Remington Marlin 1894C--unsolicted opinion...

[1894c]

I recently bought a REM-Marlin 1894C (357 mag) this August (2011). I have over 400+ 357 rounds through it with NO issues. The fit and finish are similar to my other "pre-REM" Marlins. The action is smooth, chambers well, stock and forearm are good, tight, no wobble, ejects well, and it shoots good. I took the levergun hunting last week, no deer, but that's another long sad story of alledged excuses, although no one in my party connected either.

I know many on this forum have received a less-than-quality product from Remington; I can only hope that my levergun is a step towards a renewed interest in maintaining the high-quality of this American icon. When Remington bought Marlin (I think the selling price was 40 Million $$$, cheap, which told me that Marlin was in deep trouble) I was happy that someone had stepped up to make sure that this brand would not pass into extinction as USRA had.

[gamekeeper]

Congratulations on a great buy.
I hope you are right and that quality is getting better, can you tell by the serial # exactly when it came of the line?

[Old Savage]

That is a good looking rifle - I like the wood. The most recent I saw looked good.

[hightime]

Looks good. Nice pics. But you're not done yet are you? Gun on a deer next.

Owen

[Pete44ru]

Glad you found a good one.

Here's the opposite experience: http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=38122

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[earlmck]

Thanks for the info, rjf. Maybe there is hope for the outfit yet. I'd sure like them to put out levers that a fellow wouldn't mind bringing home to meet the family. Us old Marlin fans have been feeling pretty blue for too long now, so a little good news is well-received.

[O.S.O.K.]

I had problems with my Guide Gun but they reacted quickly and fixed everything to my satisfaction. I really like it. Glad you got a good one and I too hope that's a sign!!

Good hunting!

[AJMD429]

I hope you are right and that quality is getting better, can you tell by the serial # exactly when it came of the line?

It would be nice to have a 'chart' of what serial numbers were produced month-by-month for the past couple years.

The last 'new' Marlin I bought was a .30-30 XLR, which was after the Remington purchase, BUT the same gun had been sitting on the dealer's shelf for at least four years, so I didn't feel too worried.

Personally, I'd more fear the last month's production at the OLD facility, with a bunch of disgruntled end-term workers, vs. the first month's production at the NEW facility, where I would expect there was alot of double-checking. Time will tell.

Personally, since I'm sort of a half-way gunsmith when it comes to small stuff, and since I'll generally get my 'working' guns good and scratched up pretty quickly, I really don't mind if a reasonably-priced new gun has some rough spots or isn't cosmetically perfect (it's better when a used one does, though, because you're likelier to talk the price down a bit). However, from a 'principle' standpoint, even if the gun is reasonably inexpensive, the company needs to keep in mind that some purchasers are 'newbies' who may not have the savvy to fix the bent extractor themselves, or even realize it is bent, and some purchasers are 'collectors' of the sort who will want to keep their gun 'new-in-box' for re-sale in twenty years, and some are just perfectionists who demand a better product. Even though Marlins are more like Vanguards than Weatherbys, and many of us consider them 'working' or 'farm' type guns, I hope they get their act together again. It looks like they are genuinely trying to do so, and I'm not giving up on them yet!

That said, for my purposes and tastes, most often a 10 to 40 year old gun will suit my needs, be plenty strong and 'modern', and have just enough wear to be 'smooth' but not 'loose'...

[scarville]

I've heard mixed reviews about the quality of the new Marlins. A few recent reviews carry some hope that Remington can fix/has fixed whatever is wrong.

[1894c]

Here is the serial number to my REM-marlin 1894c - 91089317

My friend found the levergun in Syracuse, NY, bought it for me at the end of July 2011, I recieved it at the beginning of August.
The LGS where my friend bought the gun told him that they recieved the levergun in June 2011.

I've also noticed on some recent offerings of REM-marlin's that the serial number begins with the prefix "MRXXXXXX" (I think or something like that, they now start with two letters then numbers). Hope this helps, I really think that mine might be a parts gun, parts that were moved from the CT location and assembled in NY, just a hunch. Or new old stock--or a step in the right direction--we'll see.

UP-DATE: Just visited my LGS for a therapy session and handled five differerent REM-marlins. One in 410 shotgun (SS), never seen that before; two 45/70's guide-guns (Blue & SS), and a Blue 30/30 with the larger glove loop, laminated stock (18 1/2" bbl.). The final one was a basic 336 Blue in 30/30 with a gold trigger, the action was rough, fit and finish were ok, no wobble. The first four were serviceable, no wobble in the stock, fit and finish were good (similar to my 1894c), some actions were smoother than others, all-in-all I wouldn't hesitate in buying any of the four--the fifth is a different story.

[J Miller]

rjf415,

I noticed you have what looks like a side mount Williams FP on your Marlin.
Did you D&T or have it D&T'd for the sight or was it already D&T'd?

I only ask because Marlin quit drilling them for side mount sights sometime back.

Joe

[AJMD429]

I noticed you have what looks like a side mount Williams FP on your Marlin.
Did you D&T or have it D&T'd for the sight or was it already D&T'd?

Hmmm, good question...?

[1894c]

rjf415,

I noticed you have what looks like a side mount Williams FP on your Marlin.
Did you D&T or have it D&T'd for the sight or was it already D&T'd?

I only ask because Marlin quit drilling them for side mount sights sometime back.

Joe

Joe--had a local gunsmith D&T the Williams FP Receiver Sight for me--third one I've had done--wish Marlin still pre-D&T--thanks for asking.