Marlin upgrades from Wild West Guns - Quarter Master

Guns Magazine, June, 2002 by Jim Gardner

Outside of the good folks at the factory in North Haven, Conn., probably no one knows as much about Marlin rifles as Jim West of Wild West Guns in Anchorage, Alaska. The Wild West "Co-Pilot" -- a short, handy, Marlin 1895 in .4570 fitted with ghost ring sights, lever opened for glove use, and a crisp trigger, plus modified into a takedown for case of transport -- has received rave reviews from all who test it.

After building a boatload of custom Marlins, West has a great respect for the basic design, but there arc two areas that could use improvement. He now offers two custom components that would benefit any Marlin, custom or not.

The first is the "Trigger Happy" kit. Like most modern production firearms, the Marlin leverguns frequently suffer from a heavy, creepy trigger that is not conducive to good shooting. The Trigger Happy kit is a simple, user-installable replacement that will greatly improve the stock Marlin trigger. I took an old Marlin .444 from my safe and weighed the stock trigger. At 4.25 pounds, it was really not bad. Installing the Trigger Happy kit was a breeze, requiring less than 10 minutes. After working the action to seat the new parts, the trigger was found to weigh a delightful, crisp 3 pounds. The Wild West trigger also eliminates that annoying flop that characterizes the stock Marlin two-piece trigger. Price for the Trigger Happy kit is $89.

The other new component from Wild West is the "Bear Proof" ejector. It incorporates a couple of subtle enhancements, but the biggest improvement is that the ejector spring is made in one piece with the ejector. West has seen recurring problems with the stock ejector in the heavy caliber Marlins, and this new component was designed to withstand all the abuse you can dish out. At $25, it's a real bargain.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Wild West Guns

[907] 344-4500

www.wildwestguns.com