The Marlin Model 1894 was a lever action rifle introduced in 1894. The Marlin 1894 directly competed with the Winchester 1892 pistol caliber carbine. However at that time the initial calibers were .25-20 Winchester, .32-20 Winchester, .38-40 Winchester, and .44-40 Winchester. It wasn't until the 1960s, when the popularity of various magnum cartridges (i.e. the .357 and .44 magnums), did Marlin offer several new slight variations of the classic Model 1894 in those calibers.