Yesterday I ordered something I've been drooling over for a long time and it'll be here Friday. It's a Marlin 1895SBL, and, according to the lady at the gun shop who pulled it up and had never seen one before, it is "one sexy gun". I have to agree. For those of you who aren't familiar with it it's 37" overall length lever action 45-70 in stainless steel with a black/grey laminated stock, a black picatinny rail and a 6 shot magazine. I also ordered a set of Burris quick disconnect scope rings to go along with it. I can't wait until Friday. :D http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/bigbore/1895SBL.asp I know this is a bowhunting forum, but is this even allowed in the water cooler section? How about if I post some my recent beers in the "Weekend Beer Lineup" thread? Hey, at least it's not about running.
Nice! We have a 1895 45-70. K used it as his bear gun when he bowhunted moose in AK. We still shoot it every now and then. It has iron sights. It's a good piece of hardware. I crack up at the size of the projectile. K loads his with a 405 grain bullet. The .338 lapua uses a mere 300 grain bullet. Slightly difference performance tho'.
dad is thinking of getin one soon, he already has a 336 and my brother has a stainless 336 both 30-30
I shot a 45-70 rifle once.,.................once !!!!!! I had to go and find my shoulder after squeezing off one round ! LOL
Did someone just watch the new Jurassic world movie? lol That gun is really sharp looking! too bad prices are going to skyrocket since it had a spotlight in a movie...i want one
Funny you should mention that. Even though I'd seen the movie I didn't notice what gun he was carrying. I didn't realize that it was the same gun until after I'd ordered it. The fact that it was in Jurassic World just makes it a little more cool.
This thing CAN'T kick any worse than my TC Encore muzzleloader. I load it with a magnum charge of 150 grains of powder and shoot a 325 grain bullet. Then again, I could be wrong.
I had to go back and look at what you said K loads yours at. I've never loaded a single round, but now I'm definitely interested considering how much 45-70 ammo costs. Still, I have nothing at this point so I'm going to start with what most say is a good round to use for deer out of that gun: Remington Core-Lokt soft points at 405 grains. At least its a starting point. I've just got to remember to save the brass. At around $2 per round average cost, reloading will pay for the supplies before too long. Some of those cartridges go for over $3 per round.
I'll ask him what his pet load is for the gun. He also casts lead bullets for it. Tho' I gifted off two five gallon buckets of wheel weights when I moved our stuff from Ill-annoys to utah. Because. Heavy. If you shoot enough, you can shoot cheaper and more accurately if you handload. K can shoot his lapua for about 70 cents per round. (Working for Barnes doesn't hurt either)
I think I still have a bruise from slugs out of an Ithaca Featherlight Deerslayer from circa 1980...no thanks. Enjoy it LC!
Probably, but I have a technique that reduces the number of shots it takes to get it dialed in. I'm thinking that Caldwell Lead Sled is gonna come in handy this weekend. As I said, I've never hand loaded a single round, but I already know that I'm going to start. I'm an extreme do-it-yourself type and the idea of casting my own bullets and reloading my cartridges sounds like a hoot - kinda like fletching your own arrows. I'm just gonna start the season with the factory rounds because my first hunt with this gun will be two weeks after I pick it up. Thanks. I'm gonna have the gunsmith take it apart and check for one possible flaw that has been popping up in Marlin 1895's since Remington bought them out and started making them. If that checks out okay then I'm gonna be making some noise this weekend.
If I remember correctly... the 45-70 was developed to dislodge a man from his horse. Oh... and 'sexy' maybe - but after putting that dang thing to work and notching a few dings in it - you'll forget about that and just love her for being 'there' for you.
Envious every time I think of getting a new rifle I don't because there really is no place other than a range to shoot and where I live is shotgun for deer so even if I gun hunted I couldn't use a rifle.
Too bad you're so far away. I'd say buy the rifle and let me know when you want to hunt. I know a farmer in Kentucky who would love to have a few deer eradicated.
We don't have the high deer population but there are plenty of places to shoot. We may have even bought one or two more rifles since we moved out here, hypothetically speaking, of course.
