Marlin VS Winchesters...

Don't be shy.

Rich

Question:
What is the best lever action ever made for calibers .375" and larger?

Choices:
Winchester 1886
Winchester 1895
Marlin 1895

 

For rimmed, I would say Winchester 1886.

For rimless, I would say Winchester 1895.

The Marlin is a distant, distant 3rd.

There, that ought to stir it up for ya!

Oh wait...

...and ONLY with BLUEDOT powder!

There ya go Rich. This thread should make 57 pages now.



I'm gonna hide now.

For me, modern lever action rifles are most useful if they are short, light, and fast handling. Great as the Winchester 1886 and 1895 are, they do not meet that requirement. The tremendous sales of 1895 Marlins, especially in short barreled "guide" configurations, supports my assessment.

I think for the money spent,and the performance you get it is hard to beat the new Marlins.

The 1886 Winchester, and its Cousin the Mod 71, are no doubt one of the best levers ever made.

They used to be my favorites...

However that all changed when I shot prairie dogs with NFMikes 1894 in 405 WCF.

I had always read about how badly ballanced they were, how bad they kicked, etc.

However when I shot Mikes, I found that I really liked it.

So well in fact that the morning I left Wyoming for Texas, I called a gunstore in my home town that I knew had a 405 in stock and put it on hold.

I timed my arrival back in town so I could stop at the gunstore and pick up the 405 even before I got back to the house...

Mine is a take down, and I like it the best of any lever that I have ever had or fired.

There is just something about the Winchester 1895.

I always wondered why it was so popular with the Arizona and Texas Rangers [in 30/06].

Now I know.

'nothin like an '86 octagon .45-70 or round .50-110....

Its a trap! Rich is baiting us. He knows the last word in lever actions is the model 71 in 348.

You are on to me, I see.
I like '86's.
I like the Marlin side ejection.
I have a '71 that morphed into a 30" full octagon barrel with full magazine in 50-110 by a talented gunsmith in Boise.

Rich

Well here I go.

They all have there plusses and minuses and it depends what you are doing with it and whaqt your budget is.

Lets just look at the 1886 and the Marlin 95

Strength;
Winchester 1886 or copy of is the strongest of the 2. The barrel is thicker at the threads and the action will take a longer cartridge thus being able to load it to a higher velocity with lower pressures. The web area below the barrel and mag tube is thicker so it is stronger too. Every one thinks the Marlin is a stronger gun then the Winchester 86n or 71, I am sure this is due to the fact that most of the original 86 rifles were made with NON Nickel steel barrels and they were not made for the pressures of the modern cartridge like the Marlin 95,336 were. I still take a Winchester over a Marlin for HEAVY shooting.

Weight:
Marlin has it for carrying but the Winchester has it for less recoil due to the weight.

Cleaning:
Marlin has it, one screw and the lever falls out and the bolt follows, if y0ou needto take it apart the Marlin has the benifit over the Winchester.

Back Up:
If I was using one gun for a back up and wanted weight to be less I would take a Marlin 95 with REAL premium bullets as at that time recoil does not matter and if I need it weight is not an issue.

I still love the 475 Turnbull cartridge as, the 400 gr Barnes bullets work FANTATIC in it and the recoil is not bad due to the weight of the rifle. Shhots accurately and OH by the way, I made it!!

The 1886 is the best over .40. That said the marlin 1895 is a good buy for the money.

Doug,

thanks, I wondered how long it would take someone who can post a truly "been there, done that" with both to chime in.
So, Browning got it right.

I believe your 475 is Elephant medicine.

thanks to all

Rich

did you have any issues with getting a 38-56 to feed?

Rich

In an 1886 no problems, but it is really a 375 winchester so buy a 94 and go at it for less money

DT,

nostalgia, especially in the Marlin.

Rich

The Marlin is the best design hands down. The only thing Winchester has going for it is raw strength.

Astoria?

Rich

if only the big Marlins didnt have that awful looking hole in the right side.....

You mean the safety button? There's a guy who makes a two piece screw replacement, looks like a standard slot head screw.

$10

Rich

Nope, the ejection port. I've always thought it thoroughly destroyed the looks of the 336 series Marlins.

I have actually had an '86 action lock up tight with the same loads that 2 of our '95 marlins handled fine. They were the 525 gr. Beartooth piledrivers.
Granted the '86s have the best looks by far, but the Marlin's are lighter and much easier to clean, with the ability to mount a scope. . . . (heaven forbid).

Sooooo. . . . .

Was it a Browning?

I think they have short throats and that made some Garrets that we were shooting lock up as they went into the rifleing!

Hi Doug,

I'm the other 'we' D Wright is talking about.

Yes, it was a Browning Carbine. After it cooled down the action opened.

The recoil did , I found out later, strip the end cap tenon out of the dovetail on this Marlin.

A Cowboy and an LTD.V Marlin came through without a glitch.

I've owned 3 Win.'95s 4 Win.'86s and a load of Marlins. I would have to go with the Marlin '95.



Ron

degoins,

how else are you going to get the empties out?

One of these days I am going to get a 95 rebarreled in 40-65 just for the heck of it.

Rich

IS,
the same way the Marlin 94 does it except on a larger scale like the 95 used to. I know the 336 system must be "better", just looks bad to me.

quote:

except on a larger scale like the 95 used to

make that the 93......dern

Heh Doug, that Marlin just above that I sold to DB, was an action that I had you case color years ago. Great job!

quote:

Originally posted by D B Cooper:
I would have to go with the Marlin '95.



Ron

Ron, that Marlin '95 is a real beauty.

Love the wood and the slimmed down fore end and thin recoil pad in particular.

Never did like those bulbous fore ends that Marlin puts on at the factory.

I can live without the color case hardened steel, although it makes for quite the looker.

I'd get rid of that scope mount and put an aperture sight on the receiver, too.

I have always thought that a Marlin '95 in .33 Winchester would be a fun and functional hunting rifle.

quote:

Never did like those bulbous fore ends that Marlin puts on at the factory.

+1

the good news: you can take wood off at this stage if you want. Adding it is a lot more expensive and time consuming...

Rich

Oh by the way...that's a good looking Marlin in the above picture. Nice and sleek like a levergun should be.

Oh, stop it.

BLR in pretty much whatever calibre blows your skirt up. Dandy in .308.

I go for the Marlin! I have all three. The Marlin is easier to carry, easier to clean, and weighs less than my Winchesters, although My 1886 is a takedown, 26" octagon barrel, heavyweight and does ot kick as bad as a Marlin in the same caliber, 45-70. My 1895 is a .405 so it's stout and techically the most powerful is not as accurate as my Marlins or as easy to carry.

My favorite is probably a 336 cowboy in 38-55, an excellent balance of power vs recoil.

For shear pleasure in shooting I have a little Marlin 1894, totally different anival in 32-20, or a Winchester 1884-1894 centinnal in 30WCF(30-30), 26" barrel, button magazine(3 shots), pistol grip with very fancy wood, crescent buttplate, and Lyman tang sight, and engraved receiver. Mine is the basic model not the fancier grades with gold inlays, so I shoot it a bit with cast bullets.

I have to go with the Marlins. To me they are more of a serious hunting tool. I have them in everything from the .375 to .450. I also have them in 30-30 and .35 Rem but since this question starts with the .375........ As far as a levergun for dangerous critters I can't imagine one working better than my custom .450 Marlin. It has taken numerous big bears including stopping a bear charge. It has taken a 1800lbs water buffalo. No problems from any of these critters. My favorite 45-70 out of the bunch is a LTD-V 45-70 that will consistently shoot sub MOA groups. Probably the best 45-70 Marlin ever built. Here are some pics of my big bore Marlins. I am also posting a link to a long range crop sniping shoot I did with the LTD-V. The video quality is rough because of a malfunctioning camera that we ddn't catch until editing. Marlins just work.

My .375


My .444 first model


One of my 1895 45-70s


My .450 custom with a water buff


Link to the shooting video. Requires high speed internet. It is 19 minutes long and has a tutorial at the end showing how I work trajectories on the longer shots off hand with the 45-70. It is very informal.
http://video.google.com/videop...15096555745370&hl=en

reflex264

I'll pretty much say Winchesters for looks and Nostalgia

but when it comes to FUNCTION it's all Marlin.

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