marlin guide gun

mjcurry

mjcurry

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hi their i was at the local gun store and i was looking at a stainless marlin guide gun in .45-70. i love this thing. but i havent really shot and bigger caliber rifles. how bad would the kick be on a .45-70. ive heard its alot different then some of the bigger guns like the .375 h&h. i would be reloading so how would this be for my first BIG gun. i would keep it iron sights and it would be used for moose,bear, and deer hunting. i would only be shooting it offhand and mostly just for fun. would the kick be bad that i would only be able to shoot 5 shots a time??

thanx!
 
I just picked up a used guide gun yesterday(blued,ported with safety).Don't care for the ports or the safety or the open sights but the price was right.I put 20 rounds of Winchester factory 300 grain through it with no problems.No worse than shooting 00 buck in my 12 guage.Got to get dies and a receiver sight now.
 
1895 Marlin GS in .45-70? Get it, you 'need' it!! I've got one and they're great!! With full house loads they deliver a pretty good 'boot' but not quite as sharp as a .375 H&H. I'm still in the cast & jacketed bullet experimental stages of reloading for it. The only down side I've experienced is with the straight stock & lever design, it can be a little brutal on the fingers with the recoil from some of the heavier loads.
 
BAC4 said:
I just picked up a used guide gun yesterday(blued,ported with safety).Don't care for the ports or the safety or the open sights but the price was right.I put 20 rounds of Winchester factory 300 grain through it with no problems.No worse than shooting 00 buck in my 12 guage.Got to get dies and a receiver sight now.
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BAC4,

Betcha' got that one that William's was selling...? Great deal, good catch! :)

Jeff/1911.
 
if you shoot factory they're pretty mild ( factory loads are loaded light because they might be used in old trapdoor springfields). you can handload to much higher levels.

with stiff loads recoil is there but manageable - I'd say somewhere around .300 mag levels buts that's subjective as he&l. perhaps someone could post recoil levels in foot pounds. you can put a pachmayr decelerator pad or limbsaver on it.

they're quite ergonomic so offhand kneeling etc (anywhere but a bench) is a lot easier with stiff loads.

mine is also an early one with porting. It doesn't seem to make much difference to the back push. Marlin dropped the porting after a year or two.

I put a rear peep on mine, a quick-detach mid-barrel scout scope, and a happi-trigger kit. I love it:D :D . One of the members here wrote that it was the hammer of God out to 200 yards. I've never heard it said better. with the Leverevolution bullets made by Hornady (if they ever become available as components) you can probably add 100 yards to that figure if you dio your part.
 
mjcurry FYI I have a Marlin 1895GS also known as the Guide Gun.

If they have the 1895MXLR I'd buy that over the 1895GS personally. In fact I can see myself trading mine off on one. I prefer the longer barrel.

Also to second what someone else said, with factory ammo they are very nice to shoot. Minimal recoil.

If you handload the 350gr Hornadys up around 2000 fps the recoil certainly is stout; likewise 400gr bullets up around 1750 fps. Both of those muzzle velocities are very doable and should be safe in the Marlin. Off the bench you would probably want to limit your shooting to chrony work or sighting in, working up accurate groups etc...
Once you are in a hunting situation you'll never notice it though.

Many INTERNET LOONIES advocate much higher muzzle velocities then that but do not be sucked into trying that hero stuff. That's the reason you see pics on the 'Net of blown up Guide Guns!
 
hi, ya can't go wrong with this gun!!.....i think it is more of a slow "heavy" puuuuuuussshhhhhh!!.....do ya feel the recoil when hunting?....no way!!:D .....6'2" bear this spring!.....larry:)

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Jeff/1911

You are absolutely correct.Williams are great people to deal with.The gun itself is a great piece of kit.They had a new stainless model there but I prefer blued steel and wood stocks.Only put the 20 rounds through the gun but this is going to be 1 fun gun to tinker with.
Nice bear Riverhunter.I expect this gun will work just as well on a moose.Just gotta change the sights though.My eyes don't work so well with the open sights on this gun.There will be a peep sight on it in the near future.
Cheers.
 
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A pach or limbsaver type pad will really take the bite out of it if you find it too much recoil. If it bugs you at all - do it right away. Don't wait for the flinch.
 
Demonical said:
^ riverhunter I don't recall seeing the story of this bear.

That's a fine looking bear, where's the story!? :)
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thanks dem
I was on my way to the same spot I was a couple of days before to hunt and to try out my new 197cc mini bike. I was about 5 miles from that spot when I spotted blacky about 150 yards away at the edge of a cut. When I jumped out of my truck I noticed the wind was quite strong and was blowing straight to me from the bear..Perfect! …..I loaded up 3 -550 grainers and with full camo on made an attempt to get closer. The bear kept feeding as I got real close….say, 40 yards! The bear then decided to to come in my direction, looking at me but not seeing me!…at about 25 yards it stepped up on a log and with his neck lined up with his left soulder I blasted him in the neck!!…..Bang--DOWN!!….man, did he drop fast! …I walked up to him and noticed his mouth doing the jiggle so I planted 1 more bullet straight in the head!--- it was all over in seconds!…...the bullet had gone in the neck and out high in the shoulder!…he never new what hit him!…..while I was gutting him out, I noticed on and off an awful strench like dead meat and thought maybe there was kill down some where close. I then spotted this black thing sneeking around in the timber----another bear! …..I stoked up the 45-70 again and yelled at the bear to get the *&&^%* out of here…It was a smaller 5 footer about 50 yards away looking right at me. It didn’t want to move and was considering shooting it too( I had 2 tags)….I decided it was too hot to have two bears down so I shot in the direction of the bear and boy did it take off!….it will never know how close it came to becoming bear smokies! … I finished up with the bear and with the bear now in 5 pieces( I already have a nice rug) I packed him out to the truck. I then skinned each piece on the tail gate, and with a grin on my face, headed for home!……man did I want a “cool” one----Pepsi just didn’t cut it at the time!….all in all,it was the perfect stalk and shoot hunt!!….to bad they all can‘t happen that smooth! …..larry

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mjcurry said:
ive heard its alot different then some of the bigger guns like the .375 h&h.
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Have you shot a .375H&H? Kinda curious as I found the recoil far more manageable from this caliber than from most mags of "smaller" calibers, 300wm, 7mm, etc.
I have never shot a 45/70 so can't help there.
 
mjcurry FYI if you handload the 350gr Hornady FN to ~2,000 fps MV that .45-70 will be okay out to around 200 yards.

Do some practicing at various yardages and get to know the trajectory.
 
[/QUOTE]
Many INTERNET LOONIES advocate much higher muzzle velocities then that but do not be sucked into trying that hero stuff. That's the reason you see pics on the 'Net of blown up Guide Guns![/QUOTE]


Do you have any links for these pics? I would like to see, how the firearm failed.

I have personally gone beyond the previous quoted velocities(Garrett equivelent), with hard cast bullets in both 440gr and 535gr in a 1895 GS(18.5" tube) with no ill effects.
I do not promote these loads...but I am interested to see the weakness in the firearm( most preferably someone elses).
 
I push the 350's, Hornady or Kodiaks, at approx. 1700-1800 fps. No need for two grand.
I shoot Jae Bok's Craters as does Riverhunter, the 420 lite at 1700 fps with H-322. The 550 crater I shoot at about 1400-1500 fps, same powder.
No complaints from critters I've dumped!!
 
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