Marlin Model 1889 Deluxe New Safety 1/2 Octagon 26″ .32-20 Win Lever Action Rifle, 1894 Antique

SOLD FOR:$5,050.00
LSB#: 
171014AL22

Make: Marlin

Model: 1889 Deluxe New Safety Repeating Rifle

Serial Number: 96507 

Year of Manufacture: 1894 (oldguns.net/sn_php/marlinlookup.php)

Caliber: .32-20 Winchester Center Fire.

Action Type: Lever Action with Full Length Tubular Magazine

Markings: The top of the receiver is marked “Marlin Safety”. The top of the barrel is marked “Marlin Fire-Arms Co., New Haven, CT. U.S.A. / PATENTED Oct. 11. 1887. April 2. 1899. AUGUST 1. 1893.” and at the receiver with “32-20.”. The front underside of the lower tang (at front of the receiver) is marked “96507”. The cut-out in the wrist for the upper tang and the left side of the upper tang are marked “96507

Barrel Length: The half-octagonal and half-round barrel is 26” in length.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a white bead dovetailed into the top of the barrel. The left side of the sight base is marked “MARBLE” and the right side “2”. The rear sight is a bolding two-leaf sight that is dovetailed into the octagon part of the barrel. The rear leaf has a flat top with a white diamond aiming point in the top center of its rear face. The front leaf is a wide “V” notch. The leaves move independently and there isn’t any spring tension to hold them in place.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece hand-checkered deluxe walnut with a lacquered finish. The wood shows beautiful burl patterns, so please see our pictures! The buttstock has a pistol grip with the bottom of the grip cut in an “S” pattern, and a crescent-shaped steel buttplate. The forend has a steel nose cap and wrap-around checkering. The checkered areas are dark with oil staining. The buttstock shows a few small dings and light handling marks and the forend shows a few light handling marks with a tiny dragline at the back of the checkering in its underside. The checkering shows moderate wear with a single mar on the right side of the grip. The LOP measures 13 ½” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate, which shows surface loss, light wear at the toe, a few tiny dings near the heel and a sprinkling of extremely light erosion. The buttplate fits the wood perfectly. The buttplate is in about Good to Very Good condition. The stocks rate in about Fine overall condition.

Type of Finish: The rifle is blued with a case colored lever and hammer.

Finish Originality: All Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright tending to gray at the muzzle. The rifling shows light to moderate wear. There is no erosion in the bore.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 70% of its metal finish. There are spots of light erosion on the left side of the barrel about 3 ½” from the muzzle. There is thinning in the magazine tube, the edges of the barrel, nose cap, loading gate and the lower tang, with mostly finish loss on the receiver and upper tang. There are several light handling marks in the barrel and magazine tube, with a few scratches through the finish in top rear of the round part of the barrel. There are tool marks around the screw heads on the right side of the receiver and the upper tang, with several scratches on the right side of the receiver and light marks on the left side. The edges of the barrel are sharp. About half of the screw heads are disfigured. The markings are crisp. Overall, this rifle rates in about Fine condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The action appears very tight. The hammer has a half-cock safety and there is also a lever safety. The lever catch has been removed, but the lockup is tight enough that this shouldn’t be a problem, especially if the hammer is lowered. We have not fired this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None

Our Assessment: The Marlin 1889 rifle was the first Marlin lever-action rifle manufactured for side ejection and the first to receive the “New Safety” marking on the top of the receiver. Marlin marketed the rifle as the “New Safety Repeating Rifle”. Marlin felt the top ejection on their previous models was not enough different from their competition (i.e. Winchester) and not as strong: the flame and debris from a ruptured case could end up back in the shooters face. The Model 1889 was made from 1889 to 1895 with several more being assembled from parts up until about 1903. About 55119 M1889 rifles and carbines were made, but far fewer were deluxe models and only 508 were made with a half-octagon and half-round barrel. This rare Deluxe M1889 rifle has a 26” half-octagon half-round barrel, and hand checkered fancy walnut stocks with pistol grip and crescent buttplate. Please see our pictures, as words won’t do this beautiful rifle justice! The bore is still mostly bright with no erosion and the action operates correctly. The upper tang and buttstock are serialized to the lower tang.  We expect the Marlin collectors to be drooling when they see this rifle, as we see very few in this nice of a condition, and none with a half-octagon barrel.

Marlin Model 1889 Deluxe New Safety 1 2 Octagon 26 .32-20 Win Lever Action Rifle, 1894 Antique
Marlin Model 1889 Deluxe New Safety 1 2 Octagon 26 .32-20 Win Lever Action Rifle, 1894 Antique