Starting to hear good reports on current Remlins?

[Canuck Bob]

On forums there are reports that the new Marlins are much better in quality. Anyone inspected this new crop of Marlins from the Remlin camp? I'm not buying anything but really want the Marlin rifle to prosper.

[.45colt]

The stainless 45-70's I have looked at were pretty good all around, though pricey. I don't like the look of the blue/walnut 30-30's I have seen.
One of the Young associate Pastors at Church bought a new Remlin SBL 45-70 last year. Killed a nice buck with it in December. I talked to Him Monday and His feet haven't yet hit the ground.
" it was accurate right out of the box"...."the 45-70 is awesome". I think He is one Happy Guy. .

[Ray Newman]

In December '14, I examined two Classic 1895 .45-70 rifles at the local Cabela's. Wood to metal fit still had a some gaps. On one the "checkering" was atrocious; the other was so-so. In February '14, I bought a 30 WCF 336 youth and it was well done -- checkering matched and even though there is a slight gap on the receiver wood to metal fi, this was not a deal breaker. Action was a bit sticky but after cycling it about 20-25 times, it smoothed right up.

Still think you need to carefully examine the rifle before laying down the money.

[Sixgun]

Let me explain what happens when a manufacturer is known for putting out junk........not sub-par merchandise.....but junk, the way Marlins looked when Remington took over. It's very hard to overcome a reputation....it's best not to make anything at all. Something like the girl down the street who was known to be......easy...........she really has to move to another town.

My bud is the largest Remington dealer on the East Coast, possibly the country and people have stopped asking for new Marlins.......in their minds...junk

Savage had this issue some years back but one thing that saved them is that they never produced junk...only outdated a bit with not embracing what the youngsters wanted.......they now are producing a gun that an individual can buy with confidence.

I grew up thinking that Winchester was the pelosi........then in 64, sub-par guns were being made...but nothing like today's Remlins...those post 64 Winchesters still shot like a smokin hot hoe on Saturday night.

Personally, I would not give 10 cents for any modern Marlin....as much as I badmouth Italian guns, I would buy an Italain gun before a Marlin.....Remington/Marlin made these business decisions, not me.-------6

[Malamute]

I hereby formally propose that the pre-remington takeover period of Marlin history should be called "Pre-apocalypse" Marlins and "Post-apocalypse" Marlins.

[hayabusa]

Of course I am half blind, but the 308 MX I purchased about two months ago (blue & walnut) looks very good to me. According to the Bbl code it was born in 2014. The action felt a lot smoother after being dry fired several hundred times, it was not bad it was not bad from the start. I am pleased with it.
This was the first one that I have put my eyes on since they first came out.

hayabusa

[sore shoulder]

Me and malamute saw one that looked like those afghani gun makers built it with a file and and hammer.

[65bee]

Marlin is on life-support! They will not last much longer. As 'sixgun' says, junk is junk! I also came of age in the 1960s, and the Winchesters made during that period, particularly the model 94s were unadulterated stuff. Stamped parts, hollow pins, birch stocks, sintered-metal receivers. Say what you will, but Winchester never really recovered from that debacle. They tried, and did turn out some decent 70s and 94s later, but the hand-writing was on the wall. Compare a Marlin 336 from 1966 with a Win. 94 from that period. NO COMPARISON! Some of Marlins' best years were during the late 60s to early 2000s. They sold a train-load of rifles by keeping their quality first-rate. The new Remlins are disgusting and are Marlins in name only. One old-time local dealer I have known for years won't stock a new Marlin. Wal-Mart may move a few to unknowing and no-clue customers, but the real gun guys have given up on them. The whole Marlin - Remington situation makes me want to puke!

[CowboyTutt]

Dang, sorry to read this. Could have used some good Marlin news. -Tutt

[CowboyTutt]

My best friend just bought a new in box Marlin 94 in 44 Mag for a McPherson gun project. He's going to shoot it some first though. I'll have him report back what he thinks but the wood on it looked surprisingly good. -Tutt

[1894c]

nuts... :(

[sore shoulder]

The new Remlins are disgusting and are Marlins in name only.

MINO. I like it.

[DPris]

Not entirely accurate.
Marlin is far from over.

They've re-organized management, spent a bundle on new equipment, developed drawings that had not previously existed, re-trained their Ilion people, and they ARE getting better.
Marlin does not share floor space with Remington & does not swap workers back & forth.

The 1894 I posted about from last June was miles ahead of what I'd been seeing previously.

They've been delayed on that one's re-intro, but it's coming along.

They're working on the 39A now.

Give 'em time.
Denis

[wm]

I'm trying to stay open minded about the Remlins......... while I de[lore the way Remington has mismanaged them I hope they learn from their mistakes and return Marlin to its rightful place.

I don't want to see another American company dissolve and be replaced in the market place by imports. But capitalism and the free market being what it is, a company either makes good stuff or they get squeezed out. I don't want to see junk proudly stamped "Made in America"

[Canuck Bob]

The responses don't predict a good future. Loss of confidence is devastating for a brand. But an extensive internet search has revealed some folks are happy with very recent purchases. I'm planning a browse to see any that may be on display for myself.

[AJMD429]

I have enough Marlins that the only ones I'd consider adding to the collection would be ones I can't now afford ('vintage' ones in pristine shape, or maybe a 1894CL in 25-20 just to complete the set of three CL's).

BUT every time I go to a shop that has any Marlins, I fondle/inspect them ('fondle' if they are vintage, and 'inspect' if they are newer ).

I feel like the post-1975 ones I've seen are mostly solid, well-made, but not-necessarily-well-fitted, and that if they are 'smooth as silk' it is not likely because they were that way out-of-the-box.

I also bought some of the 2000-2010 ones, and they were slightly less well-fitted, but still pretty solid and dependable 'working guns'. I didn't care that they would have the occasional wood blemish, or internal parts that needed polishing, because I would have fun spending 20-30 minutes fixing the minor issues. I noticed subtle things as I looked closer, like one I bought that had a barrel with the front sight just slightly tilted (barrel turned in one-degree too much, or whatever). HOWEVER, when I started looking at the 'vintage' ones in gunshops more closely, I soon found a few with the same 'issue' (and I'm not sure that there is any functional 'issue' with the sight not being exactly 'straight', even though it is cosmetically annoying). I think on a 'vintage' gun, I just find that the overall beauty and execution of the gun is so nice it distracts me from such a minor 'issue' - maybe the perceived 'crooked' sights were also post-manufacturing wear-and-tear or bubba-smithing, as well.

I didn't buy any during the couple years where Remington had announced acquisition and the impending move, but the ones I saw had a bit less 'fit', but of the dozen or so I looked at during that era, I didn't see any I wouldn't regard as 'buyable', because again - I regard Marlins made since the 1970's as 'working guns', and not 'fine heirloom-quality firearms' - after all, they aren't priced to be 'heirloom-quality'. I did see numerous forum posts here and elsewhere where there WERE some awful ones that shipped to dealers, and a few that were even not fully functional.

However, as I have continued to 'inspect' ones made this past year which I see on dealer's shelves, they seem to be back to the 1970's or 80's level overall just as judged by cycling the action, looking for major fit/finish issues, and overall impression.

I would NOT hesitate to buy a current-manufacture 'Remlin' but I would inspect it closely, or just keep my serial-number chart handy, because it is really only those couple years I am skeptical of.

Keep in mind that I'm NOT a professional 'collector' nor one who only cares for firearms that are heirloom-quality. I like the beautiful ones to be sure, and own a few (a couple are Marlins, even), but expecting an ordinary Marlin to look like a TurnBull conversion seems silly. I most certainly DO expect reliable FUNCTION, but so far that seems to be an issue that has passed, and for me personally, most of the things that a Marlin would have wrong that would make it 'not function' would be things I would be comfortable fixing myself.

Are they to the point that they are a good gun for a 'newbie' (who wouldn't know what flaws to look for before buying, and wouldn't know how to fix minor issues)...??? Actually at this point, I think they ARE, but I'm sure there are some dealers who haven't sold or returned some of the glitchy ones made during the transition era by disgruntled employees and/or on obsolete equipment, so hopefully those will be bought by folks who fix them, or returned to Marlin, and thus out of the 'market' completely pretty soon.

[RIHMFIRE]

here is what Jeff Quinn had to say about Marlins last year
http://gunblast.com/Marlin-1895CB.htm

[Dave]

I looked at a new 45-70 the other day and while it wasn't as well done as an older Marlin it was better than some of the Remlins I have seen. The buttstock fit wasn't bad. The fore end fit wasn't too bad but it still looked like it was never completely manufactured. Kind of a "fat wood" look but not on purpose. I sure want Marlin to do right since they are about all that is left making levers.

[sore shoulder]

Jeff made a good point, at least Marlin is still made in the US. That counts for a lot these days. Enough to reconsider some of my derision and wait for Jeff to give them the nod.

What I would like to see is Marlin change the barrel threads on the 45-70 to the same type as the .450. I believe this is also what WWG does to strengthen the chamber area.

[CowboyTutt]

Jeff is a stand-up guy. I met him and Boge on two occasions. Jeff was President of the Shootist's a few years back, the people who started this very forum so many years ago. Not sure he still is but guess he probably is. Looks like the Remlin's are coming along. Good news! -Tutt