Mossberg Marine Trapper

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ThomasT

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A while back there was a thread on the new Mossberg Marine Trapper lever action and I really wanted one. So I found a gun listed on GB as used but unfired. I won the auction on it and picked it up yesterday. What nice little rifle it is. And it is little at 35.5" long and 5.75 pounds.

It is basically modeled after the Winchester model 1894 with a few changes. Some of the differences are that the lower tang is built in to the frame and not a separate piece like on the 94. The bolt is round like a Marlin bolt and has the clamp on spring steel extractor like Marlin uses. As shown in the photos some of the Winchester assembly screws were replaced with pins. At first I didn't like that but after thinking about it I remembered I have taken my 94 apart exactly once over all the years I have owned it so not a big deal.

The lever action insides don't really get dirty like a semi auto so cleaning the barrel from the muzzle is not a big deal to me. I just use a bore guide made from a cut off 270 case and in most cases I slide the cleaning rod down the barrel and screw the rod end attachments on in the action and pull the brush or patches back out through the barrel. Stuff an old rag down in the action a little and that will catch any dirt or spills.

Here are a few pictures of the gun. I haven't shot it yet but so far am really pleased with my purchase. And I like the Williams Fiber Optic sights on it.

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What an interesting little carbine. I sorta want one now! After some perusal of the inter-webz, I've been unable to find much about them. It's not even listed on Mossberg's website. Is this current production? One thing I will say, I bet it'll bark; looks like a 16" barrel on it. Enjoy your new purchase, I'm looking forward to the range report!

Mac
 
Thanks Mac. No they aren't shown on the website but when I bought mine there were several listed for sale on GB. I paid $500 for mine and all the others were $600+. So I feel like I got a deal. And I am sure it hasn't been fired. I can see not marks on the bolt face or case rubs on the lifter and the sights were set low and right. So I used a laser bore sighter to set the sights. I do this all the time with open sighted guns and normally all I may have to tweak is the elevation a little. And those Williams sights were very easy to adjust since the dovetail is locked in place with a set screw. After the screw is loosened just a light tap with a hammer and brass rod was all that was need to move the rear sight.
 
One thing I forgot to mention earlier when comparing my new Mossberg to my old Winchester how much tighter the parts fit on the Mossberg is. It doesn't have all the shake and wobble when you open the lever. And the bolt is vert tight in the frame. None of the excessive play found in the Winchester.
 
A sweet rifle. I handled one (standard blued and walnut) and my thoughts are identical to the OP's- a well built rifle.
 
That is a nice rifle! I have also had my eye on one of those. Be sure to keep us updated once you get a chance to shoot it.

Congrats
 
I’ve owned and used my Winchester 1894 Carbine in 30/30 since 1974. Haven’t had it out of the safe in many years now. I mention this as when I saw the OP’s reference to the Mossberg being modeled after the 1994 I had to Google it. My 1894 and any I’ve ever seen were all straight grip rifle stocks. Only the Marlins has pistol grip stocks and curved levers. LOL live and learn. :rofl: Nice piece ,I do like lever actions.
 
My 1894 and any I’ve ever seen were all straight grip rifle stocks. Only the Marlins has pistol grip stocks and curved levers. LOL live and learn. :rofl: Nice piece ,I do like lever actions.

When I said the Mossberg was modeled after the Winchester I was referring to the action design. And there have been many model 1894s with pistol gripped stocks. But they aren't nearly as common as the straight gripped rifles. They seem to be the higher grade rifles from what I can find.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/906530639

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/907683089

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/903694555

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/907683086

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/907501807
 
And it seems this one, the Browning BLR, of which I had one in .358 Winchester also has a pistol grip Model. Mine as well as its little brother the BL22 were both straight grip.
At any rate the OP’s new rifle is a beauty. 0B1C1284-ABF8-460D-AF78-485E61BF5D27.jpeg
 
And it seems this one, the Browning BLR, of which I had one in .358 Winchester also has a pistol grip Model. Mine as well as its little brother the BL22 were both straight grip.
At any rate the OP’s new rifle is a beauty. View attachment 1016593

Thanks. I would love to have a 358 rifle of some sort. A lever. A bolt. I don't care. I have always thought that would be a great round to have. Especially for hunting Elk in the timber. A Savage 99 was a grail gun for me a long time ago. But I think my mountain walking days are over.
 
I used to have a part-time job, doing gun repairs for a local sporting goods store in Central Maine. Every year, I'd get a bunch of rifles to "gunsmith clean" and the worst ones were Winchester-type lever actions that had been "rode hard and put away wet". I got to hate detail stripping/cleaning them because the open top allowed lots of tree spills and all manner of dust and dirt into the action. There are a LOT of screws, levers, and other small parts that fit deep inside the receiver. So, I'd deep-clean and lube the various parts, then check the zero by shooting at an appropriate distance, depending on the sighting equipment. Finally, I'd clean bores and protect them before declaring them ready for action.

Believe it or not, people thought their rifles were suddenly tack-drivers, after I worked on them. Surprisingly, many were!
 
I carried a Winchester 94 for many years woods hunting in the Dover/FoxCroft, Sebec, Dexter areas of Maine, on an annual 7 to 10 day trip up from RI. For the first few I’d load that tubular magazine to the max, chamber a round then insert the last cartridge. In those days, sad to say there weren’t a lot of deer in those areas so 99.9 % of the time at the end of the day it meant cycling all those rounds back out of the gun. No loaded guns in a vehicle and none allowed in camp. I soon just started loading three, forever the optimist. ;) The last 5 or so I had switched to a Mini 30 as a woods gun.
 
A while back there was a thread on the new Mossberg Marine Trapper lever action and I really wanted one. So I found a gun listed on GB as used but unfired. I won the auction on it and picked it up yesterday. What nice little rifle it is. And it is little at 35.5" long and 5.75 pounds.

It is basically modeled after the Winchester model 1894 with a few changes. Some of the differences are that the lower tang is built in to the frame and not a separate piece like on the 94. The bolt is round like a Marlin bolt and has the clamp on spring steel extractor like Marlin uses. As shown in the photos some of the Winchester assembly screws were replaced with pins. At first I didn't like that but after thinking about it I remembered I have taken my 94 apart exactly once over all the years I have owned it so not a big deal.

The lever action insides don't really get dirty like a semi auto so cleaning the barrel from the muzzle is not a big deal to me. I just use a bore guide made from a cut off 270 case and in most cases I slide the cleaning rod down the barrel and screw the rod end attachments on in the action and pull the brush or patches back out through the barrel. Stuff an old rag down in the action a little and that will catch any dirt or spills.

Here are a few pictures of the gun. I haven't shot it yet but so far am really pleased with my purchase. And I like the Williams Fiber Optic sights on it.

Congrats on the new Mossberg. :thumbup:

I was really interested in that version when Davidson's was selling them several years ago as the "464 Brush Gun". Is that barrel roll marked with Eagle Pass, Texas or elsewhere?

 
Congrats on the new Mossberg. :thumbup:

I was really interested in that version when Davidson's was selling them several years ago as the "464 Brush Gun". Is that barrel roll marked with Eagle Pass, Texas or elsewhere?

Thanks. Glad you like it and thanks for mentioning Eagle Pass Tx. I looked on the gun and it does say I can get a free owners manual from Eagle Pass Tx. I never noticed that before. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
ThomasT

That's a mighty fine looking carbine you've got there! I especially like the Marinecote stainless steel finish and the laminated wood pistol grip stock. Looking forward to your first range report!
 
ThomasT

That's a mighty fine looking carbine you've got there! I especially like the Marinecote stainless steel finish and the laminated wood pistol grip stock. Looking forward to your first range report!

If the stars align and the creek don't rise I will go next week to my buds house and shoot a few of my new guns. I just went to another friends house and we shot 22 pistols. A S&W model 34 flat latch, Ruger standard model 1776-1976 and a brand new made in 1981 standard model with 6" barrel. I bought that gun off GB at least three years ago NIB and I let a 16 YO girl have the honors of firing the first rounds from it. Her 23 YO sister shot the 1776 model and I enjoyed the model 34. Thats the first time I have been shooting in at least 6 months. Probably longer.
 
+1 waiting on the accuracy report!
I think that would be pretty cool with an Aimpoint and a sling.
 
+1 waiting on the accuracy report!
I think that would be pretty cool with an Aimpoint and a sling.

Slings I have. No Aimpoints so far. But it points so well and shoulders so easy I will try the open sights first. I am a real fan of open sights. I like their rugged simplicity and how nice it feels to wrap your hand around the rifle without hitting a scope.
 
Thanks for the link. But if I am going to stick something on top of my gun it would be a scope not a red dot. A scope will gather light early or late in the day and can magnify the image. And best of all they don't use batteries.
 
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