Marlin Trapper 45-70 Govt.

L

LineStretcher

New member
I did a ton of research on Remington and found out that the bad actor investors had for the most part departed. There are out of Chapt 11 with a new group of mostly pro second amendment investors and a beautiful restructuring plan. The have invested a lot of money in re-tooling and have restructured their product lines in a way that makes more sense to the consumer. The Marlin line is getting back the way they used to be and the Trapper is a fine example of the direction that the company is moving.

I was unable to determine what they had planned to do with a lot of the sub-par products that are in inventories around the world but I would hope that at some point they are able to absorb them and expedite their reputation recovery.

With total confidence, I bought the Marlin Trapper today and although I have not shot it yet, the fit and finish of the rifle is top notch. It's at least as good as my pre-64 Model 94 Win 30-30 in that respect.

The stock is a laminated composite that looks and feel fantastic. I would say that it is at least as nice as any of the Boyd's stock that I have. I would not argue if someone said it was a Boyd's. I can't say it because I don't know.

The rifle has excellent peep sights that are easy to bring to the eye but also includes a long Picatinny rail that could accommodate a scope or red dot easily. My dog (Buddy) has sniffed it over and gives his solid approval.
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If I were getting a 45-70 that would certainly be on my short list, congrats on that beauty! The rail would have to come off of it though...:D
 
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Glad the transformation seems to be continuing. I bought an 1895 two or three years ago, and it is screwed together well. I have approx. 400 rounds through it without a hiccup. Now get out there and shoot that beauty!
 
Nice! I was checking those out, after seeing the movie "Wind River". I have a 1895 CBA 45/70 I bought a bit less than two years ago. It's been a fun and accurate rifle, with many factory and reload rounds put through it. Has always worked perfectly. I did add the Skinner sight.
 
I've got a early 1895 long barrel JM. I've had it 40 some years and had reciever sight on it.
Shoots outstanding. I got excited when Ohio got rifle deer season and put a scope on it.
Shot excellent , would clover leaf at 100yds of bench. 1st morning of season when I got in
woods I realized I didn't like scope or need it. Since Lyman 66 is back on it. My deer are in
thick cover and most taken on the run, at 100yds or under. Scope feels bulky and top heavy to me. They might be ok for stand hunting but not needed in the woods. I like the reciever sight because I have witness plate O for 100yds and marked for longer ranges. I can jack
sight for long shot and crank back to 0. I haven't cranked sight while hunting but it works
perfect on steel silos at known ranges,
 
Everyone should own a least one Marlin lever. Mine is a 36 model in 30wcf.

The way Marlin was bum wrapped over these recent years it pleases me to hear Marlin has finally made a effort to quiet their product nitpickers.

LineStretcher: A very nice lever choice. This one I would call a "keeper."
 
Last night I took the time to go over the rifle and field strip it so I know what to do if a problem occurs. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the components and the much improved fit and finish of the Trapper. There is a noticeable difference in the fit and finish of this rifle vs. their octagon barrel Cowboy version. The fit and finish was not so good on the ones that I looked at. Differences in the blueing quality with the barrel being heavily blued and polished and the receiver not so much. The wood work was also pretty shoddy on those.

On the trapper, the stainless is brushed and matches across all components and the laminate stock is finished well with all edges and corners relieved to match their connection points. The top of the fore end does have pretty sharp outside edges and I could definitely feel that on my finger tips. It only took a few minutes to smooth the edges out and fine sand with some 2000g Wet/Dry sandpaper so it matched the rest of the stock again. It's not a game changer but it should have been done at the factory.

The fore end has full wrap checkering and although not hand cut, it does give a nice appearance and a sticky spot for your hand. The butt has the left and right reliefs just like our B's and a slight palm swell also.

There is a long picatinny rail on top that's labeled as a "lever rail". The rear peep sight is mounted on the rail so if you wanted to remove the rail, you would loose the peep. I think they should have mounted the peep to the action and then put the rail on it so you could take the rail off if you wanted without further modification. The rail can still be removed but you would need to add back in a short Picatinny rail and then remount the peep to that.

I have seen a few examples of this rifle with a scope mounted. The fact that it is side eject makes this a fairly easy job as long as you remember to buy a scope and rings that are impact rated for this caliber. I won't name brands that aren't because the list is long. Just remember to do your research and make those verification phone calls. Do not rely on a salesperson's opinion, they often get products confused because they typically have several. No, not all sales folks are dummy's but they have a lot to remember and I couldn't do it so why should I expect them to.

Putting the rifle back together from a field strip was pretty straight forward and I did it without any outside assitance. I'm not saying you can do it because this ain't my first levergun rodeo. I would not recommend doing it if all you do is clean and shoot guns. However, if you buy this rifle for the uses that it's name implies, learn how to do a field strip, it may just save your butt someday.

As a side note, this is what changed in the Freedom Group that is allowing Marlin to return to the quality levels they once were known for:

"In December 2012, citing the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as "a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level," Cerberus announced it would sell all of its investments in Freedom Group. The private equity firm said it would retain a financial adviser to sell its interests in Freedom Group, and would return the proceeds to investors." If you don't know Cerberus is the biblical name of the 3 headed dog that guards the gates of hates. An appropriate name considering what they did to Remington and Marlin.

It's taking a while to get it all together but they are out of Chapter 11 with a unanimous court approval of their restructuring plan. I think this new version of the Trapper is a good sign of what may be in the future for Remington and Marlin.
 
That is a pretty rifle I definitely have been bitten by the 45/70 bug ever since I bought my Sharps rifle. Now I want a lever action and Marlin's definitely get my juices flowing. Congratulations.
 
Were you still able to get the point of my reference? If so, then good and it doesn't matter that I made a mistake. If not, then you probably wouldn't understand anyway.
Click to expand...

Yes Linestretcher I understood your point and hope you understood mine. I hate to see something from Greek mythology mixed with what is and isn't written in the bible.

Nice looking gun. I, like a lot of people like a short, handy rifle. Apparently you do too. I had a Marlin 45-70 that put the first 3 shots in to less than an inch at 100 yards. By the time I had fired 15 shots it was all over the paper. I had a brand new Cabelas 4x scope on it. A cheap scope and that gun wrecked the scope. Cabelas made it good and I just used open sights after that.

I did kill one deer with it using a Remington 300gr hollow point loaded to around 1600fps. That deer just fell over sideways with it legs sticking straight out. I had some thumper 400gr lead loads that I just liked to bust rocks with. Overall a very nice gun and a great round. I bet you enjoy yours.
 
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Thanks folks, I decided to put a scope on it after all. I called Vortex and they understood the recoil issues and recommended the Viper HS which has an pretty incredible field of view. It's been cold and wet/snow here so I haven't been out to the range to shoot it yet.
 
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