Success! Marlin 1894 is operational again.

So I went out to the range today and test-fired my Marlin Model 1894 .357 Magnum lever-action--the one with the design-flaw-caused problem that I've written about here and here.

I'm happy to announce that it passed a 120-round test without a single hiccup, firing magazine tubes of .357 Magnum rounds, .38 Special rounds, and combinations of both loaded together.

I finally feel confident to start carrying it afield on my hiking and backpacking forays along with my Smith and Wesson Model 66.


It's kind of nice to have a rifle/pistol combo that utilizes the same cartridges and I do love these two guns.

And of course, it would hardly be a shooting day without some contact with the range nazi--I mean the range master. He came over as I was finishing up and pointed out the brand new signs posted that say "No Rapid Fire Or Double Taps."

Sigh.

I told him that I practice "sustained fire", not "rapid fire" (whatever that is) and pointed out the fact that all of my shots landed nicely on the targets where they were aimed. I also explained that I do not shoot "double taps". I practice failure-to-stop drills in which I shoot two to the chest and one to the head...a "triple tap", if you will. And since the sign doesn't seem to ban those...

He still says that I need to slow it down. Or else. Some people just suck all of the fun out of the air.

Still, I don't think that I shoot all that fast. I mean, it's not as if I'm Lucas McCain or anything...


(But I'm working on it.)