Original Item: Only One Available. World-renowned sharpshooters Annie Oakley, a star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and Frank C. Miller, crack shot of the Irwin Bros. Cheyenne Frontier Days Wild West Show, often shot with Marlin rifles in their exhibitions.

"I gave as high as 15 exhibitions a day, shooting under all conditions, rain, wind, night, in parades in the streets," Miller said in a 1915 interview. "And late last fall, I used some of the guns on a hunting trip to Canada and Wyoming. From all this, you can see what opinion I have of Marlin guns."

This example however definitely pre-dates those exhibitions by a while, and is actually the earliest example of a Marlin Lever Action Repeating Rifle that we have ever had! Prior to the introduction of the "Safety" and "New Safety" models, this is the first generation design, originally simply called the "Marlin Repeating Rifle" in catalogs. It was not officially referred to as the "Model 1881" until 1888, shortly before the introduction of the Model 1889 "New Safety". Unlike later examples, the Model 1881 is a "Top Ejector", which did mean that there was a chance of a hot spent cartridge being thrown back into the shooter's face. All later models were "Side Ejector" types. Production lasted until 1891, which means that all Model 1881 Rifles are Pre-1899 Antique Firearms per Federal Law.

This is really one of the designs that really started it all for John Mahlon Marlin, who had incorporated Marlin Firearms the same year this model was introduced. Born in 1836 near Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Marlin became an apprentice machinist at American Machine Works at age 18, and later worked as a machinist at Colt. In 1863 he opened his own pistol manufacturing business, which later was licensed to produced single shot Ballard rifles. Marlin continued to grow his business doing contract work until he was ready to start his own business making his own designs in 1881.

This was also the rifle that really set off the "high power" cartridge race in lever-action repeaters, as it was the first successful design that could handle the .45-70 "Government" cartridge and other longer cartridges. Winchester had tried with their Model 1876, which stretched out the Toggle-link design, however while it could chamber some more powerful cartridges, it was big and heavy, and also still could not handle the .45-70. After the 1881 came out, it became clear to Winchester that the design was at the end of it's usefulness, which is why they teamed with John Browning to make the Model 1886, a direct answer to the Marlin Model 1881.

This is a very nice example of an early production Model 1881 Lever Action Repeating Rifle, only the third example that we have ever had. It is a "Large Frame" example, chambered in .40/60 Marlin caliber (marked 40 CAL over the chamber), with a 28" octagonal barrel. It has a lovely worn light gray patina overall, with some areas showing a bit more wear down to the steel. It features a full length magazine tube and classic rear "Buckhorn" adjustable sight. The front sight is the standard iron with a nickel blade, set into a dovetail on the front of the barrel. With the large chambering, this rifle was definitely intended for "big game" out on the frontier, which would almost certainly have been Buffalo at the time. There were many competing larger caliber cartridges at the time all vying for a part of the market.

The top of the barrel engraving is still clear, showing the many patents involved in the design:

The bottom of the receiver shows serial number 7010, which per the N.R.A. Museum serialization guide, indicates production in 1884 (6701-8850). Early in their history Marlin was not good at record keeping, and numbers were issued out of sequence, and some were even duplicated. It wasn't until 1883 that records became clear enough to give accurate dates.

This early Marlin repeating rifle is in very good condition, with a fantastic worn patina of age on the exterior. It was most likely originally blued on the barrel, with other components case-hardened, however as mentioned before it now shows a lovely aged gray patina. There is no sign of damage or more advanced oxidation, just the look of being carefully cleaned for decades, which eventually wore down the finish. The stock wood is in good condition, showing the expected wear of age, and a lovely dark red brown color. There are the expected pressure dents, dings, and other wear from use, but no major structural damage we can see. The fore stock does however have a crack on the right side near the receiver, while the butt stock does not show any cracks that we can see. Really a lovely set of stocks.

Functionally, the rifle cycles great, with smooth action and a crisp dry fire, though we have no way to check to see if the magazine still feeds. We checked the bore, and it is actually in very good condition, showing a partly bright finish with strong lands and grooves. There are some spots of past fouling and oxidation, as to be expected from a rifle of this age, but we would still rate it about a 7 out of 10.

A lovely example of an early Marlin classic western "Big Game" hunting repeating rifle design, one of the earliest that we have ever had. Ready to research and display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1884
Caliber: .40/60 Marlin
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 28 Inches
Overall Length: 45 3/8 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Repeater
Feed System: tube magazine

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.