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The 95s are scarce in any caliber, I have a few and won’t pass up any decent condition 95, here’s a 33 solid and takedown frame.
Hi Guys,
I have both a Winchester 1886 (38-56) and a Marlin 1895 (45-90) and I like them both but favor the Winchester. I have taken both apart to clean and the Marlin is far easier. In fact if it were necessary you could pull the bolt in the field if need be on the Marlin something I wouldn’t even consider in the Winchester. I reform 45-70 brass to 38-56 to shoot the 1886 and it shoots very well and is accurate shooting smokeless. The 1895 I have shot both black powder and smokeless in and it is pretty accurate as well. As cj57 said the 95’s are scarce and the one I have is an early one made in 1896. If I saw one at a gun show at a good price I would seriously consider buying it in any caliber. Some of the Winchester 1886’s I have seen have prices considerably more and if in 45-90 (like my Marlin) or 45-70 especially so.
Rob
cj57 said
The 95s are scarce in any caliber, I have a few and won’t pass up any decent condition 95, here’s a 33 solid and takedown frame.
That’s a nice pair of .33’s!
In my opinion the Marlins were every bit the equal of the Winchesters in quality and a superior design. Disassembly was much simpler, the solid top made the action stiffer. In the same way as the Marlin 1893 was superior to the Winchester 1894 in design. Winchester had been producing rifles for far longer than Marlin in 1895 and had built a solid reputation with the 1866 and 1873 rifles. Hard for Marlin to break into a market that Winchester pretty much owned. Winchesters were fine rifles but I feel Marlins get less credit than they deserve from some.
November 7, 2015
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When I made the decision recently to focus my collecting efforts it was hard to walk away from Marlins. I feel Winchesters better illustrate the time period that interests me and the Marlin is a bit too “modern” for my image of this era. My most prolific modern hunting levergun is a modern 1895 Guide Gun but I’ll only pursue collectible Winchesters. I have studied and appreciate Marlins but they’re not Winchesters.
Mike
I feel Winchesters better illustrate the time period that interests me and the Marlin is a bit too “modern” for my image of this era. TXGunNut said
“Modern,” because Marlin’s designs were so often “ahead of their time,” as with the “safety” solid-top rcvr. Even the Model 1881 is a lot more modern-looking than the toggle-link ’76, but still, only 5 yrs “newer.” Without the ’81, maybe no ’86.
clarence said
I feel Winchesters better illustrate the time period that interests me and the Marlin is a bit too “modern” for my image of this era. TXGunNut said
“Modern,” because Marlin’s designs were so often “ahead of their time,” as with the “safety” solid-top rcvr. Even the Model 1881 is a lot more modern-looking than the toggle-link ’76, but still, only 5 yrs “newer.” Without the ’81, maybe no ’86.
Andrew Burgess had many patents and worked with many gun companies that benefited from his patents, Marlin is one of those companies. No matter how you cut it, Winchester dominated the market regardless of any Marlin innovation.
Browning had already designed most of what became the 1886 Winchester by 1878 when T.G. Bennett went to Utah to buy the rights to produce the Winchester High Wall.
There was enough market to allow Marlin to make rifles and compete with Winchester, but Marlin wasn’t the only lever action rifle maker to try. Whitney Kennedy, another Burgess designed gun and others did produce and compete in that era to get a piece of that pie, but you have to remember that second place is still only first place in the loser category.
With any product its tough to make inroads in a market already dominated by a quality product no matter how good your product and price point are. Really if Marlins weren’t so good they wouldn’t have made enough sales to survive. Either way, both good rifles and desirable to collect. Marlin 95’s are harder to find but interest in 86 Winchesters is higher so I find prices for Marlins a little lower which to me makes them a bargain from a rarity standpoint.
When I go to a gun show there are many rifles I am on the look for. Very high on that list are Winchester M1886’s and Marlin 1895’s. At nearly every gun show I attend, there are Winchester 86’s – usually many. On the other hand, more often than not, I won’t see a single Marlin M1895. Even though the M1886 is my preference, it is a treat to find a Marlin ’95.
I’m with Steve, the 86 is my favorite but I do like the Marlins and when I get a chance to grab one ☝️ I go for it, Here’s an unusual one with odd length barrel 29”, maybe the only one
That is an odd one. 29 inches can’t have been a common pick. Winchesters usully came in two inch increments, even numbers. Odd numbers are unusual in my experience, at least.
November 7, 2015
Offline
Shrapnel said
clarence said
I feel Winchesters better illustrate the time period that interests me and the Marlin is a bit too “modern” for my image of this era. TXGunNut said
“Modern,” because Marlin’s designs were so often “ahead of their time,” as with the “safety” solid-top rcvr. Even the Model 1881 is a lot more modern-looking than the toggle-link ’76, but still, only 5 yrs “newer.” Without the ’81, maybe no ’86.
Andrew Burgess had many patents and worked with many gun companies that benefited from his patents, Marlin is one of those companies. No matter how you cut it, Winchester dominated the market regardless of any Marlin innovation.
Browning had already designed most of what became the 1886 Winchester by 1878 when T.G. Bennett went to Utah to buy the rights to produce the Winchester High Wall.
There was enough market to allow Marlin to make rifles and compete with Winchester, but Marlin wasn’t the only lever action rifle maker to try. Whitney Kennedy, another Burgess designed gun and others did produce and compete in that era to get a piece of that pie, but you have to remember that second place is still only first place in the loser category.
Kirk-
Thank you for introducing me to Andrew Burgess and helping me learn more about Whitney and Kennedy. I can only surmise that Burgess and his designs were a victim of Winchester’s superior marketing efforts. And thank you for introducing MLV to Winchesters. I hope he is doing well, you and others have told me he has abandoned the milsurp silliness and returned to the classics but I haven’t seen any articles from him lately.
Mike
cj57 said
I’m with Steve, the 86 is my favorite but I do like the Marlins and when I get a chance to grab one ☝️ I go for it, Here’s an unusual one with odd length barrel 29”, maybe the only one
cj –
That is one unusual Marlin. I’d love to know the chambering. It probably is one of a kind. An odd digit barrel length (e.g. 29 inches) is rare on a Winchester and probably even more rare on a Marlin.
As Clarence often suggests, special orders like this imply the person ordering the rifle was giving significant thought to what they were ordering and why. Which is quite cool. As always, it would be wonderful to know just what those thoughts were.
TXGunNut said
Shrapnel said
clarence said
I feel Winchesters better illustrate the time period that interests me and the Marlin is a bit too “modern” for my image of this era. TXGunNut said
“Modern,” because Marlin’s designs were so often “ahead of their time,” as with the “safety” solid-top rcvr. Even the Model 1881 is a lot more modern-looking than the toggle-link ’76, but still, only 5 yrs “newer.” Without the ’81, maybe no ’86.
Andrew Burgess had many patents and worked with many gun companies that benefited from his patents, Marlin is one of those companies. No matter how you cut it, Winchester dominated the market regardless of any Marlin innovation.
Browning had already designed most of what became the 1886 Winchester by 1878 when T.G. Bennett went to Utah to buy the rights to produce the Winchester High Wall.
There was enough market to allow Marlin to make rifles and compete with Winchester, but Marlin wasn’t the only lever action rifle maker to try. Whitney Kennedy, another Burgess designed gun and others did produce and compete in that era to get a piece of that pie, but you have to remember that second place is still only first place in the loser category.
Kirk-
Thank you for introducing me to Andrew Burgess and helping me learn more about Whitney and Kennedy. I can only surmise that Burgess and his designs were a victim of Winchester’s superior marketing efforts. And thank you for introducing MLV to Winchesters. I hope he is doing well, you and others have told me he has abandoned the milsurp silliness and returned to the classics but I haven’t seen any articles from him lately.
Mike
I’ve studied this history for a long time and it continues to fascinate me. It’s a wonderful blend of factors. Just to name a few, the creativity and inventiveness of the various designers involved (e.g Browning, Burgess), the changing times – the advent of smokeless powder cartridges, the public changing interest to lighter rifle, small bullets and high velocity, the job the marketing guys were doing (especially at Winchester), the ability to sustain adequate funding, the ability to acquire military contracts. The list goes on and on. Books could be written on the topic. Oh, wait, they have.
Like many areas of business, it was a war of fierce competition and dominance. Winchester came out on top. This is quite understandable to me.
steve004 said
Like many areas of business, it was a war of fierce competition and dominance. Winchester came out on top. This is quite understandable to me.
Most car buyers today choose from what they find on the dealer’s lot, rather than order from the factory. I think that’s probably also true of most gun buyers in the past; instant gratification over waiting for an order placed with the factory to be delivered. One way Winchester might have exercised their dominance is by refusing dealerships to gun stores that sold Marlins, their major competitor; other makes like Stevens wouldn’t have been viewed as serious rivals. I’m referring to small-town local gun dealers, not the major ones like A&F, which had too much clout to be intimidated.
Thank you for introducing me to Andrew Burgess and helping me learn more about Whitney and Kennedy.TXGunNut said
Excellent review of Burgess’ inventions, if you can find it on-line: “Andrew Burgess, Inventor,” in Gun Digest #19. More than enough info for anyone who’s not actually a Burgess collector.
Since we’re on marlins…
1895 deluxe made in 1903. 24 inch barrel in 40 82
Perfect bore and a great shooter. Some interesting special order features. I’m sure this will letter with a 24 inch barrel.
How about another? 1881 made in 1887 with a 24 inch barrel in 40 60 marlin. This one is lettered. Love the shotgun butts on these. The wood has been redone, sure resembles European walnut to me
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