Modern Marlin
In 1969 Marlin operations moved to North Haven. A new Model 1895 followed, with cut rifling (for cast bullets). A pistol-grip stock and micro-groove rifling came next. Marlin installed a cross-bolt hammer-block safety on all centerfire lever rifles. Cut checkering appeared in 1994. Variants of the 1895 included a short Guide Gun (also in .450 Marlin) and a Cowboy with a long octagon barrel.
Why the 1895? Product Manager Eric Lundgren, who’d worked at Remington, said .45-70 sales had been brisk. And Ruger’s rendition would be the only stainless lever rifle around. The more common 1893 and its 336 progeny (1948) accounted for many more sales. But ubiquity might take some shine off the first Marlin from Mayodan. “The .45-70 has enjoyed a resurgence of late,” agreed Mark Gurney. “It has big-bullet punch hunters link to close-cover hunts with lever-actions.”
The project required many hands, as infrastructure, processes and design tweaks had to be in place before the first rifle took shape. Then came thousands of rounds of testing. “Our plan was to bring Marlins to retail counters by the end of ’21,” Mark said. Marlin SBL number RM0001001 was finished September 30. A sample reached me a few months later.
In profile this rifle is unmistakably Marlin. Some features, just as clearly, depart from the original’s. A gray laminate stock cradles the all stainless steel build. The lever loop is oversize, which is handy. A Picatinny rail noses 7″ up the 19″ barrel from the rear of the receiver, where it anchors an adjustable HIVIZ ghost ring sight. The HIVIZ front sight is a green tritium-ringed fiber optic rod in a thick blade atop a beefy ramp. Rifling is hammer-forged, with a 1-in-20 twist. The muzzle is threaded 11/16×24. Its cap, with two flats for a wrench, seats seamlessly. The 6-shot magazine is dove-tailed to the barrel up front. The forend cap, with front swivel stud, fits snugly around the magazine and wood, and cups the barrel neatly.
The forend is slimmer, opposed to the 1895’s “hand-filling” wood bordering on bulbous of a few years ago. Clean point-pattern checkering around the forend and on generous grip panels keeps you in control, and comb fluting, absent on Marlins from Ilion, is back!
The SBL trigger pull is spec’d at 5 to 7 lbs. Mine breaks at just over 7, having a smooth release with no objectionable take-up. Yes, you can hold your applause for the crossbolt safety.
Cosmetic details not on previous Marlins? Besides an “RM” serial number prefix, include a fluted, nickel-plated bolt and a red center in the traditional Marlin bullseye on the buttstock’s belly. Instead of a grip cap, Ruger laser-engraved Marlin’s horse-and-rider logo from Frederick S. Remington’s 1890 painting, “Danger Ahead.” As an aside, John Marlin asked Remington for this image, absent the original work’s other figures. It first appeared on the cover of Marlin’s 1900 catalog.
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