I consider a pistol caliber lever action to be primarily a "fun gun." If I wanted a serious hunting rifle in a lever action, I'd look for a .35 Remington (first choice) or .30-30.
So with that qualification, I'd buy a rifle in the same caliber as my revolver. I shoot both .357 and .44 mag revolvers, but since the 1894 is a "fun gun," I opted for .357/.38 as it's cheaper to feed, even (especially?) for a reloader. Light loaded .357s (or .38s) make fun plinking rounds, and full house magnums are adequate for deer sized game--although I choose to hunt with a real rifle cartridge.
If I were really a lever gun guy, I'd have levers in .357, .44, .30-30, and .35 Rem. Since I'm not, I only have one 1894 in .357/.38.