assembly marks, rough edges and (mainly) the front sight roll pin hole was not drilled all the way through. So smith sent him a return label and someone else chimed in that they make you pay for return shipping. That is about what I expect from Smith & Wesson. They are not as bad as Rossi but they are not as good as Henry or Ruger. I'd say the 1894 or a Henry X but I don't see a Henry on you list. A stainless 1894 is a really nice looking stick. https://www.ar15.com/forums/handguns/Warranty-return-time-/16-216299/?r=-1&page=1&anc=bottom#bottom |
| My vote is for S&W. Just got one in 38/357, not unhappy with it at all. Have Buffalo Bore 180gr hard cast for four legged creatures local to us (far NE TN and have property in SW VA). Also have a Beretta 1301 and as stated above that or any reputable semi auto 12g would probably better not having to worry about not fully cycling lever on lever gun. |
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Originally Posted By NVcarbine: Backstory: Well, I have been given expressed permission to purchase one (Always nice to get an excuse and endorsement to get something new). We now live in extreme suburbs/almost rural, wife and kids are not use to seeing so many animals. The other night a large black bear (I think male, and maybe 300-350lbs???) surprised my wife and 2 girls when they went to throw away the trash and head out to the dance school. The bear ran, but I have been seeing it much more on my morning runs, usually its hind end and running away. My wife wanted a gun she can use, but after running suppressors on my .22s and 5.56s she asked to get something bigger, suppressed, and easy for her to use. We settled on a lever gun (she has used them in the past and has the most experience on them) and 44mag. I looked at 45-70, we had one in the past, and she shot it with one full power round, still did well, but was kinda done. She wants it suppressed too. Need help deciding: I have been out of the lever actions for a while. Both options are about the same price. Looking at the Marlin 1894 SBL in 44mag, has threaded barrel now, I think ruger is making them? How is quality since the takeover? I have had a 45-70SBL and a .357CSBL both were decent, but actions were very rough. I cannot find any local to me to look over, so hoping the forums can help me. I am also looking at the S&W 1854 44mag Stealth Hunter. same features as the Marlin, but in black, aluminum handguard with MOE slots ( im kind ehhh about, but its extra.), and a flat faced trigger. I have heard the actions are very smooth, and quality is very high, but again i cannot find it locally to put my hands on. Not looking back to yesteryear, I'm looking for insight on whats new on the shelf today. Once in my hands I will suppress it within a month, not sure about optics as this will be a 50 yard or less gun. I just went through the same sort of decision but in 357 rather than 44... Ended up with the new Marlin (Ruger) and am not disappointed. Very well made, fit and finish excellent. That being said, I handled an 1854 Stealth Hunter and it seemed super nice also so I don't think you can go wrong. Just to throw a monkey wrench in there when I bought my Marlin, I also bought my wife a Henry engraved rifle in 357 with an octagonal barrel. It's a whole other level of nice. Seems you won't go wrong with any of them. |
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If Marlin is a possibility it is usually the answer. The Marlin will likely hold better resale value. It's also stainless which is great for a utilitarian gun. I dislike plastic on lever actions - marlin is wood while S&W and henry X are plastic. The S&W has 11/16 muzzle threads (oddball) while marlin and henry are 5/8 (common). |
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I am waiting, seems like forever, for Marlin to release some more of the new version 1894 Dark Series in .357. Went to a local gun store to check out the the Smith 1854 Stealth Hunter. I looked and several of them in different calibers and they looked good. I was also able to compare them to several Marlin 1894s and a Dark series 1895 in .45-70. Some things I noticed... All the Marlins had smoother actions and smoother lighter trigger pulls. The 1854s had okay actions not bad but not as smooth as the Marlins. I assume the 1894 action should smooth out as it gets used. The 1854 triggers felt heavier and not as refined or smooth a the Marlin triggers. Also, from what I could see it seems like the 1854 bolt extractor is a better design than the Marlin. Not that I've exprienced any issues with the Marlin extractor but the 1854 just looks like more beefy and heavy duty. The actions and triggers were about the same across the three 1854s and three Marlins I looked at so each brand was pretty consistent with how they felt. I think I actually liked the MLOK handguard of the Smith 1894 better than the Marlin Dark series handguard. However, the Marlin MLOK handguard is longer and has more MLOK slots. However, I think Marlin hit it out of the park with the medium loop they are using on the Dark Series. I really like the medium loops as they seem to be the best of both worlds. Almost as quick as the standard loops to operate but big enough for gloves. As for the butt stocks, I liked the feel of the solid 1854 stock but the snap in cheek rest on the Marlin Dark is nice feature if running an optic. I do plan on putting a red dot optic on mine. In the end I felt like the Marlins seemed to feel better built with smoother actions, lighter/smoother triggers and better, for me, medium loops. So now I continue waiting for a .357 to get back in stock.  I will say I was very tempted to get the .357 Stealth Hunter but felt like I would regret not waiting for the Marlin Dark in .357. |
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