Marlin Model 1894 carbine, 15-inch barrel

What this entry covers

This page gathers 554 ATF lines, each naming one carbine by serial number. A typical line reads "Marlin, Model 1894 or 94 carbine, cal. .44, S/N 181852, with 15-inch barrel."¹ Most lines say "cal. .44"; the later ones on page 42 say "cal. .44-40", and a few give the barrel as 15 1/8 or 15 1/4 inches². The lines are in Section III, which ATF heads "Firearms removed from the provisions of the National Firearms Act and classified as curios or relics"³.

The entry covers only the listed serial numbers. A 15-inch Model 1894 carbine whose number is not printed is not covered by these lines^1,2. Other calibres and barrel lengths have their own serial groups in Section III, among them .25-20, .32-20 and .38-40 carbines and .44 carbines with 14-inch barrels⁹. Some lower-numbered .44 guns with 15-inch barrels appear in Section IIIA as "Marlin Model 1894, cal. .44, S/N 109588, with 15-inch barrel."⁴ Whether a particular firearm fits this entry depends on the ATF wording above.

Identifying it

The checks follow the lines' own conditions: the serial number, the calibre marking and the stated barrel length^1,2. Two lines give a second number in brackets, for example "S/N 384109 (384150 on tang)", so ATF has recorded carbines whose tang number differs from the main serial². Several .44-40 lines on page 42 add the marking "Policias Fiscales Chile"².

Dating by serial is approximate. A published Marlin table covering 1883 to 1906 states that Marlin gave its models no separate serial blocks and that the table places a gun within about a year⁵. On that table 181852, the lowest listed serial without a letter prefix, falls in the 1899 band (175501 to 196000), and the range shown on this page starts there⁵. The table stops at 355300 in 1906, so it does not date the higher serials on this page, which run to 427022, and the end year shown here is our estimate^2,5. Two lines carry a "D" prefix (D7682 and D7720)²; the table's list of letter prefixes begins with E in 1948 and has no D, so it does not date them either⁵. The same table refers owners to the Cody Firearms Museum for factory letters⁵.

Common confusions

• Rifles and longer carbines. American Rifleman reports that Brophy's study of Marlin factory records from 1883 to 1906 found Model 1893 and 1894 carbines under 16 inches all had 15-inch barrels, sold as "special lightweight carbines"⁷. Standard-length guns are not what these lines describe¹.
• Earlier serials. Lower-numbered .44 guns with 15-inch barrels are listed in Section IIIA, and those lines do not use the word carbine⁴.

History

The NRA Museum describes the Model 1894 as a scaled-down Model 1893, made for four Winchester centrefire cartridges from .25-20 to .44-40^8,6. American Rifleman gives production as 1894 to 1935, about 250,000 guns, in rifle, carbine, baby carbine and musket forms⁶. The earliest guns were offered in .38-40 and .44-40⁶.

Further reading

• The serialization table⁵ is a practical first check on a serial's approximate year, within its stated limits.
• Hacker's American Rifleman article⁷ explains the short Model 1894 carbines and cites the factory-record research behind them.
• Garry James's Q&A⁶ summarises the model's production span and chamberings.