I have one in the GS model (stainless) it will NOT shoot the leverlution rounds. I would like to contact Marlin about it but can't find the number. It is rough but seems to like the 405 grain Remington bullets. I hope that the more I shoot it the more broken in it gets but I feel its lack of workmanship that leads to most of its problems.

Well, after reading the reviews above, I have to say this; I recently bought a Marlin 1895G chambered in .45-70 new in the box, and I could not be more happy! In fact, with a few noteworthy exceptions, this is one of the best firearms purchases I have ever made, and hands down THE ABSOLUTE BEST centre fire, big bore hunting rifle that I have ever owned. I hunt in areas in the Eastern part of Tennessee that, due to recent real esstate developements have significantly reduced the Black Bear and Russian Boar habitats, so concentrations of these animals are heavier in the areas where I hunt. Also, we have coyote packs in great abundance, so the likelihood of an unexpected encounter with these biting machines has increased dramatically over the years, and I often go hunting with people with little or no experience in hunting or in dealing with dangerous game. I absolutely must have a large calibre brush busting carbine length rifle, and the Guide Gun fits the bill nicely. Marlin's fine craftsmanship is evidentin this gun. I know that there are "rotten apples" in every barrel, but my Guide Gun is certainly not one of these. Also, being a handloader, I can honestly say that there is not a game animal ON EARTH that I would hesitate to take with my Marlin

i have to agree with you beekeeper mine was junk also nasty wood work and no craftman ship at all i was upset when i took it out of the box at the gun shop after waiting to get it in for 5 weeks and had it sent back that day . marlin sent me a poor quality rifle

I just ran across this thread. One of my bear hunting cronies, who is built similar to Hulk Hogan, has one and I thought I wanted one until I saw how his pounded him around. No thanks, I'll stick to my little 336C in .35 Remington.

To all the postings that talk about the high level of kick in these guns please take a moment to realize what you are talking about. This is called a "take down rifle" for a reason! When using this gun very little tracking is required! The beast is down, with a properly placed shot, at the point of impact!! It stands to reason that it will kick simply because it is a 45-70. Regardless of the size of the shooter this recoil can be managed with preparation and skill. I bought a Marlin 1895G 2 years ago and have used it for both of the previous seasons, I love it! This past season I allowed my friends son, who is 14 years old and an avid outdoorsman to shoot it and his groups were approximatly 3 inches @ 100yards, from a field position, consecutively. He almost out shot me!! This is great for any 45-70 rifle. You don't have to be Hercules to shoot this fine weapon but you must be ready for the recoil. As to the craftmanship of my gun, it is immaculate. These reviews that are stating poor quality...!?! Well, I have owned numerous Marlin guns over my lifetime and have never seen poor quality in any of them. Maybe these guys are an exception. After all they ordered a Marlin for a reason, could it be the reputation for quality? This rifle is not for the faint of heart or weak of shoulder. Please consider what you ordered before you make a statement publicly and think "Did I get what I ask for??"

I purchased a 1895G in Dec.I couldn't be more pleased with it.I can't believe the bad reviews.They must work for the compitition.The rifle I received is a thing of beauty.I have shot some .750 groups @100yds with my handloads.As for the recoil,yes it has an attitude but it can be managed.If your looking for a rifle that speeks with athority then this one is for you.If you can't deal with recoil buy a .243Win.

Im thinking about the 45-70 GBL does it kick hard.

also leverevolution .325grain hornadays are ideal or .300 grain remington's shoot nice too. anything more than that is unnecessary.

Not to step on too many toes, but while there are a lot of rifles out there that will kick your teeth out, the .45-70 Marlin isn't one of them. Most of the time it boils down to basic technique. Keep that buttstock very firmly in the pocket of the shoulder (NOT the bicep). Lean forward into the gun. If one leans back with the head to the rear, the recoil will throw the body off balance (most common mistake to make - unfounded fear of the recoil causes this). Not shouldering the stock tightly will allow the gun to travel a short distance, unimpeded, slamming the stock painfully into the shoulder. A 3.5 inch full power 12 gauge round in a pump shotgun kicks much harder than the Marlin .45-70 (full power 3.5 inch 12 gauge rounds have about as much recoil energy as a .458 Win Mag). If you can handle a 12 gauge shotgun the Marlin is a piece of cake.

I am going to purchase a marlin in the next week or so. I am torn between the 1895G and the 1895 w/ 22inch barrel. Have any of you noticed any accuracy issues with the 18inch barrel compared to the Longer 22inch barrel?

Randyv78, go with the 1895G. no accuracy problems at all, and the Guide Gun handles and "points" better. it just feels really good.

Yeah I decided on the 1895G. I love it. Thanks TnProhunter.

Let me say this, Looks ARE deceiving! I own many guns but always wanted a 45/70. I saw the Marlin 1895 Guide gun in stainless and walnut and finally at 56 years old, decided to purchase it. You can't look a gun over very well or see everything about it in ten minutes at the gun shop but it's a very nice looking gun cosmetically and the price they put on it made me cringe a little. But I purchased it. After getting it home and looking over the manual, I decided to purchase a stainless scope for it on line. That done, I remembered the guns manual stated that it had been shot and sighted in (with the open sights on it) That is when I checked them out. The Rear sight didn't look quite right to me. It was offsett to the right rather than in the center. Wondering how they sighted it in that way, I looked at the front sight that is dove tailed into the barrel. I found that the front sight was way over to the left! You wouldn't see it with the hood over the sight but this one was way off. So I took the hood off the front sight and there it was right in front of god and everything. Sitting way over to the left side of the dovetail. It' looks like the writing on the barrel is centered but was put in the wrong place so they turned the barrel to the right so the writing would show and comphensated with the front sight. It is an Obvious defect and ruins the beauty of the gun. NEXT, the hammer when released, strikes the right edge of the slot as it comes down to hit the firing pin. Now, do I deal with Marlin and try sending the gun back to have those items corrected and take a chance on further defects like scratches happening? Will Marlin take the gun back and correct it since it will function but looks like hell? A car just wouldn't look right with one of the headlights in the center of it's grill either if you know what I mean. Well, stay tuned. I can't call them until tomorrow and I'm sure it's gonna be a while if I can send it back. I really hate to have to send something back I paid a lot of money for and should have been right in the first place, but what can ya do? So I'll tell you how I made out after I know how I made out! That's the best I can do. Hopefully they will find a way to make it as it should have been in the first place. So far I haven't even pulled the trigger on it except to find the hammer striking the right side of the bolt slot. Damn, I'll have the new scope for it way before I'll even see the gun again. Stay Tuned!

Guys - rifles don't kick! It's called "recoil"! (To set the record straight, I am a 10 year veteran of the United States Navy and served as a Gunner's Mate. I am an expert in small arms and weapons.)

For those who have had bad experiences with the Marlin 1895 Guide Gun, I can only say one thing. What on earth are you comparing it to? This gun has no equal in the lever-action world, and certainly no equal in the big bore world, except perhaps, if you're comparing it to the Marlin 450.

Remember - this is not a Colorado mule deer or pronghorm rifle. Its name implies its function. It's a guide gun. A back up for other hunters who get themselves into dangerous situations and need someone else to finsih off a charging grizzly or brown bear, or a really pissed off bull elk.

I own the Marlin 1895 guide gun in all stainless (with a Nikon Monarch African Dangerous Game scope, 4x20), and it is simply the most amazing piece of weaponry ever produced by Marlin, or anyone else for that matter.

Let's take a look at ballistics. 2,000 FPS velocity of out the muzzle, with 2,100 FT LBS of energy (using a Hornaday Leverevolution 325 gr bullet)at 100 yards. Some will argue that a 30-06 Springfield round has more FT LBS of energy at the same distance, and they are correct, but what the Springfield 30-06 does not have is a cross section of .45 caliber and a 325 grain bullet. That equals massive static shock, and it is more than enough to bring down even a 700lb + grizzly in its tracks.

Workmanship on this rifle is superb, as is the action, trigger pull, and fit in hand for bringing the rifle to your shoulder quickly.

There is a reason the 45-70 was the primary cartidge of the U.S. Army for decades. It kills, or seriously wounds - with one shot - plain and simple. The shift to 30-40 Krag in the late 1800's, then 30-06 Springfield for WWI and WWII, and eventually 7.62mm and .556mm (M-14 and M-16 respectively), for Vietnam and forward, was only done because our troops needed to carry more ammunition in their backpacks and the 45-70 was just too heavy when you had to lug around a few hundred rounds due to our changing military tactics and war theaters. It was also very expensive to produce because of the bullet size, casing, and powder. You could make two 30-06 rounds or four .556 M-16 rounds for the cost of one 45-70 round.

Hands down the Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun is the most lethal lever-action rifle available on the market, and I would take it on any hunt, for any game, in North America and Africa.

Just my opinion...

Big Bore Walt

The 1895 is a great little gun with a very big cartridge. Fit and finish are well-known to be good, and often better. If you compare it to other .45-70's, antique or modern, it has fantastic geometry, and a relatively mild recoil.

Anyone who maintains otherwise has NO experience with this cartridge, which SHOULD "kick", because that's what it is, a hard-kicking cartridge. I have five .45-70's, dating back 80 years, and the modern 1895 is by far the best, most accurate gun of the bunch. I hate to see this cartridge and rifle maligned by folks who simply have little experience with big bore rifles.

As to the reviews stating less than pristine screw heads, I'm sure any reader knows that there is no percentage in a manufacturer failing to replace scratched screws, stocks, etc. before sending them out to a distributor, and that any retailer would send it back if they received it in such a condition. Obviously, they are talking about used guns, so why bother discussing it. These folks could have and should have inspected used products before receiving or paying for them.

The 1895 is best of class, as any experienced big bore shooter knows.

I can't believe I'm reading people dogging this gun. The only regret I have is that I wish I would have bought the longer barrel, and maybe have gotten the gun in stainless. My guide gun grouped 1" at 75 yards, which for a lever gun with iron sights is great in my book. I prefer to shoot the Leverevolution from Hornady as I can't seem to get the same velocity when I hand load them. The recoil isn't really any worse than a load of buckshot from a 12 ga. or my 300 mag with hot loads.

Interesting perspective guys.Dont let this rifle fool you,it does the job.I have hunted exclusively with a 375H&H since 1978 and shot about 5000 rounds total from 3 different guns.The 45-70 impressed me when my friend shot a medium sized black bear just above the left eye when it was chasing my other friend back to his truck camper.The shot was made from the door of the camper in haste as the bear just about got him.The bullet passed about a foot over my pals right shoulder.It was the lightning fast handling that converted me to have a GBL model and nothing else

Does this gun shoot any better than a Savage 99?

I have the Savage 99 in 300 Savage and just purchased the Marlin guide gun in 45-70. I handload, and it took me several test loads to come up with an accurate load for my 300 Savage (150 gr. Nosler ballistic tips, 39.0 gr IMR 4895. Seating depth most critical for accuracy and will vary one rifle to the next). I managed 3/8" groups at 100 yards. I haven't purchased a die set for the 45-70 yet, but with Hornady's LeveRevolution, I'm getting 3/4" groups at 100 yds. It looks very promising for very accurate handloads. As for recoil mentioned above, I've found that body size of the shooter determines how much it hurts. I'm only 155 lbs. and have shot a lot of big bore rifles. Many of my buddies I shoot with are in the 180-240 lb. category. I think that with my light weight, the recoil just moves me back. However, my buddies will end up with major bruising because they don't move back with their mass - they absorb all the recoil. So my advice would be to anyone, if you are worried about recoil, don't go for any large bore caliber. If you don't worry about recoil, shoot whatever you want. One other note, I am very pleased with the workmanship of my new Marlin. I did make the mistake of mounting a Bushnell 3-9 x 40 with Weaver base on it. It not only mounted too far back and cut nose on recoil, the Bushnell wouldn't hold zero with the recoil. So I ended up spending more than I had planned for the SX rail and a Nikon 2-7 X 32 scope. Works great! Wish my eyes could still see open sights though!