Marlin Camp Carbine 45

[cellar701]

It's not a Ruger, but some of you may have opinions on it. I have the opportunity to pick one of these up at a reasonable price. It is in minty condition. It's an interesting gun, but I've been on the fence regarding purchase.

Anyone here have one of these little 45acp carbines? Opinions?

 

[Mokwaw]

I don't have the .45, but I have the 9mm. Love it. Fun to shoot. Has run good with every thing I put thru it including steel case Russian stuff and aluminum blazers. Buy it, replace the buffer and put in a 21# recoil spring from BLACKJACK BUFFERS and you will have a good carbine. The stock recoil spring and buffers are too light and will cause the stock to crack at the rear of the receiver after a while. Mine cracked before I knew about the weak buffer and spring. BLACKJACKS now reside in mine. You will find lots of good info on the Camp Carbines at Marlinowners.com look under "other Marlins" section.

 

[sigp220.45]

If you can get one at a decent price you should snap it up. The 9mms are fairly common, but the .45s are highly sought after. The .45s use 1911 mags.

I found this one at a little pawnshop mixed in with some 9mm police trade ins. Its stock had been stained a weird green so I just painted over it. I'll probably do something else with it, but it works for now.

I replaced the recoil spring with a heavier one - it works like a champ. They are tricky to disassemble and reassemble - not very user friendly and very easy to put together wrong. There is a spring loaded feed ramp that can get hooked under the chamber during reassembly and render it a single shot. Put it together right and you're all set.

.

 

[JFB]

same here...I have the 9 and would love to find a 45.

 

[cellar701]

Thanks for replies - I stopped by to look at it again and ended up bringing it home. It's a 1987 vintage per the serial number.

Thanks for tips on recoil buffer and spring. I took it apart and cleaned it - recoil buffer looked good, but when I pried it out it was brittle and crumbled. I'll get the upgrades ordered per posts above.

For those of you with the 9s, any concerns about cleaning solvents? I read somewhere (not recently, so don't have clear recollection of it) that the plastic on these are incompatible with some of the solvents?? Any help/guidance much appreciated!

 

[blume357]

marlin has the recoil buffers and they don't cost that much... but if I'm wrong, contact me... I have extras.

The only bad thing is if you don't already own a 1911, guess what's next.

I'm headed up to the mountains tomorrow for a long weekend of walking in the woods and I'm sorely tempted to carry my Camp 45 with me and its 1911 companion.... don't think there will be a problem but some of dem bares up there are pretty fat and happy right now. I don't think they'd bother me but they might my hound dog.... but I'll probably just settle for my PC9 and KP95dc... if 30 to 45 rounds of 9mm don't stop 'em, I'm in a world of trouble.

Glad you picked up a 45 Carbine. I've heard the stock can crack on these... but I actually bought a Choate folding stock before I ever owned one.

 

[rugnelli]

At a gun show this past July there was a guy that had a 9mm and a 45. His prices were $725 for the 9mm and $825 for the 45. They were in good shape without boxes. I want one but did not buy either.

There was one at a gun show at the end of August and the price was $325. It was in very poor shape. I didn't buy this one either.

rugnelli

 

[cellar701]

"The only bad thing is if you don't already own a 1911, guess what's next."

I do already own a couple of 1911s, and like them so I don't have to go out and make that purchase. What gave me a little bit of pause on this purchase was the fact that I normally don't carry the 1911s in the woods. I normally carry one of my wheel guns (.357 or .41 or .44 or .45 or .454) so a Deer Stalker carbine would be a better fit for me. ( I am looking for one of the Deer Stalker, but just don't see them anymore).

What tipped the scale toward my purchase today was the two guys behind me, ready to buy it if I passed, and my calculation that it will be a good transition and practice rifle for my two daughters (ages 16 and 13) in their shooting. In the bad weather and winter months we go to an indoor range which doesn't allow rifle beyond .22RF, but do allow rifles if chambered in pistol/handgun cartridge. Plus, it just seems this will be a fun "big bore plinker" for me!

I'll probably eventually transition to that DeerStalker when the right one comes along, but in the meantime this one will work just fine.

 

[blume357]

Especially since you already own a few 1911's, the purchase of a rifle that not only shoots the same ammo but takes the same magazines just seems practical to me.

I found the workings a lot like the 10/22, but as mentioned you do have to watch the feed ramp thingy when putting it back together or you'll get to the range and the dern thing won't work... been there and done it.

 

[winchester37]

Have had a 45 since they first came out. first time to the range the stock split, a call to marlin and a new stock arrived in less than a week.

shoots well, lots of fun, just not very considerate as to where it throws its ejected brass.

have always shot military ball in mine, since I had a lot of it. what a kick!

 

[Belt Fed]

shoots well, lots of fun, just not very considerate as to where it throws its ejected brass.

Winchester 37, The reason it throws the brass so far is because the bolt is slamming real hard against the buffer because of the weak recoil spring. Get a 21lb. recoil spring from Wolff and a BlackJack buffer or you will end up with a broken stock again. The 45ACP needs a 21lb. spring and the 9mm needs a 16lb. Both are available from Wolff. The buffer is the same for both calibers. The factory spring is about 10lbs.

 

[Rumrunner]

Yesterday I saw a Camp-9 at the Cabela's in Hammond IN. It had a stock like the one in the post from blume357. Can't remember the price on it.