The Shootin Iron

Dec. 01, 2005 By Duane Otis

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The Marlin outfit has sent out an announcement to their dealers in relation to a new rifle slated for production and release in 1996. It is of interest to be sure for our Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) folks. Here is the info that I have been able to gather. It will be in .45 Colt caliber.

Some of you should be cheering by now. If sales are good; the plan is to produce in .44-40 at a later date and perhaps the .38-40 (.38 WCF). The barrel is octagonal and 24" in length. Now I know I have your attention. If any of you have seen the Marlin Century Ltd. in .44-40, you will have an idea of just how handsome this new rifle will be. No, it will not have the color case finish, it will be in blue.

I have been able to find one lad who has seen one at a show for dealers. The factory says 10 shots. The shooter will probably find a plug device behind the follower in the magazine tube, remove the device and you will probably be able to load perhaps 12 depending on your bullet choice. Now this is beginning to sound like a great gun for our matches. Alas, the advent of gun design by attorney's has risen again. Don't moan too loudly, but the gun will have the famed cross-bolt safety device. We can scuff our boots in the dust, swear silently at the situation, but it is a fact of life. The device is there and no manufacturer in the world is going to chance taking a device out of a firearm that it put there for your safety. Learn to live with it. We will all understand when you scuff your boots.

I know you are thinking of a pretty brass crescent butt plate like the Century model, but bite your lip. The butt plate will be of the shotgun style. Not known at present if hard rubber (ala plastic) or softer rubber blend.

The sights are made by the grand old firm of Marble Arms in Gladstone, MI. That is good news, as the sights can be changed to something that suits your fancy. Marble's has many variation of rear sights including full buckhorns, semi buckhorns and my favorite, the flat top. The old outfit offers many choices of front sights in 1/16" or 3/32" beads in various styles and materials and heights from .260 all the way up to .570. For your info the 1995 price on the complete sporting rear with elevator was $14.60 and the front sights were going for $8.75. Good deal, nice folks. Probably much easier to order directly from them, as chances are slim indeed that local dealer will have all the sizes. Here is the address: Marble Arms 420 Industrial Park PO Box 111 Gladstone,MI 49837 telephone: 906-428-3710 FAX: 906-428-3711. Old Webster Marble started his outfit in 1893 making a safety axe. A factory went up in 1898, so there is a bit of history in the sights. The catalog includes a great selection chart and perhaps the greatest little chart I have seen for selecting a new front sight. It is called the Front Sight Elevation Correction Chart. It is that. If you know the height of your front sight, and where your rounds are impacting on a target at a known distance, the chart will help you select the proper front sight height to land those bullets in the middle!

I seem to have strayed a bit from the Cowboy Ltd. Let us think about that for a few seconds. Turn back the clock if you will, to a few years back. Marlin introduced some nifty little rifles in .25-20 and .32-20. They don't make them anymore. Some real smart hands grabbed those tiny rifles and made some slick CAS rifles from them. "Two Bear" a wild and crazy lad with questionable credentials, (and good friend) has taken the 32-20 and very simply had his favorite gunsmith, change the magazine tube to way out to the muzzle. Bingo! A winner. I have seen him win a 200 yard Long Range match with it. We kind of kid him about it, as it does not go bang! but rather a bing! But it works! My point is this, when a manufacturer releases a new rifle, they kind of wonder how the sales will be. Marlin is no exception. Maybe this is a test the market kind of thing. I have placed an order with local dealer. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they just don't make a few thousand of them. It will be one of those guns that makes it to the pages of every magazine, gets reviewed and raved about, etc. only to be one of those rifles that you never seem to be able to find. Advice (free) if interested, saddle up and ride on down to the local emporium and tell that gent behind the counter, that you want one. If he says that he is not aware of what you are talking about, tell him that is coming (Like Valdez with the Sharps) it will be here someday, and to please start a list with your name at the top. Look serious while you are doing that. You know, polite but firm.

No, I don't know when they will be released. I don't even know the price. One thing is for sure, if they only make a small supply of them, some folks will be back to scuffing and kicking dirt. There are probably close to 8000 folks in the CAS game right now. Just about all have their rifles, but you know we are always looking for something else to add to the cart.

Hey, here is a flash! Standard rifling. NO Micro-Groove. A sigh of relief should be heard with that. Not that micro-groove was a curse. With jacketed ammunition it was never a problem. With our slow moving, soft, fat bullets it always meant a lot of experimenting. Fun shooting, but lead to many headaches. More details, please no moaning, I understand that the tang is not tapped for a tang sight. Not a real big thing of course. Let's be real; your local gunsmith needs a few extra bucks and should be able to do this. Please don't try it yourself folks. We only need one proper sized hole back there. Yes, I know you own a 3/8" portable drill with a whiz-bang cut through titanium drill bit. Try it and you will wind up with a marred tang, a hole off center. You will mess it up!

The rifle will be tapped for a scope mount. I am hearing those moans once again. I am only bringing the message folks. Well now it really does not show that much. If we are already willing to live with the cross-bolt safety brought to you by your local bar association, we should be able to handle some plugged screws up top on the receiver.

Guess by now, I have you divided into different camps for sure. Curse that Tioga! Who is that guy? I'm going to make him eat dirt and worse! The camps may be divided, but still interested I'm sure. You are either