[TIMBERWOLF]

I am asking the following question for a friend. He bought a
Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun and it will not feed the 325 grain
Hornady Leverevolution ammo. It feeds flat and round tip
ammo without a burp. Is this a common occurrence with
the Guide Guns?

Kindly,
Timberwolf

 

[Tnhunter]

If it is an older GG then it may simply need a new "dimpled" follower. The new ones come with one now. The pointed bullet gets slanted slightly in the tube magazine with a flat faced follower and then the rim can catch awkwardly. He could also "solve" his problem by loading a flat-nosed bullet first into the tube.

 

[TIMBERWOLF]

He does have one of the new nonported Guide Guns.
He says it is quite frustrating. He loves the potential of
the Hornady ammo, but at least for the present time
it appears that he is limited to blunt nose ammo.

Timberwolf

 

[berudd]

Go check out marlinowners.com. They have a forum over there and there is much discussion of feeding issue with the new Hornady ammo.

 

[Tnhunter]

He does have one of the new nonported Guide Guns.
He says it is quite frustrating. He loves the potential of
the Hornady ammo, but at least for the present time
it appears that he is limited to blunt nose ammo.

Timberwolf

I suppose my question would simply be, then, does it have an older flat faced follower rather than a newer dimple-faced one. He can check easily enough by loading a flat point bullet and then loading LEs behind it and then checking the function. Marlin will fix it FREE, no matter what the cause, but he'll have to contact them, send it back and have it repaired. Normal turn-around would be 10-20 days, I'd say.

Good Luck!

QUOTE from Marlin Owners Forum:

I was(am) having an issue with my 1895MR (450).The issue was a little different though.I was getting a very tight lockup.Lever took some pressure to open.Couldnt figure it out till I got to REALLY looking at things.I noticed that the mag tube follower in the rifle didnt not have the little dimple in it.As I understand it.....the dimple keeps the pointed gummy tips straight.I then loaded an older 350 grain flat nosed round in the magazine first followed by the LE rounds.Cycled nicely then.It seems that my rifle was manufacturd prior to the introduction of the LE ammo.I would guess that is the case with yours.Look at the mag tube follower and see if it is flat or has a dimple in the center.I am betting that it is flat.I reckon if a person wanted to,he could carry around an old flat nosed round for the specific purpose of "remedying" the problem,but I ordered a new follower and I am pretty sure that will cure the problem in my rifle.If you have an old flat nosed load,try it!Also the LE's are a little longer than the "standard" older rounds. END QUOTE

QUOTE from Marlin Owners:

The newest ones should have the new follower. The difference between the two is that the new one has a dimple in the middle of it to keep the ammo aligned in the tube magazine. When you open the load gate you should be able to see the follower and the dimple in the middle of it. Hope this helps!