Continuing to roll out fine American lever guns under the reborn Marlin banner, Ruger this week announced the new Model 1895 Guide Gun.

The Guide Gun, a hard-hitting carbine with an 18.5-inch barrel chambered in .45-70 Government, was one of the "old" Marlin's staples, produced from 1998 until 2020 when the brand shuttered with the bankruptcy of Remington Outdoors. Now, with Marlin since acquired by Ruger and moved under the house of the Red Phoenix, the Guide is back in the field. Still based on the M1895 lever gun with a .45-70 chambering, the new gun goes a little longer than past carbines, stretching the alloy steel barrel to 19.1 inches for an overall length of 37.25 inches. Also gone is the American black walnut straight grip stock and forearm of old, replaced with brown laminate furniture.

What is new is that the cold-hammer-forged barrel is threaded – 11/16-24 tpi – which explains the bump in length. Other standard features are a "big loop" lever, a 6+1 magazine tube (the old Guide Gun ran a 4+1 tube), adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sights with a hooded front, and a nickel-plated bolt for smooth cycling. The gun, Ruger's first introduction of an alloy-steel Marlin rifle with a blued finish, weighs 7.4 pounds. 
 

The new Marlin Model 1895 Guide Gun
The new Marlin Model 1895 Guide Gun by Ruger has an alloy-steel receiver, "big loop" lever, and trigger guard plate that are glass bead-blasted and feature a non-glare, blued, satin finish. The brown laminate stock has crisp checkering to help maintain a good grip in all weather conditions while the nickel-plated bolt lends to smooth cycling. (Photos: Marlin/Ruger)


"The Guide Gun is our next step in the expansion of the Marlin line," stated CEO and President Chris Killoy. "Marlin fans should be encouraged by the growth in product offerings and know that we are going to continuously expand into other models."
 

Review: Meet the Highly Anticipated Ruger-Built Marlin 1895 SBL Lever Action


The MSRP on the new Marlin Model 1895 Guide Gun is $1,149, which is about $200-$250 smackers less than what Ruger has already announced. The company has previously debuted a stainless Marlin 1895 Trapper with an ask of $1,349 and a stainless big-loop M1895 for a suggested retail of $1,399. Our suggestion to Ruger: bring back the 336 in .30-30 for around $500, and you got a deal. 

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