1895SBL Thoughts...

It be cool to own, but there is one listed on FGT here and he's asking $3K. I could have gotten a new Henry All-Weather and saved $2k

Dragonfly said:

I originally picked up a GBL a couple of years ago and found the sights just too hard to see so I swapped it out for an SBL with a Skinner aperture rear sight. I find arrangement much better for me—it’s surprisingly accurate.

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You did not like the ghost ring sight provided? I do like your Skinner, I have one on another Marlin. But I just about have to have a scope due to an eye issue, anything past about 50 yards if that is useless without a scope. Beautiful SBL, very nice. Your rifle looks to have the slimmer fore stock like my replacement piece.

I had a fellow offer me over $2K for mine. I think the crazy prices will drop off after Ruger gets going. I am not anti-Henry, I rather like the Henry Big Boy All Weather in .44 Magnum but a Henry is not a Marlin and it is chrome plated, not stainless. I like the .44 Magnum Henry because of the 1:20 twist but it is sort of blocky looking. I am sort of afraid of peeling chrome but the Henry is tool chrome, not decorative plating, big difference in durability. I could love it.

3Crows said:

Yes, that was a good movie but a sad one also. The Golden Circle:

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My rifles feed the LR ammo just fine. I like it in the .30-30 (I have replicated the load) but I do not like it at all in the .45-70 and not just due to recoil. Yes, well, Remington went bankrupt you know but the 405 grain JSP "Safe For All Rifles" 1,300 FPS I described as not bad but a little sharp in recoil. The Remington 405 grain JSP Level II I have not seen or used but it is at 1,600 FPS. I have not seen any Winchester for .45-70 in a while nor ever used them to say how they are. I mostly reload for plinking and for bear protection duty it is the HMS Bear Load 430 grain or BB +P 430 grain, and there is some recoil there.

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If they don't feed, a new-different magazine follower is supposed to cure that. Had a friend who's Marlin (M95) started jamming on him out of the blue. It was a rifle I had sold him, so I felt kind or responsible, and friend had no mechanical ability. Went out with him to shoot it, and sure enough, jam-city with Leverevolution. Did not occur to me that it was the ammo. I completely took that rifle apart, every part, bolt, everything, three times trying to find the cause of the jam. I'd take it apart, check everything, reassemble, try to run three-four rounds through it, jam jam jam. Then do it again. And again.

Happened to glance up at one of my ammo shelves, and spied a box of my reloads that had always worked perfectly in that rifle. For the heck of it, loaded the gun up with them, expecting it to jam, but the darn rifle functioned flawlessly. ?????? What. Then the light bulb start to come on. Dimly. Then I flip the Lever-evo-lution box over, and in super small fine print, it says how it may not function in all rifles, and if not, "contact the manufacturer and obtain a different follower" or something like that. Big DUH. Darn. I felt pretty dumb that day, but also quite perturbed at Hornady. Perhaps and possibly the 336 is not as OAL sensitive.

Just an opinion, but I think a 400+ grain .458" bullet at 1300fps will take care of a bear just fine. But in a strong rile like the Marlin, certainly no reason not to use a heavier load if you might run into Grizz. But I wouldn't bother.

I have three .30-30 Marlin 336 rifles, two JM and my favorite a REP 336S and they all do fine with the Hornady Lever Revolution and the FTX 165 grain bullet. The REP rifle is the more accurate with the 165 grain FTX than the JMs and the bullet knocks deer and hogs on their rears. But with the .45-70 I am sold on hard cast lead bullets be it plinking, hunting or bear defense. And the bears in Alaska are really big.

My SBL cycles the LR 325 grain FTX ammo just fine, I just do not like the snappy recoil. I like reloading my .45-70 and with bullets of that diameter and weight (405 to 430 grain), lead is good to go.

Truth, and sometimes you only get one shot. In that case, I might step up to a 500 grain bullet, and maybe push it about 1500fps.

3Crows said:

You did not like the ghost ring sight provided? I do like your Skinner, I have one on another Marlin. But I just about have to have a scope due to an eye issue, anything past about 50 yards if that is useless without a scope. Beautiful SBL, very nice. Your rifle looks to have the slimmer fore stock like my replacement piece.

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I would’ve liked to have tried the factory ghost ring sights but when I bought this one it already had the Skinner sight on it. It works really well with the factory front sight.

Dragonfly said:

I originally picked up a GBL a couple of years ago and found the sights just too hard to see so I swapped it out for an SBL with a Skinner aperture rear sight. I find arrangement much better for me—it’s surprisingly accurate.

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Yep, the XS ghost ring doesn't work well with my middle aged eyes. Funny thing is the "ghost ring" on a Ruger GSR works great for me.

So, for my CSBL I installed a threaded ghost ring from XS and got some long shank Williams apertures. Works much better for my eyes than the original XS ghost ring.

This type works for SBLs, CSBLs, and Marlin lever guns with XS Scout Rails.
https://www.xssights.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=1295187&CAT=9186

This type works for CSTs, and Marlin lever guns with the XS rear sight that mounts directly to the receiver.
https://www.xssights.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=1295186&CAT=9185

Williams long shank apertures in .093" and .125". Probably others available, but I don't have those links saved.

Wow- I know of the crazy pricing now and had sticker shock BEFORE hand starting to reload again and needing to replace supplies before the madness ... I knew some gun prices went nutz also but did not know my marlin GBL was now going for 1500 plus... I got mine a few years back when they had a 100.00 rebate and I saw em on sale so it was to good to pass up. Sad thing is I have not shot her yet but need too I loved theSBL but could not justify the double the price back then... I figured I could always have her hard chromed if I beat on her too much...

Stan Rosen said:

I have come to the realization, and please take it easy on me, that over 90% of my sporting and recreational needs could be covered with one center fire rifle, one rimfire rifle, and one pump shot gun. That means I have A LOT of guns I didn't actually "need".

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Interestingly, my grandfather and mentor was a great hunter and fisherman, hunting and fishing all over America, but, unlike his hedonistic and materially-minded grandson, was never a person much interested in the equipment ("tools of the trade") he used, certainly not in the guns. He would never understand, appreciate nor accept the concept of "catching and releasing" fish and would be appalled at the number of firearms I have accrued over the past several decades.
To your point regarding the firearms covering 90% of all your sporting and recreational needs in North America, Grandpa had a Remington Model 760 pump rifle, chambered in .30-06 (which I now own); a Remington Model 870 pump shotgun, chambered in 12 gauge (which one of my brothers now owns) and a Remington single-shot rifle, chambered in .22rf. The only handgun he owned was a Colt revolver, chambered in .38 Special. Nothing in terms of armament needed was lacking.

Dang. What are the "JM" Marlins going for now? I paid $275.00 for mine. ?

Every shooter should have a 45-70, there's nothing it can't do. Pick the one you like best and don't let it get away.
I like plinking with mine and if I'm going to the woods , I'll likely bring it. I would like a marlin but haven't found the right one. My Henry is a fantastic rifle and I can't say anything negative about it either. I think the guys paying $3000 for one right now will regret it but who knows, with Marlins future in the capable hands of ruger the best may be yet to come, or long gone . no one will know until that day comes. Either way, once it's yours, the money is gone and you've got the rest of your life to get acquainted , you can't fire money so a gun is always better. Just hope you saved a few bucks for ammo, those 45-70s have an appetite for lead and powder.