Hi - The 70HC was introduced on 1988 as a marketing gimmick to include a 7 round and 15 round magazine. My 1990 Model 70HC I bough used has never seen anything but the 7 or 10 round magazines from me. The rifles are identical between the 70 and 70HC except for the roll stamp and the 7 round vs additional 15 round Marlin magazine. All my Model 70's have the heavier barrel compared to the newer 795s.

Matt

 

Hi Matt. Mine came with the 15 round plastic magazine, no 7 rounder. I bought 7 and 10 round magazines since. I also have a 15 round straight steel magazine that fits my 925 and 70 Marlin. Does your 1990 model 70HC have 70 or 70HC stamped on the barrel? Thanks

 

70HC on the barrel roll stamp - bought at auction so no magazine with it

 

My 1990 example is marked 70HC and is SN # 105xxxxx, and came with a 15-round plastic magazine (made by Ram-Line). Those magazines had very thin, brittle feed lips and usually didn't hold up very well. A 25-rounder was also offered as an accessory, both under the Marlin brand as well as straight from Ram-Line but it had the same flaws. Marlin-marked mags have a bright orange follower while the Ram-Lines don't. Like most people I stopped using those and ran the OEM steel 7-rounders instead.

A few years ago I decided to give the ProMag 25-round polymer mags a try, and to my surprise those actually worked quite well. I still recommend using the OEM steel mags if you can find them, but at least there's another option if you want to keep the HC in your Model 70HC.

 

These really are very nice guns. My Model 70 is not marked HC. It is serial #103,XXXXX. I bought it used, no box but has the 15 round capacity magazine and owners manual stating Model 70HC. ???