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Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

2 by FrontSight
Those are cool rifles, but what the heck are they good for? Okay, theoretically self defense against bears, but let's be honest... There are probably about 5 guys out there actually using them for that purpose. So I'm trying to figure out what else I'd use one for. Certainly not plinking, they're not pleasant in .44 mag, and even less pleasant in .45-70.

But they are cool.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

6 by FrontSight
I know they made a guide gun in .44 mag, not sure about .45 Colt, but that would be cool also. For defense against big bears, I'd probably take the .44 mag over the .45/70 just because the .44 is sufficient with less recoil, and it has the advantage of additional magazine capacity. The .45/70 is certainly a cool cartridge, and very versatile if you're a reloader. I'm kinda in the market for a Trapdoor Springfield rifle myself.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

7 by CowboyT
FrontSight wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:54 pm Those are cool rifles, but what the heck are they good for? Okay, theoretically self defense against bears, but let's be honest... There are probably about 5 guys out there actually using them for that purpose. So I'm trying to figure out what else I'd use one for. Certainly not plinking, they're not pleasant in .44 mag, and even less pleasant in .45-70.

But they are cool.
Funny you mention that...because a customer brought the stainless steel version of that very rifle into the range today. I shot it. The recoil is not at all terrible. The ammo was Hornady's LEVERevolution...and I got their left-over brass! :-)

Remember that you can load the .45-70 to whatever you want, from Trapdoor loadings to Winchester 94 loadings. The Trapdoor loadings are the original buffalo loads from way back from when they were still using black powder. The Winchester 94 loadings, of course, have even more oomph than that.

So, what are they good for? Well, several things. First, deer hunting on the East Coast with a .45-70 (assuming a Trapdoor-level loading) certainly works very well. I used to know a fellow that used his .45-70 (a Marlin, if memory serves) topped with a Redfield Revolution 3-9x40 riflescope. He bagged a couple of deer with that rifle every year. The rifle and cartridge are also good "bear medicine", as they say. Same goes for bison, for those who hunt that game animal. And, of course, the feral hogs fall to this rifle and cartridge. Really, any medium-to-big-game animal in North America is dealt well with such a rifle. Note that for the bears, moose, and bison, I probably would choose a Winchester 94-style loading. But the Trapdoor loadings have been getting it done since the year 1873, remember.

That's the beauty of riflery here in the United States. If you prefer a certain cartridge, then buy it and use it--because here, you can!
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Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

8 by INVICTVS138
FrontSight wrote:I know they made a guide gun in .44 mag, not sure about .45 Colt, but that would be cool also. For defense against big bears, I'd probably take the .44 mag over the .45/70 just because the .44 is sufficient with less recoil, and it has the advantage of additional magazine capacity. The .45/70 is certainly a cool cartridge, and very versatile if you're a reloader. I'm kinda in the market for a Trapdoor Springfield rifle myself.
.454 casull would be the ideal to me - able to chamber .45 colt as well. There’s nothing in the lower 48 that a .454 out of a carbine wouldn’t be enbough for.

The only current production .454 lever gun is the boutique gun maker, Big Horn Armory —- and boy are they expensive! Rossi made one (recently in production until maybe 2021 but those are going for more than the MSRP a on the Ruger Marlin.


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Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

9 by wings
Somewhere or other I read that Rossi had problems with the .454 not chambering .45 Colt properly or some such. Pity. On reputation alone, I feel that .454 is too much for a handgun - but probably well suited to a rifle or carbine, where it would be even more capable but significantly more manageable.

I suspect that I'll put in for the first .454 Alaskan I see on the market, but mostly for high end Colt. I know that my Blackhawk can take those in theory, but I KNOW that a .454 can do it in practice.

As for .45-70 - well. I'm not into rifle in general. I don't hunt. I might make an exception.

Re: Marlin reintroduces the Guide Gun

12 by NuJudge
My father shot a lot of deer in his lifetime, but never anything with a 1895 made by the original Marlin about 1970. He carried it a lot, but it just was not a lucky rifle for him. He quit hunting about 2000, and sent the 1895 to me. I took it hunting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan several times and knocked over several deer with it. Using factory ammo, it was not unpleasant to fire, but the 300 grain Jacketed Hollow Point bullets did not expand at all. Still, they created a .45 caliber hole straight through everything I pointed it at. I am entirely pleased with it.
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