Underappreciated gun...

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AJMD429
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Underappreciated gun...

Post by AJMD429 »

It's one of the two guns in this picture.
20191013_164854-1.jpg
It's not the 300 Blackout AR pistol. That is kind of a cool little contraption, and would be useful in a lot of scenarios as a bugout weapon, truck gun, get out of the city to your homestead gun, home defense weapon, or for those so inclined, a deer hunting firearm.

Due to limited space in the gun cabinet, one of the two had to go into the harder to access foot locker, and I was not about to displace a levergun....! Besides, I mostly bought the 300 Blackout as an investment I could sell the next time there was a gun panic; I already have one that I like better and have set up exactly like I want.

The Marlin 1894 I have started out in the 1970s as my first centerfire rifle, a companion to the Ruger Super Blackhawk I had which was my first centerfire handgun. We had so many burglaries back then, that when I went to college I decided to disassemble all six ( :o ) firearms I owned, and put the metal parts in a large 2 foot by 4 foot pain filled with motor oil so they wouldn't rust. That went out in a tool shed amongst a bunch of other junk that nobody would probably bother messing with when looking for something to steal. The wood parts I put behind other stuff piled up in our rock-walled basement.

Well, nothing got stolen, but the buttstock of the Marlin evidently was very tasty to the rodents living in the basement, rendering the firearm unusable. I took it to the local gunsmith who ordered a stock and said he would refinish it. He was a creative and talented individual, and as you can see, he slimmed-down the forend to the much more attractive early twentieth-century contours. There had been some minor surface rust do to my neglect prior to putting the metal parts in the oil bath, so he took it upon himself to parkerize to finish without my asking. Although non-traditional, I found the result quite attractive.

A few years ago, I found myself the proud owner of a Ruger Redhawk, only it was in 45 Colt not 44 Magnum. That made me realize I desperately needed a 45 Colt levergun. Although I purchased and really like a Rossi (or two), I have always preferred Marlins due to their fewer and more robust parts, as well as the ease of mounting Williams FP sights or scopes.

The Marlin 45 Colts were also very expensive, even if you could find one, and most of them I saw had the octagonal barrel, which I didn't really care for except in the long barreled versions.

Well, one day I was on Numrich Gun Parts website, and saw they had a 20 inch round factory barrel for the 1894, and it was the last one they had in stock....for only $105.00....!

I think I posted on here a ways back about my adventure in swapping out the barrel, because by that time the gunsmith I trusted had passed away. I managed to do it successfully, with the only casualty being I forgot to remove the extractor and since you have to have the bolt in the receiver to keep from crushing it when torquing a barrel, I sheared off the extractor. Fortunately, as a lifelong parts hoarder, I actually had one on hand I actually had one, so all I had to do was order another so I wouldn't feel helpless without a spare.

The barrel was blued, not parkerized, leaving the gun looking sort of odd. This was also during the time when I was experimenting with what I called my 'Night Scout' leverguns, meaning sort of a Ranch Rifle concept for use around the homestead, including at night when you go out to feed the livestock or check on them. The concept involves having a light on the weapon, which is easy to do with an AR-15, but not particularly with a levergun.

So, I contoured a steel scope base, and then rough-textured the magazine tube and the scope base so that I could sweat-solder them together. Lacking the skills or equipment to do either bluing or parkerizing, I bought a kit to do cerakoting, leaving the gun even more strange looking. That would be okay, since the combination of a Burris Fastfire-2 and a LaserMax pistol sight would make it solidly 'non-traditional'... :D

Image

Here's the thread - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40663

Well, now, I am realizing that the 1:16 twist is really something I need to take advantage of. Theoretically, the gun should be more versatile, and even potentially more accurate, then when it was a 44 Magnum. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to work up any loads for 45 Colt.

This has to change....!

Hopefully, this may be one of the firearms I use for deer hunting this year... :mrgreen:
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fordwannabe
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Re: Underappreciated gun...

Post by fordwannabe »

IN MY WINCHESTER 45 lc mid level loads of Unique and a Lee 255 grain rnfp makes a pretty good and tight shooting round.
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
TomF
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Re: Underappreciated gun...

Post by TomF »

My Marlin CB shoots the LEE boolit extremely well powered by Unique. I've killed WTD, Axis and 1 turkey with this combination. My favorite levergun. Recoil and report are minimal. My barrel likes them at .453 so 2% sn is added to get diameters.

TomF
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