This is a Mossberg-made carbine, manufactured for Montgomery Ward. Western Field was MW's trade name in hunting gear and guns. It corresponds approximately to the Mossberg M 472 and dates from the 1970’s.
Looks much like a Marlin 336 and has side-port ejection that allows for mounting of a scope on top of the receiver. Factory drilled and tapped for conventional Weaver 2-piece mounts.
Trigger in the lever. Bolt removal for cleaning is same as for a Marlin 336, except a drift pin instead of a screw serves as the lever pivot.
Overall exterior condition is good. Outstanding walnut stocks with much figure. Butt stock lacks the rear sling swivel and swivel stud. Bluing shows some signs of wear.
Was set up for a scope and has no front sight. Carries a factory original rubber butt plate, which avoids the problem that many Marlin's had of cracking when set down hard.
In spite of roughness in the bore near the muzzle, this carbine has shot some surprisingly good groups, both with jacketed and cast. The best jacketed loads will group 4 shots into an inch at 50 yds. A few cast loads have done almost that well, but one inch at 25 yds is more typical of the better loads. Occasionally 3-4 shots well go well under an inch at that range.
The best cast bullets I’ve found for this gun have been the old Lyman 311466 (Loverin design), Lee Harris C 312-160-2R, and NOE’s 311-118-RF (their version of the Lee soup can). The standard 150-grain .30-30 flat nose designs have shot well on a few occasions, but not consistently. Any nose-rider will probably need to be oversize, as the bore measures.301-.3015 (from a soft lead ball pounded 9” down from the breech, then pushed back out). Eight-groove Ballard-style rifling.
Price: $295 shipped to your FFL. I’ll need a signed copy of your FFL’s paper. Please ask questions or request additional photos if you’re interested. I’d rather not have you ship it back. Payment by US Postal Money Order.
If you happen to be in Michigan and want to deal FTF 80 miles north of Bay City, that’s fine with me.
No California sales.
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