Hi Everyone, I recently found this site and was impressed with the quality of info. here. I'm thinking of adding a 44 mag to my lever-action collection, and I'm a Marlin fan since my first 336 in 1976. I was considering the 20 in. barrel Model 94, but I really like the looks of the cowboy model also. My question I guess is this. Would I realize any added benefit from the 24 in. barrel? With the right powders can I gain any velocity, or would I actually lose because of extra friction with the extra length? The gun would be used for woods hunting, 30-80 yard shots. I'm leaning toward the 20 in. barrel for reasons of weight and faster to point. The little 94p is just too short for me I think, though I haven't handled one. For off hand shots it seems like it would wave all over without any weight up front. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks, hemlock