308 Marlin Express,338 Marlin Express or .45/70

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jmontgomery

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Getting a new Marlin lever action in Feb. Which of these calibers would you choose. Will be used for an all around hunting rifle (hogs to whitetail) and just shooting in the back yard.
I already have a couple 30/30s and a 357 carbine.
 
Well I don't know how well the .308 express is taking off. The .338 I think is having some delay due to bullet availability and that reloaders do not have the powder to get factory ammunition results. I think the .338 will find a great niche of shooter even I am attracted to it. What scares me away is that it may not survive long term, and powder may stay with hornady for sometime, limiting reloading and commercial availability of loads.
That being said, I love the .45-70. In your future lever gun you will always have factory loads available and you can customize how hot you want to go letting you shoot everything from small deer species to cape buffalo.
 
That very much depends upon your intended range...if under 150yds, the .45-70Govt. hands down. If 200yds. or less the .45-70 with LeveRevolution rounds. If anything above 200yds. I would look into a Savage Model 99, Browning BLR, or a Winchester 1895 chambered in .30-06 or the like. None of these are Marlins, but they are levers and will extend your effective range by using a spitzer round fed from a box magazine.
 
308 Marlin Express,338 Marlin Express or .45/70

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I thought about thes same 3 guns myself and bought the Marlin .308 MXLR. It quickly beat out the rest of my rifles (12) as my favorite. The Hornady ammo is a little hard to find and a little pricy at about $22.00 a box of 20, I hear Remington is starting to make it know though)but the .338 ammo was over $8.00 a round, and I don't reload.The .338 and 45/70 were both just too much gun for whitetail and hogs. There aren't a lot of Moose or elephants in Georgia.


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There aren't a lot of Moose or elephants in Georgia.
Not saying that you need it, but the .338Marlin is about on par with .30-06 as far as performance (which is not a real big improvement over the .308Marlin), but at $8/rnd it would hurt real bad to fire that thing. :uhoh:
 
The 45-70 can EASILY make 200 yard shots...just hold 8" high and "let er rip" (with my 400 grain loads anyway...zeroed for 150 yards which equates to 3" high @ 100 yards, 1850 fps MV)

No need for the new fangled bullets...unless you just want to use them.


For that matter...I won't hesitate on 300 yard shots. (hold a tad over 3 feet high...and send it, it still has plenty of power for ANY deer or hog)

175 yards MPBR without any "kentucky windage" on deer or hog size game.
 
45-70. Why bother with the rest when you can have the best. You can handload (or buy) 45-70 from nice plinking paper puncher up to Grizzly slaying monster grain arty..

45-70-- you can take any predator or game in North (and probably South) America with it...
 
Not knocking the SBL or Guide Guns...

Just stating a bit of experience,
The 22 inch barreled 1895's balance and "feel" much better than the short barrels (SBL, Guide Gun)...not to mention the difference in muzzle blast (ported or not) and flash with hot loads.

Usually I'm the guy saying barrels are too long...but in the case of the 45-70 I like them a bit long. 22" is perfect, the gun is still short enough to handle great...but not so short as to increase blast and flash.

The difference in ballistics of 18.5" and 22" barrels is very little...its the handling that I feel is better with the 22" barrel models.

SBL's are high...and for those that don't know...There is a special run of SBL types, without the large loop lever. They are a Davidsons Special...1895 SDG.

Specs:
BRAND: Marlin # OF MAGS:
MODEL: 1895 Guide Gun Type Limited 1 of 501 SAFETY: Hammer Block Safety
TYPE: Rifle SIGHTS: Hi-Viz Front And Rear
CALIBER: 45-70 BARREL LENGTH: 18.5"
FINISH: Stainless Steel OVERALL LENGTH: 37"
ACTION: Lever Action WEIGHT: 7 lbs
STOCK: Black/Gray Laminated & Pistol Grip Stock PACKAGING: Cardboard Box, Cable Lock
CAPACITY: 4+1 FEATURES: Davidson's Exclusive, Limited Edition 1 of 501
CHOKES: FEATURES: Special S/N #95SDG000-500
CHAMBER: BUTT PLATE: Deluxe Recoil Pad
MUZZLE: RECEIVER: Stainless Steel, Drilled and Tapped

Price: Around $800
 
The Marlin Model 1895SBL looks good.
Anyone know what the street price is?
Sure do, plan to acquire one in the near future myself. Should run from $700-800.00USD (at least here).

(hold a tad over 3 feet high...and send it, it still has plenty of power for ANY deer or hog)
That is a good bit of Kentucky windage...but use what works, no argument on power from the .45-70Govt. here.

:)
 
Ridge, the SDG doesn't have a lot of the attractive (at least to me) features of the 1895SBL, such as the Picatinny rail, the ghost ring sight (from the looks of it), nor the full length tube that holds an additional round of artillery. IMO the Davidson version does look "special", just like a retarded kid. :D

:)
 
Opinions vary...

The large loop lever looks like a retarded kid to me (wannabe from "The Rifleman")...I agree about the longer mag tube and wish they would add that to all the 1895's.

IMO lever guns have no need for Picatinny rails...all one needs is a Skinner peep sight.
 
I agree about the lever, and have plans to replace it with a standard loop if I purchase one. The Picatinny rail isn't a big concern either way, but comes with a nice ghost ring at the end of it (for longer sight radius and quick target acquisition), as well as what amounts to free scope mounts (FWIW, I plan to scope mine). The biggest advantage as I see it is that extra round of .45-70 goodness in the magazine (which will probably never be used...but will be glad it is there if it is).

:)
 
True opinions vary...Thankfully we have LOTS to chose from or have built or build.Myself I would like the SBL but with a straight grip stock and large hoop lever,more like the DCR(I think) teardrop type.I like the extra cartridge AND the picatinny.Just what I want.:D

I quite like the handling of the shorties.Again tho',that it my preferance.
 
Gotta say,other than marketing,I see no reason for not going regular .308Win. or .338Fed.

I have three different Marlin 336s that I have had converted.I saw a write up about converting one to .358Win. so I did just that...Now I have a .308Win. stainless 336,a .338Fed. stainless 336 and a .358Win. stainless 336.(my original convert).All of them work wonderfully!!!

Nice XLR by the way.
 
I'd like to see what the ftx has for external ballistics when loaded for the 1895. Those .45-70 flat noses have awful bc when going fast, going slow they have an ok bc but over 1400 fps and the bc crashes as low as 1.4. There's a great issue of handloader that has traditional 28,000 and 35,000 psi for the marlin only not any other lever.
 
...but over 1400 fps and the bc crashes as low as 1.4.
You wish...me thinks you mean a BC of 0.140...not 1.400. :uhoh:

There's a great issue of handloader that has traditional 28,000 and 35,000 psi for the marlin only not any other lever.
I am inclined to believe it can handle up to and above 40kpsi, because the same rifle is safely chambered in .444Marlin and .450Marlin (SAAMI specifications are 44kCUP/42kPSI and 42kPSI respectively) from the factory. I would not be hesitant to push it up to about 35kPSI, at which point I would stop regardless of whether or not I saw signs of pressure (of course backing down if pressure signs were observed). Of course do this at your own risk, checking for pressure at frequent intervals.

BC is of VERY little concern in a 45-70...
Logic like that is why it has the trajectory of a lead filled balloon...but I still like it. :D
 
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