VaughnT
Member
Well, don't ya know this is how things happen in my world. I've been aching for gunstuff for the last few months and I've been buying like the plan for world domination was about to be put into action. I even have a pair of RRobbins 5.11 pants, now!!
The one thing that bugged me was that I didn't have a box-fed carbine for repelling the soon-to-be-coming hordes. I would have prefered belt-fed, but box-fed is cool, too.
What I didn't want was a .223 or .308, as I have very little use for those calibers (read: really hard to come up with even a mediocre excuse to justify the purpose), and didn't want to add another caliber to the shopping list when the gunshow comes to town. The best solution I could think of was to look for something in a pistol caliber, either 9mm or 45acp, as I have autoloaders in those calibers. Magazine compatibility would be a plus, but not necessarily a deal-killer.
Long story short, the gods on high did smile down on me this afternoon. A bud at work said he had a Marlin something or other that was "a 45", and that he was wanting to get rid of to finance a motorcycle. He wasn't very forthcoming with details, but I said I'd look it over if he brought it in.
I was expecting a Marlin levergun in .45 Long Colt, but he brought in a Marlin Camp Carbine that is in mint condition. There is no residue in the barrel, no maring on the ejector, and no brass depositing on the breechface. The wood is perfect and the blueing looks like the cosmoline was just wiped off.
He said $350. I pratically ran to the ATM. The gun is now mine. Don't know what the value is (SN: 078913XX), but I'm glad to be the owner. To top it all off, not only did he have the original 7-round stainless Marlin magazine, but he also had one 10-round blued Mecgar mag and a 15-round blue Mecgar mag. My CMC and Wilson mags seem to work fine in the weapon, though I haven't fired round one as of yet.
Anyhow, I now have a box-fed carbine! What I need is information on the weapon and any tips or tricks to make it perform. Any problems I should look for? Any sources for springs and spare parts? What type of sling would you recommend for HSLD armchair ops?
Does anyone make a better stock? The one thing that bugs me the most, just on the outset, is that the wood has absolutely no checkering. I wouldn't mind something in a sexy black, maybe a Hogue Overmoulded, and I would love something that has a heatshield as I see a lot of ammo going down the bore of this baby.
What types of ammo will it handle? I figure I'll keep it cruiser-ready with a mag of Gold Dot +P hollowpoints, but what's good for longer ranges? How far out would you feel comfortable taking a shot with this weapon? Do you think 185g would do better than 230g? Would FMJ be more accurate than HP? Better sights have to be out there somewhere as these ones won't work with my eyes beyond 50 feet or so.
Whatever information you could share would be most appreciated. I'll be heading to the range on Sunday to break it in.
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The one thing that bugged me was that I didn't have a box-fed carbine for repelling the soon-to-be-coming hordes. I would have prefered belt-fed, but box-fed is cool, too.
What I didn't want was a .223 or .308, as I have very little use for those calibers (read: really hard to come up with even a mediocre excuse to justify the purpose), and didn't want to add another caliber to the shopping list when the gunshow comes to town. The best solution I could think of was to look for something in a pistol caliber, either 9mm or 45acp, as I have autoloaders in those calibers. Magazine compatibility would be a plus, but not necessarily a deal-killer.
Long story short, the gods on high did smile down on me this afternoon. A bud at work said he had a Marlin something or other that was "a 45", and that he was wanting to get rid of to finance a motorcycle. He wasn't very forthcoming with details, but I said I'd look it over if he brought it in.
I was expecting a Marlin levergun in .45 Long Colt, but he brought in a Marlin Camp Carbine that is in mint condition. There is no residue in the barrel, no maring on the ejector, and no brass depositing on the breechface. The wood is perfect and the blueing looks like the cosmoline was just wiped off.
He said $350. I pratically ran to the ATM. The gun is now mine. Don't know what the value is (SN: 078913XX), but I'm glad to be the owner. To top it all off, not only did he have the original 7-round stainless Marlin magazine, but he also had one 10-round blued Mecgar mag and a 15-round blue Mecgar mag. My CMC and Wilson mags seem to work fine in the weapon, though I haven't fired round one as of yet.
Anyhow, I now have a box-fed carbine! What I need is information on the weapon and any tips or tricks to make it perform. Any problems I should look for? Any sources for springs and spare parts? What type of sling would you recommend for HSLD armchair ops?
Does anyone make a better stock? The one thing that bugs me the most, just on the outset, is that the wood has absolutely no checkering. I wouldn't mind something in a sexy black, maybe a Hogue Overmoulded, and I would love something that has a heatshield as I see a lot of ammo going down the bore of this baby.
What types of ammo will it handle? I figure I'll keep it cruiser-ready with a mag of Gold Dot +P hollowpoints, but what's good for longer ranges? How far out would you feel comfortable taking a shot with this weapon? Do you think 185g would do better than 230g? Would FMJ be more accurate than HP? Better sights have to be out there somewhere as these ones won't work with my eyes beyond 50 feet or so.
Whatever information you could share would be most appreciated. I'll be heading to the range on Sunday to break it in.
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