Originally Posted by
castrotikon
I can't comment on on the Marlin 1894 specifically but I did have a Marlin 336 produced in the last couple years (I ended up selling it just because I wasn't shooting it much). I had no issues or complaints with it but from what I've read, it is kind of a crap shoot at this point. I've been looking at the Marlin 1894 CSBL myself.
That aside, if you're on the fence about Marlin quality, you could look at the Henry All Weather in .357 and see if someone will have the barrel threaded. The overall appearance is pretty similar, albeit 4" longer, and lacks the loading gate (I prefer the gate personally) but I think most people would agree Henry quality is solidly above (new) Marlin. I owned one of those in .38/.357 that was a great shooting rifle, it had some issues running .38 every so often that I chalk up to the shorter cartridge length but .357 was a blast. Kind of disappointed I sold it actually.