mother in law's 45 Govt

ccn · Post by **ccn** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:37 pm

any info helpful mother in law has a Marlin lever action marked 45 Govt has a long list of patent dates ending with reissue Nov 9 1880 ser. 10651 can you tell me anything ? when made ? aprox value ? THANKS John

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:44 pm

Can't tell you too much, except that it appears to be a model 1881 Marlin. No way to guess the value, as I could be off with no info or pictures.

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:55 pm

CCN;

Your Mother-in-Law has a standard Marlin Model 1881 that was shipped from the factory in New Haven, Ct. in mid-to-late 1885. It had the standard 28 inch octagon barrel.
Value of any antique firearm is dictated by the amount and condition of the remaining original factory finish on the wood and metal. Without knowing these conditions, it is not possible to give an accurate estimation of value at this time. Sorry......
I hope this helps.

Sure-Shot · Post by **Sure-Shot** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:44 am

45 gov't is 45-70, these rifles were made with barrels that are not as strong as todays actions and used black powder, they can be shot with modern ammo but you need ammo made for all rifles, these rounds are light loads. Before I started reloading I used PMC 45-70 for all rifles. If you are unsure of its condition have a gun smith check it out before you shoot it.

ccn · Post by **ccn** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:13 am

Thanks guys that helps a lot !