Marlin Guide Gun

looking at these sweet .45-70's, anybody own one? they any good? I'm a Winchester man and never bought a Marlin before.

tanks alot

PARTY,I own 3 Marlin's.2 30-30's and a .22.All function great without issues.I have no experiance with the 45-70 but the Marlins I own or shot have always been reliable and are made solid.td

My buddy has a guide gun and loves it.
Shoots it so much, he had to start reloading for it.
The time I shot it, it was covered in a layer is blown desert dust and it functioned 100%
Same with my Marlin 39A...not one hiccup.

Marlins are great guns.

You'll love it.

Talk about knock down power!

Oh, and that thing will kick like a mule.

sweet. i hear mixed reviews. Old Winchester buffs laugh at Marlins like Crom laughs at the 4-Winds, so i hadda check out mah sg*t before i put down my bills.

they come with a straight Winchester-style loop as well as that funky curved lever loop or do you just get the curly one? And WTF is up with those gray stocks? Do they come in a regular Walnut?

youz guyz are great

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/bigbore/1895G.asp


Article on Marlins

http://www.shootingtimes.com/longgun_reviews/st_0302_marlins/

My Mother and I bought a 45-70 govt. Marlin Guide Gun for my Father for Christmas a few years ago.

It is a great gun. Shot well, fed well, and had a nice recoil reducing butt pad.

I've got both the .444P and the 1894 in .44 Mag that were my grandfather's. He took a lot of Elk with the .444P and a good number of hogs with the 1894. I love both, though they don't get as much time as some of my other firearms. Never had an issue with them either.

I didn't like the guide gun. the straight wrist and square lever loop transmitted all the recoil to my knuckles. I sold it and bought a standard model with pistol grip wrist and curved cocking lever and cut it down to 16", added ashly express sights. Much more comfortable to shoot.

Marlins are great guns.

You'll love it.

Talk about knock down power!

Oh, and that thing will kick like a mule.

Nah, recoil is pretty mild with them. My 94 AE in .44 mag has worse recoil.

I suppose if you're shooting 405g cowboy loads "safe for all guns" its pretty mild. They are downloaded to be safe in 100 year old rifles. But the gun can handle heavier stuff like the Buffalo Bore 500 g copper solids - and there is a vast difference in felt recoil.

I suppose if you're shooting 405g cowboy loads "safe for all guns" its pretty mild. They are downloaded to be safe in 100 year old rifles. But the gun can handle heavier stuff like the Buffalo Bore 500 g copper solids - and there is a vast difference in felt recoil.
What he said. I love my .45-70 guide gun and she's ridiculously accurate. It'll be worth your while to get a different recoil pad as the marlin factory pad is as hard as a brick. Good luck

thought it'd make a nice truck gun,

"ha, he's got a 30-30..."

BOOM

"...no he don't"

the 1895g is a great gun. accurate enough to get the job done. powerful enough to really get the job done on big game. this rifle will handle the most powerful .45-70 loads available. the garret loads are devastating. http://www.garrettcartridges.com/products.asp.

you can shoot out to 150yds easily while staying within the killzone of larger animal. using factory loads it'll shoot roughly 3 inches high at 50yds, dead on at 100yds, and about 6-8 inches low at 150. at 200yds it's dropping like a rock hitting about 2-3 feet low.

the hotter loads can make a big difference and tighten that up and reach a little further with alot more punch.

it's a brush gun no doubt. 150yd gun. if you need to go out any further this is not your gun. i know the buffalo hunters made those long shots with black powder rounds, but they didn't have any choice, you do.

mine is ported and blued. it'll kill just about anything on the planet using the garret loads (mine is happy with dear). i have no regrets.

here is a testimonial from garrets page with the guys pic, and yes he used a guide gun......

"This grizzly was killed in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park in the Eagle Nest Mountain Range of Northern British Columbia. He squared over 8 feet and the skull measured 23 13/16'', which is very good size for an interior mountain grizzly bear. When I shot the bear, he had started a charge from about 70 yards away, and by the time I had a sight on him, he was 40 yards. The 540 Hammerhead hit him right between the front legs, and he did a complete front-wards flip after the bullet hit him. That bullet completely penetrated him lengthwise and exited. I made a follow up shot (which was unnecessary, just instinct) after he rolled which angled through the chest, took out a section of spine, and exited the top of his skull (if you look closely at the photo you can see the exit hole in his head). Very impressive bullet performance."
- Tyler Serle, Albuquerque, British Columbia

http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq293/badka2ma/grizzly1lg.jpg

I like mine. I have had it since 1999. (except for a period it was swapped off for an AR-15 A1, then we reversed the swap)

I shoot non-gas checked cast bullets in mine almost exclusively. I have the recorded data out in the shop. No leading, but traces. I can get it in 3" at 100 if I do my part. My handload is about a 20 round session then as gunplumber said, my lever hand has had enough. Shooting it with just a tee shirt on is just stoopid. :laugh_sma .

It has the infamous Marlin floppydick trigger. I noticed the aftermarket "fix" for this in a catalog recently. I forget the price, but it was not much. Mulling that over, the floppydick does not bother me and I do not care to ungut the action for such trivialities.

yeah. bear. bingo

thanks guys :)

I've had a Marlin GG for about 10 years. It had a ported barrel until I sent it to Marlin to have a non ported barrel installed.
It shoots a 1"- 5 shot group @100 yds. with a 2 power Pentax scope.
I re-load & cast 350 grain wheel weight lead, gas checked flat nose bullets for it.

It's my favorite hunting rifle.

I didn't like the guide gun. the straight wrist and square lever loop transmitted all the recoil to my knuckles. I sold it and bought a standard model with pistol grip wrist and curved cocking lever and cut it down to 16", added ashly express sights. Much more comfortable to shoot.

brilliant.
a gg or 444 marlin have been on the list of junk for a while.
i think im just going to copy cat your set up and cut down a different model.
thanks.

I recently bought a Lee mold for my .45-70 shooting. This is rare as I almost never go that route in molds. Anyway, it is not a gas checked design, unfortunately. However, I have been shooting some "factory" cast 300 gr FP's in it. Last time I clocked a load I had it upwards of 1700 fps (forgot the exact, it's out in the data journal) with no apparent leading. I can see some traces around the muzzle ports but after cleaning with Shooter's Choice it is all gone.

I have yet to try it on game. Feral hogs will likely end up the test bed. MY pet load groups nicely at 100 yards. The backsight is not jacked up to do so and the impact on a 100 yard berm looks pretty solid. (real scientific, huh ? ) :laugh_sma