2024 Editor’s Choice Award Winning – Marlin 1895 Dark Rifle

Marlin 1895 Dark Rifle

Ruger’s first reintroduction in the Marlin Dark Series rifle line is a vast improvement over the original

Ruger is resurrecting the Marlin Dark Series from the days of the company’s Remington ownership, beginning with the 2024 On Target Editors’ Choice Award-winning 1895 Dark rifle chambered in 45-70 Govt. This rifle offers significant improvements and upgraded features over the original and is arguably what a Dark Series rifle should have been from the beginning.

A radial muzzle brake muzzle brake is factory equipment for the 1895 Dark, but its 16.17-inch barrel is threaded to 11/16-24 at the muzzle to also allow attachment of your favorite sound suppressor. Dead Air’s ultra-versatile Primal suppressor is shown here (www.deadairsilencers.com). A nearly full-length aluminum forend with over 20 M-LOK attachment points handles accessory duty. The ultra-bright front sight combines a green fiber-optic tube with an outer Tritium ring for low/no light work.

The 1895 Dark is aimed at a considerable market segment that cares little about classic appearances and much about performance. The 1895 Dark is a modernized take on a traditional design that offers greater adaptability and flexibility for a range of applications. It allows you to set the rifle up in any configuration you wish, with suppressors, lights, lasers, and any sort of optic.

Even at a glance, the 1895 Dark rifle has an all-business appearance. It’s equipped with a nylon-reinforced polymer stock with three M-LOK attachment points and two flush cup attachment points for QD sling swivels. A cheek riser is included for proper eye alignment with an optic. The stock has a soft rubber recoil pad that works in concert with a detachable radial muzzle brake on the barrel to reduce recoil. In testing, I expected a long session at the bench to produce a sore shoulder, but that didn’t happen. Recoil was certainly noticeable but entirely manageable, and I found I could run the gun fast from the shoulder. The recoil pad has a grippy texture, but rounded edges reduce snagging on clothing.

The lever loop resides somewhere between a “large” and “standard” in size and strikes a nice compromise between being unnecessarily huge and having to shoehorn a gloved hand inside. The rear adjustable peep sight and hammer spur extension are factory equipment. Leupold’s (www.leupold.com) versatile Patrol 6HD 1-6X24 riflescope was used throughout testing.

The rifle is equipped with a 16.17-inch cold-hammer-forged, alloy steel barrel threaded (11/16-24) to accept a muzzle brake or sound suppressor. It has six-groove rifling with a 1:20 righthand rate of twist. The barrel is tipped with a fiber optic front sight with a tritium ring for enhanced low-light visibility. It works with an adjustable ghost ring rear sight mounted atop the rear of an 11.25-inch Picatinny rail.

The nylon-reinforced polymer stock that’s fitted to the Dark Series features textured palm swell panels, a snap on/off cheek weld riser, M-LOK cuts along the center, ambi QD sling swivel cups, and a very adequate soft-rubber recoil pad.

A prominent feature of the rifle is its aluminum handguard, which has two QD sling swivel attachment points and more than 20 M-LOK attachment points at the 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 o’clock positions for mounting accessories. Beneath the barrel, you’ll find a tubular magazine that holds five rounds. With one up the pipe, that’s six rounds of potent 45-70 Govt. medicine at the ready.

The rifle feeds with moderate ease through a side gate, and it ejects to the side. The action has a half-cock safety and a traditional cross-bolt safety. The mid-sized finger loop has a bit of flare on the bottom for comfortable operation. I prefer it over the oversized loop on the original Dark Series guns. The receiver, trigger guard plate, and lever are CNC-machined from alloy steel, and all major components have a protective black Cerakote finish. The bolt and lever have a nitride finish.

The Marlin 1895 Dark rifle produced excellent 100-yard accuracy, especially with Hornady’s LeverEvolution 325-grain FTX load. The best group, shown here, measured an impressive 1.01-inches center-to-center.

Overall length is 35.5 inches, making the rifle handy and easy to maneuver in tight spots or thick cover. Empty weight, without an optic, base, or rings, is 7 lbs., making it light enough for most jobs. It balances nicely in the hands and is quick to the shoulder.

The trigger on the rifle sent to me for testing was quite good, even though it had a fairly heavy trigger pull weight of 5 lbs., which is not unusual for lever action rifles. I tested the gun with a Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6X24 scope — a perfect choice for many applications with the rifle — mounted to the gun’s Picatinny rail with Leupold’s Mark AR 30mm mounting system.

I had only three loads on hand for testing, including Federal’s 300-grain Fusion load, Remington’s 300-grain SJHP load, and Hornady’s LEVERevolution 325-grain FTX load. Accuracy results with the two 300-grain loads were about what I expected from big-bore, straight-walled cartridges with traditional bullet profiles. With three three-shot groups at 100 yards, the Federal Fusion load turned in 3-inch average groups. The Remington load yielded slightly better average groups and a 1.25-inch best group. Groups shot at 50 yards with both rounds averaged 1.5 inches.

The higher-BC 325-grain Hornady LeverEvolution load was an entirely different story. It printed average 100-yard groups measuring just 1.49 inches and a 1.01-inch best group. That’s excellent accuracy for any lever action rifle, let alone one chambered for such a potent big-bore, straight-walled cartridge.

Even though the Marlin 1895 Dark rifle is chambered for the potent .45-70 Govt. cartridge, recoil proved quite manageable, whether using the rifle’s factory radial muzzle brake or shooting suppressed with the Dead Air Primal sound suppressor. The soft rubber recoil pad doesn’t hurt either. Cycling the action is smooth, fast, and — if we’re being honest — quite satisfying of an experience.

The rifle has an MSRP of $1,379, which is quite reasonable given the cost and complexity of manufacturing such a high-quality, feature-rich lever action rifle. See it at your nearest dealer, or for more information, contact Marlin; Tel.: 336-949-5200; Web: www.marlinfirearms.comMike Dickerson

Specifications:

Caliber:                      45-70 Govt.

Action Type:              Lever action

Barrel:                        16.17-inch alloy steel

Finish:                        Anodized and graphite-black Cerakote

Stock:                         Nylon-reinforced polymer

Handguard:               Aluminum, with M-LOK and QD attachment points

Capacity:                   5+1

Sights:                        Ghost ring rear, fiber optic front with tritium ring

Overall Length:         35.5 inches

Weight:                      7 pounds

MSRP:                       $1,379.00