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Man, this place was just full of tension today so I thought I would get back to basics by talking about a levergun of all things. Well, my local dealer finally called me today and told me a cannon with my name on it was in. My first impressions are great. Bluing is very nice and deep overall. The laminant stock kind of does it for me. It looks pretty darn sharp and has very good color to it. Although, the stock and forearm are thick. In the past I have taken a belt sander to the forearms on a couple other guide guns to thin them down. This one seems to be thicker than a factory marlin walnut one, but I am sure it will grow on me. The rifle also has factory sling swivels which saves me a headache of having to add them. Sights are typical buckhorns that suck and they will be the first thing to go. Hopefully one day it warms up in South Dakota and I can let you know how it shoots. Overal, it is a nice gun. I am already seeing some folks listing them on GB for $700 to $800. I picked it up from Budsgunshop.com for $531 delivered. Hopefully one day I can find an SBL at an affordable price.
"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men
shall possess the highest seats in Government,
our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots
to prevent its ruin." Samuel Adams
Thanks for getting us back on track, Mich and talking about new guns! Too much heavy emotional content of late. I'm such a shallow, superficial individual!
I confess I've been thinking about an SBL myself.....
-Tutt
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)
"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
Would the XS Lever Rail (long scope mounting rail like comes on the SBL, see http://www.gunblast.com/Marlin-1895SBL.htm) fit directly on this rifle of yours? Is the top tapped to mount one? Will you put that on there or do you favor some other choice?
You can fit the rail to the gun as it is tapped, but I don't care for it myself. In the near future, I will be adding either the XS ghosting or set from Brockman's. I prefer to mount these instead of optic's as I am still a good shot with iron's. Down the road I am sure that will change.
I am not trying to sway you one way or the other, and, in fact, I am putting a ghost ring rear sight on a new Rossi I just got, but with the XS Lever Rail you can do anything. It is long enough for a receiver scope in back, a scout scope down front or rail-mounted iron sights. There are a plethora of rail-mounted iron sight options now, mainly thanks to the AR guys.
Here's a ghost ring on the receiver end of a Marlin XS Lever Rail, plus another pic to show the rail length:
No problem. As a matter of fact, I have the rail on my stainless 1895 Guide. I did like the setup at first with a Leupold scout, but the gun was just too darn heavy for me. Most of my shots with the 45-70 are less than 100yds, and the irons are pretty fast for me.
Mich hunter
Nice rifle! My wife is buying me the 336bbl (twin to yours) for my birthday. I am going to buy the 1895gbl for myself . I'm interested to hear how yours shoots. Good luck with it.
Karl
I really like that lever. Not too big. Not too small. Just right.
Now all you need is a good Williams adjustable peep sight. I really do not care for the "ghost Ring" sights. They are OK. But if you want a "Ghost Ring" then all you need to do is screw the aperture out of the Williams sight and you have a "Ghost Ring". And then if you want to do some precision shooting then you have the option of putting in different peeps for more fine tuning. Plus it is adjustable. Seems simple to me. Tom.
My first impressions are great. Bluing is very nice and deep overall. The laminant stock kind of does it for me. It looks pretty darn sharp and has very good color to it. Although, the stock and forearm are thick. In the past I have taken a belt sander to the forearms on a couple other guide guns to thin them down. This one seems to be thicker than a factory marlin walnut one, but I am sure it will grow on me. The rifle also has factory sling swivels which saves me a headache of having to add them. Sights are typical buckhorns that suck and they will be the first thing to go. Hopefully one day it warms up in South Dakota and I can let you know how it shoots. Overal, it is a nice gun. I am already seeing some folks listing them on GB for $700 to $800. I picked it up from Budsgunshop.com for $531 delivered. Hopefully one day I can find an SBL at an affordable price. 
I'm such a shallow, superficial individual! 
