The Marlin Camp Carbine was an enjoyable rifle, both fun and inexpensive to shoot. Based on a simple blow-back semi-automatic action this was a lightweight rifle made to use commonly available magazines and ammunition.
Fast Facts
- The Marlin Camp Carbine was made in two models; the Camp-9 which was chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, and the Camp-45 which was chambered for the 45 ACP.
- The carbine used a straight blow-back action and the design was kept simple.
- The Camp Carbine models were made to use commonly available pistol magazines. The Camp-9 used Smith & Wesson Model 59 magazines while the Camp-45 used Colt M1911 compatible magazines.
- One of these Camp-45 carbines is for sale on Rock Island Auction at time of publication.
The Marlin Camp Carbine was in production from 1985-1999 and was made in two models: the Camp-9 which was chambered for the common 9mm Parabellum cartridge, and the Camp-45 which was chambered for the equally common 45 ACP cartridge.
The Camp Carbine was designed to be as simple as possible, reliable, easy to maintain, and inexpensive. Marlin succeeded in these aims to a large extent.
The Camp carbine models were designed with a straight blow-back semi-automatic action, which given the power of both rounds, required the use of a fairly heavy breech block. But given that this was a rifle carbine that weight could easily be accommodated and indeed it contributed to the “between the hands” balance.
The Micro-groove barrel length was 16½ inches – a measurement that was intended to conform with legal minimum barrel length requirements throughout the United States and Canada.
The rifle’s length was 35½ inches and weight was 6¾ pounds, making it light, maneuverable, and perfect for close range shooting: it was at its best at ranges up to around 50 yards although it could be stretched out beyond that.
Marlin were intelligent in their choice of magazines for these carbines. The Camp-9 was made to use the magazines for the Smith & Wesson Model 59 pistols while the Camp-45 was made to use the magazines of the Colt M1911.
Marlin supplied their own magazines for the two carbine models: the Camp-9 could use 4, 12, or 20 round magazines, while the Camp-45 used 4 or 7 round magazines.
Wisely Marlin provided protection for the magazine by incorporating a plastic magazine pocket for it as a part of the lower action assembly that served the same protection and support function as the pistol grip in a handgun.
The most common stock for the Camp Carbine was a beechwood stock with pistol grip, but at some point in production I believe Marlin also offered a rather attractive laminated stock.
The top action assembly was drilled and tapped for mounting an optical sight and the rifle was fitted with open sights: a folding rear spring steel leaf with notched ramp elevation adjustment dovetailed into the barrel in common Marlin style, and a front sight that for early models was a ramp mounted blade which on later models was upgraded to a “High Viz” orange blade protected by a cutaway “Wide Scan” hood.
While the use of a simple blow-back semi-automatic action made for a simple rifle it also turned out to cause its own problems for owners. If the Camp Carbine was subjected to a decent amount of enjoyable shooting it would become rather dirty and in need of a decent clean.
Cleaning the action required the removal of two action screws to separate the barreled action from the stock and then separation of the upper and lower action by drifting out the two pins that held them together.
This was not an unduly inconvenient process, much like cleaning a grubby semi-automatic pistol, but as the Old West saying tells us “Never let the sun set on a dirty gun”, and the Marlin Camp Carbines seem to have acquired a reputation for requiring a decent after shooting clean up.
The full original manual for the Marlin Camp Carbines can be found by clicking the links below:-
- For the Camp-9 click here.
- For the Camp-45 click here.
The Marlin Camp Carbines are sweet little rifles, they use commonly available ammunition, and make for many hours of enjoyment whether you shoot at cans, targets, or go hunting with one (Just be aware of the limitations of the pistol cartridges).
One of the Camp-45 carbines is for sale at the time of publication by Rock Island Auction.
This Camp-45 is fitted with a laminated stock and an Aimpoint PRO red dot sight along with a limb saver buttstock pad to make pressing trigger on those 45 ACP cartridges a pleasant experience.
You will find the sale page for this Camp-45 if you click here.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
