My first ship of 2007 is approaching port, and I saw a Marlin 1895 .45-70 at a local gun shop today. It's not a Guide Gun, it looks like an 1894 with an overactive pituitary gland- - elongated.
I've wanted one since I saw a Winchester of the same type in a gun shop a few years ago. I was too dumb to jump on it the day I saw it, and it got sold right out from under me.
Now Winnie don't make'em no more.
Anyone had any experience with one of these elongated .45-70 lever-action rifles?
I have a stainless Guide Gun, but a co-worker liked it so much.....he went & bought the model your talking about. It has an octagonal barrel instead of the round. He loves it....it is now his primary deer gun.
I have one, a straight gripped 1895 with a 22" barrel made in '73 or so. Two things to know ...
1) the crossbolt safety sucks and is unecessary, but there are ways to get around it.
2) Some marlins have ballard type cut rifling, these will shoot jacketed or cast bullets well. Others have marlin's "micro groove" rifling and do not shoot cast bullets as well.
Mine is an absolute hammer on deer, and I expect the same on hogs although I haven't gotten a chance to shoot one with it yet.
It's also accurate enough that I made a heart shot on a bobcat at 125 yards last time I was hog hunting with it.
2) Some marlins have ballard type cut rifling, these will shoot jacketed or cast bullets well. Others have marlin's "micro groove" rifling and do not shoot cast bullets as well.
Marlin and Winchester lever guns were made for a long, long time without any safety device other than the hammer. I can't think of any other type of long gun that has a hammer and a safety, one or the other, not both.
Bone crusher. Buy your your first hundred rounds now. Then evey time you see a bargain on it buy another box. Another really neat thing that Hornaday came out with is the spire point plastic/rubber tips that let you use a really longer range bullet in the tube magazine. Before it was just blunt nose bullets. Great gun.
Had one, loved it, sold it when I got too broke, wish I had it back. Factory ammo is ok, and you can handload it safely to power levels that make it equal to some of the earlier British double rifles.
I got one in the Guide Gun model, put XS ghost rings on it and a scout scope. It is a perfect Elk gun in the forest <100 yard shot.
I use Buffalo Bore ammo. Hot loads made for the Marlin guns. Besure to sight it in with Buffalo Bore ammo (not really a pleasant experience) if you are going to use it as the point of impact is significantly different than cowboy ammo. I love mine. http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#450M
I had one of the standard models (pistol grip, 22" barrel) for a while, traded it, and missed it.
So I got another just like it a couple of years ago.
My old one shot and worked great, and so does the new one. I mounted a Lyman 66 peep sight on both, and they will shoot better than I can. I'm still experimenting, but have good loads with the bullet weights and styles I've tried- 300 JHP, 405 JSP, 405 cast, and 425 cast.
I like Marlins, but the Winchester 45-70 (1886) has an advantage in that it can handle longer rounds. When Marlin came out with the "new" 1895 in the early 70's, they modified the 336, which limits it to cartridge overall lengths of around 2.55"- the same as the .30-30. Some more specialized loads and bulets will be longer than that, but most are within the Marlin's range. Some individual Marlin rifles will handle slightly longer rounds (my first one did). Basically though, any regular 300 or 405 grain factory round should work fine. The 425s I use are designed with a crimp groove located to keep the OAL within the Marlin's range. The heaviest cast bullet I've heard of that will work is 435 grains, but there could be others. It's only until you get into the really heavy bulllets that they won't go through the Marlin's action. For most of us though, anything it will handle is big enough.
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