Marlin 1895GBL


New in box Marlin 1895GBL in .45-70. This is the first time I took it out.

This is the Guide Gun with the Big Loop Lever. Great looking gun, but has a hitch in the Lever mechanism. The Lever would not close the last 1/4″ some times. Sometimes it would, sometimes it would lock up and I’d have to work the lever a bit to get it to go. This problem got worse until it was almost intolerable.
After this video was shot, I did some work on it and smoothed it out with some Slipstream Weapon Lube from Crusader Weaponry… Slick as butter now.
Unfortunately the stock is loose and wont tighten, so before I shoot it anymore, I’m going to send it back to the factory so Marlin can fix it.
I’m happy with the gun, but at the same time, disappointed in Marlin for this stock. It has some good gaps and a lot of play even with the bolt tightened down all the way. That’s not cool. But then again, I purchased this Marlin knowing I’d probably have some sort of issue with it.
The ammo fired was Hornady’s LEVERevolution 325 grain load. Shoots like a pussycat.

13 thoughts on “Marlin 1895GBL”

  1. Caryns SBL did it to a small extent.
    When we swapped levers from my STP to her SBL, the problem moved to my STP.
    With a little fine file work and some stoning… and of course some Slipstream, it went away.
    I have heard about and seen some pretty rough stock fitting on some of the newer ones also.
    I have my fingers crossed that they will get your wood handled properly and this will all lead to a happy ending.

    Jim

  2. I got lucky with mine. It was a “new old stock” Marlin-built rifle. I’m just glad I got it before someone else realized what it was and snagged it.

  3. Oh, and by the way…get rid of that cross-bolt safety. That “click” was loud, wasn’t it?

    1. You don’t even have to totally get rid of it. Remove the stock to access the “tension adjustment” set screw that can also lock the cross-bolt POS in the fire position. I personally know an individual who got chewed on by a bear, because he grabbed a client’s rifle to fend it off, expecting it to work like every other lever action he’d ever used. Got a click when he needed a bang.

  4. Unfortunately, that seems to be the “way of the gun” these days from Marlin. Sad to see that happen to such a long respected company. I’m sure you’ll get it sorted out but for a little light reading in the meantime check out levergun.com or Mick MacPherson’s site for some tuning tricks on Marlins. I take some solace in the fact that you can still occasionally find a fairly pristine version of the classic old Marlins on a used gun rack.

  5. I just gave up on a Marlin 357 in stainless. Wouldn’t feed for anything. Jammed so bad it had to be completely disassembled, misaligned holes drilled on the barrel band and barrel. Sent back to the factory three times with no fix. I sold it to a cowboy action fellow that was going to have a smith go through the whole thing. I wouldn’t buy another Marlin if they paid me.

  6. So my take away from this is…

    I should learn to identify the older production Marlins and try to find one of those.

  7. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot4_2.htm
    Scroll down to the bottom of the Page for the start .45-70 test. I realize there is a difference between what you can get out of a short barreled lever action and a long barreled Sharps but sacred cow even two thirds of that performance pretty much destroys the concept of cover.

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