New Marlin 1895 Trapper range report.

[Buckaroo Lou]

Range report on my new Marlin/Ruger 1895 Trapper.

I had some reloads that my cousin had reloaded several years ago that I have been wanting to try. He passed away some time back and I have wanted to shoot these for some time. I had shot them from his Winchester 1886 sporting rifle several years ago and thought they had shot well so I decided to try them from the new Marlin. I did have a lot of unburned powder residue in the barrel after each shot so am thinking this may not be the best powder to use in such a short barrel.

They are cast 305 gr. RNFP over 60 gr. of AA8700. At least that is what he has written on the box. I shot from sandbags out to 50 yards, and after shooting from 50 yards, I then shot 100 yards. I held all six shots within a six-inch group using the Skinner sights at 100 yds. Here is a photo of my six shot 50 yd. group. The lowest hole was my first shot. I forgot I still had my glasses on. I am able to see the front sight better without my glasses. The next 5 shots are without my glasses.

The recoil was not what I thought it might be. It was surprisingly very manageable. The rifle was a hoot to shoot, and it is definitely a keeper. I am really glad I bought this rifle.