GUN TEST: Marlin Rifle 1895 SBL
The Marlin 1895 SBL is a Ruger made rifle and a great one at that. Editor for one of UK’s top magazines, Shooting Sports Magazine, Peter Moore gets into the nitty gritty of the Ruger made Marlin 1895.
Marlins have been on the UK shooting scene for a while, their pistol caliber lever action was a standout in the firearm community and ultimately gave them a fantastic reputation. Marlin was eventually bought by Remington in 2007 and then by Ruger in 2020, it was inevitable that Ruger would release a special Marlin.
Having owned a traditional Marlin 1895 with a classic black and wood finish many years ago, Pete has had firsthand experience with both the original Marlin 1895 and a Ruger made Marlin 1895. With absolute confidence Peter states that the Ruger made rifle is a better standard of quality to the original Marlin.
The trademark RM (Ruger Marlin) prefix the serial number clearing and proudly indicating it as a Ruger made rifle. This particular Marlin 1895 is called the 1895 SBL which is the stainless big loop lever with a threaded barrel. The magazine tube is short enough to allow a moderator to be fitted easily. With a front tritium sight blade and ghost ring rear sight making quick target acquisition easy even in low light.
The stock has a pull length of 13.3 inches, Marlin 1895 SBL has a thick recoil pad which is a great feature of this rifle especially in the calibre 45,70 GOV. The rear sight has a large hole that centres on the tritium front sight, this is the famous ghost ring and is conveniently adjustable for windage and elevation, and it is more that enough to get it on target at 50 to 100 yards, the rifle is also fitted with a picatinny rail which will accommodate a scope or red dot of your fancy to improve your hunting or scores.
The hammer can be pulled to full cock or half cock for added safety. This excellent design of the hammer spur extension allows you to pull back the hammer easily from half cock to full cock instantly, you won’t be missing any opportunistic shots with this rifle. When safety is needed the Marlin has a cross bolt style safety which pushes from left to right, the red line indicates fire mode.
A fluted bolt makes the rifle smoother and adds to the stunning look of this firearm, with a big and flat loading port it is nice and easy to load your ammunition. The Marlin 1895 has been designed with a large loop lever, this is intended specifically for winter use when shooters wear heavy gloves to protect from the cold they’re still able to operate the rifle. It is a very common rifle for Alaskan type game as it is a hard hitting calibre and they often use it as a defensive weapon against large wild animals like bears.
In the ammunition department for this 4570 rifle Pete is trying out two types of ammo. The S&B 4570 in a 405 grain soft point which does about 1500 to 1600 and the Hornady in a 325 grain FTX Flex Tip which is a revolutionary in lever action rifle ammunition due to the polymer tips that avoid the potential internal cartridge detonation of stacked ammo. It is safe to say that this is an absolute walloper, there is no wonder this rifle paired with either set of ammunition is still as popular now as it was when it was first released on the market, so don’t discount the old 4570 because it is an oldie.
