You are very much spot on about the Marlin Guide gun not being anything like a dangerous game gun. While not a stunt to hunt brown bear with one, it's almost unheard of for an actual guide to carry one.
The lever action rifles might not be widely used by guides, but some long time big bear guides, such as Ed Stevenson, used them frequently;
http://www.z-hat.com/Stevenson.htm![[Linked Image]](http://dogsdoom.com/PI/ed-stevenson-1.jpg)
First off, the 1886 Browning Repo and 1895 Marlin Guide Gun don't have much in common, save the chambering. Pretty much anyone who's handled both can figure that out. I'd also say that an example of one don't say much, or maybe it says a lot. I donno. A hopped up 45-70 inside 25 yards is golden, but putting down a poorly hit bear from 100 yards out is another matter. As a hired guide this might come into play. Again not the best choice. My own Guide gun is running 425 grain cast bullets at north of 1900 fps with 53 grains of H322 and I have no problem hunting brownies with it but I won't call it a dangerous game rifle or put someone at risk because I wanted to carry a short handy rifle. I'd rather have an oldfashion bolt type gun.
