45-70 Lever Gun Opinion

[olereb]

I'm looking to buy a 45-70 Lever Gun and wanted to get y'alls opinion on these,i'm considering a Marlin and a Rossi Rio Grande. I have heard bad things about both so wanted to ask here for input,i have a few Rossi 92's and they are great but I don't want to rule out the Marlin before I get some feedback. I would be shooting cast boolits in whichever one I get,besides bad quality I have heard Marlins are finicky about cast(not sure if true). If the Henry was side load i'd get that but since it only has the tube its out,i hate those loading tubes(had one as a kid). Anyways I appreciate any opinions you might have,this is the place for knowledge. Thanks.

[Zim]

Love my 1895 SS. No worries and shoots cast great. My bore slugs 458", but chambers the as cast 0.460" boolits. Some say theirs are oversize. So slug it and go whatever you get.
Welcome to the club.

[btroj]

My Marlin 1895 is anything but finicky about cast. Or jacketed. Or anything. Keep load length in the right range and it seems to shoot about anything well. Very well.

I size to .460 just because I do. It works, why change.

[colt1960]

I made the same dicision a little over a year ago. I ended up finding a nice marlin 1895 GBL 45-70 that I had to take home with me. Very happy with my purchase. I just didnt like the wood that was used on the rossi's. Im sure there good rifles, just wasnt for me. Good luck with what ever you choose. Rick!

[rodok]

I bought the rossi and have been very disappointed with it, it needed a lot of work done to it and it was new. I had a chance to get a Marlin and I wish I would of, Rossi is a ok gun, but the marlin is a better gun

[ballistim]

Add me to those who love their Marlin 1895, I've only shot cast since I picked it up on an impulse buy with a "zero percent down, zero percent for one year" option at Cabela's about 5 years back, and it is great! I love the stainless steel/laminated look and feel of it with the Pachmyr Decelerator recoil pad & the XS lever rail & ghost ring sight set I put on it. I never put it in the gun cabinet anymore because I kept pulling it back out. It's great!

[blikseme300]

Get a JM stamped Marlin and you won't be disappointed.

[JesterGrin_1]

I have a Marlin 1895GS ( Stainless Guide Gun )in 45-70. Get a JM Stamped one and run with it. Great Rifle. :)

I have used both Jacketed Hornady 350Gr RN and the Ranch Dog 350Gr RNFP/GC sized at .460 and they will both print under 3/4" at 100 yards with a Scope if I do my part. :)

[Lead Fred]

Would not touch a Rossi with a 10 foot pole
My 2002 Marlin 1895 takes everything I feed it great.
Just dont get one newer than 2006, them remlins just arent Marlins

[veeman]

I love my Browning 1886 SRC!

[hanleyfan]

Its funny how every one glorifies the Marlin rifles, I for one had a different experience, I have owned 2 marlin in the past 6 years and they both was before Remington took marlin over, one was a 45/70 and one was a 1894 44mag. both would not cycle a shell from the start. I had to work on them just to get them to cycle ammo. The actions on both were a little rough, so marlins are not that great as some would say. In my opinion they are way over priced for what you get.

[JesterGrin_1]

Its funny how every one glorifies the Marlin rifles, I for one had a different experience, I have owned 2 marlin in the past 6 years and they both was before Remington took marlin over, one was a 45/70 and one was a 1894 44mag. both would not cycle a shell from the start. I had to work on them just to get them to cycle ammo. The actions on both were a little rough, so marlins are not that great as some would say. In my opinion they are way over priced for what you get.

I would not own another Marlin in .44 Mag. Not because it would not cycle as it did that well except with SWC. But I was not happy with 3" groups at 100 yards with a scope.

As for the Marlin 1895's in 45-70 I feel most require some slicking up to operate smoothly. Or to be used for a long time as they are or I should say were a Quality piece of equipment. But all things have to be right for them to function correctly. Ammo is a big part of that.

A huge plus to the Marlin design over others is the ease at which one can be taken down for routine maintenance or taken all the way down to just the barreled action. Trying doing that with a Winchester design lol.

This might sound harsh but some should never own and operate anything more complicated than a single shot or a bolt action rifle. Those two types of actions are pretty reliable in there function. But again with all things the construction of the ammo must be maintained for smooth function.

[joec]

I have the Rossi Rio Grande in 45-70 an when I bought it I compared it to a pair of Marlins both had gaps in stock fit, and poor actions (felt like sand in it) so looked at the Rossi. It was smooth so I bought it for half the price of the marlin and brought it home. Broke in down completely and examined each part. I found a slight burr on the carrier which took a couple of passes with fine sand paper and some metal polish. Also the loading gate was way too strong and reduced the tension on it which took about 5 minutes with a file. Other than those two minor problems the gun internally showed no machine marks or casting marks. Put it back together and promptly mounted a scope and fired 100 rounds through it with about 7 rounds to zero in the scope. I have since added a stainless steel magazine follower which didn't exist till I talked The Smith Shop into making for me and now produce. I also found a hammer extension that works the Uncle Mike's for Henry and Winchester rifles. Total price of gun NIB and Bushnell Banner Dusk to Dawn 1.5-4.5x32 scope out the door was less than $490 out the door including a 6% sales tax. Now those that had problems I sorry but I personally own several Taurus and Rossi arms with great success with them. But like any gun produced or car for that matter, not everything comes out of the factories perfectly every time and Taurus is no different so it you don't like them then don't buy them because you happen to of gotten a bad gun. I've owned a number of guns in 45 years of buying and had them all brands that needed to go back for repairs from time to time.

[Leadbelly]

I love my marlin, 1" groups @ 100 yds.

[olereb]

Thanks for the replies everyone,i appreciate it. From what i'm reading it seems like the majority are very happy with their Marlins that are JM stamped and pre 2006.

[olereb]

I have the Rossi Rio Grande in 45-70 an when I bought it I compared it to a pair of Marlins both had gaps in stock fit, and poor actions (felt like sand in it) so looked at the Rossi. It was smooth so I bought it for half the price of the marlin and brought it home. Broke in down completely and examined each part. I found a slight burr on the carrier which took a couple of passes with fine sand paper and some metal polish. Also the loading gate was way too strong and reduced the tension on it which took about 5 minutes with a file. Other than those two minor problems the gun internally showed no machine marks or casting marks. Put it back together and promptly mounted a scope and fired 100 rounds through it with about 7 rounds to zero in the scope. I have since added a stainless steel magazine follower which didn't exist till I talked The Smith Shop into making for me and now produce. I also found a hammer extension that works the Uncle Mike's for Henry and Winchester rifles. Total price of gun NIB and Bushnell Banner Dusk to Dawn 1.5-4.5x32 scope out the door was less than $490 out the door including a 6% sales tax. Now those that had problems I sorry but I personally own several Taurus and Rossi arms with great success with them. But like any gun produced or car for that matter, not everything comes out of the factories perfectly every time and Taurus is no different so it you don't like them then don't buy them because you happen to of gotten a bad gun. I've owned a number of guns in 45 years of buying and had them all brands that needed to go back for repairs from time to time.

I had to take apart all of my Rossi 92's also and clean them up good,bit of grinding and they are slick as can be now.

[oldred]

I have got to put my two cents worth in for the Marlin, I have a 1977 Marlin 1895 45/70 that's as slick and accurate as a person could ask.

[Lead Fred]

Pachmyr Decelerator recoil pad

Try one of these

http://www.limbsaverproducts.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_3&products_id=7

Mine went from punishing to pleasureful in no time.

Id give someone the one that came on my Marlin, but I forgot which trash can I threw it in.

Ive shot lots of guide guns, and everyone has been smooth as glass. .

Now my Bud's 1970 Winnie in 44 mag, there's your box of rocks

[ballistim]

Everyone I talk to likes the Limbsaver better, I've thought about putting one on my Buffalo Classic. Thanks for the suggestion! I just checked and found the JM on the left side of the barrel after reading all about the JM & REP stamps, so glad mine came in under the wire before the controversial ones came out.

[TheGrimReaper]

I love my Marlin shoots Lee 405gr Boolits like a Champ.

[Smoke4320]

Marlin before Rem took it over ..quality guns at a reasonable price if you do some hunting around..
Rossi's are hit and miss.. I picked up a 45 long colt that was nearly perfect out of the box. did not have a single complaint about it ..shot great, sights were fine for my aging eyes, cycled smoothly, wood was fit well .. wood was nothing to look at but functional
Friend got one and has had several problems..YMMV

[dgslyr]

I have 15 Marlins at present.I have had about 15 others.I have never come across one that needed to be slicked up.Marlins are not quite in the same class as my Browning 1886.Almost but not quite.After seeing and shooting my friends new Winchester 92 in 32/20,I will soon have a new Winchester 94 in 38/55.The newer Marlins since about 2005 have had trouble.I think this is due to the labor pool everyone is forced to hire from these days.As the old guys retired the young ones have spent to much time stoned on weed .This has been a huge problem where I work.My friend has the same problems with the stoners at the machine shop where he works.They mess up a lot of stuff that has to be done over.Remington is having that trouble now.
I had a Rossi 92 that was pure **** right out of the box.No one in Florida is capable of fixing the poorly made junk either.After 9 months they gave me another rifle.I put it on gunbroker the night after I got it.Sold it to an exporter that sent it to Austrailia.At least I got my money back for that ***.

[micky_blue]

Consider a Henry?

[hickstick_10]

Winchesters/Miroku extra light 1886 is the best made factory 45-70 lever action hunting rifle out there, in my opinion.

Far better made then the 1895 or the henry and I've had no issue with the safety or rebounding hammer.

[NVScouter]

I'm posative about the Rossi 92s but please don't buy a Rio Grande. I have a thread here on my this is my opinion.

[MtGun44]

My Marlin SS GG is accurate and reliable. Strong positive recommendation.

Bill

[monge]

I have a newer remlin guide gun shoots an inch at 100yards loves cast boolits !

[btroj]

1886 Winchester is a darn fine rifle but it also costs far more than a Marlin.

Marlin also is simple to clean from the breech, the others, not so much.

[Dean2]

Bought a 45-70 Marlin, pre Remington. It had to go back to the factory for an new barrel and a few other parts because it wouldn't shoot under 6" at 100 yards. After Marlin fixed it, it works great. Bought a post Rem 39A in 22. Very poor groups. Got a full refund cause they wouldn't fix it and send it back to Canada. Have a couple of other Marlins that were great from the get go, both pre Rem. Never had a Rossi so can't opine on them.

I used that Marlin 45-70 shooting bear control for over 15 years. The two of us doing that work shot about everything you can think of for guns just to try them out. Both of us overall favoured the Marlin levers, mine the 45-70 and his a 444. Between the 2 of us a conservative count would be over 2000 black bears in that 15 year period. Our all time record was 21 in a 24 hour period. Of that the two Marlins accounted for about 80% of the total.

Post mine being fixed, and his would both shoot very well out past 200 yards, but most shots were 30 to 80 yards. Here is a picture of a target shot when sighting in the 45-70 just after I got it back from Marlin in the 90s, after being fixed.

80072

[LarryM]

I picked p a Henry .45-70 this afternoon. I'm happy with it.
I had some light loads that I'd done up using Unique that I had been feeding my 1874 (Ped) Sharps using Lyman 457643. It seems ot shoot pretty decent and despite the 4 round capacity listed in the specs I cold feed 5 down the mag and lock it up with no problem.
I also ran some Hornady Leverevolution 325 gr loads through it just to see how they would do.

[Scharfschuetze]

See below. For some reason it posted twice.

[Scharfschuetze]

I bought a Marlin 1895 45/70 in 2000 or so and its bore was drilled off center. To zero it I had the front sight pretty far over to the left and the Lyman 66 peep sight all the way over to the right. Wouldn't you know it, it was the most accurate 45/70 I've ever shot or loaded for. It was close to a 1 MOA rifle for 10 shot groups at 100 and 200 yards and functioned perfectly.

Long story short, it went back to the factory where they replaced the barrel with one drilled true and I got the rifle back in a few weeks. The sights are centered now and the rifle shoots an honest 2 MOA, but I sure liked the accuracy of that first barrel.

I also helped a good friend develop a hunting load for his 1895 45/70 (Microgoove) several years ago using the Hornady 350 grain jacketed bullet over IMR 3031 powder and it was also close to a 1 MOA rifle at 100 yards with a William's peep sight and it also operated flawlessly.

[olereb]

Consider a Henry?

I really like the looks of the Henry and have heard they are great but I hate the loading tubes that they have. I probably will get a Henry eventually but not for my 1st.

[olereb]

I'm 99% sure i'm going to get a JM marked Marlin for my 1st,any input on what a good price range is?,i see some on GB here and there. Thanks a lot everyone that has posted their opinions.

[JesterGrin_1]

If you are looking for a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun in 45-70 I would say for a blue around $5OO.oo would be good and for the Stainless GS Model around $6OO.oo would be good if they are in excellent condition. A couple of years ago I would have taken $1OO.oo off of my recommended prices.

But that depends on who you ask as some have just gone nuts on price or just simply wishful thinking.


There are two things I would do to a Guide Gun and that would be put a Limbsaver Recoil pad on it and second look into a Scout Scope set up and save your eye lol. :)

[msp2640]

I owned a standard 1895 model from the 1980's and traded it in on a used, but minty 1895 Cowboy model a few years ago. I recently picked up an Winchester reproduction of the 1886 and I must say that the fit, finsh and overall quality is far superior than both of my 1895's and better than all my other Marlins as well, except for a 336 which has an outstanding factory walnut stock. If your wallet allows and your set on a 45-70, don't hesitate to look at the Winchester reproductions made by Miroku (same company which made the Browning reproduction versions). They've been remade in different versions over the years (SRC, takedown, liteweight, etc) and most will probably start in the $1000 range. I know it's difficult to pay twice as much for a somewhat similar rifle in the same caliber, but for the most part, the fact is "you get what you pay for". Some guys get lucky with a decent Rossi, but many need some work. For the most part the "pre-Rem" Marlins were alot better, but a few of those had some issues as well (and I love my Marlins). I have 2 Browning reproductions and a pair of Winchester repros, all different models/ calibers, all made by Miroku and the level of workmanship is outstanding on all of them. Hope this helps shed some light on another option, as pointed out by some other previous posters, as well - Good luck with your selection - Bill in MA

[hicard]

I have both the CB and the GS stainless. Love both of them. Especially the GS

[TXGunNut]

I have a blue GG with ported bbl, love the gun! It likes the RD 350 gr gc boolit and even likes the RP 300 gr j-word bullet. Shoots like a bolt gun should, actually shoots better than many bolt guns. Mine wears a low-powered VX-3 and is very quick & handy, not to mention very potent.
I wouldn't be afraid of a Rossi, just consider it a kit gun and plan on giving it a little TLC.

[railroadman]

I just got a used Marlin 1895 (jm) Carolina cast bullets supplies almost all of my lead bullets.I have over mty cases,and 2 RL#7 Winchester primers.and a nice 4X Weaver scope.Do any of you guys used other powders?I now live in the FREE state of Florida.came from Syracuse NY.Way to cold.Horrible gun laws.

[TXGunNut]

I just got a used Marlin 1895 (jm) Carolina cast bullets supplies almost all of my lead bullets.I have over mty cases,and 2 RL#7 Winchester primers.and a nice 4X Weaver scope.Do any of you guys used other powders?I now live in the FREE state of Florida.came from Syracuse NY.Way to cold.Horrible gun laws.


Congrats on your escape! Jerry @ Carolina sells the RD boolits so many of us like. I've used other powders, 3031 seems to work well with some loads, as does 2400. Haven't tried 5744 and some of the others but suspect no less than a dozen powders, including Holy Black of course, will give good results in the 45-70. Some powders work better with heavy boolits, light boolits prefer to be hurried along by other powders. I like a fairly stiff load under a 350 gr boolit in a GG and RL7 seems to work just fine for me.

[JesterGrin_1]

I like a fairly stiff load under a 350 gr boolit in a GG and RL7 seems to work just fine for me.


If you like stiff loads try H-322. With the Hornady 350Gr RN and the Ranch Dog 350 gr and H-322 they will shoot under 1" at 100 yards with a scope. But really in the 1/2-3/4 range.

[ballistim]

My GG liked the 350 grain Lazer-cast with IMR 3031, but now I have 3 molds to try and am on a group buy for a 4th so I'll be paying attention to powder choices and loads mentioned in posts.

[John Boy]

My 2002 Marlin 1895 takes everything I feed it great.Really? A lever 45-70 is dependent on the COL of the reload. Try chambering, say a 457677 or a Dan Theodore Mini Groove (the Money Bullet) reload