Marlin Guide Guns in the EE

I like mine, it works for me. Short to medium range in thick cover or timber hunting its a tough rig to beat with either peeps or a low powered scope.

GG Pros

-Relibale, well made
-Fast action for follow up shots.
-Easy handling, carrying
-Cool looking
-Surprisingly accurate
-Fun to shoot, from plinkers to "Ouchers!":eek:
-Well constucted heavy bullets offer the ability to take less than ideal angled shots.
-Super blood trail but has low meat damage.
-High round capacity 4+1 or SBL 6+1
- Reletivly inexpesive.

Cons

-Recoil with certain loads
-Shots over 200yrds: 30-06 or simlar is better hands down.
-Recoil with certain loads.

Again it works for me and the hunting I do.

Cheers

Seabass
 
Perhaps had they chosen the .444 Marlin instead, they may not have been out on the auction so quickly. Economy aside of course.
 
I'd say seabass summed it up nicely. I started hunting with mine for two reasons:
1) I love lever guns and always have.
2) My buddies kept telling me it was a pointless gun to bring hunting because
It was too "short ranged" and I would never get a shot at anything etc, etc.
I was so sick of them trying to get me to buy a WSM or a WSSM that I just
started loading for it, shooting it lots, and carrying it hunting everytime I
went out.

I haven't had to pass up a deer yet because of range limitations, in fact a couple years back my buddy dumped a deer at 45yrds with his 300WSM and a couple hours later I smoked mine at 75yrds with the Gov't:)

I guess either you love the endless loading options, feel and handling of the GG or you don't.
 
SuperCub said:
The EE seems to be full of these Guide Guns these days. Most are like new.

What's up with that? :confused:



.
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:D
When I owned a Marlin .45-70 guide gun I shot the Hornady 300 grain JSP over IMR 3031.

In the fall of 2001 I shot a bull moose with the guide gun that was facing me at 75 yards that never took another step before it was on the ground.

I traded the Marlin guide gun for a Ruger M77 Stainless bolt in .300 Win. Mag. because the calibre was more versatile & would do anything the .45-70 could do at longer ranges.

I still have a New England Arms Handi Rifle break open action in .45-70 cal. that is reasonably accurate with the same IMR 3031 load & disassembles into a nice little packsack survival gun.
 
I think many bought them, falling for the allure of the 45/70. Then they touch off a few full house loads (because nobody would ever load anything less then maximum, right?) and realize that perhaps this isn't that much fun after all. That said, I have one. Absolutely adore it. I've nick named it "flinch" because everyone who fires it does so for a long time after.
 
LittleBoyLefty said:
xzactly!;)
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You'll get no argument from me on that!

I think the Ruger .375 Alaskan Package is one of the neatest rifles to come down the pike in a long time...I personally don't need that kind of jam as I already have a CZ550FS 9.3X62 and a .35 Whelen......Oh yeah and a GG...I load all of them down with cast boolits to my recoil enjoyment....I have the most beautiful 420gr .413" cast boolit mold and have been pondering that boolit paper patched up and launched out of the .416 Ruger at around 1900-2100fps...Same as the old 450-400 3" NE .. ;)

Just saying that I noticed the .375 Rugers coming up for sale on EE and they haven't been available that long here in Canada, eh?.....more :p
 
nrut said:
Just saying that I noticed the .375 Rugers coming up for sale on EE and they haven't been available that long here in Canada, eh?.....more :p
Click to expand...

I've noticed them as well. Economy? Guys deciding they don't need a rifle with that kind of jam after all?

While I do love my 'Sorta Alaskan', you do seem to have a good selection of 'rifles with lots of jam' already.:)
 
I have several good medium and long range rifles that I use when out walking or still hunting. My GG I use when hunting while mounted on my horse and as a camp gun when the horses are high lined. It's short, light, accurate and packs a punch out to 200 yds plus.
 
Gatehouse said:
Probably because peopel figure out that their good ol' 30-06 or 270 kills deer and moose just as dead as their new 45/70, and at further distances, and ty also realize that they don't get charged by grizzlies that often.:)
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Northman999 said:
Guys buy them because they look cool and have a badass rep, but then they soon find that the are actually a speciality gun and not very many guys actually need what these guns do.
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I think either of these reasons are the culprit.

I've often thought I'd like to have one, but realistically know I wouldn't use it much. I'm just as well off in the "bush" with my 760 Carbine 308.

.
 
I still have my GG...bought it to strap to my Quad...still strapped to my Quad..when I bought mine they were fairly cheap, the price of a new one being what they are, I don't think I would be would strapping it to my quad... it will likely be one of the last guns I sell...but I've said that before
 
one of the most popular centerfire rifles in the past ten years, so its no wonder there is lots for sale because there is alot of them out there!
 
It's like anything else, you find out it's really not your cup of tea regardless of all the hype you've heard here on CGN. (There was a time when there was ton's of CGN talk of the great .45-70! Oh how mighty this relic from yester year!)

I guess it became clear to them from actually using it why it was replaced by far superior rounds (from a versatility perpective) still very popular today (i.e. .30-06 and .308); which have less recoil, cheaper and more widely available ammo, and better ballistics than your bow and arrow.:p
 
I like my Guide in stainless. The sight is kind of dinky, but that's the only complaint. It's the second last gun to go, god forbid.
 
I haven't seen a single solid example of "the economy" influencing gun sales in a macro way. There are always guys selling under duress, but I don't sense more of that than say two years ago. Just my impression, but things seem to be as hot as ever sales-wise on CGN and elsewhere. I guess just like beer sales, firearms are "recession-proof".

I've almost bought a GG five or six times. They're cool, and a hot-loaded 45/70 puts out a powerful wallop on both ends. I have shot one and it's not a "fun" gun to shoot. I really don't "need" it either - I have a short barelled 458 Win Mag that will do everything it can do, and it stays in the locker. That doesn't stop me from buying other guns, but is enough for me to not own a GG.

I suppose most buyers have no real need for it aside from the cool factor, and after shooting it a few times they have had their fun, i.e. the novelty has worn off
 
Remember they call it a guide gun. The guide isn't supposed to be doing any of the shooting if he does his job well. The recoil is only meant to be felt when the alternative is mauling by the wildlife. :D:D:D

And there you have it. The problem is people buying "guide" guns for hunting or target, when they should have bought a hunting or target rifle.
 
Andy said:
I haven't seen a single solid example of "the economy" influencing gun sales in a macro way. There are always guys selling under duress, but I don't sense more of that than say two years ago. Just my impression, but things seem to be as hot as ever sales-wise on CGN and elsewhere. I guess just like beer sales, firearms are "recession-proof".

I've almost bought a GG five or six times. They're cool, and a hot-loaded 45/70 puts out a powerful wallop on both ends. I have shot one and it's not a "fun" gun to shoot. I really don't "need" it either - I have a short barelled 458 Win Mag that will do everything it can do, and it stays in the locker. That doesn't stop me from buying other guns, but is enough for me to not own a GG.

I suppose most buyers have no real need for it aside from the cool factor, and after shooting it a few times they have had their fun, i.e. the novelty has worn off
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:D
The NEF .45-70 I have that breaks down into 3 pieces small enough to be unnoticeable in a fishing/prospecting pack sack can be put together & loaded in the time it takes to burp & wipe my chin after a good pull on a bottle of ice cold beer.

I keep the ammo for the NEF .45-70 in one of those black "stretchie" nylon cartridge holders that is always wrapped around the butt of the gun & no time is lost fumbling through the pack sack contents for ammo........and there's no finicky lever action to jam up like the Marlin GG.

I wouldn't want to be the Black Bear or Grizzly standing in front of that thing when it goes off at less than 30 yards.

That Hornady 300 grain JSP over IMR 3031 I use is a fairly stiff load.

The little NEF will print a sub 1 1/2" group at 50 yards rested on a tree branch even with my old eyes.

Not bad for a gun that cashed out at the sales counter for less than $200 a few years ago......about 1/3 the price the Marlins were selling for back then.
 
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heres another thought lads. I bought a guide gun early this spring because there is noway I can afford the new ###ier SBL that already has all the things I wanted " full length mag tube, enlarged finger loop,and the ghostring sight" so perhaps these guys can afford to buy the new model but have decided to sell one to partially finance the other. just my opinion of course
 
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