Marlin .45-70

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cmdc

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I need some advice. I want a Marlin .45-70 Guide Gun and have been looking for the SBL model, which is stainless steel, but there are none to be had. I have found the blued version, and my question is will it hold up as well or should I continue to look/wait for the stainless model?
 
Depends on the conditions where you hunt. If you live in Alaska, Hawaii or on a boat, then stainless is the way to go. Otherwise, give the metal and wood a good coat of Johnson's Paste Wax and you'll be good.
 
Thanks for the input. I will be using it in Colorado for hiking excursions. It might be a bit much for that, since I don't hunt per se, but I thought it would be good to have around the cabin along with a 12 gauge and a handgun or two, or three.
 
natman said:
Depends on the conditions where you hunt. If you live in Alaska, Hawaii or on a boat, then stainless is the way to go. Otherwise, give the metal and wood a good coat of Johnson's Paste Wax and you'll be good.
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I lived in Alaska for 14yrs. and half of that was above the arctic circle. None of my guns suffered from the elements. The rest of the time... living in/hunting in the Pacific NW. My oldest guns (at least 30yrs) are just as nice as when I purchased them.
 
I think I'll not worry too much about it, especially since the SBL(stainless) version on Gunbroker is $300 more than the GBL(blue) that I can get locally.
 
Actually, if you don't let it rust, you'd probably get longer service life from the carbon steel (blued) rifle. But either should outlast you and your children, even if you're young.
 
Alas, I am not that young anymore, but it's all relative isn't it? I was actually wondering about just what you commented on, that being the durability, accuracy, etc. of carbon vs. blued steel. I know that blued is harder due to the higher carbon content, but either way, I know I'll never put enough rounds through it for it to really matter.
 
cmdc said:
I think I'll not worry too much about it, especially since the SBL(stainless) version on Gunbroker is $300 more than the GBL(blue) that I can get locally.
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My suggestion would be to do an initial cleaning, taking it down as far as you're comfortable with... and polish all metal with some Flitz metal polish. You'll find all sorts of "rusty brown" color coming off the blued finish (not visible intially). The shine of the blued metal will then be enhanced also. Then... a good coat of carnuba paste wax on metal and wood stock. I will swab the bore with Flitz also and then run a patch/cleaning jag a number of times... and finally some light gun oil mopped inside, and another patch.
 
Thanks, Ratdog68. This Flitz treatment, is it something I need to do frequently, like every time I clean it, or is it more of a one-time thing? Also, where can I find Flitz? Lowe's?
 
cmdc said:
I want a Marlin .45-70 Guide Gun and have been looking for the SBL model, which is stainless steel, but there are none to be had.
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I bought an 1895 SBL for $800 NIB a month or two ago and then are DEFINITELY worth waiting for. I even found another SBL for a local gunshop owner (also $800) since he'd had three on order for months. They're becoming more available so I suggest that you wait. I paid less for mine than the one on GB and that includes shipping and FFL fee!!

:)
 
I have had a blue one for quite some time. It is used fairly hard and no rust problems. I live right near the ocean and get costal fog almost every night. I keep a light coat of oil and she is good to go.

Get her and enjoy, they are great rifles.
 
Here's a photo of my SBL just to keep your mind on the prize .... :)

1895sbl_2.jpg


:)
 
Very helpful information from all of you. I appreciate all the input I can get. ECVMatt, what do you use your rifle for primarily?
 
1858, that is a beautiful rifle. Maybe I should buy both. Get the blue one now and a stainless one when they become available around here.
 
It goes camping with me up in the Sierras and sometimes on my jaunts through the desert. I have also used it for pigs in TX. This year I am going to use it for bear hunting in the mountains near LA. I found a good spot with good sign and the shots will not be more than about 75 yards. It is just a great all around rifle. I did not take it on my moose hunt to AK, but will on the next one. I can't imagine a better rifle for keeping around camp. We had some small bear issues, nothing bad. We planned on using our regular hunting rifles around camp as well. We soon learned that we could not move them around much in the heavy brush due to the long OAL, so unless a bear came from straight ahead, we were SOL. It would have also been nice to have when transporting the meat from the kill site down to the raft on the river.

That SBL is a great looking gun though...might be worth the weight.
 
cmdc said:
1858, that is a beautiful rifle. Maybe I should buy both. Get the blue one now and a stainless one when they become available around here.
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There's nothing wrong with having more than one 1895 .... :D

1895gg_1895xlr.jpg


You can buy a GBL for $550 right now online. The only question you need to ask yourself is whether or not one will make the other redundant. The Guide Gun (bottom in photo above) is similar but not the same as the SBL so I really like having both. I'll admit that I shouldn't have bought the XLR since the extra 5-1/2" of barrel does nothing in terms of improving balllistic performance. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the longer barrel hinders more than it helps. I'm definitely going to cut the barrel down to around 22" or shorter since that's the only way that I'll keep the rifle. I've also considered using GUN-KOTE on one or more of the rifles .... most likely black. There's nothing I like better than a painted stainless steel rifle!

:)
 
I have an 1895 stainless guide gun, with the factory ported barrel.....extremely hard to find from what I hear. I might be willing to part with it, if the price is right....
 
have an 1895 stainless guide gun, with the factory ported barrel.....extremely hard to find from what I hear.
Click to expand...

You heard wrong......probably from hearing damage induced by those ports. :)

That's why Marlin quit putting them on the 1895GG.
 
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