LOADING GATE FOR A MODEL 1888 RIFLE

[BUSSMAN69]

Well I finally acquired a Model 1888 Rifle in .38-40. I thought I would never own one in any caliber as hard as they are to come by and as expensive as they are. Plus every one that you see come up for sale, looks like it's been laying in a road ditch for a 100 years. So this one is a definite fixer upper, I am going to try and completely restore it. Probably be a project for over this next Winter for me. It is a complete rifle and functions with a shootable bore. But the loading gate and screw is missing. I can get the screw no problem, but the loading gate will have to come from another Marlin model and be trimmed to fit. I read in an older post on here, that this has been done before by a couple of members on here. So I am open to suggestions and help from anyone with the knowledge to do this. The older posts that I read are kind of confusing ?? One member said that a loading gate from an 1894 Marlin could be trimmed to fit. And then another one said that won't work. So then it was brought up that maybe an 1893 Loading Gate would work or from a 336 also. And of coarse any loading gate would have to be resized to fit, regardless of the model of Marlin that it came off of.
So what Model of Marlin rifle loading gate should I try to acquire ?? And what advice can I get from someone who has actually done this successfully. Thanks in advance for any advice regarding this.

[marlinman93]

I used an 1893 loading gate to fix an 1888 Marlin. It had the right spacing from mounting screw to opening to allow enough metal to let me cut and trim it to fit the 1888. It took mounting it, and using a sharp scribe to scribe an outline on the donor gate, and then gradually cut and shape it down, checking fit often as I worked the fit.

[BUSSMAN69]

MARLINMAN93 - I think it was your old post that I read on here. Thankyou for the sound advice. At least model 1893 loading gates and screws can still be found, unlike anything for a model 1888. This will be a Wintertime project for me. But will probably get what I need ahead of time. Here is another question for you. How close is the fit from an 1893 loading gate to an 1888 loading gate ? How much metal did you have to trim off to get to the final fit ?

[marlinman93]

I honestly can't answer how much was removed as I did this a couple decades ago, and my memory isn't good enough to say today. Once you install the screw, or even hold it behind the receiver, and line up the hole it will be easy to see the difference. I do recall it's almost all in length, not width.

[BUSSMAN69]

Well I know I am testing your memory here. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me. Without you having done this before, I'd be lost for information on how to even attempt this or where to even start. I will let you know how this comes out. Won't be until this Winter before I attempt this. So will be a little while yet. I have already found 2 sources for a Model 1893 loading gate and screw. Good to know that they are out there and available.