I tried to like it.

[Backwoodsdave]

I'd have to see this in person or with a good picture as I see it being difficult for a gun with a Octagon Barrel to have the front sight canted with out the whole barrel being canted as well. If it wasn't timed right it is a simple fix to twist it back a few degrees.
Randy

Well, I can’t show it to you in person or send you a photo of it so I suppose you’ll just have to go on my word, a mans word is still worth something today right ? I know a canted sight when I see one and the guy behind the counter agreed, the barrel was not over clocked as I looked closely for that issue myself, I’ve built muzzleloaders with octagon barrels and cut sight dovetails both by hand and on the mill, mine aren’t canted, my point is, a major manufacturing corporation should have a better quality control department, especially if they are serious about getting their reputation for quality back, I have several older Marlins, non have had to have the extensive work needed that you’ve experienced, it boils down to I don’t believe I should need to time a barrel or do extensive work on a thousand rifle to get it functional, ymmv.

[indian joe]

Well, I can’t show it to you in person or send you a photo of it so I suppose you’ll just have to go on my word, a mans word is still worth something today right ? I know a canted sight when I see one and the guy behind the counter agreed, the barrel was not over clocked as I looked closely for that issue myself, I’ve built muzzleloaders with octagon barrels and cut sight dovetails both by hand and on the mill, mine aren’t canted, my point is, a major manufacturing corporation should have a better quality control department, especially if they are serious about getting their reputation for quality back, I have several older Marlins, non have had to have the extensive work needed that you’ve experienced, it boils down to I don’t believe I should need to time a barrel or do extensive work on a thousand rifle to get it functional, ymmv.

we believe you but you have to admit its a pretty obvious question? -any fool with a cheap mill in their garage would get the sight dovetail aligned with the barrel flats - might cut it too deep or too big but getting it canted out of skew with the barrel flats is a whole nuther level of slackness ...................

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, modern guns on modern equipment should have better tolerances, but as far as fit and finish, these newer guns can’t hold a candle to the older leverguns. Just go over to some of the other sites and read the nightmares that have been coming from Remlin. Canted sites, barrel droop, insufficient rifling, etc. They may be better now, but they are still putting out clunkers and it’s everything that Remington makes. I am glad for the people that think the older rifles are junk because I wii take them.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, modern guns on modern equipment should have better tolerances, but as far as fit and finish, these newer guns can’t hold a candle to the older leverguns. Just go over to some of the other sites and read the nightmares that have been coming from Remlin. Canted sites, barrel droop, insufficient rifling, etc. They may be better now, but they are still putting out clunkers and it’s everything that Remington makes. I am glad for the people that think the older rifles are junk because I wii take them.

[Shawlerbrook]

Sorry for the double post.

[Backwoodsdave]

we believe you but you have to admit its a pretty obvious question? -any fool with a cheap mill in their garage would get the sight dovetail aligned with the barrel flats - might cut it too deep or too big but getting it canted out of skew with the barrel flats is a whole nuther level of slackness ...................

His actual quote was, (”I'd have to see this in person or with a good picture as I see it being difficult for a gun with a Octagon Barrel to have the front sight canted with out the whole barrel being canted as well”) that’s not so much a question as it is an insinuation that either I’m full of it, or, I just don’t know what I’m looking at, and you’re statement about any fool being able to mill a dovetail on a flat makes an excellent point, the problem is, fools in basements aren’t milling new Marlin barrels, cnc machines are, and they do occasionally make mistakes, it’s up to QC after the fact to catch these mistakes, Remington seems to be slacking in this department imho.

[indian joe]

His actual quote was, (”I'd have to see this in person or with a good picture as I see it being difficult for a gun with a Octagon Barrel to have the front sight canted with out the whole barrel being canted as well”) that’s not so much a question as it is an insinuation that either I’m full of it, or, I just don’t know what I’m looking at, and you’re statement about any fool being able to mill a dovetail on a flat makes an excellent point, the problem is, fools in basements aren’t milling new Marlin barrels, cnc machines are, and they do occasionally make mistakes, it’s up to QC after the fact to catch these mistakes,

Remington seems to be slacking in this department imho.

That was my whole point !

[CamoWhamo]

I ordered a 336C in .35 Rem last year. I received a rifle made in 2017. Got it home and noticed the sights were canted. Mainly the front sight was canted to the right and i couldn't get a Skinner peep sight properly zero'd.
I couldn't return it because i'm in Australia and it was the last one in the country and warranty returns take months to get back.

I made a custom front sight with an off-set blade (0.040") which got me zero'd but looked odd and drove me nuts.
Eventually I stuck the barrel in a barrel vice and used a home-made receiver wrench to cinch the barrel the 1/16th of a turn to level the front sight.
This put the rear dovetail out of alignment but as i had removed the factory rear sight and put a blank in there i wasn't overly concerned.

A few months back i was looking for a .357 Mag rifle. I looked at 3 1894C's and they all had crooked sights.

I ended up getting a Dark series and happy to report that the XS sights and rail are mounted straight and true on that one.

[Ozark mike]

Jus get a henry and be on your way my 44mag is a real well put together rifle besides they dont have that stupid cross bolt safety jus a transfer bar which i have never had a problem with. I did file the carrier so it would accept a longer coal

[cwlongshot]

I sold off all three of my "COWBOYS". 45 Colt, 38/55 & 45/70.

LOVE all these calibers, but Ultimately Im better served with shorter barrels for them.

CW

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just go over to some of the other sites and read the nightmares that have been coming from Remlin.

And therein lies the root of the problem !

Sites like "Marlin Owners Group" are populated by the very same Ex Employees that ran the company into the ground in the first place.

When Remington took over Marlin they assembled guns with the existing stock of parts that all were made by JM Marlin Employees after they had found out their jobs were being moved to NY. There is a serious amount of well known documentation on the Disgruntled Employees and how they were retaliating on the move. They were all offered jobs in NY and the actual move was less than 100 miles but few went along.

Remington had to take each Marlin Gun and reverse engineer it, make new drawings, buy new machinery and generate programs to make each part to current manufacturing standards. This actually took some time and whole lot of money.

But the whiners were working overtime spreading their BS just like Adam Schifft does every day on CNN!!!

However the guns that they have been producing on the new machinery for the last 2-3 years have been far superior to anything JM Marlin ever made. The tolerances held with modern CNC machinery far exceeds anything you could do with a Broach which is exactly what was used to open the internal cavity on a Marlin Receiver.

Even the wood or whatever laminate they are using is cut on a CNC machine and all of the guns I have looked at that were above the Generic Truckgun class of Marlin IE: the ones above $5-600 have been excellent.

In case you guys haven't heard, there are 4 levels of Marlin Leverguns.

1. There is the Basic Truck Gun which has pretty bland wood and a painted finish, almost no hand work is put into these guns so they can make a price point.

2. The $7-900 guns which are much nicer have better quality wood and blued finishes and the actions run smoother due to some Hand Work put into them. All of these first two levels of guns need TLC to make them right.

3. The "LE" Rifles are MUCH nicer have premium wood and finishes and more hand work and run around $1300.

4. And the Custom Shop Guns which start at $3600 and can be anything you want. These are made in the Dakota Arms Shop which Remington owns.

Finally, please note, that I am not a big fan of Remington. Some of their business practices are pretty off putting to me. Buying DPMS, Bushmaster and TApco and killing them pissed me off!!!

But the idea that they "don't know how to make good guns?" is not part of that picture! That company has been making Quality Guns for the last 150+ years. And making someone else's guns after they bought a failing company is not a big stretch, and especially when they didn't even get decent drawings with the package. These guns are not really Marlins. They are Marlin designs made by Remington ! and better off for it !!!

Unless they actually sold the whole company to the Navajo Nation ? In which case it remains to be seen if it goes up or down.

Remlins have suffered most from Bad PR and if you haven't noticed this is running rampant in our society right now and getting worse everyday. Everybody want to bitph about everything because they are cooped up at home and the only outlet is the internet and Rioting in the streets at night.

Our current President suffers from the same type of endless attacks from people who aren't even qualified to wipe his rear, but seem to know more about him and how to do his job than they could possibly really know.

I choose not to believe Internet Drivel when it conflicts with what I already know to be true, and have seen with my own eyes, and I feel as a Machinist /toolmaker with 40 years in the trade and being a machine shop owner I have some idea of where I speak..

As far as a canted sight on a octagon barrel? Maybe the sight blade itself was bent?

Randy

[sghart3578]

Randy,

Thank you for taking the time to make several points that I have had bouncing around in my head but don't have the eloquence to put on paper.

I am a Marlin lover. I have JM's and Remlins and I like them all.

As to the forum for the Marlin Owner's, I have been given a couple of timeouts over there. Why? Not because i flamed anyone, not because I went on a profanity laced tirade about anything. That is not my nature. I am a glass half full kind of guy.

I simply told them that the old Marlins are gone forever, just like Elvis, split window Corvettes and pre-64 Winchesters. And rather than let hate and malice burn them up they should give the new Marlins a chance.

On the subject of canted sights I wonder. Is the sight actually canted? Like the barrel is under or over torqued? Or is the sight drifted over to one side? And we all know that Marlin isn't the only one guilty of this. I have returned brand new Rugers and Smith and Wessons for sight alignment problems.

To me the answer is simple. If you see a problem then don't spend your money on it. And if you do then let Marlin fix it. Their customer service is excellent.

And finally, don't take it personally when someone here asks for more details. It's not an insult. And if you think that is then just ignore it.


Steve in N CA

[indian joe]

Randy,

Thank you for taking the time to make several points that I have had bouncing around in my head but don't have the eloquence to put on paper.

I am a Marlin lover. I have JM's and Remlins and I like them all.

As to the forum for the Marlin Owner's, I have been given a couple of timeouts over there. Why? Not because i flamed anyone, not because I went on a profanity laced tirade about anything. That is not my nature. I am a glass half full kind of guy.

I simply told them that the old Marlins are gone forever, just like Elvis, split window Corvettes and pre-64 Winchesters. And rather than let hate and malice burn them up they should give the new Marlins a chance.

On the subject of canted sights I wonder. Is the sight actually canted? Like the barrel is under or over torqued? Or is the sight drifted over to one side? And we all know that Marlin isn't the only one guilty of this. I have returned brand new Rugers and Smith and Wessons for sight alignment problems.

To me the answer is simple. If you see a problem then don't spend your money on it. And if you do then let Marlin fix it. Their customer service is excellent.

And finally, don't take it personally when someone here asks for more details. It's not an insult. And if you think that is then just ignore it.


Steve in N CA

back to the start I guess ? a barrel over or under torqued is a simple explanation - easy enough to mess that up and not a difficult fix --- sight dovetail out of alignment with the flats on an octagonal barrel? - in a modern machine shop you would need to try really hard to get that to happen - either way it should never get out the door of the factory.

[sghart3578]

back to the start I guess ? a barrel over or under torqued is a simple explanation - easy enough to mess that up and not a difficult fix --- sight dovetail out of alignment with the flats on an octagonal barrel? - in a modern machine shop you would need to try really hard to get that to happen - either way it should never get out the door of the factory.

I fully agree with you. My point was that every manufacturer let's some slip through. If you get stuck with one, regardless of how, let them try to fix it.

I work with a guy that bought a brand new Sig P220. Not exactly a cheap gun. First cleaning after the first range trip the take down lever broke. My friend was understandably peed off.

Bottom line, Sig fixed it and on top of that, they admitted that the flimsier levers were a cost savings measure.

They all do it. Marlin, Chevy, Microsoft.

I just have learned to deal with it. I wish it weren't so but wishes are cheap.


Steve in N CA

[Ozark mike]

My latest lever gun is a remlin and it holds a good group but the factory sights was garbage. Couldnt get the rear sight high enough to hit poa at any distance not to mention the action was a joke. Several hours of machine work along with some stoning/polishing and some mullah in parts i am proud to say i own a custom rifle that has the slickest action i have held to date but it cannot be compared to what marlin is pumping out nowadays

[W.R.Buchanan]

My latest lever gun is a remlin and it holds a good group but the factory sights was garbage. Couldnt get the rear sight high enough to hit poa at any distance not to mention the action was a joke. Several hours of machine work along with some stoning/polishing and some mullah in parts i am proud to say i own a custom rifle that has the slickest action i have held to date but it cannot be compared to what marlin is pumping out nowadays

Yes and my 1894 CB and 1895 CB took about 2 hours each cleaning up the actions and getting them to run smooth. Instructions are over at www.leverguns.com and it is worth a look because if you can operate a file and sandpaper you can do it too!

Took about a Week each to refinish the wood on each gun.

Both of my guns are excellent shooters and look like the $1300 guns.
If you look at the "Generic Marlins" as starting points for making them into really nice rifles you get the picture. They all need TLC to be nice so just get over it, and learn to work on your guns. It's actually fun and it ain't that hard.

I don't own any guns that I haven't worked on at some time or another.

Randy

[indian joe]

The human is a strange critter - I decided at some point of my life that I dont like Marlins - have absolutely no reason or logic to support that - never owned one - never even shot one. Maybe should say I like Winchesters better cuz a marlin is better than any bolt, pump or semi auto simply from the fact that it has a lever underneath to work it with.

Marlins are better because ???
you can put a scope on a marlin ! ........nah - go away scopes belong on bolt guns
they spit the emptys out the side ! .... nah - go away I like the sound of emptys landing on my hat brim

Winchesters are better because .... they just are (to a wincester fan)
just like fords are better than GM (to a ford fan)

[Ozark mike]

Hey you wont catch me downgrading a good 1886 They accept a longer coal also. My main complaint about winchester is how they screwed henry over in 1866. My marlin wouldn't even chamber a round from the tube it was a pretty crappy gun from the start. Wouldn't do it again thats for sure.

[444ttd]

The human is a strange critter - I decided at some point of my life that I dont like Marlins - have absolutely no reason or logic to support that - never owned one - never even shot one. Maybe should say I like Winchesters better cuz a marlin is better than any bolt, pump or semi auto simply from the fact that it has a lever underneath to work it with.

Marlins are better because ???
you can put a scope on a marlin ! ........nah - go away scopes belong on bolt guns
they spit the emptys out the side ! .... nah - go away I like the sound of emptys landing on my hat brim

Winchesters are better because .... they just are (to a wincester fan)
just like fords are better than GM (to a ford fan)

i luv the old m94s and the old savage 99s even tho i don't have one. heck, i own one lever action and it is a win m94(1972) in 35/30-30. i think (just me) that a lever action with a scope aren't for me. i luv aperture sights so much so i use a williams fp sight on my m94.



i just luv my winchester.

[Mr. Crumbly]

Been around Winchesters all my life, as that is all my family ever swore by, except for my cousin that was an executioner in Louisiana and helped with the Bonnie and Clyde debacle, he had a Marlin in .30-30 at the time and it's still on a wall in my cousins saddle barn. That particular rifle, as a fact, has killed people. I remember when I was a kid, he always had a noose behind the seat of his truck, and in today's world that makes a great little story, but back then we didn't think much of it. But there were plenty 94's around. There were two 73's I remember, but goodness knows what happened to them. All this I recall from when I was just a little kid. I used an old 94' until I bought a new one in the late 80's, it's a 16" barrel, angle eject, and as of around 2000 to 2005 or so, had been through a lot, having ridden in the truck with me everywhere and through the pastures and woods, and developed a little excess headspace too quickly and rather strangely at that, as I only used factory ammo because it was cheap back then. The quality was just not there, like the older ones had, and a splinter occurred right where the knuckle of the index finger rests. Now I have a new Miroku 95' and 73', and they are light-years ahead in quality. I hope nothing ever happens to Miroku, because I'd love to get more. These two are enough, but that's no reason to stop adding to the cabinet. I have never had a desire for a Marlin for some reason. I guess because i don't like the way they look. The older ones like my cousins, look great, but the new ones with the bolt cut-out, and the stock shape, I just can't justify buying one, and when I hear of the awful mess that people have had with the new ones, it makes it even worse.