Marlin 27-S Pump Rifle: Quick Handling and Odd

Marlin is reflexively associated with classic lever guns, both centerfire and rimfire. Sure, there have been some excellent Marlin bolt-action and semiauto rimfires along the way, not to mention some hell-for-stout bolt-action shotguns. But by and large, lever actions were what put the company on the map.

But one of the company’s most intriguing, and relatively obscure, offerings was the Model 27-S pump, a nifty little takedown chambered in .25-20 and .32-20, plus the .25 Stevens rimfire. The rifle’s production life was from 1913 to 1932.

Marlin had, of course, produced a number of pump-action rimfires prior to 1930, but the 27-S was a centerfire standalone. It was essentially an improved version of the slightly earlier Model 27. The major difference between the two? The 27-S featured a safety button on the right-hand side of the receiver just above and forward of the trigger guard.

An advertisement of the day billed it as “The small game rifle that’s big enough for deer.” Although this claim may seem optimistic by today’s standards concerning what constitutes an effective whitetail round, there’s no doubt many deer were taken with either centerfire cartridge.

Vintage Eye Appeal

The Marlin 27-S was also available with a round 24-inch barrel, but for vintage eye appeal, an octagonal barreled specimen is pretty tough to beat. A serrated hammer for easy thumb-cocking, a “Tootsie Roll” fore-end slide and crescent steel buttplate only add to its charm.

The rifle features a solid top, side ejection and a seven-round capacity. The mag tube pulls out to access the loading port that’s on the underside of the tube just ahead of the pump handle. One curious design touch mystified me. Why two screws securing the fore-end pump to the action bar? More than likely it was to add extra insurance against torquing and binding while running the action.

The two-fold takedown procedure relies on a lever on the lower front receiver on the right-hand side. Once the lever is actuated, a large nut on the left-hand side of the receiver renders the rifle into its two main components.

The particular .25-20 specimen I took to the range—courtesy of collector/shooter John Wightman—was in fairly nice shape. Of course, the challenge was in obtaining ammo to shoot the thing. Vintage arms often feed on obscure, discontinued or at least difficult-to-obtain calibers, and frankly that’s all part of the appeal as far as I’m concerned.

Challenges

Winchester and Remington do still load the cartridge, although finding it can be hit or miss. Fortunately, I had some of Remington’s 86-grain Core-Lokt on hand, and recoil in the Marlin was negligible, despite that crescent buttplate. I’d describe it as slightly less than shooting .357s out of a lever gun.

The open sights on the 27-S were a bit of a challenge. They consist of a step-adjustable open U-notch rear and a small blade front. Nevertheless, at 40 yards I got some more than respectable groups.

It’s worth noting that Marlin offered the 27-S with various aperture sights, most notably the Hepburn. While an original Hepburn will cost you the proverbial arm and a leg—provided you can find one—Skinner Sights (SkinnerSights.com) offers a modified, improved “Skinner Hepburn” that’ll run you $80 last time I checked.

Lightweight centerfire pump guns in the .25-20 or .32-20 class have been obsolete for many decades. But if there’s one thing retro-minded shooters revere, it’s old-timey stuff. Throw in that octagonal barrel, some serious patina and a semi-obsolete caliber and they’re hooked!

Cool Factor

Sure, any number of today’s pistol-caliber carbines could easily fill the .25-20’s niche, and at lesser cost ammo-wise. But that isn’t the point. The Cool Factor counts for a lot, and if pure nostalgia wasn’t part and parcel to the appeal of firearms, then we wouldn’t have used racks at Mom and Pop gunstores. Or firearms auctions for that matter.

Realistically, you can expect to pay anywhere from $800 or $900 on up to nearly $2,000 for a pristine Marlin 27-S, even higher for exceptionally rare engraved deluxe specimens. Of course, you could always get lucky during a slow day at an auction and get one on the low side pricewise, but it’s unlikely anyone is going to realize mega-profit by obtaining one as an investment.

That’s okay. I would never acquire a rifle that I wouldn’t—or couldn’t—shoot. After all, about 95 percent of the fun of using obscurities at the range or in the field lies in taking yourself back in time to when your oldie was state of the art.

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