1895 GBL

[kenken0269]

Do any of y'all have and/or shot an 1895 gbl 45-70? I want one real bad and was wondering if there is any negatives with this gun.

kenken

[AJMD429]

The only negative I can think of is it's not chambered in .444 Marlin...

[Pitchy]

Do any of y'all have and/or shot an 1895 gbl 45-70? I want one real bad and was wondering if there is any negatives with this gun.

kenken

Well if ya get a good one it`s a nice gun, i bought a new one not long ago and had to send it back to Remington to get fixed.
The actions are very rough on some and the barrels arn`t indexed properly on others including mine.
The thing is to look at it real good before buying and buy a used one made by Marlin if possible.
The Marlin guns have JM marked on the barrel just forward of the receiver and the Remington ones have a REM stamp on the barrel.
I really like mine now and Remington was good about fixing it and is supposed to be getting the bugs worked out of their machinery but there will be bad ones floating around out there for a while.
Look for, smooth action with no bad machine marks on the bolt and look down the receiver and be sure the sights are at 12 o-clock.
Good luck with your search and purchase.

[AJMD429]

The actions are very rough on some

At least THAT is quite easy to fix (several threads on this topic here and MarlinOwners.com detail the specifics).

the barrels arn`t indexed properly

Unfortunately, THAT isn't something anyone but a gunsmith or the factory can fully address.

Even though the 'default' method of buying a new gun is to find it at a wholesaler on the internet, then have it shipped to your FFL to 'transfer' for some fee (replacing whatever their profit-margin used to be as a 'stocking gun dealer'), this is one reason to find a shop with one actually in stock, and handle it before purchase. Of course, if you're not in a hurry, and don't mind the hassle of shipping it back to the factory (or the cost of that is less than the extra cost you pay for buying an 'in stock' one), you can always just get it now, and if you don't luck out, send it back or have the local gunsmith re-index the barrel.

The Marlin guns have JM marked on the barrel just forward of the receiver and the Remington ones have a REM stamp on the barrel.

That's good to know.

Thanks, Pitchy!

[Pitchy]

The actions are very rough on some

At least THAT is quite easy to fix (several threads on this topic here and MarlinOwners.com detail the specifics).

the barrels arn`t indexed properly

Unfortunately, THAT isn't something anyone but a gunsmith or the factory can fully address.

Even though the 'default' method of buying a new gun is to find it at a wholesaler on the internet, then have it shipped to your FFL to 'transfer' for some fee (replacing whatever their profit-margin used to be as a 'stocking gun dealer'), this is one reason to find a shop with one actually in stock, and handle it before purchase. Of course, if you're not in a hurry, and don't mind the hassle of shipping it back to the factory (or the cost of that is less than the extra cost you pay for buying an 'in stock' one), you can always just get it now, and if you don't luck out, send it back or have the local gunsmith re-index the barrel.

The Marlin guns have JM marked on the barrel just forward of the receiver and the Remington ones have a REM stamp on the barrel.

That's good to know.

Thanks, Pitchy!

I think all the new Remington guns ser. numbers start with MR, mine does.
As far as rough actions i agree to a point but for the money they should come better than they are right out of the box. I`m talking about roughness that cycling the action a couple hundred times won`t fix.
Just be careful and look it over good.

[kenken0269]

What about the SBL? Is it any better?

[Pitchy]

What about the SBL? Is it any better?

The problem seems to be the transition from Marlin to Remington that effects a lot of the guns, go to the Marlin owners board and read the rant forum and others.
I`m sure there are a lot of good guns out there the point is to look it over good first .