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Old Marlin guide gun vs new

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5K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  Pelikan800 
#1 ·
OK, being a long term Marlin shooter, I have a loaded question (what other kind is there), I want personal reports (not theory or I heard that...)on the newer Rem 45-70 guide guns (with plain barrel stainless or blued in 45-70). NOT the fancy ones, with loops and Picatinny, just the old style 18.5 inch blued or stainless ones. Biggest issue, any significant mechanical problems or not, and accuracy proven by groups. Please no light duty whiner (mine had a smear on the finish, or mine had a spot on a drift pin.....that kind of whining. Real, commonsense evaluations from owners, not wishers. I have four in laminates (30,35, 45-70, 38-55 (Walnut), 45-70 and 308, numerous standard 30-30's 10 to 100 years old) and others back to the 1880's, so I know Marlins, I just want someone to say, yeah I have a new one and it shot the last 500 rds great and I wouldn't give it up (because that's what I would say about any of my JM Marlins..... If not let me know your story and share it with others who are considering a Rem Marlin.
 
#2 ·
I only have one Marlington and it's a 1895GS December of 2012 DOM. It has been fine for me. Shoots MOA @100m, but it's fit and finish are not as nice as my JM's, that being said I have handled and inspected many new (2015's) Marlington's and they have all been fine, the only caveat being the checkering was not as nice as the JM's other than that they were very nice. I would have no problem buying a new one that I could inspect before buying.
JB
 
#4 ·
My "old" 1895g (2001) is a shooter!! It's my hunting rifle! Only stays home when i go for night hunting, and only because it has a red dot and I can't put the spot light on it. If I could it would be my only hunting rifle!
 
#5 ·
My 2014 Guide Gun is nearing around 900 rounds through it. No problems at all othe than me not properly cleaning the shaved bullet gunk in the magazine tube that caused a feeding problem. That was my negligence. Fit, finish and bluing were very good. The checkering is pressed not cut so that would be my one beef. Groups at fifty yards are around 1 1/2" and 100 yards around 3 inches with factory iron sights. This was using my hand loaded 405gr cast bullets. Does that help?
 
#6 ·
Mine is a GBL made in June of 2013, not a guide gun, but I believe my experiences would be similar with a Guide Gun. First the bad, The fit of the tang to the butt is not a nice as I have seen on some guns. The four holes on the top of the receiver are in line, but aim ever so slightly left. If I had a scope mounted on it instead of a Skinner sight, I think I could still get the cross hairs on target, but it may be tough to get a rail on it with all the holes lined up with the rear sight dove tail (if that was the way I wanted to mount it). The action was a little sandy when I first got it, but I went over the internals and after about 400 rounds downrange, it is smooth as glass. Initially, I think there was a rough spot on the lifter that was leaving a small mar on my brass, but I think I have smoothed that out as well.
The good - it feels great, I have had a few loads that will cloverleaf 4 out of 5 (flyer is probably me) at 50 yards. I comes to the shoulder very easily and seems to be my easiest firearm to reload for. So far, it has been a fun journey and makes me wish I had been bitten by the lever bug much earlier!
 
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#7 ·
My Guide gun is factory ported and was made in 1999. Don't know how many rounds have gone thru it but it shoots point of aim at 100 yards. I am going to add a Leupold Rifleman 2x7x33 in a few weeks. Since I have had it, all my bolt actions have been sent to the safe. I also have several 30-30's a few 308 Express, a 44 Mag and a 338 Express. Guess you could say that I love lever actions
 
#8 ·
My remlin was manufactured in January of 2013. I'm the second owner. I have yet to shoot it with a scope so I can only give the accuracy of the previous owner. He was getting 3 to touch at 50 yards. I'm just getting into reloading, and once I have a few loads worked up. I'm gonna mount the scope to test for accuracy.
 
#9 ·
I've got an early 2000's GS and a new ABL. Both are superb. Ran some 350gr boolits lit by a healthy dose of RL7 and accuracy on the new ABL was 1" at 50yds with open sights with 5 shots. No complaints there......well my shoulder did after the bench session. LOL.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks guys for the above info, so here are my new
Observations on the Marlin-Remington Guide Gun
6/4/2015,
by Marlin Leverguy

I just got a slightly used Stainless, 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun. It is marked Marlin, etc. on the left side of the barrel, but has a REP(f) Remington proof mark on the right side of the barrel. I believe the Receiver is Remington because it has the Serial number 9180xxxx on the left lower side of the receiver as well as on the receiver just below the bolt cavity. It also has a scan code block next to the serial number in the bolt housing (ugh) and the last three numbers of the serial number are also electro-penciled on the bottom of the bolt. Considering all those numbers I wish I knew what year it was made.

The stock of this Guide gun is nicely figured, dark walnut with fit and finish the same as old Marlins, except it has pressed-in checkering. The external metal work is comparable to slightly older JM production 1895’s, but the bolt has no fluting, it is smooth. However, my main serial number is punched in so hard it has sharp edges! The barrel crown is changed from the dual, deep radius on old Marlins to a deep radius on the outside of the barrel but practically no internal bore radius (it is more like a cone style crown). This is not a good change as it makes denting the muzzle much more likely (I will re-crown this one). Internal parts have considerable sharp edges with no attempt to hand finish them. The use of a little 400 grit paper removed any sharp edges on the internal parts and helped the trigger slightly.

Accuracy and reliability are good, I ran about 120 rounds through it in the last few days with one of my standard loads: (31.7 gr Alliant Reloader #7, 1504 fps @ 15 feet { 45.8 fps Standard Deviation, sample size 5 rounds} as tested in my JM 22”barreled 45-70 rifle). I would expect slightly lower velocity in the Guide gun due to the shorter barrel, but I did not run that test yet. The load used mixed Winchester, Starline and Remington once fired brass with a 300 gr cast lead plain based, flat point, truncated cone bullet and Winchester primers. This load is mild and I use it in original Trapdoor rifles. Accuracy was 1” to 1.25” groups at 50 yards with open sights.

Only one complaint, the detent safety button on the lever (which locks the lever in place for firing) was very rough. This resulted in considerable force being required to close and open the lever on firing and ejection. It appeared that the hole for the detent was machined rough or that the detent was rough, or both, which caused the lever to be hard to get into and out of full battery. Some file work and oil helped, but the defect is manufacturing, not design. It will not smooth out with use but needs a little intervention to be right.

Is the new Marlin as good as the old? Internal parts are rough, the serial number needed a sanding to take off sharp edges, but the manufacturing defect in the lever was the only real flaw. I think the crown should be redone as it was in the old Marlins, because it has better field function, but other than that the gun seemed ok for use. Time will tell on other fit and function issues. Once the lever is fixed and I run a couple hundred more rounds through it, I will be using it in Alaska for big bear protection.
 
#12 ·
Thanks guys for the above info, so here are my new
Observations on the Marlin-Remington Guide Gun
6/4/2015,
by Marlin Leverguy

I just got a slightly used Stainless, 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun. It is marked Marlin, etc. on the left side of the barrel, but has a REP(f) Remington proof mark on the right side of the barrel. I believe the Receiver is Remington because it has the Serial number 9180xxxx on the left lower side of the receiver as well as on the receiver just below the bolt cavity. It also has a scan code block next to the serial number in the bolt housing (ugh) and the last three numbers of the serial number are also electro-penciled on the bottom of the bolt. Considering all those numbers I wish I knew what year it was made.

The stock of this Guide gun is nicely figured, dark walnut with fit and finish the same as old Marlins, except it has pressed-in checkering. The external metal work is comparable to slightly older JM production 1895’s, but the bolt has no fluting, it is smooth. However, my main serial number is punched in so hard it has sharp edges! The barrel crown is changed from the dual, deep radius on old Marlins to a deep radius on the outside of the barrel but practically no internal bore radius (it is more like a cone style crown). This is not a good change as it makes denting the muzzle much more likely (I will re-crown this one). Internal parts have considerable sharp edges with no attempt to hand finish them. The use of a little 400 grit paper removed any sharp edges on the internal parts and helped the trigger slightly.
marlin leverguy,
With a Serial Number of 9180xxxx this would be a North Haven Marlin made Receiver from 2009, but the Assembly & Proof Testing was done by Remington in Ilion,NY.
There could be a combination of parts made at both factories involved in your build.
 
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#13 ·
My current Remlin 1895GS started rough out of the box but after a thorough right down to basic parts stripping, cleaning, deburring and polishing of action internals, a custom trigger, ejector and red metal magazine follower made by Wild West Guns, a X/S rail and sighting system, replacement of the crossbolt safety with the "safety delete" product by Beartooth Mercantile it is as smooth as butter and utterly fast pointing, flawlessly cycling, tough, dependable and reliable and you can't ask for a better bear protection rifle for Alaska.
The REP stamped Remlins aren't as good out of the box on the average as the old JMs were but you can make them that good and much better.
There is no lever action as smooth and reliable as a "tuned" Marlin 336/1895 action. The Winchester 94s, 1886s, 1895s don't even come close and I've owned guns in all of them at one time or the other.
My Guide Gun load pushes a 430 grain hardcast (Brinell 25) lead flatnose out of the barrel ~1950 fps and I know if a bear charges me it not me will be laying on the ground after the smoke clears.
 
#14 ·
I bought a new GBL with a manufacture date of late 2014. The fit & finish was good, cycled well, but the trigger was like dragging your truck through a pile of gravel and the pull was about a hefty 9lbs. I smoothed everything up a little and replaced the trigger with a Happy Trigger. That brought the pull down to about 3 and a half pounds with a really nice clean crisp break. All being said with the 405gr cast load I worked up for it the gun will shoot 3/4in groups at 100yds. And yes it is scoped, my tired old eyes I"m afraid would not be able to do this with open sights. All in all this is my hunting rifle now and it put an elk in my freezer for me this year. I have older Marlins and this one didn't start out like my older "JM"s but it ended up like them. I then bought a late 2015 SBL and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the gun. It is also a tack driver. Well, enough of my ranting. :top:
 
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#15 ·
As it has been previously Posted in other threads, Remngton had decided to eliminate heat treating the ammunition Carrier in their rifles in order to "Save Money" in the mfg process. We have had reports of marred Carriers in 45-70 Remington made Marlins after firing about 200 rounds. That led to feeding problems. To my knowledge, we have not had any information from Remington if that practice continues. Cutting costs in critical areas is penny wise and dollar foolish. It may be that it is more critical with such a large round than it is with a smaller one, but the last thing I would want is a rifle that won't feed the next round when you need it the most. (Bear hunting in particular). Until the cost cutting the ammunition handling components is eliminated, I would avoid a Remington made 45-70.


Mike T.
 
#16 ·
As it has been previously Posted in other threads, Remngton had decided to eliminate heat treating the ammunition Carrier in their rifles in order to "Save Money" in the mfg process. We have had reports of marred Carriers in 45-70 Remington made Marlins after firing about 200 rounds. That led to feeding problems. To my knowledge, we have not had any information from Remington if that practice continues. Cutting costs in critical areas is penny wise and dollar foolish. It may be that it is more critical with such a large round than it is with a smaller one, but the last thing I would want is a rifle that won't feed the next round when you need it the most. (Bear hunting in particular). Until the cost cutting the ammunition handling components is eliminated, I would avoid a Remington made 45-70.

Were the "JM"s carrier heat treated? I do not know this for a fact. I did send Rem a email on their heat treating process and I got a reply in which I posted in another thread.
Heat Treating 1895 Internal Parts
You could send Rem a message and ask them on that specific part and maybe Kon could chime in and let us know if "JM"'s were heat treating that part.
 
#17 ·
Mine is not exactly what you describe, but an 1895 with the 22" barrel. I purchased mine in Nov. of 2015 (3 months ago) after looking it over pretty good, and it appears to be as well made as my 2006 1894. The sights are on straight, no screws are buggered up, the wood to metal fit is very good and it cycles smoothly. I have run around 60 rounds through it, both Rem. 405 gr. factory loads and my home rolled 300 gr RNFP's, and it has cycled every one perfectly! Being winter here in Wisconsin, I've only shot it at an indoor facility that only goes out to 25 yards, but offhand have gotten fist sized groups with the iron sights, which is about as good as I can shoot offhand with irons. Will do some actual accuracy testing come spring. Only modifications to the rifle are a grind to fit Limbsaver I installed.

Can't say I could ask for more. As nice an 1895 as I would wish for whether Marlin or Remington produced! It's a keeper.

p.s. I have a post on here somewhere with actual pics I posted.
 
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