. . . turns out to be "the same thing but different". . .
. . . what I've always called a "Marlberg."
The Mossberg 472 and associated model numbers and store branded versions borrowed heavily from the basic Marlin 336 design, but differed substantially in details. Besides the trigger being attached to the trigger guard like the BLR, there are differences in the receiver top, safety, hammer, extractor, lever pivot pin, cartridge lifter, furniture, and bands. The Mossberg 472's bolt incorporates the Marlin tilting 2-pc firing pin to prevent OOB discharges, and it has a hammer-blocking rotating safety lever on the left side of the receiver whereas Marlins of the era had just started sporting a pushbutton hammer block safety.
This Mossberg 472's action is incredibly slick, even compared to older 1950s Marlin 336 actions. At the range shooting Prvi Partizan 150 gr 30-30s, I was able to keep it on minute of claybird at 100 yds with the open sight. The old-school oil-finished stock conjures up another time, another place when things weren't as complicated, and I was half the age I am now.
Being a longtime Marlin lever fan and a relatively newcomer to older Mossbergs, picking up a "Marlberg" lever was inevitable. Problem is, you just don't see them all that often. Part might be due to relatively low numbers being made, and the other part might be that people (or families) that own them tend to keep them.
Noah
