Marlin 1895 cowboy 45\70 18.5 " !

[Gunslinger1911]

Yes, that's right, a Marlin Cowboy 45\70 with an 18.5 " barrel !
I had never heard of such a critter, always 26".
Stupid cross bolt safety, but otherwise nice.
I've read about "JM" marked Marlin levers - don't see that any where (where would it be found ?)
Pretty sweet cannon, can't wait to shoot it.

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[Wind]

Hey there G1911 -- Commonly known as a Limited III. A run by Davidson's of 1,000 rifles. The last four numbers in your serial number will establish where it stood in the production run. They were definitely "JM" guns and should be stamped just in front of the receiver on a barrel flat. Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[Scharfschuetze]

Gunslinger,

Nice lookin' carbine. I hope it shoots as well as it looks.

Wind,

I have one of the limited rifles made by Marlin around 2001 or so. Do you know or can you fill us in on the various limited runs of Marlin 1895 rifles? A photo below is my limited rifle.

[Wind]

Hey there Scharf -- You have one of the Limited II's. Mine is a very nifty and accurate rifle.

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The 45-70 Limited series went something like this:

LTD I – straight grip, 24” half round barrel - 1,000 produced.
LTD II – checkered, pistol grip, 24” octagon barrel - 2,000 produced.
LTD III – straight grip, 18.5” octagon barrel - 1,000 produced.
LTD IV – straight grip, 24" octagon barrel - 1,000 produced.
LTD V – checkered, pistol grip, 24” half round barrel - 1,000 produced.


All with walnut stocks, all were JM guns.

Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[Bazoo]

Sweet find. How many rounds does the 18.5 barrel version hold?

That crossbolt safety is easily disabled, or replaced with a plug.

To disable it, remove the stock, on the receiver's left side, rear, you'll see a small hole, which contains a set screw, spring and ball detent. Use an allen key to tighten the screw down while the safety is in the off position.

[Gunslinger1911]

Sweet, thanks for the info Wind and Scharf.
Bazoo, where would one find a plug to fit the hole if I took it out ?
Holds 6+1

[Rick Hodges]

Rather than plug it I just put a small o-ring around the safety holding it in the "fire" position. Easily reversible and prevents inadvertent application of the safety.

[daengmei]

I've had a Marlin on lay-away till today...it is a 1895G with 18 1/2" round barrel. Very well kept, but it had to have been used. Came with a total of 279 loaded rounds, 75 of which are marked as reloads. 82 pieces of fired brass. First thing tomorrow going to the range. For the question of how many, 4 rounds in the tube. When I looked into the bore with a light, was a little miffed about the strange looking gouges, then I noticed they were two sets and it turns out to be ported. Duh!
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[Scharfschuetze]

Wind,

Thanks for the info!

[Finnmike]

Pull those reloads. Never shoot unknown reloads.

[Finnmike]

I would not fire reloads unknown to me. Pull'em.

[Rick Hodges]

Be sure to wear ear protection with those ports...of course once you fire it once without, you won't have to be reminded. LOL

[flashhole]

daengmei - That looks just like my 1895G. Ported barrel. I bought mine new in 1998, the first year they were offered. Not many have the factory ported barrel. I like mine and am surprised at how accurate it is. I don't think it is louder than any other 45-70. A real joy to shoot and very handy in the woods with the short barrel. My teenage daughter has adopted it as her go-to deer gun. Nothing but handloads down the barrel from the first day I owned it. Now I cast my own bullets for it too. Great gun.

[daengmei]

Just shot mine this morning. Shot the ammo that came with it, 405g Remington JSP. $19.95 price sticker, how old is it? Now mind ya I can't see out of one eye and I'm probably blind in the other, lol. At 50 yd, had 2 touch near the very center and 3 others spread the group to about 6" overall.
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At 100 yd 1 within 1" of the bull with the other 4 strung vertically to the left. Spread again about 6".Gotta fix my eyes and I know they would get better. (The 2 shots at the right side are from a muzzle loader.)
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The recoil was less than my Mosin Nagants...it certainly was due to the nice recoil pad installed. I don't even know I shot it, shoulder wise.

[daengmei]

Let me add what I've forgotten...I like this rifle. The holes in the berm looked like someone used a mattock.

[Gunslinger1911]

Yup, lookin forward to churning up the berm soon. I can do so much more with a repeater than my Italian Sharps !

[Bazoo]

Gunslinger1911

http://beartoothmercantile-2.myshopify.com/products/basic-safety-delete-for-marlin-rifle

Or with a saddle ring

http://beartoothmercantile-2.myshopify.com/products/saddle-ring-safety-delete

This is easily reversible too. It takes about 10 minutes the first time, and about 5 the second time to change the safety out for the plug, or visa-versa.

[Gunslinger1911]

Bazoo, that is perfect !!!!

[osteodoc08]

Cabelas also had a special run of the 18 1/2" octagonal barreled 45/70 1895.

[Wind]

Hey there Doc08 -- I believe Cabela's is selling Remlins. They are easily identified by the lack of a JM stamp on the barrel, and "MR" preceding the numbers in the serial number. It is my observation in handling many of the Limited JM rifles that they are exceptionally nice as far as fit and finish and function. All have proved to be exceptionally accurate as well. Some of the Limiteds came with plain-ish wood and some with some really stellar lumber. Luck of the draw there. Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[osteodoc08]

Hey there Doc08 -- I believe Cabela's is selling Remlins. They are easily identified by the lack of a JM stamp on the barrel, and "MR" preceding the numbers in the serial number. It is my observation in handling many of the Limited JM rifles that they are exceptionally nice as far as fit and finish and function. All have proved to be exceptionally accurate as well. Some of the Limiteds came with plain-ish wood and some with some really stellar lumber. Luck of the draw there. Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind


It was indeed a Remlin. The sample I looked at was just as good as any JM I own. As a matter of fact, the ABL I bought several months ago was just as nice if not better than my JM 1895 GS as far as wood to metal fit. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a new Remlin so long as I could check it out before purchase.

[osteodoc08]

My ABL
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[Wind]

Hey there Doc08 -- I think you hit the nail on the head with "I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a new Remlin so long as I could check it out before purchase." Fella's at the ranch up the road brought a couple Remlin 30-30's by recently and they looked just fine to me too.

My own afflictions have me going the other way, towards old walnut and blue that isn't very blue anymore!!

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Best regards. Wind

[osteodoc08]

Wind,

That is a nice looking lever. Can you give some details on it please.

[Wind]

Hey there Doc -- It's a Marlin 1893 built in 1895. Came with some rare features including a Whitney-Kennedy butt plate and a custom rear sight the original owner had installed in 1895 when the rifle was brand new. The rear sight is a mystery as it is a very nice piece of work, but no one knows if Marlin built it as a "one off" or some gunsmith from the period did. This is kind of the original ghost ring on a rifle that was kinda the original 22-250 of the time period. I've replaced it with a Montana Vintage Arms #108 Sharps Vernier as I have a tendency to shoot it a little longer.

The caliber is similar, but very different, from the Winchester 25-35 and the 25-36 Marlin won't chamber in the Winchester chamber.

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It features a long cam take down assembly and a pristine bore. NOE makes the perfect bullet mold in their 260116 (with or without gas check). Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[flashhole]

Very nice. What cases do you use for handloads? Maybe a better question is what cases work for reforming?

[Wind]

Hey there FH -- I'm kinda high-jacking Gunslingers thread. However...

There is 25-36 Marlin brass floating around out there. Usually expensive and hard to find...

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Reforming from the parent cartridge, 32-40 Winchester, works great...

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25-35 Winchester brass is a very poor substitute as it is extremely short. Here's a bullet seated in the 25-35 Winchester on the left and the same seating depth in reformed 32-40 on the right...

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Why don't we give Gunslinger back his thread and if anyone wants to carry on with this discussion - go ahead and start a new thread about the 25-36 Marlin.

Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind.

[Gunslinger1911]

No problem Wind and Flash. Very cool lever gun. Interesting caliber. I love learning about the older stuff !

[W.R.Buchanan]

Gunslinger: Just to clear something up,,,your gun is not a Carbine,,, It is a Short Rifle.

Carbines have a barrel band, and no fore end cap.

I have an 1895 CB with a 26" bbl. and strait grip. it is a JM gun and I had to put 6 very intense hours into the action to make it shootable. The lever alone had so many sharp edges it cut my hand. I also refinished the stocks which were the blandest pieces of wood I have seen on a gun. I also installed a serious Recoil Pad so I can actually shoot it.

I would love to have one like yours,,, and then rework it too! They respond well to TLC treatments. They make great guns!

Randy

[Gunslinger1911]

Hi Randy,

Good info ! This seems to be put together pretty well - I'll know more when I have time to shoot it.

That recoil pad looks good - I figured I was going to have to put one on mine, figure it's going to kick like a beast !

[Wind]

Hey there Gunslinger -- You might consider checking out www.gmdr.com for some load data. Click the Oregon Trail banner at the top of the page and the scroll down menu for caliber on the left. I'm a huge fan of a 300 grain bullet (I use Laser-Cast) and 10 grains of Unique. Very accurate and easy on you and your rifle. No recoil pad necessary. This is a target I shot using that load whilst adjusting my rear sight, moving the point of impact to the right from the initial shot. Shot off the Okanogan Shooting Sticks.

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Very consistent!! 12 grains of Unique and a 350 grain bullet is a good one too. A pleasure to shoot as well. Here is 14 grains of Unique under a 405 grain Laser-Cast bullet. Again another sight setting target.

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Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[Bazoo]

This is a great thread, with great information and pictures on great guns. I love lever actions of all varieties.

[osteodoc08]

Awesome read on Wind's gun. Learn something new every day

[Gunslinger1911]

Very cool ! I'll check that site out.
I'm working on bumping up the diameter on a 45SAA boolit, Beagleing and powder coating.
I really like the style, it's a little heavy in 45 Colt at 290 solid (but makes for an awesome load!).
I'm interested how it will work for a plinking load for the Marlin.

[Scharfschuetze]

This is a great thread, with great information and pictures on great guns. I love lever actions of all varieties.

Here's an 1893 Marlin in 30/30 made in 1903. It's been in the family for something like four generations and now belongs to my son. Bore's still good and we plink little rocks and cans with it out to 200 yards with the Lyman 311041 boolit. It's a standard rifle without the nice additions that Wind's 1893 has, but it's a great shooter non the less.

[Wind]

Hey there Sharf -- I'll bet it'll go a "might further". Here's my friend Mo at my place working over the 650 yard dinger with his '93 and factory sights...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8wvAdTVpnM


Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

[Scharfschuetze]

Nice Wind! I love shooting like that and I do so every chance I get. My old home ranges in Western Colorado and Central Wyoming as well as the high desert areas in both areas were perfect for such shenanigans. Now I do it over in Central Washington a couple of times a year.

Most of my rifles are set up to just that with long range aperture sights, but that Marlin 1893 still wears a barrel mounted sight that lacks the elevation needed for cast boolits much past 200 yards. Given its heritage, we've just left it as is. Still, it's great fun poking little rocks out of cliffs and what not within its sight's limitations.

By the way, early in the video you can really compare the left to right mirage with the dust kicked up from the boolit's impact. It gives those not knowing how to use mirage at long range an idea how it's used to correct for boolit deflection caused by wind.

Oh, and just to stay on topic :) I use my Marlin 1895 in 45/70 at extended ranges routinely with a 405 grain boolit at 1300 fps with great success. I'd love to try it out on your range over there in Montana. I'd probably need to use a lower front sight though for you furthest target.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Mine has a Lyman 66LA on it as of last Sunday as well. I had to drill and tap the gun for it but it wasn't too hard and only took a few minutes. Mounted it in exactly the same place as the one above with the little angle on the base block flush with the angle cut on the top of the receiver, and the button even with the rear of the receiver so it doesn't interfere with cocking the Hammer.

Once you have sighted your rifle in with a load you can stand to shoot all day, screw the little stop screw down, and zero the sliding scale on the elevation slide. That way you have a mechanical zero you can always return to. All other loads are with relation to Mechanical Zero and you dial them in as needed, but after shooting them you go right back to your Mechanical Zero. That way you always know where the gun is sighted.

Typically you want this zero to be with your fastest load, and set at 100 or 200 yards, but with a rifle like this you'd probably want to go with the load you shoot most at 100 yards. It will shoot fairly flat out to 100 yards and then require going up a few MOA for 150 and 200.

If you decide to shoot Short Range or Cowboy Silhouette you will see why I state these numbers.

Other than hunting big game this is the best possible use for these guns, and you will shoot more and become a better shot every time out. 40 shots in one sitting is what you're going to do. And if you simply shoot the gun off a rest with your standard load at the 4 distances you will not have to chase the sights like you will see many doing. You'll KNOW Exactly where the gun shoots, and can concentrate on producing a good sight picture that yields consistent hits.

This is much more rewarding than endless shooting at paper targets searching for the magic load with no final use in mind. Target practice is fine but at the end of the day you need to actually shoot at something that falls down or bleeds or both.

Randy

[Four Fingers of Death]

I bought a 45/70 Cowboy a few years ago, sold it a few months later and dropped heaps on it! What was I thinking????????????

[Geezer in NH]

Thread hi-jack :hijack:

[Gunslinger1911]

LOL hey Fingers, at least you had one for a while ! (even though you committed the sin of selling it).
I had my eye out for a 26" Cowboy for over a year, found a couple, owners were mighty proud of them - reflected by selling price.
This one had everything except the longer bbl, and the price was right.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Yep! Didn't even fire a shot out of it!

[Bazoo]

Ive never handled any of the cowboy limited versions in 45/70. I think i'd really like the 24 inch octagon barrel version though.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Bazoo: they have 26" bbls.

Randy

[Scharfschuetze]

Bazoo: they have 26" bbls.

Very true, but the Limited II had a 24" octagon barrel.

Here's mine. I actually wish it had a 26" barrel, but oh well.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Sharf: that is a good looking rifle. I really like the pistol grip version with the long octagon barrel and had thought about converting mine to that configuration with new wood as mine is pretty bland even after the refinish.

The only way you could tell the 24" from the 26" bbl. is if they were side by side. My 1894CB has a 24" bbl.

Are you installing a recoil pad on that gun? I had to in order to get thru a 40 or 60 round Silhouette match.

Randy

[Scharfschuetze]

No, no recoil pad in the rifle's future. The one on yours is certainly a substantial unit and your wood looks great!

I normally just shoot Trapdoor level rifle loads out of it and have a good 405 grain cast load at 1250 fps that holds very well out to hundreds of yards. With the Lyman Model 66 rear sight and Model 17 front sight, I can easily hit at 400 yards, but for further shooting I have to use a lower front sight on it.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes, I have to do some fine tuning on my Front Sights as well. On my 1894 the Front Sight is an XS with the White Line, but it is about .200 too tall and as a result the Rear Sight has to be much too high at mechanical zero. I'll probably just mill that one down and refinish the top edge.

The 1895 has the stock Front Bead Sight. I want an XS on it as well. I really like the white line as it is the easiest for me to pick up in the majority of lighting conditions.

Randy

PS: just ordered those sights from XS should be here in a few days.

[Gunslinger1911]

Hey Bazoo, I got that safety plug you posted about. I'm getting too old for the happy dance !
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Thanks for the info !!

[Bazoo]

Gunslinger1911, that looks sweet.