SHOT Show Highlight: Bishop Firearms 458 SOCOM 1895 GBL Lever Action

Bishop Ammunition & Firearms currently offers the only production lever-action rifle chambered for the potent .458 SOCOM semi-auto rifle cartridge. I had an opportunity to fire this uncommon big-bore rifle during this year’s SHOT Show media range day and to meet with the President of the company, Merrisa Bishop, who spent a year and a half developing the rifle she was told could not be built. 

The 458 SOCOM 1895 GBL Lever Action rifle starts out as a Marlin 1895 GBL chambered in .45-70 Gov’t. A good deal of gun smith work go goes into deburring and polish all moving parts. The in-house bolt assembly has been re-engineered to meet the company’s specification an all of it’s components fitted by hand including a one piece firing pin. The stock trigger assembly is replaced with an upgrade that breaks cleanly with right around 3-lbs. of trigger pull.

The factory barrel is replaced with a stainless steel match-grade, air- gauged 16" round profile barrel with a 4-chamber muzzle brake that effectively tames the felt recoil. The rifle is topped with an XS Sight Systems’ Lever Rail Ghost Ring sight system. A high visibility front sight post is paired with a large, light-gathering ghost ring at the rear. The provided optics rail will accept Picatinny or Weaver-style mounts for magnified or red-dot optics.

Each all-stainless rifle is built by hand, custom tuned and shipped with handsome hardwood stocks. The result of all this effort is a smooth operating, big-bore lever gun that’s a good fit for hunting situations where AR-15s are not allowed or not the best fit for the task at hand. This is also rifle for enthusiasts who are looking for something out of the ordinary to add to their collections. Suggested Retail Price: $3,500

Bishop Firearms 458 SOCOM 1895 Lever-Action Rifle Features 

Caliber: 458 SOCOM
8-shot, full-length tubular magazine
Lever action with big-loop finger lever; side ejection; solid-top receiver; deeply blued metal surfaces; hammer block safety
American pistol-grip
Two tone brown laminate stock
Cut checkering
Ventilated recoil pad
Tough Mar-Shield finish
Swivel studs
16" Stainless Steel Barrel
1:14" twist rate
XS Sight Systems MARLIN 1895 Lever Rail Sight System
XS Lever Rail Ghost Ring Sight Set For Marlin 1895 Round Bbl.
Ghost Ring Sight Set And Lever Rail For Mounting Optics
Can Use Weaver Style Or Picatinny Rings
Solid-top receiver tapped for scope mount.
39" long
13 3/8" length of pull
8 lbs. approximate weight