Marlin Guide Guns in the EE

Guide guns are ###y guns. Concept wise, fast handling, hard hitters. I've had a couple but found although I liked owning I passed them up for a lot of hunting trips and chose guns with longer range capabilities.
 
I'm a sucker for Marlin levers like a lot of guys and there's something reassuring about hurling a huge junk of lead at your prey. I think also that guys have felt the pinch of the economy and are scaling down collections.
 
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From a couple of "dot.com" types who bought, shot a little & subsequently sold theirs ...

" Well they looked really kewl ... but they're loud and kicked like hell "

Much the same as the big Ruger No. 1's. The first box of 416's down range kind of turns them off, especially if they got the scope cut to go with the sore shoulder !
 
The EE seems to be full of these Guide Guns these days. Most are like new.

What's up with that? :confused: .

Yeah, none available when I was looking for one. But now I have one there's lots.... :mad:

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NAA.
 
I too suspect the economy is mostly to blame, but I also suspect some may be recoil.
I've never been overly sensitive to it, shot 300wm since my early 20's, and I found the factory H-350gr loads pretty stout at first.
I personally found the recoil "different", and it took me a good 60-100 rnds to be fully comfortable with it. (blue'd blr 450marlin)

The recoil's really not bad, although my hunting loads are a bit stout. I'm just saying it's different and maybe some aren't giving it a chance, or find it too uncomfortable. Had they started with cast hand loads and worked up my guess is some the guns would not be for sale. (in case anyone wants a good light load, my practice load is a 405gr cast over 28gr IMR 4198(cheap and accurate))

Personally I don't plan to ever sell my 450. Can't imagine a better moose gun for where we hunt, and boy is it ever fun to shoot.
 
The neat thing about the Marlins in 45-70 is that you don't have t load them up like a 458 to have a great hunting machine.

Nice, gentlemanly loads do just fine, even on truly big game. :)

Ted
 
The recoil with the stock "recoil" pad isn't a pleasant experience. How Marlin passes off that hard piece of reinforced rubber as a recoil pad is beyond me.

Replaced mine with a Limbsaver pre-fitted unit and there is no comparison. Once you swap you see how useless the stock item is.

Factory loads of 350 and 405 gr bullets are easy to tolerate, just hold on and squeeze :D
 
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.:)
 
The recoil with the stock "recoil" pad isn't a pleasant experience. How Marlin passes off that hard piece of reinforced rubber as a recoil pad is beyond me.

Replaced mine with a Limbsaver pre-fitted unit and there is no comparison. Once you swap you see how useless the stock item is.

Every gun on this planet should be built with a LimbSaver. That is the single most usefull upgrade anyone can do to their rifles..
 
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.
 
Suka said: --(in case anyone wants a good light load, my practice load is a 405gr cast over 28gr IMR 4198(cheap and accurate))


This is what is so good about the 45-70 Marlin. There is just no end to accurate loads, from anything faster than 4350, right down to the Unique, 4227 class of fast powders. Those fast powders make deadly accurate, light loads that are fun to shoot. Actually, I haven't tried 4350, maybe a good charge of it would also be good!
I've tried eight or more powders and there were none that were bad. I've tried lots of different power levels and it is interesting to see how they work. Every load that is higher power than another, just shoots a bit higher at 100 m, but always dead in line.
A good example is the IMR 4198 mentioned above. Suka says 28 grains is a good load with 405 cast bullets. I've mostly been using 420 grain bullets, and settled on 33 grains as a very accurate, medium light load, about like the 405 grain factory in recoil. I went up to 43 grains of 4198 and it was really a good group, but five shots made my head ache! So just look at all the possibilities with only 4198. Yes, I have a Limbsaver on my 1895 model, so the shoulder doesn't hurt, but it sure rolls the head, when you load it up. People who have said it has a "different" recoil, are correct.
In short, the 45-70 in a good rifle is a handloaders dream.
 
Howdy . I have found the 1895 pistol grip with 22 inch barrel is a good choice . The pistol grip stock tend to let the rifle roll up instead of punching straight back as the straight stock will .
 
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