Shootability

PVR Main Match was yesterday and I continued my pursuit of Jedi Gunfighters everywhere.  Call me the Sith Gunfighter.  It was "one of those days" for me, in a bad way.  I started horribly and stayed there for the better part of the match until I finally cleaned up on the last two stages.  It had to be the syrup...

Since Judge was shooting B-Western, I loaned him my Marlin Cowboy and shot his '66 for the day, a gun that I admittedly should have bought myself, but that's old news.  I hadn't shot it since I put in the whisper springs and short-stroke kit.  They certainly make a huge difference in the rifle, I nearly knocked the butt off my sholder when I first levered, then I shot it like crap, oh well.  The thing I suppose I figured out yesterday about the '66/'73 vs Marlin '94 is that the former require a bit of practice and confidence to shoot.  They're kind of like driving a sports car, you can go fast, but you have to know what you're doing.  The Marlin on the other hand, is very easy to pick up and shoot relatively fast.

All in all, I think I prefer the Marlin for a couple of reasons.  The sight picture is better and the Marlin is easier to maintain.  When shooting the '66 or '73, you lose the sight picture when the hammer falls and you have empty shell casings flying in front of your field of vision.  As for maintenence, the Marlin is ultra-easy to disassemble and clean throroughly, on the '66 this is a chore, although less so on the '73 with it's inspection plates.  The carrier is the part that gets the dirtiest on the Winchesters and is hardest to clean, bad combo.

Judge brought up the buttstock on the Marlin being more comfortable and forgiving, as well as a better comb.  I don't disagree, especially with the former, but the comb is a personal thing to each shooter.  There's also the weight of the Marlin being less than a '66 with the huge brass receiver, can't argue that point either, but it isn't such a horrible thing.

All in all, I'm happy with the Marlin, I just know that it'll be forever marginally slower than a '66, but its a lot of fun to shoot and dead reliable.  Its just too bad Marlin doesn't make them anymore.