Bought an 1895SS about 2 years ago and since I reload I brought a set of dies home with me as well.Goin' out the door one of the counter guys whispered " 61grs. Hogdon Benchmark with a 300gr. partition.Anyway that's the load I've been using since.300 Hornadys shoot to the same spot at 100yds.Shot 1 deer so far.Went down like it was hit by a Peterbuilt.My point is that most of what I've read/heard is use 4198 or 3031.I have both of those powders on my bench. In my gun this load is

very very consistant.It is just tic slower than 3031 on the burn rate chart and Hogdon says 63grs. is max.Out of my Redding measure it just flows like water.Just my humble two cents worth.Comments please

I have the cowboy version and love it.

I plan on leaving it unscoped but have thought of getting the peep rear sight for it.

It is very fun for plinking. The long sight radius makes it very easy to hit with.

Good for you,their a great iron.Just remember,clean shoot,clean shoot.Break that bore in at the beginning.Its suprising how accurate the are hey.

Bug, what will be the main use for this rifle? If you are walking a lot and hunting thick timber the Cowboy will be a bit long and heavy. I have the Guide Gun and love it, but what Jungli has sounds ideal to me.

I HAVE had the standard 22"
then I got one and had it cut to 16", now THAT was a really handy little gun.
BUT I coldn't take it to Canada, so I sent it back to the factory and got the Guide bbl in 18"
I take it into THICK for hunting and 100yds would be a long shot, so I like the shorter bbl.
I also handload so I can make up for bbl length with some creative reloading. I have the scout mount on it and the Loopy scope is on QD rings so I can get to the irons if I want to.
If I was going to be plinking long I would go with the standard. The cowboy with all that ammo in it is heavy and for me it doesn't balance as well as the shorter one, but then I have alwas liked shortered bbl'd rifles for balance.

Round up some friends who have the spread and try them all and see.

I'd get the Cowboy. I had one of the first guide guns and I really didn't like it. In the years since IMO Marlin quality has gone up. I just don't like ported barrels. The cowboy although slightly heavier has a very classic look. I also think the longer barrel would be beneficial if you intend to use a scope.

My .45/70 is a Marlin 1895SS with a 22" barrel. I had a Pachmayer Decelerator pad installed, it is necessary if you use heavy handloads. For sights a Lyman #66 with a Merit Disc was added I replaced the front sight with an angled, gold faced, flat topped post. It handles like an upland shotgun. For all practical purposes it handles as well a the Guide model and is lighter than the longer barreled versions. The pistol grip stock is a plus as well.