Marlin will be a name well known to most hunter and shooters – easily recognised and most famous for their lever-action rifles with tubular magazines. The Model 336 in .30-30 is one of the most famous rifles of all time, and many thousands of NZ hunters had their first shooting experience with the equally famous Model 60 in .22 rimfire.
The Model SBL (Stainless Big Lever) is likely to appeal to New Zealand hunters with its no-nonsense stainless-steel construction and grey laminated stock. Made famous by John Wayne, the ‘Big Lever’ concept has been designed for gloved operation, or for those with big hands.
Let’s have a closer look at this just-released reincarnation of the Marlin 1895 in the mighty .45-70 cartridge.
First Impressions
I picked up the rifle on the way to our local range so had no time to study it before getting down to business. Shouldering the rifle immediately highlighted its pointability – the 19″ relatively stout barrel complements the fit and feel of the robust laminated stock nicely. Pleasingly, the balance point sits ahead of the lever perfectly. Simulating a quick shot in tight bush, my eye immediately centred on the fibre optic front sight. The ‘ghost ring’ oversized rear sight (a much larger version of a traditional ‘peep sight’) centred the front fibre optic perfectly – the rear aperture seemingly ‘ghosting’ as my eye focussed on the bright green front sight. Target acquisition was lightning fast with this sighting system. The tritium ring fibre optic front sight is outstanding in low light and a real advantage in thick cover.