Marlin Dark Series 1895 Review

The endurance of lever action rifles and the .45-70 Gov’t cartridge is simply remarkable considering what has happened since their introduction. Marlin has combined these two 19th century inventions once again, bringing another fantastic rifle to market and reaching an interesting milestone.

This milestone is as curious as it is surprising. The Marlin Dark Series Model 1895 is the company’s first lever-action rifle not made of wood—a fact that surprised me given the ubiquity of plastic stocks today. The stock is made of a nylon-reinforced polymer, while the machined aluminum forend feels more like a handguard on a chassis rifle or AR than the typical features of a lever-action rifle.

The use of these new materials works both in terms of the rifle’s post-apocalyptic aesthetic and its functionality. Tough and good-looking, the Marlin Dark Series Model 1895 is an ideal beater for wild boar, deer in dense forest, protecting against bears, and all kinds of survival tasks.

• Action: Leverage
• Stock: Synthetic stock with aluminum handguard
• Cartridge: .45/70 Gov’t
• Capacity: 5+1
• Weight: 6 pounds 13 ounces (measured)
• Trigger: 6 pounds 4 ounces (measured)
• Barrel: 16.17 inches, 1:20 twist, thread 11/16-24
• Length: 35.5 inches
• Price: $1,429

Key Features

• Robust all-weather construction
• M-Lok mounting slots on the forearm and buttstock
• QD sling attachment points

Highlights from the reviews

• Very good fit and workmanship of the parts as well as high-quality workmanship
• Extensively configurable for accessories and individual customization
• Excellent ergonomics
• Accuracy: 1.284 inches (average of 24 five-shot groups at 50 yards)

Operating the Marlin Dark Series Model 1895

The Dark Series was one of the firearms included in this year’s Best Rifle Test. We fired it along with a bevy of other new guns (including the impressive Smith & Wesson Model 1854) and it stood out as one of our favorites. As with other Marlins we’ve tested, like the 1895 SBL, the action is smooth and the gun is well balanced.

Marlin has equipped the Dark Series 1895 with a medium-sized lever loop that is wider at the bottom. The loop’s generous opening easily accommodates the shooter’s hand (even with gloves) and yet is faster to use than an oversized lever loop because the hand can maintain contact with the loop when pulling the trigger. (With an oversized loop, the shooter’s hand must pass through the inside of the loop before touching the metal, which takes time.)

The wide bottom of the loop provides additional contact with the back of the shooter’s trigger hand, making it more comfortable than conventional, narrow loops – especially when firing violently and quickly.

The trigger on our example was quite good, having only a slight creep before hitting a solid rear plate and breaking at 6 pounds 4 ounces, which is not bad for a Model 1895 gun.

Although the .45/70 is quite a knocker, we had no problems with the rifle’s recoil. It is fitted with a radial muzzle brake that barks loudly but dampens recoil to a remarkable degree. The recoil plate is not too soft, but it also helps dampen the rifle’s recoil. And finally, the forend, although it has no checkering, is easy to grip and provides a fairly firm hold for the lead hand, which also helps with controlling the rifle.

The Marlin’s 16.1″ barrel is muzzle-threaded 11/16-24, and we were able to screw on a suppressor, which we did for most of our shots. With that bit of extra weight up front and the reduction in muzzle blast, the rifle became even more enjoyable to shoot.

We tested the rifle extensively during our evaluation, throwing magazines at steel and paper targets. I could say we did this to get a feel for the Marlin’s qualities – which is no lie – but we also just had a blast pulling the gun’s trigger, which is a testament to how well it shoots.

The only downside to all the noise and empty cartridge cases was that the rifle got hot. The heat from the barrel transferred to the metal forend and we had to either wear gloves to keep firing or let the rifle cool down between exercises. We can’t really blame the rifle for this because the amount of shots we took was, quite frankly, unreasonable and unless you’re fending off an army of alien invaders, you never need to shoot that much and that fast.

Sight options for the Marlin Dark Series Model 1895

From the factory, the rifle comes with a ghost ring body and a bold green fiber optic front sight. It’s an effective combination, but Marlin has included a large Picatinny rail on the rifle for a reason. The rail extends several inches in front of the receiver, providing plenty of room for mounting optics.

I put a Nightforce ATACR 1-8×24 F1 on the rifle and it matched the Marlin perfectly. There’s nothing you’d want to do with a .45-70 that a 1-8X can’t handle, and the reticle in this optic is useful at any magnification level.

At 1X magnification, you have three distinct stages (left, right, and bottom) to center the target. At higher magnifications, the central target ring and holdover marks become visible.

I mounted the scope using Seekins Precision low rings. This should maintain the correct ratio between the stock and optic. The rifle’s drop angle at the comb is designed to align the eyes with the sight, so it makes sense to place the optic as low on the rail as possible. With higher rings, the shooter’s face will float above the stock and you won’t get a good cheek rest unless you add a pad to the comb.

The downside to the low-mount scope is that I had to remove the pinhole sight from the back of the rail to accommodate the Nightforce’s eyepiece bell. The low-mount scope also makes access to the hammer a little more difficult, but as with all Marlins, the rifle comes with a thumb spur that you can attach if you find cocking the hammer a nuisance.

While an LPVO scope is a good choice, a simple red dot sight would also work well on the rifle. Additionally, you could use the pic rail to mount some sort of night vision or thermal imaging device.

Dark Series 1895 Accuracy

The rifle and scope delivered the best accuracy with Barnes 300-grain TSX ammunition. A 20-shot group (calculated by overlaying four 5-shot groups) measured 0.99 inches and had a mean radius of 0.36 inches. To collect this data, we fired with the rifle standing, supported by a bag on a tripod, from 50 yards. By the way, this bullet is an absolute stunner for deer, elk, bear, wild boar or moose. I’ve used this load on a handful of animals over the years and it’s extremely effective.

Suitability for accessories

In addition to the pic rail, the rifle’s handguard has several slots for mounting M-Lok accessories. Lights, lasers, an espresso machine – everything could be housed on the fore-end.

The nylon-reinforced polymer stock is thinner in the middle and bears more than a passing resemblance to the Ruger M77s of years past that featured a Zytel stock. The thinner section features three M-Lok slots for mounting a cartridge carrier or other accessories.

Marlin Dark Series Model 1895 Ergonomics

The rifle’s functionality – in addition to what has already been described – also earned it top marks in the evaluation. It was easy to load and we didn’t pinch our fingers when filling it with cartridges.

The crossbolt safety, standard on Marlins for decades, is easy to manipulate between safety and firing. However, you should know that when you put the rifle on safety, cock it, and pull the trigger, the hammer drops with a click, not a bang. This has saved many a deer over the years.

Advantages and disadvantages

This rifle has many positive aspects, but it is still a niche offering and not suitable for everyone.

• Advantages: The workmanship of this rifle is excellent. The fit and finish are first class and it runs excellently. Aesthetically, it captures the tactical cool look perfectly.
• Disadvantages: It is a bit expensive. In order to use most scopes on it, the pinhole sight must be removed.

Final thoughts on Marlin’s first tactical lever-action rifle

This rifle is a significant departure from Marlin’s traditional factory offerings. While there is an enthusiastic audience for souped-up tactical lever-action rifles, Marlin hadn’t really focused fully on the category until the Dark Series Model 1895.

However, given the demand for this type of gun, Marlin’s foray into this market is a safe bet. The rifle shoots well, is ruggedly built and reliable, and looks badass. I think even lever action purists will be drawn to this rifle and enticed to switch to the dark side.