[twoblink]

OK Folks:
Marlin 1895 Cowboy
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/images/firearmImages/1895CB_Th.jpg


OR...

Ruger #1 Sporter

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/images/Products/20L.gif

Or something else?

[critter]

Twoblink, I have a Ruger #1 in 45/70 that I love. I think it is a very pretty, light, handy and functional gun. It is superbly accurate and you can load it from big ole slow moving thumper (but VERY accurate) cast loads all the way up to almost all you can stand! No need to worry about power level to function, oal length to feed, severe crimps to hold the bullet in after recoil, etc. Since I am not a 'cowboy' shooter but hunt with it, I find the one-holer sufficient. If you will put that first one where it should go, no more will be needed any time soon. Reloading is plenty fast enough anyway. I took a nice whitetail and a feral hog with mine last fall.

[Brian Williams]

What are you going to do with said purchase
Hunt
Cowboy action
BPCR
???
Plinking


Hunting, The Ruger will be real nice and will take down most anything, The hunter must be good for shot placement and not rely strictly on the bullet.

Plink, The Marlin is heavier and will take out some of the recoil

Cowboy, the Marlin for the main rifle matches.


BPCR, I would suggest the Uberti 1885 Hi wall in 45/70

[Shooter973]

The poll is a little flawed !!! I have both a Marlin lever in 45/70 and a Ruger #1 in 45/70 , couldn't vote both!!!! :neener: :D

[tc300mag1]

I went with a t/c encore for my 45/70 fix though i would like a marlin guide gun in stainless they were back ordered over a year when i wanted one

[Ed]

Get the 45-70:p




Seriously I'd go with the Marlin.
I love rugers but for a fine old round lik ethe 45-70 I like them in era firearms. Like a sharps or lever action etc. I Like rhe ruger but in a different caliber.

[Third_Rail]

If 9 rounds of 45/70 don't do it, nothing will.

Get the Marlin.

[rbernie]

T/C Encore.

[twoblink]

If 9 Rounds of 45-70 isn't solving the problem.. Dude, where's the air support??

I like the Marlin but I not all that comfortable with lever actions..

BUT..

26" barrel + 500 grainer = :evil:

[Litefoot]

Good rifles both, but .45-70 and levergun should always be spoken in the same breath. The Marlin gives you some history, a cowboy gun, a very potent homeland defense rifle.

[Cosmoline]

The drawback on the CB is the weight and balance--it gets thrown off when fully loaded due to all that lead out front. I wish they made one with that same long barrel but with a shorter magazine. And of course you have the usual problems with a tube magazine.

The drawback on the No. 1 sporter is RECOIL. Loaded with Buf bores I've never experienced such brutal recoil. It hurt my bones and left me bruised.

I'd go with the Siamese Mauser in a heartbeat if I could lay hands on one. They're as strong as the Ruger and have a better magazine and feed system than the Marlin. Plus, you can load spitzers without a kaboom.

[Litefoot]

I wish they made one with that same long barrel but with a shorter magazine.

It's funny how different people are. I think the classic looks of the full-length mag tube are what makes the CB so attractive. That's why the Guide Gun, with its short magazine/carbine-look just never floated my boat.
Your point about the imbalance with a full mazine are is well taken....but couldn't you just load 5-6 and resolve the issue. To me, it would be comforting to know I could really loadem' up if I needed to. Different strokes, I guess.

[Frohickey]

I would choose the Marlin, if only its a lever action and in 45/70, you want to go with the authentic feel for a cowboy gun.
One thing about the Marlin is that it doesn't have the curved grip, but a straight grip. Dunno how that does in the recoil department, might work.

For a 2nd rifle, the Ruger#1 would be a good choice, just to spice things up.

As for recoil management, you could always add a Pachmyr recoil pad... or SORBOOOOTHANE.... yummy sorbothane. :D :D

[Drue]

I bought a No.1 in .45-70 because I have always admired the looks on the No. 1 and always wanted a .45-70. If you do your part, one round should do the job. The Ruger is pretty quick to reload if you hold a round or two between the fingers of the off hand, but, of course, not as quick as a well handled lever gun. I did not really care for the regular 1985 but to me the 1895CB is a whole 'nuther animal. It is on the buy list.

Drue

[twoblink]

Will someone tell me the differences between how "HOT" I can load em' up for the Ruger #1's as opposed to the Marlin levers?

If the amount is quite a bit, then that might move me to the Ruger camp a bit more.

Also, the Marlin has a 26" barrel, the Ruger has a 22", how much "umph" will I be losing? Or I can make that up in the difference of how hot of a load I can use on the Ruger vs the Marlin?

[Guns_and_Labs]

The Ruger is pretty quick to reload if you hold a round or two between the fingers of the off hand,

I'd like to try that, as I do with my Ruger #1 .223, but I'm betting I'll really have to hang on with Garrett loads. I need all the ballast I can get for full-on recoil. One more vote for the Marlin.

[Litefoot]

Twoblink,
WHile I can't give specifics, I doubt you'd lose a lot between the barrel lengths of the the Ruger and the Marlin with a slow-burning powder. While the Marlin may have an advantage in MV, the Ruger isn't a short barrel by any means.

As far as strength of actions, the Ruger has the strongest action of any .45-70 rifle. Your basically locking your cartridge into a bank vault. The Marlin, although not as strong, will handle ANY commercially available ammo including the Buffalo Bores.

[twoblink]

I swear picking a rifle is like picking who I hate more, Sarah Brady or Diane Feinstein.. There are just so many arguements for each side!

[Desert Dog]

That CB is the next slabsides I buy... :D

The Marlin!!!

[cratz2]

Well, I used to have a 1895CB that was very spiffy... And I must say that anything that can survive 9 reasonably well-placed rounds of fairly hot 45-70 was probably meant to kill you on that particular day.

;)

[ChristopherG]

They are two very different guns, and (as I contemplate a 45-70 myself) it seems to me that the regular, 22" 1895 represents a reasonable middle ground. The superlong barrel of the CB, as pointed out, is not going to get you much in terms of velocity--but it will make the gun considerably more cumbersome. As for the advantage of 9 rds... well, now that the Bison herds have declined, 9 rds of 45-70 is pretty much overkill for any animal-related situation in NA (or Taiwan); and if it's a zombie horde you're dealing with (living or undead), the loads the 45-70 is capable of are riduculous overkill (line the zombies up 6 deep, maybe? Oh, yeah, and that's with the Marlin; if you're thinking you need more powerful rds than it can handle, you need a gun with wheels.).

I don't see the allure of the long cowboy gun, honestly, apart from nostalgia and competition. I don't compete in CAS, and nostalgia gives way, for me, to more practical considerations, like portability and balance; and the fact that you would consider the #1 in the same breath suggests the same about you.

Anyway, that's the kind of thinking that has me voting 'other' and intending it as a vote for the 22" 1895--or even the guide gun (now THERE's a tough choice).

[telewinz]

Had the Ruger #1 in 45/70 (nice) and a couple Marlin 1895's (great). Still have a Marlin Guide Gun (best) and have gotten rid of the rest.

[Lobotomy Boy]

Before you pick either you should shoot a 45-70, especially one with a hot load. If you've shot one you already know what you are getting into, so you should have no troubles. But if you haven't you might find the the recoil unacceptable. A 45-70 is one of the few guns I don't enjoy shooting because of the strong recoil.

[tex_n_cal]

So does the Marlin shoot to the same point of aim, whether the magazine is full or near empty? That would be good to know.

I actually think Browning's Traditional Hunter is a better single shot than the #1, though also more expensive.

[carpettbaggerr]

Something else

http://www.uslink.com/~tom1/gunpics/images/Sharps_Shiloh_4570_369_full.jpg

[Warhawk]

I've owned both a Ruger #1S and a 1970's vintage Marlin 1895, as well as a Browning 1886 replica.

I didn't keep the Ruger long, the recoil was absolutely brutal. My favorite rifle is a .338 win mag so I'm no stranger to recoil, but the #1S is just too light for a .45-70.

The only drawback to the Marlin was that OAL is limited by the 30-30 sized action. The #1 and the 1886 would feed anything, but the Marlin can only take factory length ammo.

My .45-70 load was a 405 Rem JSP over 2 grains under the max charge of H335. If that load won't get the job done you'll need an airstrike <G>.