First, I have several vintage Marlins (a 35 year old 39 and a 50 year old 336), but earlier this week, I stopped at a gun shop and was looking over a variety of guns. The Marlin Model 95 caught my eye, one was a pistol grip, blued steel, in .444 and .45-70 and the other was the octagon barrel in .45-70.
I already have a Ruger #1 in .45-70, but there's always room for one more.
Anyhow, the build quality on the rifles I handled was better than good, with excellent wood fit, action was a bit tight (expected) and the triggers a bit heavy. Quibbles? Bluing on the 35 with a pistol grip seemed a bit light, but the octagon barreled 95 had nicer bluing (had a spot of rust, which was concerning, on the barrel, but could have been from a number of people handling the gun).
Both calibers had Ballard rifling, 1-20 twist. Opinions?
I already have a Ruger #1 in .45-70, but there's always room for one more.
Anyhow, the build quality on the rifles I handled was better than good, with excellent wood fit, action was a bit tight (expected) and the triggers a bit heavy. Quibbles? Bluing on the 35 with a pistol grip seemed a bit light, but the octagon barreled 95 had nicer bluing (had a spot of rust, which was concerning, on the barrel, but could have been from a number of people handling the gun).
Both calibers had Ballard rifling, 1-20 twist. Opinions?