One of a kind Marlin guide gun

[LittleLebowski]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/824733427

[GJM]

Yeah, but it doesn’t include the missing thumb.

[Totem Polar]

Someone with the disposable income should go ahead and give this guy a hand...


(Too soon?)

[TGS]

Dude has a good sense of humor!

[Jim Watson]

Crying won't do any good now, just as well laugh.

Details on the ammo would be of serious interest.
If handloaded, what was it supposed to be?
And what was it really?

[Malamute]

Its interesting to note that the barrel let go, as is most often seen in lever action blow-ups, not as is often assumed on the errornet that "the bolt will blow back into your face". The bolt and locking bolt held, per usual.

[boing]

Yeah, but it doesn’t include the missing thumb.

No, but:


Documentation including pictures of my left hand in the emergency room will be included.

[awp_101]

Its interesting to note that the barrel let go, as is most often seen in lever action blow-ups,
And maybe it's just the electronic places I visit, but it usually seems to be a Marlin .45-70 when those kinds of pics are posted. It seems they have a very slim margin for errors.

[Malamute]

And maybe it's just the electronic places I visit, but it usually seems to be a Marlin .45-70 when those kinds of pics are posted. It seems they have a very slim margin for errors.

None are immune from it if its limits are exceeded, but your point is still valid in that the current version Marlin has had a fair number of KBs. The current Marlin 45-70 thats called 1895 is the 336 (30-30) action adapted to the fatter cartridge (it probably eats biscuits), the result being that the magazine tube is closer to the barrel than a larger action, such as the original Marlin 1895s or 1886 Winchesters. The barrel has to be grooved to accept the magazine tube, leaving a fairly thin spot.

Ive seen one Marlin barrel that was cracked at the spot under the chamber, the gunsmith that had it said he had seen one other and heard of others. He said he was told they changed the barrel steel after there were reported problems, and it seemed to occur less often, but, people will be people.

Several years ago I measured both a Marlin 1895 barrel and a Browning 1886 barrel, which is also grooved for the magazine tube, but the chamber wall was a bit more than double the thickness at the point where the magazine tube cut is. I saw those notes semi-recently but dont know where I put them, someplace safe no doubt. Ive seen pictures of 1886 blow-ups, but they seem to be old original black powder era barrels. They let go in the same basic area and way. So far i dont recall hearing of any of the modern 1886 barrels coming apart, despite some pretty potent loads being shot in 50-110 cal guns.

Edit: I found some of the info. The 1886 barrels do not normally have a magazine tube cut, i was probably remembering an original 86 I had with a heavy factory barrel. Anyway, the barrel wall thickness at the chamber was .2135". Someone else had measured a Marlin barrel and they came up with .100" at the threads and .115" at the barrel shoulder where it abuts the receiver.

At the time I measured the 86 barrels, I had both a Browning carbine and rifle barrel in hand (Sold both barrels unfortunately).

[Arbninftry]

Can we just buy the thumb

[Jim Watson]

I asked about the load. The owner replied:

"Load was 48 gr of 3031 with Barnes solid copper 300 gr .458 bullet. Others that were loaded at that time were pulled and checked. They were spot on. I did NOT allow the stuck bullet in the barrel to be removed. I will leave that for the collector to pull or leave in place. It does have a hollow point copper bullet stuck and the front and rear of the next round in the magazine is still there. The center of the case was blown out. I am including a couple of rounds that were loaded for the gun along with the example that exploded. The case is peeled wide open and the barrel split open starting at the case, but it split along the milled slot on the bottom of the barrel, which weakened it. There is evidence of different colors of metal exposed, whether that is a flaw in the casting or some sort of evidence of heat treating the metal is up to interpretation. If it is sent back to Marlin, I will never see it again(lost in receiving dept), and I don’t want it replaced with a Remington made Marlin. Worth more as it is to the right collector. I am including pictures taken in the emergency room of what remained of my left hand. The buyer gets the pics, open if you have a strong stomach!! The proceeds will go toward a prosthetic thumb, probably an “M. Thumb”. Not covered by insurance. So far $90,000 in medical expenses. Not done yet. Dennis"

That is the Lyman starting load for a 300 gr JSP in 1886/1895 bracket. Solid copper would no doubt increase pressure somewhat but I would not think it enough to blow the gun.

[Totem Polar]

There has got to be more to this story.

[Stephanie B]

How is that thing a collector’s item?

[RevolverRob]

Pretty much guarantee that was a double charge, a charge and a half, or bullet setback.

I’ve seen it with heavy .45-70s with poor crimps. Recoil can cause the bullet to strike the rear of the cartridge in front of it sufficiently to cause setback. Fortunately the time I saw it happen they were heavy black powder loads. Still, stuck case that required a hammer, dowel, and significant effort to get out.

When we pulled the rounds in the tube noticeable setback was present on three of the four remaining rounds.