Marlin 1895

[richhodg66]

One showed up in a LGS today, has the button safety, unfortunately, but does have Ballard rifling rather than Micro Groove which is a plus. They are asking $499.99, which seems like a good deal. It had scope bases and wasn't mint, but was very good.

Is this a good asking price? One of the Marin levers in .45-70 has been on my "someday I will have" list a long time and I have gotten the itch to do more with the .45-70 lately.

[Steve77]

If it was a caliber I liked I would grab it.

[Zim]

That's what I gave for my 1895 with Williams aperature installed. Going rate for good condition.

[Drm50]

$500 is a fair price, if you were in Ohio you wouldn't buy it for that. JM Marlins in Ohio deer legal
calibres are at a premium. I have a 95 that I've had for over 40yrs, it's micro groove. Before we
got rifle season it was a fun gun. All I ever shot was a Ideal 330gr Gould Express, cast hard. Even
though it's Micro Groove it shoots cast fine. I went to 300JHPs and Scope for deer. The only regret
I have is scoping it, the Lyman 66 reciever sight that I shot for years would have served me better. Going to put it back on before next season.

[Jackpine]

Is it the long barrel "cowboy" or short barreled Guide gun or ?? I would love to find any of them, if in good shape, for much less than $500.

Marlins are real easy to slick up and tune triggers, and Good news and bad news is the light weight of Marlins in 45-70. Nice to carry in the woods, but pretty good recoil if you are doing a lot of shooting with full loads.

[richhodg66]

I think I may go back and do some dealing with these guys. Oddly, they had a Ruger #1 in .45-70 on the same rack.

I wish this Marlin were older, but it does have a longer barrel, not the guide gun.

[kingstrider]

If the price is good and you want the gun then don't sweat the CBS, a lot of people either leave it off or delete it altogether. If you buy it make sure to post photos!

[17nut]

One showed up in a LGS today, has the button safety, unfortunately, but does have Ballard rifling rather than Micro Groove which is a plus. They are asking $499.99, which seems like a good deal. It had scope bases and wasn't mint, but was very good.

Is this a good asking price? One of the Marin levers in .45-70 has been on my "someday I will have" list a long time and I have gotten the itch to do more with the .45-70 lately.

What is "wrong" with micro groove barrels?
They tend to run a little bigger but if you accommodate that with cast, they shot like lasers.
My 94 44MAG is touching 5k rounds after i got it and i have never cleaned it:
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Marlin/R0012037_zpsffolees5.jpg (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chickenthief/media/Skydning/Marlin/R0012037_zpsffolees5.jpg.html)

[Gunslinger1911]

If you get it and can't stand the side button safety let me know, there is a guy / company that makes an insert to replace the safety that looks like just another screw.

[W.R.Buchanan]

That safety is a non issue, just put an o ring on the left side and you will forget all about it. Or you can get one of the Replacement "screws" that take it out all together.

$500 for a Marlin 1895 CB in decent condition is a pretty good deal. Even if the wood is bland it can easily be refinished. And the actions can be slicked up easily using the instructions at Leverguns.com

New ones are more like $800 now and their Custom Rifles are more like $1450 so there is a lot of room for rework if the gun is not perfect.

These guns are generally good shooters with the right loads but at 7 lbs they will kick the snot out of you with heavy loads. I put a Gray-Coil Recoil Reducer in mine which brought the weight up to 8 lbs and also installed a 1" thick Pachmayer Recoil Pad.

Shoot RCBS .45-300FNGC which in my case comes out at 341 gr with 33 gr of 5744 and that is about as much as I can tolerate and still shoot a 40 round match. I could live thru a few 400 gr heavy loads but there would be pain associated with it.

These guns are the best bang for the buck out there as there is nothing comparable available in that price range and you will pay $1400+ for a Winchester 86 in that caliber.

I would seriously recommend buying it if you are interested, as someone else will, if you don't.

Here's a pic of mine after wood refinish and internal deburring. Excellent shooter!!! I have $700 in it and $150 of that was for the Lyman 66LA Rear Sight I got off Ebay.

Please don't let the naysayers dissuade you from this gun. There is so much BS around about these guns out there it is ridiculous, and you aren't going to find a pre-safety gun for anything close to that money and even then it will probably not be a Ballard Rifled gun. Very few of these guns, and I don't care when they were made, don't need significant work to make them nice. There was nothing magic about the JM Marlin guns, and I have them too. They just had less machine work and more "Hand Work," however lots of that "hand work" was not all that. :takinWiz:

If you look at it like that you'll be happy.

Randy

[charlie b]

An acquaintance of mine who shoots competition likes his a lot and recommended it as a good way to get into long range BPCR.

[sac]

I have a B0 serial numbered 1895 and love it.

[Mossy Oak]

Which one did you get? A 1895 here in southern WV is 500.00 a little less if it has some cosmetic issues.

[TXGunNut]

Buy it yet? I bought an almost new one like it (a Remlin, no less) and it's one fine shooter. Not much to look at but I can live with that.

[Ron in PA]

I have a BO made in 1972. Its a good deer and fun gun183334

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

What is a B0 serial numbered gun?

I have an 1895 Cowboy in .45-70. Lovely with that octagon barrel. It does kick like a mule.

[Zim]

BO is the date code and first 2 digits of the serial number. Most marlins can be dated by serial numbet code. Charts on the interwebs.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

OK, I've not been successful in finding when my rifle was made. The serial number is 9912xxxx.

[Zim]

2001 for 99
Marlinowners.com in the reference section is the chart I used.

[Duckiller]

Rich, Get it! I have a similar one that I shoot Trail Boss under 330-405 gr Lee boolits. It is fun and doesn't hurt to shoot.The safety button cand be a pain if you forget to take it off.

[izzyjoe]

Look at it this way, if you buy it and don't like it you can always resale it and get you're money back plus some.

[sac]

What is a B0 serial numbered gun?

I have an 1895 Cowboy in .45-70. Lovely with that octagon barrel. It does kick like a mule.

B0 serial number is the first year they started making 1895 again In 1972.

[Scharfschuetze]

B0 serial number is the first year they started making 1895 again In 1972.

I bought one of the original releases for my brother for a Christmas present in 1973. They really had it worked out at that point and I still think those original ones with the half magazine and semi-crescent butt plate still are the best looking of all the 1895s. My brother and his sons still use it in Wyoming on the river bottoms for Whitetail Deer.

My current Marlin 1895 is a Limited II issue and I can't say enough good things about them as a genre. Bang for the buck they are just great even if a little light for heavy loads.

Pick that rifle up and I don't think that you'll ever look back.

[10x]

What is "wrong" with micro groove barrels?
They tend to run a little bigger but if you accommodate that with cast, they shot like lasers.
My 94 44MAG is touching 5k rounds after i got it and i have never cleaned it:


Know it all gun writers in the 1950s and 1960's gave the Microgroove® rifling a bad rap. They sized cast bullets to 0.308" which, for the Microgroove® is too small. In 1970 or so I discovered that a 336 would shoot a Lee 150 grain GC FP into an inch at 100 yards if I did my part. This was a batch of boolits I sized to 0.311" because that was the only Lee pound through size die I had to put a gas check on. Bottom line Microgroove shoots cast boolits very accurately if you size larger than the cast bullet manual recommends.