lever action .32h&r magnum?

TheBear · January 5, 2013, 05:11 PM

Hi,

Is marlin still producing lever action rifles in .32h&r magnum? Or is there someone else who does?

I know marlin used to make a modell 1894 in this caliber but i cant find it on their website anymore. Would be a shame if they stopped to make them...

PetahW · January 5, 2013, 05:44 PM

AFAIK, production of the Marlin 1894CL in .32H&R was halted in 1994 - almost 20 years ago.

.

ThomasT · January 5, 2013, 11:42 PM

I think they stopped making them about 5 years ago. My buddy and I both bought one each. Its a neat little rifle. With max 85gr loads I get a little over 1900fps and max 100gr loads will reach 1650fps. With 1.8grs of Bullseye and a 76gr lead bullet I get 930fps and its a quiet a s a CB 22 round.

But they are long gone from production. They sell on GB for around $1200 the last time I saw a couple of them listed.

rc · May 9, 2013, 02:44 AM

These were only made in about 2005 and are very rare. If you find one they jam and are heavy. They can be made more reliable if you dish out the elevator a bit so the rims don't lock when it cams up and can push the next round back into the mag tube like the larger models. These were $600 new and you would be lucky to find one for twice that.

salvadore · May 9, 2013, 06:45 AM

I think Petah may be thinking of the 25/20 and 32/20 classics Marlin made in the early nineties. I kinda remember the 32 magnum that loaded like the 39A, let me know if anyone else remembers this. I have a 32/20 CL that was made like maybe 2003 or 4. Enterestingly per RC, it was a jamamatic that has been back to Marlin twice and still has issues. Unlike my 25/20 Marlin of the early nineties which never shot worth a hoot no matter what was tried, my current 32/20 CL has been a joy with 5 shot 100 yd groups of an inch using jacketed 100gr bullets and 2.2" ten shot cast bullet groups with 8 rounds in 1.25", too bad it still jams.

hammie · May 9, 2013, 11:09 AM

Yes. The 1894, .32 H&R had a magazine tube which was charged like a .22 rimfire. I think they were still around by 2005 or 2006, because I was looking to buy one. However, by the time I went to purchase one (2007) they were gone and I purchased a .32-20 instead. And I don't think the .32-20's were around much after 2007.

On many marlins, you can tell the date of manufacture by just subtracting the first two numbers of the serial number, from 100. For example,

my .32-20, 930-xxxxx = 100-93 = '07
my .35 rem, 130-xxxxx = 100-13 = '87
my .22 WMR, 236-xxxxx = 100-23 = '77

my marlin 62 has an AB prefix, and I don't have a clue how that works.

TheBear · May 9, 2013, 01:11 PM

thanks for all the answers,
ive been trying to find any kind of rifle chambered in .32H&R for months now...I know marlin used to chamber their 1894 in .32hr, Harrington and richardson used to produce some kind of break open single shot rifle in .32hr but none of them is available anymore..

45_auto · May 9, 2013, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammie

my marlin 62 has an AB prefix, and I don't have a clue how that works.

AB would be 1966. In 1968 they went to the number system.

C-1946
D-1947
E-1948
F-1949
G-1950
H-1951
J-1952
K-1953
L-1954
M-1955
N-1956
P-1957
R-1958
S-1959
T-1960
U-1961
V-1962
W-1963
Y-1964
Z-1964
AA-1965
AB-1966
AC-1967
AD-early 1968

salvadore · May 9, 2013, 05:38 PM

Thanks 45 auto, now I know when I bought my 39A.

salvadore · May 9, 2013, 05:39 PM

Oops, I meant Hammie.

hammie · May 9, 2013, 06:02 PM

@salvadore: That's OK. I think we owe gratitude to 45_auto, anyway. Now I know when my .30 carbine, model 62 was made. Cool.

ThomasT · May 9, 2013, 08:13 PM

Good luck finding one of the Marlins for a decent price. The last one I saw sold on GB went for a whopping $3550.00!!! I have been thinking about selling mine ever since. I like my 357 better.

I never heard of H&R making a Handi in 32 mag. That would be great. Rossi made a single shot 32 mag but I didn't hear of them till they were long gone.

IIRC Marlin made the 32 mag 1894s from 2006 to 2009.

PVL · May 9, 2013, 09:25 PM

My Marlin in 32-20 never jammed, it was very reliable but I wished for something more powerful.

My wife loved shooting it, there was hardly any recoil and it was quite accurate.

salvadore · May 10, 2013, 07:04 AM

PVL, I've never shot factory 32/20s in mine, but believe my 100gr. jacketed loads approach 2000fps, and my 115 cast gc probably approaches 1800fps and is really accurate. It does have a jamming issue but not as bad as previous.

Hammie, it turns out I've owned my 39A for thirty years. Who'da thunk

hammie · May 10, 2013, 12:10 PM

@salvadore: I haven't chronographed them, but relying on manuals and handloader magazine,my jacketed loads should be running around 1500 - 1600 ft/sec. I don't shoot cast bullets in the marlin .32-20 very much. Cast bullets are mostly reserved as a plinking load for my ruger sp101 in .32 H&R. I buy the cast bullets in bulk, and they are not gas checked, like yours, and so I try to keep velocities around 900 ft/sec to prevent excessive leading.

Time does fly. It seems like yesterday, not 40 years ago, when I bought my first centerfire rifle: a remington 788 chambered for .222 rem.

rc · May 11, 2013, 04:49 AM

You can easly push 100 grain bullets into the 1650 plus fps with these guns and 85s pretty darn close to 2000 fps. One of the problems with these and I think the main reason they were dropped is they were jammomatics. I fixed mine so it will no longer rim lock at the carrier. Works good now with a variety of 32 H&R handloads. Before overall length had to be identical on every round like factory just to feed reliably. You have to look at a 357 carrier and then you'll understand what to do with your dremmel. Even then these won't feed 32 Long ammo, another drawback. They should have made a Model 39 type feed system to work with short, long and mag ammo interchangeably. You have to allow for a second round to feed ever so slightly and then be cammed back into the magazine so they won't jam. If you jam them they are horrible to get apart as it locks the lever screw pretty good due to the forces at work. They shoot the shorter cartridges single shot no problem. I've considered selling mine. If I could get $3500 or more WOW! I was one of the original letter writers to Marlin asking them to build one. I still have the return letter someplace that I should keep with the rifle for historical significance saying they weren't really interested in producing the rifle. I also wish Rossi or H&R would put these or a 327mag in a trim single shot with scope mount. Marlin should have put a traditional loading gate on these and made a light CL type sporter. As a hunting rifle it's just too heavy to carry around. More like a heavy lever action bull barrel target gun. I put a buckhorn rear sight on mine but I need to get the correct front sight to correct for elevation. The marbles rear sight is near impossible to elevate with finger pressure.

salvadore · May 13, 2013, 07:53 AM

Hammie, I have a PB mold similar to Lyman's 3118 that I use in my 32/20 OP Colt, I guess I should try them in the Marlin as a plinker load.

salvadore · May 13, 2013, 07:59 AM

BTW Hammie back in the early seventies I use to ride around NC mountaiins in my buddies VW. He had a 788 in 22-250. He used a Lee whackamolee to load his cartridges and was absolutely deadly on ground hogs and crows out to 400 yds. The 788 shoulda gotten more respect.

hammie · May 13, 2013, 05:09 PM

@Salvadore: Yes. Not to get off topic, but my 788 was the one of the most accurate rifles that I ever owned.

Back on topic (sorta): I've always been a fan of the .32's. As a matter of fact, I've been looking lately for a good used walther or mauser hsc in .32 acp. They pop up occasionally.

McShooty · May 14, 2013, 03:29 PM

The Marlin Model 94CB in .32 H&R Magnum is a Cowboy model, hence the octagon barrel, and a very sweet little rifle. Marlin says that they take some pains with the fit and finish of the Cowboy models and it shows, in the gun and in the price. The metal is a very smooth satin blue. The wood is not fancy but is a nice, straight-grain, black walnut of pleasing color. The fit of wood to metal is very good, the action is very smooth, and the trigger is crisp, not light but not heavy. It tips the scales at 7 lbs even. I got mine used at my friendly LGS a couple years ago for $500.

So far I have put only a hundred rounds or so through the piece with no issues regarding feeding. My initial goal would be one inch at fifty yards and it looks like it might do that with Sierra's 90-gr hollow point, which did better than Hornady 85-gr XTP's. I have plenty of Starline brass and a variety of bullets so looking to give this more of a workout this summer.

rc · May 14, 2013, 07:55 PM

McShooty, don't put anything but 32 H&R rounds in that gun. 32 longs will tie it up like a bank vault and it's a pain to unscrew the lever and get it all apart.

L_Killkenny · May 15, 2013, 09:58 AM

I'd love to have any "reasonably" priced rifle in .32H&R let alone the Marlin lever action. As it is you can't get the .32H&R or even the .30 Carbine (second choice) in anything I'd call reasonably priced, not even the lowly H&R and Rossi single shots.

They could hardly sell me when they made em, and now that they don't deals are hard to come by.

McShooty · May 16, 2013, 10:53 AM

rc: I wish I had that advice right after I got the gun because you are right, and I found out the hard way. I think you can load longs singly if you just want to find out what they do, but seems to me there is little reason to shoot longs when the mag brass is available.

January 5, 2013, 05:11 PM	#1
TheBear Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2011 Posts: 303	lever action .32h&r magnum? Hi, Is marlin still producing lever action rifles in .32h&r magnum? Or is there someone else who does? I know marlin used to make a modell 1894 in this caliber but i cant find it on their website anymore. Would be a shame if they stopped to make them...

January 5, 2013, 11:42 PM	#3
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,753	I think they stopped making them about 5 years ago. My buddy and I both bought one each. Its a neat little rifle. With max 85gr loads I get a little over 1900fps and max 100gr loads will reach 1650fps. With 1.8grs of Bullseye and a 76gr lead bullet I get 930fps and its a quiet a s a CB 22 round. But they are long gone from production. They sell on GB for around $1200 the last time I saw a couple of them listed. Last edited by ThomasT; January 6, 2013 at 11:42 AM.

January 5, 2013, 05:44 PM	#2
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	AFAIK, production of the Marlin 1894CL in .32H&R was halted in 1994 - almost 20 years ago. .

May 9, 2013, 02:44 AM	#4
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,763	These were only made in about 2005 and are very rare. If you find one they jam and are heavy. They can be made more reliable if you dish out the elevator a bit so the rims don't lock when it cams up and can push the next round back into the mag tube like the larger models. These were $600 new and you would be lucky to find one for twice that.

May 9, 2013, 06:45 AM	#5
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	I think Petah may be thinking of the 25/20 and 32/20 classics Marlin made in the early nineties. I kinda remember the 32 magnum that loaded like the 39A, let me know if anyone else remembers this. I have a 32/20 CL that was made like maybe 2003 or 4. Enterestingly per RC, it was a jamamatic that has been back to Marlin twice and still has issues. Unlike my 25/20 Marlin of the early nineties which never shot worth a hoot no matter what was tried, my current 32/20 CL has been a joy with 5 shot 100 yd groups of an inch using jacketed 100gr bullets and 2.2" ten shot cast bullet groups with 8 rounds in 1.25", too bad it still jams.

May 9, 2013, 11:09 AM	#6
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	Yes. The 1894, .32 H&R had a magazine tube which was charged like a .22 rimfire. I think they were still around by 2005 or 2006, because I was looking to buy one. However, by the time I went to purchase one (2007) they were gone and I purchased a .32-20 instead. And I don't think the .32-20's were around much after 2007. On many marlins, you can tell the date of manufacture by just subtracting the first two numbers of the serial number, from 100. For example, my .32-20, 930-xxxxx = 100-93 = '07 my .35 rem, 130-xxxxx = 100-13 = '87 my .22 WMR, 236-xxxxx = 100-23 = '77 my marlin 62 has an AB prefix, and I don't have a clue how that works.

May 9, 2013, 01:11 PM	#7
TheBear Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2011 Posts: 303	thanks for all the answers, ive been trying to find any kind of rifle chambered in .32H&R for months now...I know marlin used to chamber their 1894 in .32hr, Harrington and richardson used to produce some kind of break open single shot rifle in .32hr but none of them is available anymore..

May 9, 2013, 05:38 PM	#9
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	Thanks 45 auto, now I know when I bought my 39A.

May 9, 2013, 05:39 PM	#10
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	Oops, I meant Hammie.

May 9, 2013, 06:02 PM	#11
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	@salvadore: That's OK. I think we owe gratitude to 45_auto, anyway. Now I know when my .30 carbine, model 62 was made. Cool.

May 9, 2013, 08:13 PM	#12
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,753	Good luck finding one of the Marlins for a decent price. The last one I saw sold on GB went for a whopping $3550.00!!! I have been thinking about selling mine ever since. I like my 357 better. I never heard of H&R making a Handi in 32 mag. That would be great. Rossi made a single shot 32 mag but I didn't hear of them till they were long gone. IIRC Marlin made the 32 mag 1894s from 2006 to 2009.

May 9, 2013, 09:25 PM	#13
PVL Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2013 Posts: 169	My Marlin in 32-20 never jammed, it was very reliable but I wished for something more powerful. My wife loved shooting it, there was hardly any recoil and it was quite accurate.

May 10, 2013, 07:04 AM	#14
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	PVL, I've never shot factory 32/20s in mine, but believe my 100gr. jacketed loads approach 2000fps, and my 115 cast gc probably approaches 1800fps and is really accurate. It does have a jamming issue but not as bad as previous. Hammie, it turns out I've owned my 39A for thirty years. Who'da thunk

May 10, 2013, 12:10 PM	#15
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	@salvadore: I haven't chronographed them, but relying on manuals and handloader magazine,my jacketed loads should be running around 1500 - 1600 ft/sec. I don't shoot cast bullets in the marlin .32-20 very much. Cast bullets are mostly reserved as a plinking load for my ruger sp101 in .32 H&R. I buy the cast bullets in bulk, and they are not gas checked, like yours, and so I try to keep velocities around 900 ft/sec to prevent excessive leading. Time does fly. It seems like yesterday, not 40 years ago, when I bought my first centerfire rifle: a remington 788 chambered for .222 rem.

May 11, 2013, 04:49 AM	#16
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,763	You can easly push 100 grain bullets into the 1650 plus fps with these guns and 85s pretty darn close to 2000 fps. One of the problems with these and I think the main reason they were dropped is they were jammomatics. I fixed mine so it will no longer rim lock at the carrier. Works good now with a variety of 32 H&R handloads. Before overall length had to be identical on every round like factory just to feed reliably. You have to look at a 357 carrier and then you'll understand what to do with your dremmel. Even then these won't feed 32 Long ammo, another drawback. They should have made a Model 39 type feed system to work with short, long and mag ammo interchangeably. You have to allow for a second round to feed ever so slightly and then be cammed back into the magazine so they won't jam. If you jam them they are horrible to get apart as it locks the lever screw pretty good due to the forces at work. They shoot the shorter cartridges single shot no problem. I've considered selling mine. If I could get $3500 or more WOW! I was one of the original letter writers to Marlin asking them to build one. I still have the return letter someplace that I should keep with the rifle for historical significance saying they weren't really interested in producing the rifle. I also wish Rossi or H&R would put these or a 327mag in a trim single shot with scope mount. Marlin should have put a traditional loading gate on these and made a light CL type sporter. As a hunting rifle it's just too heavy to carry around. More like a heavy lever action bull barrel target gun. I put a buckhorn rear sight on mine but I need to get the correct front sight to correct for elevation. The marbles rear sight is near impossible to elevate with finger pressure.

May 13, 2013, 07:53 AM	#17
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	Hammie, I have a PB mold similar to Lyman's 3118 that I use in my 32/20 OP Colt, I guess I should try them in the Marlin as a plinker load.

May 13, 2013, 07:59 AM	#18
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	BTW Hammie back in the early seventies I use to ride around NC mountaiins in my buddies VW. He had a 788 in 22-250. He used a Lee whackamolee to load his cartridges and was absolutely deadly on ground hogs and crows out to 400 yds. The 788 shoulda gotten more respect.

May 13, 2013, 05:09 PM	#19
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	@Salvadore: Yes. Not to get off topic, but my 788 was the one of the most accurate rifles that I ever owned. Back on topic (sorta): I've always been a fan of the .32's. As a matter of fact, I've been looking lately for a good used walther or mauser hsc in .32 acp. They pop up occasionally.

May 14, 2013, 03:29 PM	#20
McShooty Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2012 Location: Northern Missouri Posts: 480	The Marlin Model 94CB in .32 H&R Magnum is a Cowboy model, hence the octagon barrel, and a very sweet little rifle. Marlin says that they take some pains with the fit and finish of the Cowboy models and it shows, in the gun and in the price. The metal is a very smooth satin blue. The wood is not fancy but is a nice, straight-grain, black walnut of pleasing color. The fit of wood to metal is very good, the action is very smooth, and the trigger is crisp, not light but not heavy. It tips the scales at 7 lbs even. I got mine used at my friendly LGS a couple years ago for $500. So far I have put only a hundred rounds or so through the piece with no issues regarding feeding. My initial goal would be one inch at fifty yards and it looks like it might do that with Sierra's 90-gr hollow point, which did better than Hornady 85-gr XTP's. I have plenty of Starline brass and a variety of bullets so looking to give this more of a workout this summer.

May 14, 2013, 07:55 PM	#21
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,763	McShooty, don't put anything but 32 H&R rounds in that gun. 32 longs will tie it up like a bank vault and it's a pain to unscrew the lever and get it all apart.

May 15, 2013, 09:58 AM	#22
L_Killkenny Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 2,676	I'd love to have any "reasonably" priced rifle in .32H&R let alone the Marlin lever action. As it is you can't get the .32H&R or even the .30 Carbine (second choice) in anything I'd call reasonably priced, not even the lowly H&R and Rossi single shots. They could hardly sell me when they made em, and now that they don't deals are hard to come by.

May 16, 2013, 10:53 AM	#23
McShooty Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2012 Location: Northern Missouri Posts: 480	rc: I wish I had that advice right after I got the gun because you are right, and I found out the hard way. I think you can load longs singly if you just want to find out what they do, but seems to me there is little reason to shoot longs when the mag brass is available.