RE: 45/70 Government & Marlin 1895 Cowboy Question
I don't care if I do catch some flak for this, but Walmart has them for special orders for $532. It's the same gun, that's where I got mine (of course I got mine for $535 instead of $532 since I bought it two years ago!!). I asked them before I ordered if it showed up and wasn't EXACTLY what I had in mind or wanted if I got my deposit back, and they said I would, so I ordered it, three months later (of course it was on back order at the time) I got it, and the manager threw in a free box of winchester ammo for my inconvenience (pretty certain he's not supposed to do that!!!).
They're nation wide at $532, so unless you've got some weird tax or something on them in your state, or your walmart uses a different distributor than those from TX up to MN, it should be that price at your store. If it isn't, I'd print off their website page that shows that price and take it into the store.
My feelings on buying from walmart, I've typically got more gun/hunting experience than the gun shop clerks I buy from, so I don't honestly gain from their "experience" anyway, so why not just buy my guns from the cheapest place?