AllOutdoor Review: The New Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70
Sam.S 01.31.24
Most if not all of us are aware of the Marlin brand changing hands from the Remington side of things to the Ruger side. Before this Marlin had produced their Dark series for the first time, these aimed to be tactical or at least tactical-looking lever guns in both 30-30 as well as 45-70. Those versions, beyond being a black guns, sported modern features like a threaded barrel and a long Picatinny top rail. Beyond those seldom quality-of-life features, it was still a very old-school gun at heart and did not even come close to touching the recent craze of truly modern lever guns with skeletonized stocks, MLOK handguards, and hex head screws. I am so excited to say that the new Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70 checks all the boxes. Let’s dive into the review!
Marlin Coverage on AllOutdoor:
- The Marlin 1894 Lever Action Rifle Makes a Comeback Through Ruger
- The New DARK Series Lever-Action Rifles from Ruger/Marlin
- Ruger Announces the Return of the Marlin 1895 Trapper
- Curious Relics #078: Back From The Dead – Marlin A1
Specifications: Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70
The Marlin 1895 Dark comes with a removable cheek rest, a ported muzzle device, a hammer extension, a thread protector, an MLOK handguard, and a slightly skeletonized stock featuring its own MLOK slots. Whole hosts of accessories can be used with these slots but I opted to work with the Hoptic USA 45-70 Quiver. The stock space was allegedly designed to fit that specific quiver but I have heard zero evidence to back that up. Let’s dive into the specs!
- Caliber: 45-70 Govt
- Capacity: 5+1
- Stock: Nylon Reinforced Polymer
- Material: Alloy Steel
- Finish: Satin Black
- Front Sight: Fiber Optic with Tritium Ring
- Rear Sight: Adjustable Ghost Ring
- Weight: 7 lb.
- Overall Length: 35.50″
- Length of Pull: 13.50″
- Barrel Length: 16.17″
- Barrel: Cold Hammer-Forged Alloy Steel
- Thread Pattern: 11/16″-24
- Twist: 1:20″ RH
- Grooves: 6
The MSRP of the Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70 stands at $1429, a price point matching its stout chambering. Not to say it is wholly unworthy of it. I may be jumping the gun a bit here in saying my range time provides experience to the contrary. A $1400 price point is tough to swallow for most of us lever gun lovers nonetheless.
First Impressions: Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70
The Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70 was on all of our minds when it was first announced. Next to no influencers had them or were releasing videos on them. That being said both my hands-on and visual first impressions came from opening the box. That being said the box is a standard Marlin cardboard box with cardboard dividers. Within the box are the rifle, a thread protector, a hammer extension, and the removable cheek riser.
Holding the rifle it was a breath of fresh air compared to what came before and all the other “modern” style lever guns coming out these days. It’s a tasteful take on a modern lever action rifle. Noting is overly skeletonized or full of Picatinny rails. On the other hand, it’s not by any means overly traditional. The Marlin Dark series that existed before had a beefy wood stock that lacked any uniqueness or personality besides the fact that it had a black coating.
The handguard fits very well and seems to match up in the places it should. The muzzle device seems more for looks but let’s face it most of us are gonna throw a suppressor on these the first chance we get. The sights are pretty normal for a gun like this but the added and attached rail is a comforting thought for future optic mounting.
The finish is very plain but in a good way and the action felt smooth. Without the manual, the cheek riser seemed a little weird to put on but I would recommend reading it before slapping that on. Overall this seems like a gun worthy of its price but range time can reinforce that claim or dismantle it. How’d it do? Dive in below.
Range Time: Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70
When I went to the range with the Marlin Dark 45-70 I set out with specific goals/criteria to work with it by. For one thing, it was not like I had an endless amount of ammunition nor an endless amount of money to afford a decent amount of it. That being said this sample size is around 60 rounds worth. Besides that little ammo disclaimer, I wanted to give this rifle a light accuracy/grouping run with iron sights, a red dot, and a scope. That way I would get a good feel for not only the handling but also the hoops if any I’d have to jump through when optics are involved.
Starting out with the iron sights I loaded up and took note of how easy the loading gate was to work with. I have worked with a great many lever guns and all have a stiff loading gate that likes to squeeze the tip of your thumb during loading. For the Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70, it was simple and easy to find that sweet spot where the rim settled just before fully inserting and left the gate open for the next round.
I was shooting some 300-grain Federal Hammerdown standing at 25 yards. The 45-70 Hammerdown I have had pretty lackluster results in the past so I was not holding my breath for anything astronomical. The group is below and is about a 3-inch spread. Yes, I realize three shots is not a lot for a group but I was working with a limited amount of ammo.
These first shots revealed one piece of necessary break-in. After firing I found the lever especially stiff to rack. To the point where it hurt my already freezing hands to force the action open. Mind you I did not clean or lubricate this rifle before bringing it out so the chamber being a bit sticky is not out of the question. This freed up toward the end of my range day and was as smooth as when it was empty.
Next up was shooting the red dot. For this, I used a Leupold Delta Point Pro at rest on a bench at the same 25-yard line. It produced an expected tighter 2-inch group. I found no issues in mounting however the cheek riser is necessary for a setup like I had where this was taken off of an AR-15 build and placed on a rifle with a lower line of sight.
Lastly and similarly I removed my Riton 1-10x TACTIX from an AR-15 and placed it straight onto the Marlin. Mounting was fine and even preemptively installed the hammer extension but given the optic’s height and size, it was not necessary. I could still get at the hammer without much fuss.
Note: Tighten that hammer extension down as much as you can without stripping anything out. The recoil of two or three shots knocked it loose pretty quickly.
This first-round LPVO shooting at rest at 25 yards yielded a very tight group. Let’s call it half an inch since I haven’t woken up and tossed some calipers in my car. Just goes to show how much of it is me vs how well this gun is actually built. Regardless I was happy with everything so far but that was just 25 yards. Let’s push it a little further.
Next, I tossed the target out at 75 yards and shot the same 300-grain Federal Hammerdown that I had been shooting for the accuracy portion. This is where the Hammerdown reared its familiar-to-me head and spread out WIDE. As you can see we went from half an inch at 25 to 4 inches at 75.
Worried that this was a fluke or that the scope was working loose I threw some Winchester 300 grain jacketed hollow points in and the results left me speechless. No movie magic here. The Winchester was just about hole-in-hole with all three shots.
I am no scope guy nor long range nor medium range for that matter. It just has never been “fun” to me. This is probably in the top three longer shot groupings I have ever achieved and it was with a 45-70 lever action. All I have to say is way to go Marlin. Bravo!
Final Thoughts: Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70
Well, there you have it. You can probably glean my opinions of the Marlin 1895 Dark 45-70 from that last bit but I was and am truly impressed and pleased with this rifle. Yes has a $1400 MSRP. Is that too much for the average Joe? Yep. Is it worth the price in my opinion? Yes, it is. It’s a double-edged sword, folks. It genuinely is a really well-made gun with great out-of-the-box features, smooth action, and in my case very good accuracy. If you are in the market for this sort of thing but are shy at the price my advice is saving your pennies and gritting your teeth until you get it because it would be worth the effort and coin.
In closing, I want to say thank you to Ruger & Marlin for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out one of their 1895 Dark rifles! That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that this rifle is something worth spending your money on? Would you run to the range with this stunning rifle? Would this be your go-to fun gun at the range? Let us know all of your thoughts in the comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
