I was shooting my new 1894C in 357 this weekend and the lever on the rifle jammed open and will not shut. Has this happened to anybody else? :mad:

Since you say it's new I assume you haven't put enough rounds through it to cause the "Marlin Jam", so possibly the shape of the bullets may have played a role in this lock-up. SWC's sometimes don't feed well, and you may have some shaved lead inside gumming things up.
I was shooting my new 1894C in 357 this weekend and the lever on the rifle jammed open and will not shut. Has this happened to anybody else? :mad:

You didn't say whether the gun is fixed yet or not. If not, remove the screw that holds the lever, pull the lever down and out, then remove the bolt to the rear. That should loosen up the innards enough to clear the jam. Reassemble in reverse order. HTH.

Papajohn

GM42,

I had the same thing happen to my 1894C when I had it only a month. I ended up sending mine back to Marlin to get fixed. It was the dreaded "Marlin Jam"! What happens is when you cycle the next round the carrier gets hung up under the next round coming in from the magazine. It's a real pain.

lordy. lordy! It's not just a "Marlin" Jam....I have a Winchester 9244 Legacy .22 LR that jams the same way on occasion! Slow racking eliminates it, and the more INexpensive ammo plus fast racking causes it....the Remington 22 LR hollow Points in the 500 box are usually the culprit in the 22.
Have to remove the lever as with the Marlin to undo the effects of the jam.

GM42
Loading gate screw is most likely the culprit. They come loose from time to time, this one would be bad quality control.

Yes, my "project" 1894 .44's loading gate screw actually broke in two, and I had to get a new screw and gate. Keep the screw tight, but don't overtighten from now on.
I was shooting my new 1894C in 357 this weekend and the lever on the rifle jammed open and will not shut. Has this happened to anybody else? :mad:

Try a Search on "Short cycle jam". We've been through this before...

Push open lever completely, rap butt firmly, should here a "click" and it should close...