A lot of people would say the Scout rifle concept, today, is pretty useless. And that even when Copper dreamed it up it was of extraordinary limited utility. Perhaps, but I’ll go you one better. Theres another gun out there:
- It’s too light for big game
- Too heavy for varmints
- Ammo too expensive to plink
- Capacity too little for ‘serious work’
Behold, the gun no one needed but, once discontinued, everyone wanted:
Yup..its a Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 ACP. IYKYK. Right now, several of you are getting ready to tell me about the self-destructing buffers that led to stocks cracking like river ice in the spring. Way ahead of you guys. I also ordered a couple extra 21# recoil springs and several extra poly buffers.
I was minding my own business and stopped in at the gun shop on my lunch hour. This thing caught my eye because, for reasons no one seems to be able to articulate, people hold onto these things with both hands and they seldom seem to turn up on the used market. In fact, I just looked on Gunbroker and found 21 Marlin Camp Carbines and all are 9mm.
I purchased this one and it jammed when I tried to feed a round of FMJ ball into the chamber. No biggie, I know exactly what the story is. Previous owner must have disassembled it and failed to reassemble it properly. Its a ‘known bug’ that you can reassemble this thing in such a manner that the feed ramp is in the wrong position. So, I disassembled, consulted YouTube, reassembled, and things worked fine.
Im not a huge .45 ACP fan. I prefer a higher capacity magazine and I’ll take 17 rounds in a gun that fits my hand just fine versus half that many in a 1911. And while there are double stack mags out there for .45 ACP, most of them result in pistol grip sizes that are rather unwieldy for me. I will say, though, that the S&W M&P .45 do an excellent job of keeping the grip size small while accommodating a double-stack mag.
I own a lot of guns but I have exactly one .45 AARP pistol….a Springfield 1911 I bought many, many years ago. I seldom carry it because anything worth shooting is worth shooting more than once, and a 17-rd 9mm makes me feel safer than a 7-shot 1911. However, it’s a fun gun at the range and sometimes I carry it in the woods. So I figured as long as I’m going to have a 1911 laying around I may as well have a matching carbine. So…I picked up this particular one.
Now, I should mention, I have a Ruger LC Carbine in .45 ACP and it’s not a great gun. It recoils heavily, is ergonomically awkward, and just looks stupid. It’s only claim to fame is the use of double-stack Glock .45 magazines, and the threaded barrel.
The Marlin, on the other hand, has a little bit of class, style, warmth, and charm. It’s a nice little throwback to the 1990’s. It’s a gun that doesn’t really, to me, seems to have a defined role in…anything. But somehow it has a charm to it that just makes it desirable. And we Americans have always enjoyed having a rifle/carbine combo that shared ammo. Having it share magazines as well just sweetens the deal.
Anyway, I picked this up today. Not sure if I’ll keep it in the long-term or not, but it’ll be fun to take to the range and shoot…especially beside the Ruger LC carbine. And, technically, Ruger could reintroduce these since they own Marlin. However, Ruger would be cannibalizing the sales of it’s own carbines, so its pretty solid that this will not happen.
If I’d known then what I know now, I’d have five of the Marlin Camp .45s, instead of just the one.
Ruger, being stupid (but I repeat myself), made the great PC 9mm take-down carbine, then instead of building one on the same chassis in .45, switched to their awful and ass-tastic LC platform, which is to pistol-caliber carbines as diarrhea is to solid stool: twice the bother, and twice the reek.
Marlin was cranking out great guns for 100 years, and their Camp Carbines were some of the last really new designs they came up with, manufactured on Marlin’s 100-year old decrepit equipment. They missed the boat by not making the mag wells cross compatible with Glock. Ruger fixed that.
Then, never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity, instead of aping the success of the PC 9, Ruger decided, “No, let’s jump up and down on our junk with golf cleats” like they always do.
Keeping the market on the scarce Camp .45s perpetually tight.
It was, and is, a poor man’s Tommy Gun. If Marlin had fixed the buffer problem, and gone with metal instead of plastic, those guns would still be collectible 100 years from now.
Ruger LC 9s, right now, are about as popular as Freedom Arms pot-metal pistols, and selling only slightly better than High Point.
And anyone who can’t imagine their utility should try slapping the cheapest $39 Barska scope on one, and watch what happens when they’re shooting tea cup groups at 200 yards, off-hand, all the live long day.
Coyotes, feral pigs, rabid dogs, feral junkies, as well as tin cans and pumpkins, stand no chance out to 200 yards with the Marlin, the Ruger PC9, or anything similar to either of those.
Build in compatibility with after-market drum mags?
Auto-Ordnance Thompson semis going for $1K@ can eat their heart out. You can buy the PC gun, two drum mags, and a half-case of Federal ammo for that.
I’m flattered my post was able top get you out of your radio silence!
Commander:
Have I lost some brain cells somewhere and have failed to understand?
You have no real use for it, don’t really want it and are trying to buy items you need for Site 2 but bought it ANYWAY?
It’s like buying an old, ugly car because its old and ugly!
Must be a translation problem from American into English…
Ceejay
Trabant has entered the chat.
I agree!
Although why he wanted one is beyond me!
Ceejay
We all purchase frivolous and unneeded things just because… I doubt anyone here really cares about how you feel regarding CZs purchases.
Unless you”re his financial planner or tax attorney, MYOB.
With the financial sh!t storm we are going into any thing that holds value is going to be a wise buy. 6 months to a year from now it will have held it’s value and be tradable for a much higher stack of depreciated FRN or other valuable consideration.
You don’t have a problem.
You can quit any time you want…
Back in the day when both the Marlins were being sold, I briefly considered the 45 version, but figured my .357 lever was far more versatile. I didn’t own a 1911 pattern at the time, so the 1911 magazine compatibility meant bupkus to me. I very briefly considered the Mec-Tech Glock 21 carbine kit, but never acted on it either. Seems to be a pattern – I guess .45 carbines to me weren’t that much of a draw. Maybe a decent home defense gun ? I’m guessing a .45ACP in long barrel wouldn’t deafen a person inside a closed environment.
I’m glad you found one in good condition. Hope it provides many smiles.
Glock 30 would be a good side arm to carry with the carbine
“It’s a gun that doesn’t really, to me, seems to have a defined role in…anything.” – but for reasons that you really don’t have to explain or justify to anyone, YOU WANTED IT – that’s enough justification in and of itself, not that ya have to justify it at all.
Yup…thats exactly it. And thats the appeal of this gun – somehow, despite its apparent lack of specified purpose, its just….desirable.
Do as you did with the recoil spring and buffer pads
Remount it on a ramline folding stock
Order a few large cap 1911 mags
Much better plaything.
Friend Of The Blog(tm), Choate, makes a folder for the Camp Carbine. Kinda like the non tactical aesthetic, though.
That’s exactly what I did with mine as well as having it coated with electroless nickel. Kept it until I got an offer I couldn’t pass up for more than I had into it.
The last time I saw one it was quite pricey – I’m trying to remember if it was $900 or $1300. Can we ask how much you paid for it?
I like the idea, but not at that price. I’ve had good luck with the Hi point carbine in 45 but I don’t shoot 45 much anymore, I mostly shoot 9 or 22 in pistols.
I wonder if you could shoot the 450 SMC with spring changes like a 45 Colt. Seems like a great improvement in your neck of the woods. The captain says it equals a 10mm in power.
https://www.captainsjournal.com/2025/02/16/450-smc-the-10mm-killer/
Our host doesn’t much care for the Ruger LC Carbine; he made that quite clear. But, perhaps a point in its favor is that the folks at 460 Rowland can set your LC Carbine in .45-caliber for the powerful 460 Rowland. A conversion which will still allow the use of 45 ACP/Auto, 45 Super and 45 +P as well as 460 Rowland.
With the conversion, you might get muzzle energy values on some loads approaching or even surpassing 2,000 ft-lbs.
My uncle once told to ‘…buy what you like, it’s your money…’ and so that is the advice I follow. The camp carbine market seemed to be popular back in the day and I always wondered what they meant by the term. Was it something to keep handy in camp while the .300 Win Mag was in the tent?
I regret not picking up the Ruger version back when they were cheap and nobody wanted one, don’t think they made them in .45 but here’s one in 44 mag. Maybe it’s time to sneak some more money out of the wife’s 401k and buy one! (:
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1155057255
Right now my gotta have rifle is a nice Marlin 22 magnum heavy barrel with a polymer stock. Got a couple of pistols in thst caliber. But a nice bolt gun or semi auto would fill the bill.
Hope everyone is surviving the crazy winter. Michigan has been pretty quiet. Everyone is for the most part holed up. Only going out for supplies as needed. Stay warm. Stay safe.
My all time favorite woods gun is my Henry small game carbine in 22mag. It’s the short octagon barrel fitted with Skinner peep sights. For me it’s the perfect size rifle and great for bringing in camp meat. The only drawback is I live in grizzly country, so I have to carry a heavy caliber handgun as well.
I hated the Ruger LCs at first, but then I spent some time with them. The ergonomics are not as good as the PC, but the whole package is shorter overall due to the position of the chamber. They run really well and my LC 10 has really grown on me. I like the way they designed the internals as well. It seems to run cleaner than my PC. It makes a great travel gun and I like the extra thump you get over 9mm or 45.
@Jimbo, Yes you are correct, I always wanted one of the Ruger 44mag semi-auto carbines, and finally bought one at a local gun show a few years back. Very happy with it, despite it’s plastic parts.
I did have a Marlin camp carbine in 9mm traded it for a Savage M99 308 lever action, and glad I did. Best of luck CZ!
Yes, good to see Aesop come out of hibernation, it is warming up here nicely! Going to be 70 deg next week!
The Savage 99’s are a masterpiece of the firearm industry. The .243 and .308 calibers are the pinnacle of my collection. The .300 Savage had the highest production numbers and is so close to a .308 that I hear the re-sizing die works on both calibers but haven’t tried it.
Common ammo available most anywhere, strong, reliable and legal in all 50 states. Open sights or scope and is comfortable as a truck gun, hunting rifle or self defense. People are waking up to the value, and the current prices reflect that. Still may be able to pick one up reasonable at a show or flea market.
A new buffer & spring fixes camp carbines right up.
I wanted a Camp 45, but could only find a Camo 9. I like it because it looks like a plain old rifle . Doesn’t scare the old ladies as much.
Are the 45s as dirty to shoot as the 9s? After 3 or 4 mags, i have to scrub out the receiver & chamber or it stops functioning.
My dad was a Maine Guide, and had a couple of automatic pistols.; a Remington Rand 1911A1 given to him by a son from his first marriage, and an old Colt 1903 Pocket Automatic in 38ACP. He gave the 45 to my brother-in-law on a ’99-year lease’, and kept the Colt. He actually hated that pistol, but used it to dispatch the annual hog, as he was too soft hearted to stick it with a knife. I learned to shoot handguns using that Colt, and still carry a scar on the web of my right hand from hammer-bite, 50+ years later. I traded a rifle to get Dad’s 45 back, and would shoot both occasionally, using an old 1940’s Pontiac junker down over the bank on our farm as a backstop. I still remember the FMJ 45 slugs just denting the metal on that old Pontiac, while the 38 ACP 130 grain bullets just sailed on through…
Dunno. I used a scout rifle this deer season to good effect. 308 does a number on deer. Easy to sling carry, quick to sight picture. I like it well enough. I think a little more range time is in order with it. Although I would not turn down a camp carbine in 45 if I found one. I have cross over for pistol.to rifle in 22, 9, and 38/357. Bolt, lrver and auto. Just need to be sure I have one around when it starts.
I know where there is a Marlin Camp Rifle, New in Box, Never Fired, in 45ACP.
At some point I realized that it’s ok to buy a gun just cuz it’s cool and I want it.
Beyond 2x Glocks, 2x CCW Pocket rockets, 2x AR’s, a shotgun, a bolt gun and maybe a couple others we don’t “need” any guns.