- Jun 30, 2015
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I thought I could use a handy little carbine in a thumper cartridge for protection against bears, wolves, and angry moose while out hiking, camping, and Jeeping this Spring and Summer. I already had two sidearms that I carried depending on area. For deeper in the woods near Montana where grizzlies are a concern, I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt loaded with my own hard cast 300gr bullet handloads moving about 1150 fps.
For exploring closer to home where the only threat is wolves (and there's never been a wolf attack in 100 years or so), cougars, and drug-crazed rednecks, I carried a Glock G29 in 10mm.
Initially, I wanted to buy a new upper for an AR I bought before the election and didn't need. I figured a new upper in .450 Bushmaster would be reasonable. Nope. The cheapest were around $500, which is more than the rifle is worth brand new. A decent upper was around $700.
Then I found out that I can only load 9 rounds of .450 Bushmaster in a normal AR 30-round magazine.
Then I started thinking about the good old lever-action carbine in a pistol caliber. I started researching online and found a brand new Marlin 1894 carbine in .45 Colt for just over $500. It holds 10-rounds and would share bullets with my Ruger.
So I bought it.
Now, Marlin has had some issues the past decade or so. They were bought out by a huge conglomerate that also owned Remington. When they did, the new company, called Freedom Group, only cared about profits and not quality. They decided to fire all of the craftsmen that had been making Marlin rifles and move production to an area with cheaper labor. In doing so, they had to re-set up all of the machinery without having saved any of the original plans and using inexperienced cheap labor.
The result was a disaster. The new rifles were rife with issues. Quality plummeted. I bought a used Marlin 1894 in .357 Magnum in 2007 that was made before the takeover. I paid $400. It was beautiful and perfect. It was simply too nice to use as a camping/hiking gun.
When I got divorced and moved back to Idaho in 2013, I sold the rifle on an auction site. It went for $1000...
Fast forward to the present; I did some research and discovered that Marlins were getting better, but still not as nice as they were. That was fine with me as I wanted a gun that would be abused and modified.
I got the new Marlin a couple of weeks ago and inspected it. Wood to metal fit was acceptable. Seemed to function fine, if not a little stiff. Checkering on the wood was horrible.
I shot it and it was plenty accurate for it's intended use, but the action was binding. Did some internet research and identified a couple of typical areas that need some minor gunsmith work. Got out a file and corrected them. Seems to work much smoother now.
Then I started making it MY rifle. Decided to re-finish the stocks in a textured desert tan coating for better grip in wet conditions. Then I added a sling that would make it comfy to carry on a multi-mile trek in the woods. Next was a buttstock shell holder with a small pocket for extra shells.
I just added a smaller 3x9 armored scope with lighted cross hairs and QD mounts for better low-light targeting. I also mounted a small Surefire weapon light via a QD light mount for when it's in camp and my go-to weapon for middle of the night noises that need investigating.
I will hopefully get to sight it in on Thursday and then take it on a hike Saturday to see how it feels. I think the scope might make it a bit too bulky and I may switch to a reflex sight or peep sights. I guess I'll find out.
I think it's pretty cool so far, but I know a lot of folks think doing something like this with a lever-action is blasphemy. Would have never done this with my nice old Marlin, but I'm OK with modifying this one.
For exploring closer to home where the only threat is wolves (and there's never been a wolf attack in 100 years or so), cougars, and drug-crazed rednecks, I carried a Glock G29 in 10mm.
Initially, I wanted to buy a new upper for an AR I bought before the election and didn't need. I figured a new upper in .450 Bushmaster would be reasonable. Nope. The cheapest were around $500, which is more than the rifle is worth brand new. A decent upper was around $700.
Then I found out that I can only load 9 rounds of .450 Bushmaster in a normal AR 30-round magazine.
Then I started thinking about the good old lever-action carbine in a pistol caliber. I started researching online and found a brand new Marlin 1894 carbine in .45 Colt for just over $500. It holds 10-rounds and would share bullets with my Ruger.
So I bought it.
Now, Marlin has had some issues the past decade or so. They were bought out by a huge conglomerate that also owned Remington. When they did, the new company, called Freedom Group, only cared about profits and not quality. They decided to fire all of the craftsmen that had been making Marlin rifles and move production to an area with cheaper labor. In doing so, they had to re-set up all of the machinery without having saved any of the original plans and using inexperienced cheap labor.
The result was a disaster. The new rifles were rife with issues. Quality plummeted. I bought a used Marlin 1894 in .357 Magnum in 2007 that was made before the takeover. I paid $400. It was beautiful and perfect. It was simply too nice to use as a camping/hiking gun.
When I got divorced and moved back to Idaho in 2013, I sold the rifle on an auction site. It went for $1000...
Fast forward to the present; I did some research and discovered that Marlins were getting better, but still not as nice as they were. That was fine with me as I wanted a gun that would be abused and modified.
I got the new Marlin a couple of weeks ago and inspected it. Wood to metal fit was acceptable. Seemed to function fine, if not a little stiff. Checkering on the wood was horrible.
I shot it and it was plenty accurate for it's intended use, but the action was binding. Did some internet research and identified a couple of typical areas that need some minor gunsmith work. Got out a file and corrected them. Seems to work much smoother now.
Then I started making it MY rifle. Decided to re-finish the stocks in a textured desert tan coating for better grip in wet conditions. Then I added a sling that would make it comfy to carry on a multi-mile trek in the woods. Next was a buttstock shell holder with a small pocket for extra shells.
I just added a smaller 3x9 armored scope with lighted cross hairs and QD mounts for better low-light targeting. I also mounted a small Surefire weapon light via a QD light mount for when it's in camp and my go-to weapon for middle of the night noises that need investigating.
I will hopefully get to sight it in on Thursday and then take it on a hike Saturday to see how it feels. I think the scope might make it a bit too bulky and I may switch to a reflex sight or peep sights. I guess I'll find out.
I think it's pretty cool so far, but I know a lot of folks think doing something like this with a lever-action is blasphemy. Would have never done this with my nice old Marlin, but I'm OK with modifying this one.
