Marlin 1895, SBL vs Dark

jonyork

jonyork

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Hi folks,

My dad is looking to get a 45-70, and he believes he’s narrowed it down to either the dark or the sbl.

Problem is, no lgs around us has either in stock for him to go and take a look.

Reviews online seem to suggest that the dark series are a bit more accurate and smoother to cycle out of the box than the sbl, but he is more drawn to the looks of the SBL.

What is the wood on the dark like? Is it painted black or dark stained? If someone here has some pictures/ experience with the dark that would be great to hear from!

Thanks!
 
Dark series uses a speckle painted laminated wood stock. I have a Trapper in 45-70 and I find it carries a whole bunch beer than the 18.5" or the 22" 1895's that I owned in the past.
 
Ive briefly owned 2 SBLs and one GBL. All required work..ie polishing the innards, smoothing the loop edges, trigger etc. Shredded checkering and offset sites came on them despite asking sellers to check. All were prone to the "Marlin Jam" if not cycled when upright. Love/hate relationship leaving me wanting more.

I picked up a Dark 1895 a few months ago and it is stellar! Fit/finish 9.9/10, lovely slick action and tolerances, smooth feeding and accurate. Apparently Remlin has replaced all the old machines and QC is back. No tinkering needed. I find this 16.5" model much more agile than the 18.5" and faster on target. I even perceive the recoil to be less but that's probably just new gun love. The black parkerization takes oil well. The SBL is all gussied up and prettier. The Dark is all utility which is more important to me. .
 
How’s the wood look/feel?

burnsy56 said:
Ive briefly owned 2 SBLs and one GBL. All required work..ie polishing the innards, smoothing the loop edges, trigger etc. Shredded checkering and offset sites came on them despite asking sellers to check. All were prone to the "Marlin Jam" if not cycled when upright. Love/hate relationship leaving me wanting more.

I picked up a Dark 1895 a few months ago and it is stellar! Fit/finish 9.9/10, lovely slick action and tolerances, smooth feeding and accurate. Apparently Remlin has replaced all the old machines and QC is back. No tinkering needed. I find this 16.5" model much more agile than the 18.5" and faster on target. I even perceive the recoil to be less but that's probably just new gun love. The black parkerization takes oil well. The SBL is all gussied up and prettier. The Dark is all utility which is more important to me. .
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It’s fine. Thick finish with sprayed on spider web/pebbling. Nice and grippy.
I like it. Happy to take some closeups and post tmrw eve if you would like.
 
The dark series have a threaded barrel, what would be "the best" attachment to use there?

Would a muzzle brake make any sense, or too harmful to ears when hunting? What about a linear comp?
 
The checkering on the SBL is horrible as others have mentioned, but otherwise the SBL is one of my personal favourites. Runs smooth and shoots great, never had an issue with my 2016. Check the sights when you get them. You just have to accept the checkering is what it is..
 
A muzzle brake would certainly help for shooting at a bench. Tons of people hunt with brakes, just make sure you have ear protection. A coworker swears by his Walker electronic buds for hunting. You do not want to fire a braked rifle with no hearing protection.
I honestly thought the painted stock on the Dark would be a deal killer, but like burnsy said the texture makes it quite grippy. The fit and finish of my Dark is perfect. No sharp corners, everything is straight, and the action is very smooth.
 
11/16x24 thread. A large brake like that found on a Ruger 450 Bushmaster would work. Personally I don't like the look of them on levers. Fine for range work but I would not hunt with one without hearing protection. Recoil is fine to this medium sized senior. A push more than a shoulder slamming punch. Factory loads are mild.
 
Getting back to the OP's original question about the wood, I'm of the understanding that Marlin is simply painting some kind of "mystery brew" MDF wood they dubbed "hardwood".
"Hardwood" is the manufacturers term for whatever cheap wood is not walnut or Laminate...usually birch or sometimes beech which is at least serviceable.
I passed on a new 1894CST in favor of the 1894CSBL for this very reason. Laminated stocks are proven stable,strong and weatherproof. Painted mystery wood,not so much.
Marlin isn't the only one guilty of this...Chiappa pulled the same sh$t on their 1892 Alaskan model, for the 1500$ I fully expected to see walnut under that rubber coating of the one I owned. I went to install a sling swivel in the butt of my Alaskan and was shocked to find some type of soft,crap "hardwood" other than walnut or birch.
It's simply cost-cutting by both Marlin and Chiappa.
 
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jonyork said:
I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you very much.
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Hope this helps:





I tried to show the interior. You can see the hardwood grain on the end. Not a laminate...looks like birch to me and is lighter than that of the SBL. I think the Dark is approx 1/2 lb lighter than the SBL.
 
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I like the business-like look of the Dark, but don't like the idea of painting a solid wood stock. If it were painted laminate I think it would make more sense; quality laminates are stable and weather resistant, unlike hardwood.

If the Dark guns do really shoot better than most SBL's, cycle more smoothly or have better checkering, I suspect it's just because Marlin is getting its act together after years of Remingtonization. Most SBL's were built during the worst depths of Marlin's bad quality days, whereas the Dark models only came out very recently, after they mostly climbed out of that hole. I am lucky enough to have a very early, JM-stamped SBL and it is wonderfully smooth and accurate, with excellent checkering. From what I have read, the newest SBL's are similarly well-made, just like the Darks. If you're buying new, I don't think you'll see much difference in quality.

When the SBL came out I thought it was the ugliest rifle on the planet. Got one for a song from a new-age-man who was too delicate to enjoy shooting it, planned on flipping it...and now, 10 years later, you couldn't pry it out of my hands. One of the best rifles I've ever owned.
 
jjohnwm said:
I like the business-like look of the Dark, but don't like the idea of painting a solid wood stock. If it were painted laminate I think it would make more sense; quality laminates are stable and weather resistant, unlike hardwood.

If the Dark guns do really shoot better than most SBL's, cycle more smoothly or have better checkering, I suspect it's just because Marlin is getting its act together after years of Remingtonization. Most SBL's were built during the worst depths of Marlin's bad quality days, whereas the Dark models only came out very recently, after they mostly climbed out of that hole. I am lucky enough to have a very early, JM-stamped SBL and it is wonderfully smooth and accurate, with excellent checkering. From what I have read, the newest SBL's are similarly well-made, just like the Darks. If you're buying new, I don't think you'll see much difference in quality.

When the SBL came out I thought it was the ugliest rifle on the planet. Got one for a song from a new-age-man who was too delicate to enjoy shooting it, planned on flipping it...and now, 10 years later, you couldn't pry it out of my hands. One of the best rifles I've ever owned.
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I've got a 2019 Sbl now ,I've had a JM stamped sbl that was not a good gun,bought when they first came out before remington took over.That sbl had a lot of issues,chattered rifling at the muzzle,poor fit and finish ,rough cycling lever and it would tear up the brass when ejecting a round there would be brass shavings everytime.I was very disappointed in its accuracy as well.

The 2019 I got is as close to perfect as a rifle can get ,I've got no complaints with this at all,and it shoots anything I put in it quite well.
 
buck knife said:
I've got a 2019 Sbl now ,I've had a JM stamped sbl that was not a good gun,bought when they first came out before remington took over.That sbl had a lot of issues,chattered rifling at the muzzle,poor fit and finish ,rough cycling lever and it would tear up the brass when ejecting a round there would be brass shavings everytime.I was very disappointed in its accuracy as well.

The 2019 I got is as close to perfect as a rifle can get ,I've got no complaints with this at all,and it shoots anything I put in it quite well.
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Well, that certainly adds evidence that current-production Remlins are good guns.

I don't know about that old one. I had heard that some of the JM guns were crap, but never actually owned or saw one like that. Maybe it was built on Monday, by workers who had just been informed that Friday would be their last day...?
 
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