Marlin 45/70

22 July 2018, 04:35

cessna

Marlin 45/70

I have a chance to buy a Marlin 45/70. I have not seen this rifle yet. The seller says it's a 45/70 that shoots a 50caliber bullet. Anyone have an idea what he is talking about. It will be a few days before I see the rifle. All I find on searches is the 45/70 by itself with different grain bullets.

22 July 2018, 07:11

crshelton

It could be a 45-70 modified to shoot a 50 cal cartridge. new barrel, etc.
best shop with care if you do not hand load ammo.

22 July 2018, 13:31

buckeyeshooter

Might be a 50 Alaskan. This is an 1895 with the barrel bored or replaced with a .510 diameter. The case is a 348 Winchester opened up to 50 caliber. It is a larger diameter and heavier bullet that the 45/70.

Info:
http://leverguns.com/articles/anderson/50_alaskan.htm

22 July 2018, 19:42

dpcd

And it makes the barrel shank paper thin. They usually enlarge the threads some, but still thin. But it works because modern chrome moly steel is very strong.

25 July 2018, 10:58

buckeyeshooter

quote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
And it makes the barrel shank paper thin. They usually enlarge the threads some, but still thin. But it works because modern chrome moly steel is very strong.

You are not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. I have been shooting a converted cowboy model for, I think 11 years.... no problems yet.

26 July 2018, 02:31

cessna

The rifle showed up at my place a couple of hours ago. It ended up being a Marlin Guide Gun in 450 caliber with a ported barrel. It looks like new. I gathered that it was made between 2000 and 2002 with the ported barrel. I think I will replace the buckhorn sight with a peep sight. Probably XS or Skinner, or something else if anyone has a suggestion. I just can't believe what nice shape it's in. Anyway I thought I'd follow up here since my first post on the rifle.

26 July 2018, 08:39

dpcd

Still nice; I like the 450 Marlin.
A converted cowboy to what caliber? 50 AK?
Pressures are low and as I said, chrome moly steel is very strong so no worries.

28 July 2018, 21:21

cessna

I've order a set of peep sights for the 450. For those of you who use peep sights, did you remove the factory sight on the barrel or leave it in place. I can see doing both. I understand leaving the iron sights when using a scope. It makes good backup should something happen to the optics. Do you look at it the same way when installing peeps? A barrel blank would make it look nice. I don't know, any thoughts?

28 July 2018, 22:49

AnotherAZWriter

I bought the same rifle in .45/70 from Biebs; it has a peep sight on it with the original leaf folded down. Works great.

29 July 2018, 01:07

cessna

quote:
Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
I bought the same rifle in .45/70 from Biebs; it has a peep sight on it with the original leaf folded down. Works great.

Thanks, the more I thought about it the more it made sense. I understand that after installing the peep sight, I can line it up with the factory sight and be close to where it needs to be. In other words line them all up together. Have you ever heard of that. Nothing replaces the actual shooting. I guess it would be sort of like bore sighting.

29 July 2018, 20:40

tjroberts

i usually rough sight just like you describe. i then tap the buck horn out and put a blank in.
But there are fold down rear sights available.
what did you put on XS or Skinner ?

/

29 July 2018, 23:05

cessna

quote:
Originally posted by tjroberts:
i usually rough sight just like you describe. i then tap the buck horn out and put a blank in.
But there are fold down rear sights available.
what did you put on XS or Skinner ?

/

I had a friend come by with one of the new clover-leaf designs from Ranger Point Precision. I liked it immediately and so bought one of their peep sights in the clover-leaf.

30 July 2018, 00:32

crshelton

Marbles makes a good fold down barrel sight that works well with a Marbles folding tang sight.
That is the sight combo on my 1886 .45-90.

30 July 2018, 16:22

buckeyeshooter

quote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
Still nice; I like the 450 Marlin.
A converted cowboy to what caliber? 50 AK?
Pressures are low and as I said, chrome moly steel is very strong so no worries.

https://www.marlinowners.com/f...ull-restoration.html

01 August 2018, 10:13

cessna

I've received lots of good advise about my new (old) 450 Marlin. So far I've bought new peep sights, a slot blank for the rear sight when removed. One thing that I have noticed on some guide guns is the addition of a cartridge holder on the butt part of the stock. I never considered this, it just seems like something to get in the way. This rifle will spend most of its life in a horse scabbard or in the back seat of a Super-cub. So my feeling about carrying cartridges on the butt is probably not. Am I missing something? I would worry that the cartridges would work themselves out and not be there should I need them.

02 August 2018, 03:35

Bill/Oregon

Cessna, I think the cartridges in the magazine, and in a reserve pouch in your day pack or kit bag, should give you plenty of protection. Very capable rifle!

02 August 2018, 08:01

NormanConquest

I bought a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 in 1976 right after they came out. I had many severe feeding problems with that one,but found out later that this was a common problem on the early models but Marlin worked out the bugs.

02 August 2018, 13:32

sambarman338

quote:
Originally posted by cessna:
I've received lots of good advise about my new (old) 450 Marlin. So far I've bought new peep sights, a slot blank for the rear sight when removed. One thing that I have noticed on some guide guns is the addition of a cartridge holder on the butt part of the stock. I never considered this, it just seems like something to get in the way. This rifle will spend most of its life in a horse scabbard or in the back seat of a Super-cub. So my feeling about carrying cartridges on the butt is probably not. Am I missing something? I would worry that the cartridges would work themselves out and not be there should I need them.

I'm inclined to agree with your thoughts about carrying cartridges on the butt, though I might use some sort of butt pouch if my rifle was a falling-block single-shot. Maybe, on the on the other hand, if you filled a long, full-length tube magazine, the rearward weight might restore some balance.

02 August 2018, 21:30

cessna

I've always found keeping things simple and uncluttered was the best approach. The less there is on a rifle the easier it is for me to use in the field. I remember the first time I hunted alder thickets, I wish I had a lot less hanging off my rifle. that's where I realized the value of a rifle like the Guide Gun. Probably not going to add anything else to this rifle.

07 August 2018, 23:12

Larry Matherne

I always carry spare rounds on the rifle butt on most of my rifles, but especially on my .45/70 Marlin. Getting multiple shots on a herd of pigs is not uncommon for me, and being able to reload quickly, on the move is a plus. Most butt carriers, carry their rounds pretty snugly, particularly fat cased rounds like the .45/70. But that's just me.