ONE of the oldest American gunmaking firms, the Marlin Firearms Company was founded in 1870 by John Mahlon Marlin.
Marlin started making Ballard rifles in 1875. Up to that time it’d made only pistols and Derringers. Its entry into the rifle field was the Model 1881, the first lever-action capable of housing the big .45-70 Govt cartridge. It was a large, heavy rifle with
