MARLIN LEVER-ACTION RIFLES
Cowboys like Winchesters; hunters want Marlins
TH IS YEAR, THE Marlin Firearms Company, founded in 1870, celebrates its 150th anniversary. Marlin will mark the event by manufacturing presentation grade commemorative Model 444 and Model 6 0 .22 r ifles as well as commemorative ammunition. Theirs is a long history and some of it is little-known. Few are aware that Marlin became one of the largest producers of machineguns in the USA, many of which went into fighter aircraft. But let’s start at the beginning…
The history of the lever-action repeating rifle design really began with the Henry repeating rifle, immediately progressing to the Winchester 1866 Yellow Boy, after which followed one successful model upon another. Out on the frontier of the American West, a lever-action repeating rifle gave a man tremendous fire-power compared to the old muzzle-loaders. Frontal attacks by hostile native Indians were halted by the seemingly endless hail of lead thrown at them, and consequently tribal strategy changed to that of cunning ambush and surprise attacks.
Our story begins during the American Civil War when John Marlin (born in 1836) started work as a gun-maker for Colt in Hartford. In 1870 he struck out on his own, initially producing single-shot derringer-type pistols in .22, .32 and .38 rim-fire calibres. In 1872, Marlin added revolvers to his range – also small calibre pocket jobs in both rim-fire and centre-fire.
In 1873, Marlin was asked to produce a single-shot rifle that had been designed in 1861 by C.H. Ballard of Worcester,
Massachusetts. These Ballard rifles were initially made by a company called Ball and Williams during the Civil War. The Marlin Company successfully produced thousands of fine Ballard rifles until production ceased in 1891. I have never seen a Ballard rifle and I doubt if any South African collector has one, but Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms has a number of pages showing different models in various calibres, both rim-fire and centre-fire. Barrels came in different lengths, some octagonal, some round and some half-andhalf. All were breech-loaders of the falling block type made for gallery and target shooting, though some models were labelled hunters’ rifles.
BY 1880, ALL the major native American wars were over and it was only in the harsh deserts and rugged mountains of Arizona and New Mexico that wild and ruthless Apaches continued to be troublesome until Geronimo’s surrender in 1885. However, the short peace that followed was shattered by the final fury on 29th December 1890, when United States soldiers and Sioux warriors clashed for the last time at Wounded Knee Creek. The US soldiers fought the battle with single-shot Springfield rifles, Colt Army revolvers and quick-firing Hotchkiss guns, against the Indians’ Winchester and Henry lever-action rifles and various other weapons.
Around this time, John Marlin saw a gap in the Winchester line-up: the need for a lever-action rifle firing the .45-70 Government cartridge. So, working with gun designer Andrew Burgess, Marlin came up with the first lever-action repeater in .45-70 – a powerful cartridge that was produced in huge quantities for the American armed forces and therefore always readily available.
Although the key patents and design were by Andrew Burgess, John Marlin and others contributed patented details. It was Marlin, however, who put all the features together into the finished and highly regarded lever-action rifle. Incidentally, Burgess first offered his design to Colt, who actually produced the now very rare Colt/burgess lever-action rifle. Only 6 403 of these rifles were made before an agreement between Colt and Winchester put a stop to production of this particular design.
If you include the Henry repeater, Winchester had a virtual monopoly for some 20 years in the lever-action repeating rifle market, which gave them a very strong lead. However, in 1881, the Marlin Company produced their new .45-70 calibre
lever-action rifle – a clever move that put them ahead of their competitors. It was not until 1886 that Winchester offered a lever-action rifle in .45-70.
The Marlin 1881’s octagonal barrel and thicker steel frame made it heavier than the Winchester, and while it was accepted by hunters, pioneers out West seemed to prefer the lighter, short-barrelled Winchester carbines which were better-suited for carry in saddle scabbards and easily fired from horseback. Even though the Marlin lever-action appeared in the heyday of the Wild West, I have come across only two old photographs that show westerners holding Marlin rifles. A major factor, of course, was that it made sense for a man to carry a rifle taking the same ammo as his revolver, which is what made Winchester’s Model 73 in .44-40 so very popular. However, I have seen some old prints showing men wearing two cartridge belts – one for revolver cartridges and the other holding rifle cartridges of a different calibre; so maybe there were more Marlins out West than we think.
MARLIN WAS QUICK to meet the challenge; in 1882 he brought out a standard model with a 24-inch barrel in various calibres. Then in 1884, he introduced a lightweight model with a slender 24- or 28-inch barrel and thinner metalwork, firing either .32-40 or .38-55 cartridges.
Next to appear was the Marlin 1888, which fired revolver cartridges including the highly popular .44-40. The model ’88 had a shorter tubular magazine below the barrel that held 13 cartridges but it also had the advantage of a short-throw lever-action as opposed to the longer throw of the Winchester. Strangely, sales of this model were disappointing – fewer than 5 000.
The following year Marlin produced the Model 1889 with a fulllength magazine under its 24-inch barrel. The Marlin’s solid-top receiver with side-ejection proved popular as it ‘felt’ stronger and more solid, and did not throw hot cases straight back into the face of the shooter or down his collar, as did the Winchester with its open-top ejection. Of course, rifle scopes had yet to come into common use, but when they did, the Marlin’s solid-top and side-ejection system gave it a significant advantage over Winchester’s top-ejector lever-action rifles, and the Marlin held this advantage for a long time. It was not until 1983/84 that Winchester finally produced their ‘angle-eject’ model facilitating top-mounted scoped use. Sales of the Marlin model ’89 picked up and more than 55 000 were produced. Marlin rapidly became Winchester’s main competitor.
And so it went, model after model, with the Marlin lever-action rifle becoming more and more popular. In 1891, Marlin applied the same solid-top, side-ejector design to a .22 rim-fire lever-action rifle, the Model 1891. Later renamed the Model 39A, it earned the title of the longest continuously manufactured rifle in the world (other than for brief WWI interruption) – some 3 million have been made. The model 1893, the first Marlin lever-action made for smokeless powder cartridges, reached a production figure estimated between 850 000 and 1 000 000.
Other reasons for the popularity of the Marlin rifles included the brilliant casehardening colours that came standard on the receivers of their single-shot and lever-action rifles, as well as the high quality of the blued finish on their barrels. Marlin’s Schuetzen style target rifle, in particular, was very beautiful and today is a much sought-after collector’s piece.
In 1889 the Marlin Company began making a range of pump- or slide-action shotguns, a move that proved very successful with nine model changes, including a lever-action shotgun.
John Marlin died in 1901, and the company was taken over by his two sons. They soon branched out and started other activities such as the Ideal Cartridge Company in 1910. This branch was eventually sold to Lyman in 1935 and is still going strong today. Over the years, the company has changed hands, and in name, a few times. In 1923, it was bought by Mr Frank Kenna who revitalised the firm as the Marlin Firearms Company and it again began producing fine sporting guns which remain popular today.
When it comes to lever-action rifles, a long-popular debate is “Which is better: Winchester or Marlin?” Of course, both have undergone developments over the past 150 years, and you would have to compare like with like. Overall, sales wise, Winchester no doubt leads, but that probably has more to do with Hollywood and romantic notions of the Wild West than pragmatism. Most comparisons involve the .30-30 Win calibre, meaning the Winchester Model 94 and the Marlin 336. In America, spiritual home of the lever-action repeating rifle, it seems more hunters prefer the Marlin.
Marlin preference generally involves the stock, which is of superior design and has always had a pistol grip. Winchesters have traditionally had straight-grip stocks; the few pistol-gripped rifles they have made have been presentation or special-order rifles. Stock design, and the Marlin’s three-quarters of a pound extra weight, afford lower felt recoil. This may seem insignificant in .30-30 calibre, but a Winchester M94 carbine in .30-30 has quite some upward buck. That’s not to say the Marlin is heavy – at 7lbs it remains a lightweight.
Other arguments in favour of the Marlin, apart from the old scope-mounting advantage, include its lever-action being smoother and easier on the fingers – side-by-side rapid-fire tests have shown the Marlin to be faster and easier to shoot accurately. The Marlin’s interior mechanism is simpler and easier to work on, and its trigger doesn’t have the lengthy take-up of the Winchester’s. Also, the Winchester requires the shooter to squeeze the lever to deactivate the trigger-block safety – the Marlin doesn’t. Many also feel that the Marlin’s stronger and more robust ‘feel’ is more confidence-inspiring. Readers should Google the subject and decide for themselves – Chuck Hawks gives a good, objective comparison.
When it comes to lever-action rifles, a long-popular debate is “Which is better: Winchester or Marlin?” Of course, both have undergone developments over the past 150 years, and you would have to compare like with like