I just bought a like new 1895G. But I'm not a fan of the 18" barrel and I'd like it to have an octagon barrel like my 45LC and my 32H&R Magnum.

Who does this work with a relatively quick turn around time.

What cartridge could I chamber for instead of the 45/70 that will feed correctly?

Thanks!

Try Turnbull, Brockman, Clements, Clay, and, there are more...........

What's wrong with the 45-70? My 1895 Cowboy Marlin in 45-70 is the Real Deal.

I agree. The 45/70 is a great cartridge, I'm just curious as to what it could chamber with the same bolt head, extractor etc.

If you want something a bit different--and still the Real Deal--rebarrel/rechamber to a 40-65. A great cartridge, and a deer and hog killing machine. The 45-70 is the parent case, and COL is not a problem. Recoil is very light.

Send it back to Marlin. They offer a cowboy version with a 26" octagon barrel. It also comes with ballard rifling instead of micro-groove.

Rich

I thought all the newer Marlin rifles, mine included, have ballard rifling?

My 1895 Marlin Cowboy w/ 26" octagon bbl in 45/70 is the best natural pointing levergun I have...and I have plenty of them, all sorts including 3 guide rifles. A great well balanced rifle.

If you want a 26 inch octogon then you want a cowboy model. If you want a 18 1/2 inch barrel then you want an LTD III.
Its easiest to sell yours and buy the model you want.

1895 winchester top, then marlin cowboy

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Send it back to Marlin. They offer a cowboy version with a 26" octagon barrel. It also comes with ballard rifling instead of micro-groove.

Rich

Marlin has been bought and the guns are now made at the Illion Remington plant. There are no more "Cowboy conversions" done on guns that are in the marketplace as before.

But I want a straight stock, octagon barrel, case hardened receiver and a 22" barrel with a full length magazine.........I don't believe Marlin ever made anything like this?

quote:

Originally posted by RoyB:
But I want a straight stock, octagon barrel, case hardened receiver and a 22" barrel with a full length magazine.........I don't believe Marlin ever made anything like this?

Trade yours for a cowboy model and then send it to Turnbull or one of the other previously mentioned smiths. The other smiths will probably sent the receiver to Turnbull anyway. I would also recommend the Wyoming Armory for this work. They do great work on 1886's as well, and are less expensive than Turnbull.

Like dpcd I have re-barreled a few Marlins and in addition to the breech cuts, there are a few more "extra" steps a smith will have to charge for. If the new barrel is non-standard fitting the fore end and correctly positioning dovetail cuts for it and the magazine tube are tricky and time consuming. The last one I did was my own 1895 "Cowboy" 45-70. The only 45-70 I ever shot that kicked worse than the Cowboy was another 6 lb. 45-70...a Ruger #3. I re-barreled the Marlin with a round 26" Green Mtn. BP ctg. barrel that is 1.0" dia. at the receiver, .950" at the muzzle, and it now weighs an even 10 lbs. It's super accurate and the weight bothers me a lot less than the recoil did. I still have that light, pencil thin 26" octagon Cowboy barrel if anyone is interested.

Jon

Jon, PM sent on your cowboy barrel

quote:

Originally posted by RoyB:
But I want a straight stock, octagon barrel, case hardened receiver and a 22" barrel with a full length magazine.........I don't believe Marlin ever made anything like this?

They made an LTD in 24 inch octogon (forget which number) that is as close as you will get from the factory.

Cutting the barrel, crowning and milling the dovetail for the front sight is well within my capabilities. The chambering and all associated with that is something I've never done on a Marlin Lever action. I've done dozens of Rem 700, Winchester Model 70, Savage, CZ etc.......

Addendum to my last post re. Cowboy and recoil:

I should add that this rifle was never meant to be fired for accuracy from a bench with heavy 45-70 loads. "Out-of-the box" it was VERY accurate and for hunting or cowboy action shooting the light weight is a big plus. I wanted a lever gun for shooting heavy black powder loads and that's the only reason I re-barreled the Cowboy.

Jon

There was a limited run of 2500 marlin 1895CLTD, which had a 1/2 octagon 1/2 round barrel, neatest set up I ever saw. I was fortunate to find a new CLTD barrel a couple of years ago but could not find a competent gunsmith that would fit the barrel, ended selling the barrel.

Here is one on AA


http://www.auctionarms.com/clo...fm?itemnum=9523408.0

nice looking marlin!

Marlin made a similar rifle a just a few years ago with a shotgun butt and standard blue receiver. A local shop near me has one for sale for $750.00 barely used. This is about what they went for new.

Well, I received the octagon barrel from Jon today to rebarrel my 1895G. (Thanks Jon, the barrel looks great!)

Now, do I cut it and use my short magazine tube or do I look for the full length tube.

I'd like to cut the barrel to 22" and maybe at this length the short mag tube wouldn't look to bad.

Or do I find a longer tube and cut it to 22"?

Comments?

Roy,

I've seen a rifle done up with the 22' octogon and the short mag tube. It looked sharp! This particular gun had Ashley (now called XS) aperture rear and blade front sigts. This is the set up that I would go with, anyway. Good shooting. Matt

That settles it........That's what I'm going to do. I will need to cut the barrel anyways to remove the front bottom dovetail that secured the full length magazine tube.

Roy...
Glad you received the barrel OK and sorry about the weird package. Of course I finally found my cardboard shipping tubes the day after I mailed the barrel.

I agree with ColoradoMatt about the magazine length. With a 26" tube it would just look like another Cowboy. Hope you can post a picture or two when it's all together.

Jon

Sure will do........Pictures that is!

FINISHED!!!!!!

Took me three hours to get the old barrel off. I didn't want to damage it and I simply could't stop it from turning in the barrel vise. So I cut a piece of HSS to fit in the rear sight dovetail and a piece pf flat bar stock on the flat where the magazine tube lives. A few hits on the action wrench handle with a rubber mallet, and BANG! It was off.....

The rest was easy. The octagon barrel I bought from Jon headspaced perfectly. Here's a few pictures, better pictures tomorrow........

I cut the barrel at 24", at first I wanted a 22" barrel, but at 24" I can always cut more later.


I used Willians "Fire Sights".....I have them on my 1894CB and I like em'......Crowned the barrel in the lathe and drilled a hole in the front sight cover for more light gathering....



The rear sight slipped right in...


The top of the receiver had a few nasty scratches and I never liked the look of the "flat-top" so I took a fike to it, bead blasted it and blued it.....



I think it looks good with the short magazine tube....



More Pictures Here............

http://public.fotki.com/Rberta...o-bang/marlin-1895g/

Cool looking lever rifle!
You bring me on a idea. I have a guide gun, but the .450Marlin version. I bought it at 2000 or 2001 for "fun".
Today, the barrel is to short for my opinion. I´m not a hunter, only a target shooter and so installing a longer octagonal barrel would be a good idea.
I will ask my dad about this. He´s a gunsmith.
Is it very difficult to get the barrel of? We never did this in the past.


Martin

Yes, getting the barrel off without damage was very difficult. You need a VERY good barrel vise and a proper fitting action wrench.

Now that is a proper looking Marlin levergun.
One would think Marlin would opt to produce similar models for believe the sales would be there. Very nice job!

I've posted some much better photos on the album:

http://public.fotki.com/Rberta...o-bang/marlin-1895g/