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Bryant Ridge's AnalysisBilled as the oldest continuously manufactured rifle in the world, the Marlin 39 began life as John Marlin's Model 1891 (used by Annie Oakley), redesigned in 1897, then the Model 39 in 1922. The "39A" designation appeared in 1939. The "third variation" of the Model 39 series appeared in 1946, with three different variations with different features. The "redesigning" is generally considered so slight that the rifle is regarded as essentially the same article for over the la …

Bryant Ridge's AnalysisThe Marlin 39A represents the oldest and longest continuously produced shoulder firearm in the world and is considered to be one of the finest examples of a lever .22 rifle and one of the most accurate .22 rifles that were ever produced. It is also the best-selling lever rimfire in U.S. history. The Model Golden 39A is built of forged steel parts and American-grown walnut. It is one of the very few remaining .22 rifles with easy takedown ability (it can be taken apart usin …

Bryant Ridge's AnalysisIn the mid-1960s, the .45-70 cartridge had nearly vanished from the American market, and there was no big-bore lever-action rifle cartridge in production to fill the gap. To address this, Marlin decided to develop a new cartridge that would offer comparable power. They designed the .444 Marlin, essentially a longer version of the .44 Magnum, extending the cartridge by nearly an inch to approach the .45-70’s power levels. The .444 Marlin was conceived by Remington at Marlin …

Bryant Ridge's AnalysisThe Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally chambered to fire two metallic black powder cartridges, the .32-40 Winchester and .38-55 Winchester. It was the first rifle to chamber the smokeless powder round, the .30 WCF (Winchester Center Fire, in time becoming known as the .30- …

Bryant Ridge's AnalysisCreating the mold and then breaking out of it is something that Henry takes great pride in. It’s how they progress and continue pushing the boundaries of what lever actions are capable of. The Big Boy X Model does just that and marks an evolutionary step in a product line with quite the pedigree. Modern hunters and shooters need a robust platform with the versatility to perform several different jobs and the X Model provides it right out of the box. The Big Boy X-Model is …