A friend has a Guide Gun, 45-70, ported barrel for sale. I shot it today and I'm thinking seriously about it.

I already have an 1895 with the 22" barrel and I love it. It might be my favorite centerfire rifle period. I figured someday down the line I'd pick up a newer (non-ported) Guide Gun in Stainless Steel.

Shooting both today I couldn't tell (with the muffs on) if it was louder or not than my 1895. I did notice a reduction in recoil and the pad was superior to mine.

I'm tempted to pursue a deal. If it was stainless I would already own it. Not sure about the ported issue. They don't seem to be popular here. Is there anything besides noise?

keep the one u have now no advantage with giudegun

I have Guide Guns in all three of the big bores and I like them . I also have longer barreled big bores , that I also like.
But for hunting out of a treestand which is the majority of my hunting. I prefer the shorter Guide Guns .

I owned one of the first ported GG's in .45/70. Loved to shoot it but scared to death of the day I would have to shoot it without muffs on.
I now have the full-size 1895SS and enjoy it.
If you don't like your recoil pad have a Pachmyr Decelerator or a LimbSaver recoil pad installed. They make a lot of difference.
If you could pick up the Guide Gun for $300 or so I'd do it otherwise I'd pass.
Good luck.

Cut the barrel back to 16" and and have the front sight reattached. You now have a kickass trapper and no ports. Put a Limbsaver on it. I'm in the middle of doing the same with 450M GG. It didn't have ports, I just like a short barrel with a short mag. The barrel will still be a little longer than the tube, but for me it looks close enough like a trapper. I'm going to load it with 525 gr Beartooth Piledrivers for close encounters of the nasty kind. The Piledrivers don't have to be moving fast to cause damage. Others that have done something similar to their ported GGs liked the results.

I have an early 1895G with porting. I have a 2.5x Scout Scope on it. I also have an 1895 Cow Boy, and a Winchester 1886 Take Down, both of which have 26" barrels. I really like all three of them, but for a hunting rifle, you can't beat the Guide Gun. It's much handier by far!

As far as the porting, if I had a choice, I'd go with a nonported model. It hasn't been that big of a deal, but it is noticable louder. One shot, or two, when hunting isn't goint to kill you. For any other shooting, definitely use hearing protection. If you can get it for a good price, jump on it.

For my Marlin 450, I cut the barrel back to get rid of the ports and it is quiter to me, it had no negative effect on its shooting, and I added a Pachmyer Decelerator at the same time which did make it more compfortable to shoot more rounds. Another nice touch was using a lever scout mount for a quick release scope. Because it uses the rear sight slot and the front scope mount holes, I was able to add a Ghost ring using the rear scope holes. So scope when I need it and ghost ring when I don't.

I concur with SureShot's set-up and rationale.
I do not have a shorter barreled Marlin but after picking up my buddies gun case (which looked exactly like mine) a few weeks ago on a hawg hunt, the shorter barreled .450 Guide Gun (ported) in a box blind was a HUGE plus. I am now seriously entertaining cutting down both of my .444s.

Other than the noise, if you shoot at a range the folks will not sit next to you. :D

Dave :cool

Has anyone ever tried tapping the port holes and filling with machine screws, like the ones you use to fill unused scope mount holes? Will they not hold the preassure?

Thanks for the insights guys.

It's interesting, some guys at the range think Marlin made a big mistake removing the ports saying, "the recoil is much worse." and I shouldn't consider one without the ports.

Using the same ammo and firing both I noticed less recoil in the guide gun than my 22" non ported 1895 but that could have been the better recoil pad on the Guide gun.

I don't hunt with ear protection but I've never been bothered by the report on a shot that I made while hunting. I have had my ears rung by someone else shooting though.

I think I'll hold out for a non-ported stainless Guide Gun unless he makes me an offer I can't refuse.

Wet Dog: If the price is right consider cutting down the barrel to remove the ports and consider one of the finishes by ROBAR. You can have the gun metal very rust resistant in a dark color...you don't need the glare of stainless steel to be rust resistant. They can do the gunsmith work besides providing a rust resistant finish to the metal.

http://www.robarguns.com/precision_coatings.htm

Has anyone ever tried tapping the port holes and filling with machine screws, like the ones you use to fill unused scope mount holes? Will they not hold the preassure?

Calc the force of a hot load (say 50,000 psi) on those holes!

It's a big push and imagine one of those plugs shearing it's threads and shooting our sideways.

Plus...how'd you ever get the barrel clean with the crud building up under those threaded plugs?

Cut it off or do what I did...bought a longer barrel w/out ports.

Calc the force of a hot load (say 50,000 psi) on those holes!

It's a big push and imagine one of those plugs shearing it's threads and shooting our sideways...


Gotta agree with leverite on that one. It would be a little scary being beside the gun if that happened.

As far as shooting my ported Guide Gun, even with hot loads, one or two shots without ear protection when hunting isn't that bad. IMO. It's when shooting longer strings, like from a bench with other shooters beside you, that people start complaining. I've had people next to me swear they were hit in the face with something. I think it was probably the shock wave from the muzzle blast making their cheeks flap, rather than actually getting hit with particles. I don't think that's nearly as bad as being next to someone shooting a semiauto, and having a hot piece of brass go down the neck of your shirt. Having a ported barrel makes those guys keep their distance. :D

Thanks for all the help guys!

I just purchased a NON-ported 1895GS. Should be here next week.

I'm hoping it will shoot as well as my other 1895. These big bores sure are addictive.