Marlin 1895 Trapper Review – The Hunting Panther

I have always been interested in history and military firearms, especially armored vehicles. That’s probably why I joined the Army as an armored crewman, and later as a tank commander. As cool as the modern tanks were, I was always fascinated by a German tank from World War II. The Jagdpanther-hunting panther, a sleek and fearsome tank, was that tank. It was an agile tank destroyer equipped with the legendary German 88mm gun.Marlin’s new–reintroduced–1895 Trapper reminds me of that tank.There are several reasons for this. The Jagdpanther was faster than the Sherman tank built in America, even though it was heavier. It could destroy any armored vehicle on the battlefield with its powerful main gun, which could fire a variety munitions. The Jagdpanther was a great combination of mobility, firepower, and armor. The Marlin 1895 Trapper, a heavy-duty lever gun designed for the.45–70 Government, is also suitable for all game animals on Earth. It’s compact and handy–maneuverable–and like the Jagdpanther, it’s a hunter.Marlin first offered the 1895 Trapper in 2018 while under the control of Remington. Although it was well-received, there were many reports of problems. Ruger acquired Marlin in 2020. Their first lever gun, the 1895 SBL was released before 2021. I wrote that the rifle was “the best shooting lever-action rifle of all brands, styles or designs I have ever fired.” This was due to the excellent quality of the rifle’s construction and the sub-MOA precision of two of the four loads. The detailsThe 1895 Trapper is a similar stainless-steel action to the 1895 SBL and has the same big loop lever. It’s chambered for.45-70 Government, just like the 1895 SBL. The main difference is in the barrel length. While the SBL has 19.1 inches, the Trapper has 3 inches. The Trapper’s muzzle, just like the SBL, is threaded at an 11.16-24 pitch for brake or suppression attachment. Standard issue is a protective cap. The Trapper’s stock, which is darker than the SBL’s, has a gray laminated hardwood material stock. The stocks are virtually identical, with the exception of the thick recoil pad, checkering, thick stock and stainless-steel Sling swivel attachments. Picatinny sight rails are fitted to the SBL. They extend from the receiver’s rear and partially out of the barrel. This rail has an adjustable aperture sight that is paired with a Tritium fiber optic front sight. The rail can be used to attach a variety optical sights. The rear sight can be adjusted for elevation by using a screw. The rear slot has a longer screw slot to allow windage adjustment. The difference between the two rifles isn’t obvious until you compare them side-by side. All the stainless-steel metal surfaces on the Trapper have a muted satin finish, which is perfect for a hunting rifle.The combination of a satin stainless finish and the blackened laminated hardwood stock give the new Marlin 1895 Trapper a serious “I’m here for business” look.A Little CustomizationUnboxing this rifle, I was immediately smitten. It’s so small and compact that it almost feels like it could be carried in your pocket. Even if you are shorter than average, you can grab it at the stock’s wrist and let it dangle. The muzzle will not touch the ground. The Trapper seems to want to jump up when you are carrying it. The trigger is easy to use and the action is smooth. This rifle has the appearance of a pissed-off grizzly. However, I don’t like the rear sight. It’s a great sight but it’s not ideal for a.45/70. Because there are so many.45-70 loads, I would have the need to constantly re-zero my rear sight. The point of impact between power levels one and two.45-70 loads at 100 yards can be more than a foot. The 1895 Trapper includes this adjustable Skinner aperture and a white-striped Bear Buster sight. They were replaced by a scope-mount version and a shorter Bear Buster sight to increase versatility. I called Skinner Sights explaining that I needed an aperture sight that could zero for heavy.45-70 loads but would also allow scope mounting. This would allow me to zero for any.45 to 70 load I might use. Skinner suggested that I replace the Trapper’s sight with another version that has an integrated groove for Talley scope rings. This would allow me to zero the aperture sight and mount my scope directly over it. The excellent Talley rings allowed me to zero the aperture sight and mount the scope directly over it. To keep the riflescope low enough for a good cheek weld and see through it, I had to screw in the aperture sight. The result was a front sight that was too high for the heavy-hitting,.45-70 loads I wanted to zero the open sights for. Skinner sent me a shorter version the Bear Buster front sight and I was able to get everything working again. You don’t need to pay much attention to this if you plan to shoot only one load in your Marlin Trapper. This is not a good idea if you want your Trapper to be able use all the.45-70 has. The free recoil energy for power level 1 ammunition is just 17 pounds. This is roughly equivalent to a.308 Winchester. Things change when you upgrade to power level 2 loads. Recoil energy increases by 25%, bringing you to.300 Winchester Magnum levels. You’ll feel the power when you load power level 3. The recoil energy almost doubles. You cannot ignore more than 40 foot-pounds of energy impacting your shoulder.The 1895 Trapper uses the same and very smooth Ruger/Marlin-influenced action as does the new 1895 SBL that was released last year.But it’s not so much the push: Because of its light weight and short barrel, this rifle bucks like a wild mustang. Federal’s 300-grain Power-Shok load, which is.45-70, will produce a fireball that is larger than a beachball. The Federal 300-grain HammerDown load creates no fireball. From the bench, the Trapper is intimidating. The 2.5X Leupold was able to place three shots in a cluster of less than an inch and half at 50 yards. Open-sighted benchrest groups were slightly larger. The groups at 100 yards were approximately twice as large. However, I was able to manage a few smaller than 2 inches using the low-powered optical. The.45-70 is unique in that it has three power levels for factory ammunition. Buffalo Bore is the best source of factory.4570 loads at all power levels. This rifle is yours to carry and you can shoot it while standing on your hind legs. I was able, on average, to take snap shots at 50 yards from the high-reach position. I was able, with both the scope and open sights, to keep my shots within a 6-inch radius. The rifle does buck a little, but it is easy to get used to. I was able to get good hits with follow up shots in 1.5 seconds using power level 2 loads. I have yet to hunt with the new Marlin Trapper. However, I have taken many critters including two African Buffalo and I know what the.4570 Government can do. After a few hundred rounds at the range with the Trapper I am confident in what we can accomplish together. The Trapper is the rifle that I intend to use for my African buffalo hunt next spring. It will be used for hunting deer and bear in West Virginia, and I am certain it will see some action in the hills. The Marlin 1895 Trapper is my favorite Marlin lever gun. It is well-made and handles like a sword. It’s well made and handles like a sword. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. This is a great option for long-range shooting. Enter your email address below.