Good luck. I've been looking for an 1894 C for a while now. Can't seem to find one for less than around $900. I'm tempted by Rossi due to the price, but Rossi = Taurus, and a Taurus will never come anywhere near my safe! I hear good things about the Henrys, but that brass is gaudy as hell in my opinion. Plus they don't use a King's loading gate. I don't know, the thought of loading a .357 like a .22 bugs me. So, one of you guys here is going to have to sell me one of your Marlins!
Rossi wasn't always owned by Taurus. I met a guy out in Colo Springs in the early 90's who had one and he said it was a better lever gun than his Winchester. Also a major I worked for at Ft Carson had one as his home defense gun, said it was great. If you can find an older pre-Taurus one used, you might be in good shape. Winchester marketed the Model 94 in .357 for a while as I recall. I have one in 45 Colt. Winchester brought back the 1873 in .38/357 but it is very pricy.