JM Marlin Pawnshop Rescue

A

ATCDoktor

New member
I was walking through one of our local Pawnshops this morning looking to see if they had anything I couldn't live without when I spied a Marlin Guide Gun in the used rifle rack with a posted price of $400.00.

First thing I thought was "this thing must be beat up later model with a price that low".

I asked to take a look at it and gave it a thorough inspection and saw that it was JM marked on the barrel and the only thing I could find (short of needing a good cleaning) was some light scuffs/small dents on the stock.

Serial number was 99000076XX indicates it was made in 2001 and for its age it is very clean, no wear/scratches on the blue, crowns in excellent condition, never had a scope mounted (screws are still there and no marring on the receiver) the only thing out of place was the front sight hood was missing.

I asked if there was any room to move on the price and the young lady that was helping me said that only the manager could make pricing decisions and he was out of town.

I figured that if I let it sit for another day trying to save a few bucks it would surely be gone so I remitted their asking price (plus tax) and walked out the door with it for $425.00.

I don't think I got stung too bad:





 
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Is it a 45/70 ?
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Yes, 45/70.

A local gunshop had one another JM Guide Gun in 450 Marlin several weeks back and I was really tempted to buy it but the price just too high (around $620.00 after taxes).

I couldn't see laying out that kind of money and then having to buy Brass and Dies for 450 Marlin (I already load 45/70 for another Guide Gun I had chopped and threaded for a suppressor) so I passed on that one.

Here's my first year production Guide Gun in 45/70 with suppressor mounted.



A 405 grain bullet running 1000 FPS will jerk the carpet out from beneath any hog walking. Bullet impact sounds like Hank Aaron warming up on a wet rug.
 
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The ported barrels are harder to sell and generally bring less money. Some like 'em though and if you like the rifle then you got a good deal.
 
ATC what area do you live in. I worked out in the Midland/Odessa area then up to Amarillo for a hail storm a few years ago and everyone had those block walls around their houses. When I went to Amarillo I hit a couple of Pawn Shops and the racks were full of lever action rifles. And they were cheap compared to now. I should have bought three or four of them for stock.

You did good on your gun. A friend has an almost new 45-70 he offered me with Ballard rifling. He wants what he paid for it and the price is on the box. The price was $386.00. I guess I really should buy it. He also has several boxes of ammo for it that could be had cheap.

I had a 45-70 before with the Ballard rifling. That was one accurate rifle. It killed on one end and maimed on the other. Thats why I sold it.
 
Rat shooter, I picked this rifle up in Arizona.

I took it out this morning and ran 50 rounds of hand loaded 405 grain soft points through it and it shot as well as my other Guide Gun.

This is 5 rounds at 50 yards from the bench using 46 grains of IMR 4895 and Remington 405 grain Softpoints (velocity from the 18 inch ported barrel averaged 1475 FPS).



The factory rear sight was too short to get my rounds to impact at my POA.

With the rear sight set at its highest position I was still hitting 3 inches low at 50 yards.

When I got home from the range I measured the height of the rear sight blade and compared it to the height of the rear sight blade on my other guide gun and found that the two differed (in height) by a 1/10th of an inch (the new guns rear sight being shorter).

Seeing is how my older guide gun now wears a scope, I decided to swap the rear sight blades out and that way I can regulate the POI to the POA on the new gun.

Took about 2 mins to swap them out and then I jumped on the Numrich Arms Site and ordered a rear sight blade of the proper height.

All my JM Marlins have been very good shooters and this one is no exception.
 
Nice find.

jmr40 said:
The ported barrels are harder to sell and generally bring less money. Some like 'em though and if you like the rifle then you got a good deal.
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Are you sure about that?
I admit that, even though I'm a bit of a Marlin junky and keep close tabs on the 336 and 444 markets, I pay almost zero attention to 1895s.

But... In the 444 world, the ported model (444P -- "Outfitter") is highly desirable, and typically sells for two to three times as much as a standard model. Generally, it also sells for 50-100% more than even the first-run 1964 'Texan' models, factory-stamped ".444 Magnum".

The little bit that I've gathered from the 1895 world over the last 10-15 years has the ported Guide Guns in a similar position - not as valuable as a ported 444, but sought after by a group of people willing to pay a small premium for the factory porting. (A quick search of successful, completed GB auctions seems to back that up.)
 
That dead boar looks sticky and wet! Talk about a juicy one!! :D

BEAUTIFUL .45-70 OP. They sure don't make them like they used to!
 
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