I,too, feel the push button safeties on the later Marlins detract from the lever gun looks. They are really something that takes a lot of getting used to if you've used LA for years. I collect Marlins and Winnies so have some of the cross-bolt safety guns around. Being an old gunsmith I won't permanently disable the safety but instead put a rubber o ring on the red side which prevents it accidentally being put on safety. The trade off between the microgroove and Ballard rifling causes me to buy the newer or pre-1950 guns for hunting with cast bullets.
Riflesmith
