New Marlins I saw today.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I was at a gun shop today and they had 2 new Marlin Rifles.

Both were .45-70 one was an SBL with the 16" barrel and the big loop lever. It was flat Black and had grey laminated stocks.

The other was a stainless Guide Gun.

I looked these guns over very closely and I have to say both were put together right. Both barrels were timed right and the sights clocked at zero. This used to be a problem for them.

Both said North Haven on the barrels, and both were recently received from Davidsons so I know they were not older guns that had sat for years. Plus
the short barrel configuration is new to the line up within the last year or so.

I have been watching all the Marlins I see for QC problems and I haven't seen any lately.

Your results may vary.

Randy

[G. Blessing]

Thanks Randy, good to know!

That 16" 45-70 is tops on my buy list, but I've been worrying about the quality reports lately...

G.

[GARCIA]

JM marked or the dreaded REP markings?

Tom

[Ziptar]

If the barrel has the JM stamp on the left side of the barrel it's a North Haven production rifle, if it's got a REP on the right side of the barrel its an Ilion production rifle.

[yovinny]

I recently bought a new Marlin 45-70, the blued 22" bbl. model.
The box end lable said 1895 45-70 and serial number matched.
I checked the wood and overall condition, but did'nt look any closer than that.

That was a bad move, I should have inspected everything.
Because I got it home, went to give it a good cleaning and found out I was the proud owner of a new 444 Marlin o)

[Ed in North Texas]

I recently bought a new Marlin 45-70, the blued 22" bbl. model.
The box end lable said 1895 45-70 and serial number matched.
I checked the wood and overall condition, but did'nt look any closer than that.

That was a bad move, I should have inspected everything.
Because I got it home, went to give it a good cleaning and found out I was the proud owner of a new 444 Marlin o)

That dealer had a bigger problem than you had (I'm assuming you have returned the rifle to the store). His part of the ATF Form 4473 was filled out improperly. The block for "caliber" was wrong.

[btroj]

Guys- at some point Rem will make a good rifle. Someone will be the first to report the fine new rifle. Just because it has the old markings doesn't make it good and not all the new ones have to be bad.
I really don't care but this "Internet rumor" type thing is what gets carried away. This spreads like wildfire and becomes fact. Sort of like no cast in micro groove barrels.

Thanks for reporting what you saw Randy. I prefer first hand knowledge over what is "reported" to have been.

[W.R.Buchanan]

btroj: I agree totally. I deal in fact not speculation, or disgruntled BS

Anyone who thinks Remington can't make a Marlin Rifle is a fool. They may have some production hiccups but they will get it right, and in the end they will probably be better than what came before. I have a pretty good understanding of these guns and I could easily make every part except the actual receiver in my humble shop. I could probably eventually make the receiver too but it would be more challenging.

I don't have anything close to the resources as Remington.

Hell, Rossi is even making Marlin Rifles.

I'm anxious to see what they show at the next SHOT Show.

Randy

[Jailer]

Well, I recently purchased a new REM barreled 1895 SBL. I did this full well knowing all of the internet reports of nothing good coming out of the new Remlington plant.

The action was a bit rough and stiff and pretty much every machined surface was as sharp as razor blades. Every round I would load into the magazine would shave lead, brass and skin.

But!

I followed a few guides that I found on line (thanks W R) and smoothed the action as well as the interior of the receiver. I also added Wolff reduced power lever and trigger springs and a happy trigger and this thing is as smooth as butter now.

The barrel was clocked correctly (I checked before I bought it) and the barrel rifling looks great (again checked before I bought it) and I couldn't be happier. This is my first lever gun and the thing shoots better than I can by far. I've had 5 shot groups under an inch at 50 yards with 3 shots touching (open sights) and I'm just beginning my load development.

Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know. But I do know that with a little work and a bit of careful inspection it is possible to get a good new Marlin. You just have to look it over good before you plunk down your hard earned greenbacks.

Just my $.02, YMMV...so on and so forth......

[runfiverun]

so you are happy with a rifle you paid 100.00 ,or more, for than you woulda paid a year ago.
and had to put a new trigger in.
and new springs in
and file most everything inside it to fit
and finish the machine work too?

other than that, it's fine then?

[Jailer]

so you are happy with a rifle you paid 100.00 ,or more, for than you woulda paid a year ago.
and had to put a new trigger in.
and new springs in
and file most everything inside it to fit
and finish the machine work too?

other than that, it's fine then?

Yes I am.

[Old Goat Keeper]

On that gun it may be a remington built rifle but they are/did use the left over New Haven barrels and they would be marked JM. And I agree that remington will eventually build good Marlins IF the headhunters and efficiency specailsts (think cost cutters) leave remington alone to do the job.

T-o-m

[Keyston44]

On that gun it may be a remington built rifle but they are/did use the left over New Haven barrels and they would be marked JM.

T-o-m

When Remington used the left over Marlin barrels, they had to use the Remington proof mark(REP). So if the barrel is marked "JM", it's a Marlin (New Haven) gun.

Key

[btroj]

Yes I am.

And that is all that matters. It is your gun so it only needs to fulfill your expectations, not anyone else's.

I am going to assume you would have swapped put the springs and trigger even if it were a 10 years old Marlin. This was just something you wanted to do, correct? My point being that the location and date of manufacture of the rifle had no bearing on your decision to swap out these parts.

I keep hearing all this about the horrible "Remlins" but they are almost all second hand info. I prefer first hand info over Internet rumor.

[Jailer]

I am going to assume you would have swapped put the springs and trigger even if it were a 10 years old Marlin. This was just something you wanted to do, correct? My point being that the location and date of manufacture of the rifle had no bearing on your decision to swap out these parts.


That is correct. I didn't feel it needed these parts, it was just something I wanted to do for an overall improvement in the gun.

I'm a tinkerer at heart and I just can't leave anything alone. But those parts did make an improvement over factory. The trigger was a marginal improvement as the stock trigger was excellent. The happy trigger just made it lighter.

[btroj]

So we can either jump to conclusions or we can ask the right questions.
I keep hearing from all these people about the horrible new Marlins but haven't seen any actual shooting results. I want to hear from people who actually bought the gun and shot it.

[Jailer]

There have been some really bad ones that have made it out the door. Go over to the Marlin owners forums and check out the rant threads. A few with improperly clocked barrels, one with pics of a chunk of rifling missing at the crown and one owner reported receiving one with no rifling in the barrel.

Definitely some screwy things going on at the Marlin plant for things like that to make it past QC. I'm just glad I got a good one.

[Ed in North Texas]

so you are happy with a rifle you paid 100.00 ,or more, for than you woulda paid a year ago.
and had to put a new trigger in.
and new springs in
and file most everything inside it to fit
and finish the machine work too?

other than that, it's fine then?

I think most of us expect things will cost more than they did before. I'm not refusing to buy Ford trucks because they no longer MSRP at $1800.00, nor am I refusing to buy gasoline because there aren't gas wars bringing the price down to $0.149 per gallon from the "normal" $0.169 to $0.199 (OK, I gave away my age a bit there). Would I be happier if both were still true? You bet! Most things are more expensive today than they were a year ago. And many products aren't as well made as they used to be. If the situation with Marlin and Remington is the same a year from now, then we can say we have evidence that Remington will not get them right.

Full Disclosure: I haven't bought a new Marlin in about 30 years, Those I bought within the past year are 1950s versions. The prices were "right".

[W.R.Buchanan]

All of the Marlins no matter when they were built need some TLC. If the idea of spending 2-3 hours deburring and getting to know the inside of your new gun bothers you then, you can always run the action about 1000 times with some toothpaste in it. (Do dissassemble and clean afterwards.)

If you look at the difference in pricing between the Winchesters and Marlins you will see a big difference.

A $1000 Marlin would be a pretty nice gun, and if they slicked the action like they did with the 1894 38 Spec. Competition models (which were over $1000) and added some nicer wood,,, then that's exactly what you'd get.

But My 1895 was $525 NIB, and the few hours I have in it made it into something you CAN'T BUY!

Same with my 1894 .44 mag Rifle It was $525 also, you can't buy one like it either.

My 1958 336 was $225 and I did all the same things to it, and there aren't any .30-30's like it either.

My .44 carbine is a 90's gun and was used in Cowboy Shooting. It has had many rounds thru it but it is still not as slick as my other .44. with 2 hours of interior work I paid $325 for it. I bought it to make it into a takedown. I'll have to spend some money for a new barrel, but in the end it will be a custom gun as well, and undoubtably one of my favorites.

You can do alot of work to a gun for $300.

My 39AS is a 1991 gun. I paid $375 for it I have done everything to it (except the wood refinish) and it is so sweet it is disgusting.

The fact that the factory doesn't not do these operations to new guns is because it is all hand work and takes time. Time is money! And keeping the price down sells more guns. They could do some of it by refining production operations a little, but until they figure this out, things will continue as is. And that's not a bad thing.

The new ones I saw would take the same 2 hours and $10 spring kit to achieve the same results as above. No need to do the stocks as they were grey laminate. Very tough and suitable for hard use like in the hands of a full time guide! And at $625 for the 16" SBL That's a pretty good value.

These guns are good value and just making sure the barrel is screwed on right and nothing is falling off is not too much to ask from the factory but it is also in your best interest to check before you buy. Even Guns America sources give a 3 day inspection period, so you can make sure you're getting a good one.

Or you can be a victim, and whine.

Randy

[runfiverun]

i'm looking for a good levergun and am trying to ask as many questions as possible.
i have several right now and i base whats out there on what i have now.
the newer rossi's aren't as good as the navy arms one i bought 20 years ago.
and the lsi import i bought some [7] years back is better than some in between those two.
i only have one marlin right now.
but i am looking for a replacement for the winchester 94 ae rebounding hammered 700.00 engraved two piece firing pin piece of [?] that looks nice.
i just want something i can buy, take out of the box and shoot, then take it hunting for 2 weeks without the sights falling off, or jamming up so bad i have to take the whole gun apart to fix it.
heck charge me 50 bucks more for a gun that works. properly.

[grubbylabs]

Well I just bought a new Marlin 1895 with the 22" barrel and so far I am happy with its fit and finish. I have shot it twice and there were some issues with loading the ammo from the tube. I figure that if I take a few minutes of my time and do some polishing it will cure the problem. All in all I figure that for 513.00 new in the box it is a pretty good deal. I hope to enjoy many years of good service from it. But I will give an honest review after a few rounds so that there is a first hand reference for marlin quality on this forum.

[popper]

Why do you think products have warranties? If it worked right until you broke it or it just plain wore out, there would be no need for warranties. I like my Marlins. I fixed what problems they had. I have no clue as to what Rem management or QC is going to do, Like all manufacturing companies, they feel it is cheaper to fix returns than make it perfect out the door. It would help if the retailer would do an inspection and return defective parts, but that is not going to happen, so INSPECT it yourself, pay someone to inspect it for you or return for repair. Your choice.

[grubbylabs]

So I have put almost a box full of ammo through my brand new marlin and it seems to be functioning fine. It was having some feeding issues but with the help of the fine folks over at the Marlin owners forum I was able to make the right adjustment to the ejections spring and now it feed great. I still need to tap the rear site just a few more times to have it perfectly centered but all in all for the price it seems to be a quality gun.

[Baja_Traveler]

All of the Marlins no matter when they were built need some TLC.

Randy

Not only Marlins - Every mass produced rifle made needs at least trigger work done to it no matter what year it was manufactured (maybe with the exception of the Savage Acutrigger or a semi-custom Cooper).
I just did my 1968 Winchester 94 Buffalo Bill, which had a god awful trigger pull, and now I have another '67 Canadian Centennial with the same crappy trigger - it will get the same attention soon.