New Remlin!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Well I just got back from my local Hardware store where they sell guns.

To my surprise there was a brand new made in "Illion NY" Marlin 336.

The first two didgits of the SN were MR ! for Marlin/Remington I guess.

I looked this gun over really well and even though the wood was the homelyest I have ever on a Marlin (looked like something off the bottom of the line H&R shotguns) Not walnut but maybe light stained Birch.

The Metal work was really good!

I looked at the gun for about 5 minutes even though it was already sold. As I said the metal work was really nice, all the parts fit nicely, the finish was nice and the barrel was timed right so the sights were strait up and down. The action was a little rough but no more so than any other new Marlin I have seen or handled. This gun was light years ahead of ahead of anything new I have seen in the last two years as far as the metal work was concerned!

Would have loved to take it apart, to look at the inside and see what kind of machine work was in there!

This is the first Remlin I have actually seen in person. It was a Remlin for sure as the barrel was rollmarked Illion NY! All purported Remlins I have heard of did not say this. They said North Haven CT and were assembled from NOS parts. Not actually made by Remington.

This gun came in by UPS today at 1 PM and was sold by 1:15PM ! $485

If they would just now do something nicer with the wood I think they would be back better than ever.

This gun proves they are actually going to make the brand and not shelve or dump it. The nay sayers were wrong again.

Randy

[btroj]

Great news if you ask me!

All the Internet rumor was just that, rumor. Only time will tell how things work put. Souds like the prospects are looking up.

Thanks Randy

[Ed in North Texas]

Thanks for the first hand report.

[TXGunNut]

Don't tell the folks over on the Marlin forum...until I get mine.

[Gtek]

A lot of people buy lottery tickets, how many win? I am glad you won. Gtek

[W.R.Buchanan]

Gtek: I didn't buy this gun. It was already sold by the time I got there, and I wouldn't have bought it anyway as I already have a 336 made in 1958 in .30-30. So I didn't "win" anything.

All this post showed is that they are producing product and what they are doing looked (as far as the metal goes) to be better than what they were doing 2 years ago. By a long shot.

They still need some work on the wood, but really that is the easy part.

The new guns will have Illion NY on the barrel and the serial numbers will have MR as the first two didgits. Guns made last year had 89 as the first two didgits indicating 2011. 100-89=11

Anything without the MR prefix was probably assembled with NOS parts.

Randy

[TXGunNut]

Anything without the MR prefix was probably assembled with NOS parts.

Randy

I think its a transition thing, I fondled a new 336 in 30-30 yesterday (and last weekend) ond it has an MR SN and New Haven markings on the barrel. Stock could be birch on this one as well, very little finish. Almost rough. Metal finish was good, as was the one you saw. Barrel was clocked just a few degrees off but it took me awhile to catch that, just didn't look right. It was on the clearance rack priced @ $399, just like a well used one in the next rack. There were three of them last weekend and I kicked it around all week. Went back yesterday thinking about buying it. Just couldn't do it.

[pistolman44]

I have been looking for a 45-70 guide gun but haven't had any luck so far. some places only had the SS model with the picanny rail mount. I want a blued one. Like to find one with the large lever loop. One dealer had a GBL model but wood and metal had some issues. Also the sights didn't look right to me. I'll just keep looking. I hope Remington gets their head out of you know where to produce good rifles like Marlin did before they sold out to Rem.

[9.3X62AL]

Well, I like what I read here! Given my usual uses of a lever rifle, unspectacular wood doesn't bother me a bit. The levergun is a tool--one that I love dearly--but still a pragmatic and practical hunting impliment, so reliability and mechanical integrity trump cosmetics. The pricing seems decent, too. ALL GOOD!

[colt1960]

I picked my new remlin 45-70 on valentines day. 1895GBL looks good on the metal. Has a laminated brown stock, the fit isnt perfect but there isnt any tang metal showing above the wood and there is about 1/32 of wood on the bottom side by the receiver protruding, but no gaps anywhere. Best looking one I've seen. Rick!

[btroj]

How does it shoot Rick? I am less concerned with appearance than I am with function and accuracy.

[Swampman]

The birched stocked models are cheaper than the walnut stocked models just as they always have been. You can get walnut it's just a different model. Even the old Marlins didn't always have great fit and finish. I've had several that the forearm was all sapwood and didn't match the buttstock at all. Remlins function fine at least the one's I've owned did.

[colt1960]

How does it shoot Rick? I am less concerned with appearance than I am with function and accuracy.

I havent shot it yet. Im going to missouri this weekend for a weeks vacation. I will be shooting it then. Ive only filled the mag tube with 5 rds. and cycled it thru the action a few times so far. It loads and cycles fine. When I get back I will post how it went. Im also bringing back my Dillon 550b so it can start casting and reloading for it. Rick!

[northmn]

The only Remingtons I have seen that I have not cared for is their cheap lineup. The 870 pumps had their two lines and the hardwood stocked ones were said to be best slicked up by shooting the h--l out of them. Kind of think that Marlins may have hope once their growing problems are solved. I had a Remington bolt 270 for longer than I owned any other gun and shot a lot of deer with it. As I shot left handed it was close to the first left hand model they made way back when. Started shooting other guns and sold it recently but it was a good rifle.

DP

[Centaur 1]

It's good to hear that some of the Marlins are getting better. I've only handled one of the new ones and it felt like the action was full of sand. I would take it apart to smooth it out anyway, but it just makes you wonder what else might be wrong with it. One thing that I don't understand is why are they using such poor quality wood? I would rather have a nice looking laminated stock than either birch or a bland piece of walnut. I know that walnut is more expensive than birch, but it can't be that much more. Just take a look at the stocks that Henry puts on their guns. If they can use a nice grade of walnut on a .22 that costs under $300, then why can't marlin use it on their rifles.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I saw two more Remlins today at a different gun shop.

The first was virtually identical to the one in the original post. Same wood Same metal work, however the barrel was turned in about 1 degree too far and the fronnt sight was cocked slightly to the left. Not much but still noticable to the eye that is looking for that issue.

I really can't understand why they can't fix this issue. If they can't do it with consistant torque, then they should cut the sight dovetails after the barrel is installed. That is the easiest way to fix this obvious and demeaning problem.

The other gun was a completely different matter. It was a 1894 in.357Mag! New gun made from new parts by Remington.

The barrel was timed right on this gun, the wood was nice dark Walnut, but the action was very stiff and rough. It would need an action job just to be fit to shoot, allthough I guess if you shot it a few hundred times it would break in. All that said the gun looked nice as any new Marlin I have seen and better than the two new ones I have purchased.

It also confirms that they are producing 1894's again. I believe these guns came from Davidsons. Both guns had MR serial numbers and Illion NY on the barrels.

They are back now if they just push for some refinement in the process they'll have it beat.

Randy

[TXGunNut]

Thanks for the good news, Randy. I'm thinking my next new Marlin will wear a compact 2-7 scope but the barrel index thing bothers me, even if I don't plan on using the sights.

[W.R.Buchanan]

TeX: I think you just have to be preparred to look at the individual guns and find one that is right. It might not be a bad idea to wait for a few more months and see what comes down the pike as far as overall quality.

If they are using a specific barrel torque to time the barrels they are never going to get it right. There are minor variations in the Pitch diameter of the threads both internal and external that will add up to enough variation that they will never achieve 100% success.

The two ways I see to fix this problem are either to have a jig to put the reciever in that would allow good optical feedback when the dovetails are aligned with the reciever.

Or cut the dovetails after the barrel is installed.

As far as the 1894 being rough to operate, just running the internal parts in the tumbler a little longer will fix 90 % of that issue.

These items are nothing major and ALL production processes have minor tweaking that must occur to achieve a perfect product.

I will say that it appears that they are on the right track and Marlin is still alive despite all of the NAY Sayer's Yapping.

I have never been very supportive of spreading BS, It has happened to me and I didn't like it, and it generally pisses me off. I pretty much hate people who don't know what they are talking about and yet choose to open their mouths as soon as they have something bad to say. (see Marlin owners forum) I think most can relate. There are just certain people who's lifes mission is to spread hate and discontent. I generally feel pity for them but in lue of that I just love to shoot them down.

Nothing shuts the naysayer up faster than the truth.

Randy

[TXGunNut]

Thanks, Randy. Couldn't have said it better myself. There's a new Marlin in my future but if I snag a good used one (or two) while I'm waiting that's OK too. I love old guns but I generally hunt with and shoot relatively new ones, even if they are a bit old-fashioned.

[btroj]

I agree entirely Randy. Way too many Remlin experts out there who have never seen one. I hate the "a friend of a friend of a cousin of my friend" first hand reports!

Remiton will most likely get it right. marlin wasn't always great with quality control either so I don't see that as an issue really.

I just want well made, quality guns. I don't mind a bit of smoothing of the action being required. I find that Marlins all needed that anyway. Give them a few years of use and they sure smooth out.

I will certainly buy a Remlin if I find one in a cartridge that tweaks my interest. I sure would like a 25-20.