Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors The Marlin Savage connection

As some of you know, among several interests, I am an avid Marlin collector - almost exclusively vintage lever guns but for some odd reason I bought an engraved pump shotgun recently . Anyway, I have an appreciation for the Savage-Marlin connection. In Bill Brophy's book titled, "Marlin Firearms" he shows (p.627) a photo of a, "Model 1895 Savage rifle manuactured by The Marlin Fire Arms Company." On that same page he shows a skech of a Savage M1895 receiver and also two photos of a M1895 barrel. One of the barrel shows the barrel markings (the same as illustrated in Murray's book) and then a photo showing he JM proofmark).In his text under the topic, "Savage Rifle" he writes:

"The June 1895 catalog of the Savage Repeating Arms Company, Utica, N.Y., states inside the flyleaf that the guns illustrated in the catalog were manufactured for Savage by The Marlin Fire Arms Company."

"Correspondence during 1968 between E.M. Savage, son of Savage Arms Company founder Arthur W. Savage, and Thomas R. Robinson, Jr., Marlin's director of research and development, indicates that possibly the prototype of the Savage Model 1895 rifle was made by Colt, but that the tooling and gauges to make the rifle was produced by Marlin. The first 5,000 rifles were also manufactured by Marlin and have the JM proofmark on either the bottom area of the barrel or on the upper surface of the barrel, just forward of the receiver."
"The 1896 sketch shown here is the only Marlin item remaining of Marlin's interesting contribution to the success of a competitor in the firearms industry. The Savage lever action rifle was still in production in 1987."
"During the 1944-1945 period, Marlin manufactured some sporting rifle barrels for Savage. This helped Savage get back into the sporting rifle business after some years of dedicated war work."
"It should also be noted here that in 1948 E.M. Savage, as head of Savage Laboratories (gunsmiths), La Mesa, Calif., offered Marlin a razor blade dispensing magazine. Similar to the little 10-blade cardboard box, it had a metal spring insert that, when pushed or pulled, would dispense one blade from the package. The device was never adopted by Marlin."

The most interesting part of that to me is that Marlin made barrels for savage after WWII. I did not know that. I wonder if they are somehow marked...

Aw crap, now I'm gonna have to pull the forearm on my EG and check for the Marlin mark!

A few years back somebody posted a letter from Arthur to somebody in which Arthur stated that they had paid Colt something like $10,000 to produce a rifle. Guessing this is the connection. I'll see if I can't find that old post because I'm sure my memory is off on details.

Old thread on the early 1892/1895 models.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/4671427/Who_built_the_1892_rifles

Wished I'd of bought the one I was offered from Roe Clark. I did get to fondle it.

1899 article in Recreation magazine:

Article on introduction of Savage rifles in 1895, giving full credit to Marlin for making them.

Article in Recreation

you guys sure dig up a lot of good info.
norm

They do don't they Norm! Let us know what you find under that EG forearm. Mine are early 50s, I doubt they would have Marlin barrels.

Bert

Jed, was that an 1892 or 1893...or both?

I know we're talking Marlin and not Colt, but this goes back 4 years so we'll just refresh the newcomers (okay, my memory needed refreshing also).

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1400658/1




This may go back to Marlin also. I'm sure Savage had to pay Marlin to produce the first 1895 prototypes (rifle, carbine, octagon/half octagon/round?, etc), and those may very well be the $3,000 to $5,000 rifles listed above.

Rick,
the one w/the scalloped reciever.

should add it had factory replacement wood on it. It was w/out wood. Then Roe took it to the SAC shop and had the fellas put a stock and forend on it.

I think that was the 1893.

and the Martini style lever.

asking was 3,000.

Kinda sounds like a bargain now...

wonder what happened to the original stocks.

Its quite apparent at some point in the 70s or 80s Savage allowed Roe and another gentleman (as I recall the name was something like Mitsy Beeland??) to "clean up" all the old gun stock. There is a huge number of NOS Fox barrel and parts and completed gun built during this period that are attributed to these two gentleman. This is about the same time that a large surplus of NOS 99 parts were sold as well right?

DON'T know when it was but there was an auction sometime when a hugh amount of surplus parts were auctioned off.Not sure if it was just 99s or a lot of other stuff as well ,i'll see if i can find out dates .Some of you computer gurus might be able to fine it on internet

I wonder if we have any idea what barrels were made? Could be centerfire rifle, rimfire rifle, shotgun...?