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The 1881 Marlin

John Marlin's first lever-­action Breathed life into the race for larger and more powerful cartridges in U.S. firearms.

The 1881 Marlin
(Photo by Mark Fingar)

Since the first rounds of copper-­cased fixed ammunition began to appear around the time of the Civil War, there has been a constant push for more powerful cartridges and repeating rifles to fire them. The Sharps rifles chambered some very powerful cartridges for the time, but those were single-­shot. The 1860 Henry was the first reliable repeating rifle, but it chambered the rather puny rimfire .44 Henry round. However, what the .44 Henry cartridge lacked in power, the 17-­round magazine of the Henry rifle made up for it in volume of fire. The Winchester Model 1866 was little more than an updated Henry rifle with a side loading gate and wood forend. The Winchester Model 1873 used the same basic mechanism and locking design as the Henry and 1866 rifles with a steel receiver (instead of brass), and it was chambered in the bit more powerful centerfire .44-­40 Winchester round. The 1873 was eventually chambered in a number of cartridges. Hunters and settlers appreciated the ’73, but many wanted a repeater with a more powerful cartridge to deal more effectively with two-­ and four-­legged predators, and for hunting. This demand increased dramatically after the adoption of the .45-­70 Government (Gov’t) by the U.S. Army in 1873. It was chambered in the Trapdoor Springfield, a single-
shot rifle. The .45-­70 had several military loadings, initially a 405-­grain bullet at 1,330 feet per second (fps). A reduced 405-­grain bullet load for the Trapdoor carbine was added, and in 1884 a 500-­grain bullet at 1,180 fps improved long-range rifle fire. The shooting public wanted the power of the .45-­70 in a reliable repeater.

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The larger internals of the Marlin Model 1881 allowed it to function with the .47-70 Government cartridge, a feat no other lever-action repeater accomplished at the time.

In 1876, Winchester introduced the Winchester Model 1876 lever-action repeater at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The 1876 was simply a larger, stretched version of the 1873 chambered in four interesting cartridges: .40-­60 WCF, .45-­60 WCF, .45-­75 WCF and .50-­95 WCF. All offered far more power than the .44-­40, but still fell a little short of the .45-­70. The most versatile cartridge in the 1876 was the .45-­75 WCF, which fired a 350-­grain bullet at nominally 1,345 fps. The .50-­95 chambering was very powerful for the time, firing a 312-­grain bullet at approximately 1,550 fps. However, the .50-­95 was a short-range affair as the light bullet gave up velocity rapidly. One drawback of a frontiersman owning an 1876 Winchester was the unique cartridges it used were not always readily available on the frontier. The 1876 was a very successful rifle, but it was large and heavy. It was also limited in the strength of the action and its ability to handle more powerful and longer cartridges by the toggle link locking mechanism. The very long receiver was required to accommodate the toggle link for longer cartridges.

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Along Came the 1881 Marlin

John Mahlon Marlin established a name for himself in the firearms business by the early 1870s by making small revolvers and derringers. The Marlin Firearms Company began manufacturing Ballard single-shot rifles in 1875, which further added to Marlin’s reputation for making fine firearms. Marlin was well aware of the desire for a repeating rifle that would handle the .45-­70 Gov’t, so he teamed with Andrew Burgess who already had patents for an under-barrel tubular magazine lever-action rifle design. The result of the collaboration produced Marlin’s first rifle, the Model 1881. It was the first lever-action repeating rifle that could handle the full power .45-­70 Gov’t cartridge. The 1878 Remington-­Keene bolt action, a tube-­fed rifle, was the first repeater to chamber the .45-­70, but lever-action rifles were much more in demand in the U.S. at this time. The Remington-Keene was not very popular; only some 5,000 were ever produced. 

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The Marlin Model 1881 was offered in four cartridges. The .40-60 Marlin is the same cartridges as the .40-65 WCF. The .45-85 Marlin with 285-grain bullet was an express version of the .45-70 Gov’t. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Curiously, the “Model 1881” was not called that by Marlin until 1888. It was initially referred to as the “Marlin Repeating Rifle,” and it was offered as a catalog item until 1891. Approximately 20,500 Model 1881 rifles were produced. The 1881 Marlin was the gun that set off the first horsepower race in the shooting sports industry, which has been ongoing for more than 140 years. It also directly led to the John Browning-designed 1886 Winchester 5 years later, an answer by Winchester to the 1881 Marlin.

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The bolt features an integrated dustcover. One issue with using some tang sights is racking the bolt knocks the sight back. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The initial 1881 rifle was large and heavy, weighing between 9 and 11 pounds. It was offered with a standard 28-inch barrel chambered in the .40-­60 Marlin and .45-70 Gov’t. Six years later, Winchester copied the .40-60 Marlin as the .40-­65 WCF, but loaded it with a 260-­grain bullet at nominally 1,445 fps. In 1885, a lightweight version of the rifle was offered with a lightened receiver and 24-inch barrel, which weighed 8 to ­9 pounds, and a small-frame version offered in .32-­40 WCF and .38-­55 WCF weighing 7¼ to 7½ pounds. The same year the large-frame 1881 added the .45-­85 Marlin loading. This was simply an Express loading of the .45-­70 case with a light 285-­grain bullet loaded to approximately 1,600 fps. It was interchangeable from a chamber standpoint with the .45-­70. Table 1 shows the ballistics of all the cartridges chambered in the rifles discussed thus far.

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Lever-actions offered a hammer that could be thumb cocked, decocked, or cocked with the lever. All had a safety half-cock. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The 1881 used the Burgess patent for its lock-up and action design. It featured a bolt running in raceways cut into the receiver. The bolt featured an integrated dust cover. The lever was attached to the receiver by way of a very large bolt running through the receiver and a hole in the lever. The lever has a large extension on the front of it that makes contact with the bolt body. This extension serves to cycle the bolt, actuate the cartridge carrier/lifter and lock the action when the lever is cycled. The load-path forces generated by firing a cartridge is into the bolt through the long extension on the lever and into the large bolt through the lever and receiver. The surface area for the critical loading points was much greater in the 1881 Marlin than in the 1876 Winchester, and this, along with a shorter receiver, allowed the action to handle the full-power .45-­70 cartridge. The rifle gained a reputation as being very accurate and effective as a hunting rifle.

The 1881 was not without some issues. The 1881 is a top-eject and, occasionally, if the action is not briskly cycled, the shooter will get a hot cartridge case in the face. John Marlin solved this with his subsequent side-ejection design on the 1889 Marlin, and all Marlin lever-actions thereafter. The second problem the early 1881 Marlins had was controlling mis­feeds from the magazine tube. The problem was solved in 1884 when a split carrier with rounded fingers on the front was used that captured and controlled the cartridge while feeding.

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Unlike Winchester’s design, side-loading the 1881 required sliding the gate forward and holding it before inserting a cartridge. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

The 1881 Marlin was available with many custom-
ordered features: Different barrel lengths from 20 to 34 inches, rifle; crescent or shotgun buttplate; different barrel weights and contours; different-length magazine tubes; set triggers; engraved receiver; checkered stock; straight or pistol grip; and several types of sights. In 1882, the heavy frame rifle with a 28-inch barrel sold for $32 with the standard trigger. The same gun in 1883 sold for $37 with set triggers. The lightweight gun with a 28-inch barrel sold for $25 in 1885. The small-frame rifle with a 28-inch barrel sold for $24 in 1885. An 1885 gun with all the extras offered by the factory, including engraving, could run upwards of $85.

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A classic Lyman No. 2A tang sight was installed on the author’s rifle. It features a .800-inch maximum for elevation adjustments. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

I Have This Old Gun ...

My 1881 Marlin is a small-frame made in 1887 and chambered in .38-­55 with a 24-inch barrel. I put a vintage Lyman No. 2A tang sight on it, and when I purchased the gun it was in quite good shape mechanically but very dirty. It had very little wear, still having some bluing, which has mostly turned to a dirty plumb patina. The wood has a few scuffs and dings but is in good shape with a very good fit between the wood and metal. The ejector was broken, and the barrel was pretty much a sewer pipe. I sent the gun off to Run-­N-­Iron Gunsmithing  in Bertrand, Nebraska. Owner Lonnie Meyer made a new ejector and a .380-inch-diameter groove liner for the barrel. The gun is now in “like-­new” shooting condition.

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The stock ends in a crescent buttplate. While stable, the top point can stab you if fired when shouldered incorrectly. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

I will only shoot blackpowder or blackpowder substitute in this rifle out of respect for the 145-­year-­old metallurgy. With the barrel liner, I could shoot copper-jacketed bullets but I will only use lead bullets. I purchased some cast lead, .381-inch diameter, 255-grain, round nose, flat-point bullets with SPG blackpowder lube from Montana Bullet Works. I decided to use Schuetzen 2Fg blackpowder and Hodgdon Pyrodex Select blackpowder substitute. I made a 36-inch-long drop tube for loading the powder in the case by using a piece of 3⁄8-inch, 36 inches long, .014-inch wall K&S tubing that I found on Amazon. I wrapped it with masking tape on one end until my large powder-measure funnel was a tight fit. I then wrapped masking tape on a small plastic funnel until it was a snug fit into the other end of the brass tube. It worked great and was much less expensive than buying a commercial blackpowder drop-tube fixture. The drop tube is a necessity for two reasons. It’ll allow 11/2 to 2 grains more powder in the case, and it will improve the ammunition performance uniformity. I weighed each charge.

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Lead bullets and blackpowder are used exclusively to ensure the safety of a vintage firearm such as the Marlin 1881. (Photo by Mark Fingar)

Using Winchester .38-­55 cases, and approximately .100-inch of powder compression when seating the bullet, I was able to get 29.2 grains of Pyrodex Select in the case and 45 grains of Schuetzen 2Fg powder in the case. I only shoot three-shot groups with blackpowder and then swab the barrel with vinegar. I then run several dry patches to dry the barrel. I have found if I shoot more than three shots, I start getting flyers because of fouling. The gun shoots respectable three-shot groups, and recoil is mild. Table 2 shows my shooting results at 100 yards. According to the 1899 Winchester catalog, the .38-­55 loaded a 255-­grain bullet at 1,285 fps. The Pyrodex Select load virtually duplicates the factory load and shoots well.

Tips on Shooting BPCR

You can’t really overload a blackpowder cartridge unless you start using smaller granulation powder than you should. A rifle cartridge would normally use 2Fg powder, a pistol cartridge 3Fg. 4Fg powder is used in flash pans of flintlocks. Use the correct granulation and you’ll stay out of trouble. Modern cases will not hold as much as original cartridges, and you will struggle to get original performance. Blackpowder should be loaded such that when the bullet is seated there is about a maximum .100-inch compression of the powder by the seated bullet. More than this is not necessary and may start to fracture powder grains.

Recommended


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I always swore I would never shoot black powder in a cartridge gun. I have changed my mind on that with the acquisition of the 1881 Marlin. I feel it is the only really safe way to produce original ballistics in a rifle this old. Shooting blackpowder necessitates additional cleanup as soon after shooting as possible so corrosion doesn’t start. I have experimented with a lot of cleaning techniques, but here is what I do: I soak patches with vinegar and run three or four down the bore. The vinegar really takes the fouling out quickly. I don’t use soapy hot water because it is difficult to pour water in the bore and keep crud out of the action. I then use a conventional powder solvent, Hoppe’s, brush the bore and let it set for 15 minutes. I then dry the bore and run oiled patches down it until they come out clean. Oil protects the bore from corrosion from both the blackpowder and the acidic vinegar. Cleaning cases is a pain unless you use an ultrasonic cleaner. They are available from Hornady, Lyman and RCBS. I regularly use the small 2.0 liter model from Hornady and it cleans the cases very well with no fuss and little mess. When done, be sure to rinse the cases off, let them dry, dump the contents of the pan, and rinse it out.

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Don Swearingen, a friend to the author and competitive pistol shooter, enjoyed assisting in evaluating the Marlin Model 1881. (Dave Emary Photo)

Parting Shot

The 1881 Marlin is an interesting firearm from a historical standpoint. Guns in good condition are accurate and safe, and Marlin’s design pushed firearms development forward. Shooting these with blackpowder is fun and gives you a lot of appreciation for how good we have it today. 




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