I was able to pick up a Marlin 45/70 LNIB with a cool Marbles tang sight. Do any of you hunt with it?
I know it is heavier than the guide gun but I think barrel length does make a difference in fps enough to make it worth it.

I will for sure put a recoil pad on it however!

I have a pair, one rebarrelled to 50 alaskan. I really like them. They are really not too heavy for the long tube and they shoot great. The 45/70 has the factory plastic and the 50 has a decelerator pad. The pad makes a bit of difference with lots of recoil. Enjoy it!

I've got an 1886 Winchester in .45-70 and I hunt with it.

Bigcabin:
If you shoot heavier loads or reloads, be sure to be very careful about keeping that Marbles tang sight away from your eye. I have shot both Marlin .45-70s and .38/55s with the tang sight, and managed to scratch a lens on my glasses with a hot .38-55. The .45-70 has much greater potential recoil. Hate to have a fellow levergunner with a pirate patch on his shooting eye!

Thanks for the heads up. That is a good thing to remember. My natural head position is a few inches behind it but then again, I haven't shot any really heavy loads through it yet.

shooting glasses a must with a tang sight IMHO

Good advice on the tang sight.
I read a story somewhere about a hunter that was shooting a tang sighted rifle at an animal up hill and the sight hit them in the eye and "put it out" as they say.

I think it was a lady hunter, but not sure if my memory is correct.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Good advice on the tang sight.
I read a story somewhere about a hunter that was shooting a tang sighted rifle at an animal up hill and the sight hit them in the eye and "put it out" as they say.

I think it was a lady hunter, but not sure if my memory is correct.

It was the wife of Capt. Paul Curtis who wrote for one of the big three "back in the day". I think it was Field & Stream in the 1930s. Thanks...

Aside from the blinding daanger, they really make handling a rifle awkward. I've never been able to figure out why anybody would want one these days.

Peep sights are really quite good if you know how to use them. Your eye naturally centers the front piece in circle of the apeture. No one I know puts their eye next to tang sight anyway. Moreover, some rifles like earlier 94's before angle eject were not amenable to scopes.
Peeps are far superior to regular iron sights and work great...either tang or reciever.

Yeah, I'll pass on the tang sights too and the normal receiver sight looks a little anachronistic on the cowboy. Buffalo Arms will sell you a repro of the Lyman Model 21 - the one as used to be seen on the 1895 Winchester http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,7199.html It's retro looking and won't poke out yer peepers. I like my Guide Gun "Mjolnir" just fine, but were I shopping today I'd get a Cowboy.

A tang sight on a hunting rifle is crap and a great way to take your eye out. The reciever mounted aperatures are very good however. I've had and hunted with several dozen .45-70 levers. One thing about the Cowboy is that if you use a full magazine of heavy bullets loaded on the upper end, be sure to peen the front magazine hanger to the barrel dovetail tightly, and use loctite on the hanger screw. If you don't and you use heavy loads and a full magazine; the recoil will tear the hanger right out of the barrel. Done it several times. The shorter barrelled Marlins do not have this problem. The little guide rifle being the strongest with less leverage on the magazine tube. Good shooting, they are all great rifles!

Here's my hunting rifle. 1886 Winchester .45-70 with a Lyman receiver sight. Range is the only issue. With the marlin you can mount a scope.

I LOVE my 1895CB but I'd only hunt with it from a stand or from horseback. That being said the 1895 GS Guide Gun is about as perfect a hunting tool as I'm aware... I did pick up an 1895 LTD III that combines the positives of both (handy carbine size and great aesthetics of the cowboy) I haven't hunted with it yet though.

Removed the tang sight from my LTD V, could not shoot with my thumb to the side of the grip.



I love the ghost ring set-up from XO and the Scount Mount from www.wildwestguns.com on my Marlin 1894p.



You can see the difference between XO and Wild West Guns ghost ring sights on my Marlin 1895 LTD III.



This rifle has a Brockman scope base set-up with a pop up ghost ring on the rear sight, which pops-up when the scope is removed. Tritium front sight. www.brockmansrifles.com and this same set-up is on my LTD V now.

I would only use a tang sight on a light recoiling rifle - might put it on my .22 someday.