ChuckJaxFL
02-02-2019, 10:53 PM
I just picked one of these up to play with. I "took the plunge" and ordered it online, so I didn't have a chance to hold one before purchasing it.
I took it to the range for the first time today, but didn't do any "serious" shooting. I shot it at 25 yards and consumed a bunch odds & ends ammo. After having looked it over & shot it just a little, here are some thoughts & comments.
Overall, it seems like a great purchase. I watched every Marlin complaint video and read every thread I could find. The vast majority of the complaining points do not seem to be a problem with my copy. The front sight is perfectly timed with the rear. The rear sight seems well-centered on its little base, and required no adjustment to center groups. At least not at 25 yards. If I need to tweak it further out, it won't be by much.
Movement of the action lacks any of the grit I've heard others complain about. I know that these have a reputation of "smoothing up" over time. If mine never gets any smoother than it is today, I'll be okay with that. It feels fine.
Same for the trigger. It's unnecessarily heavy, as most every gun is these days. But, the take up is really minimal, and the break is really clean. Not just ok, but really, really good. I may pursue lightening it, but I don't feel the need for anything else and I consider myself somewhat of a "good trigger" snob. I like Geissle triggers in ARs, and my 1911 was built by a guild member.
The lever feels fine on my fingers. I read some complaints about the edges being sharp. Mine feels perfect. I won't smooth it or wrap it.
I've read some complaints about the hammer spur being roughly finished, sharp, and needing stoning on the edges to prevent cutting your thumb. Again, my example is perfect. It looks sharp & square, but feels absolutely fine on my thumb. That said, I went ahead and installed the spur extension since they include it, and I'm sure to scope this thing one day anyways.
The foreend is perfectly fitted, with no wiggle and the wood/metal fit is symmetric all the way around the metal. The barrel channel is fitted closely to the barrel. I don't see any way to make it better.
The stock fit is imperfect. The tang/stock interface has a gap you can see through. And, there's a gap at the rear of the tang where the screw hole is. I doubt this will ever be a "real" problem, but it's not the fit you expect from a rifle at this price point. Also the scallops at the top are asymmetrical. One is clearly higher than the other. !?! How? Again... not a functional issue but c'mon.
The top of the receiver is the only thing that really worries me. I'm worthless with iron sights, so I'm certain to wind up with a scope on this thing soon. The geometry of the top plain of the receiver doesn't appear to be correct. I'll post pictures to help explain my concern.
Function was perfect. It feeds any shape bullet. It even fed fully flush-seated wadcutters. They're a pain in the butt to get into the magazine, and you can only have one in the mag tube. If you load two, it will try to feed them both and lock up the gun. But you can load them one in the mag and one in the chamber. It cycles them perfectly! I wasn't expecting that. Of course, after that, I wasn't surprised to see it feed 158rf's, 358156, 358249, MP's 359640's... it feeds everything.
I'll reserve comments on accuracy because, as I said, I was just eager to shoot it a little. I'll do proper load workups with the molds I have and let you know how it goes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I took it to the range for the first time today, but didn't do any "serious" shooting. I shot it at 25 yards and consumed a bunch odds & ends ammo. After having looked it over & shot it just a little, here are some thoughts & comments.
Overall, it seems like a great purchase. I watched every Marlin complaint video and read every thread I could find. The vast majority of the complaining points do not seem to be a problem with my copy. The front sight is perfectly timed with the rear. The rear sight seems well-centered on its little base, and required no adjustment to center groups. At least not at 25 yards. If I need to tweak it further out, it won't be by much.
Movement of the action lacks any of the grit I've heard others complain about. I know that these have a reputation of "smoothing up" over time. If mine never gets any smoother than it is today, I'll be okay with that. It feels fine.
Same for the trigger. It's unnecessarily heavy, as most every gun is these days. But, the take up is really minimal, and the break is really clean. Not just ok, but really, really good. I may pursue lightening it, but I don't feel the need for anything else and I consider myself somewhat of a "good trigger" snob. I like Geissle triggers in ARs, and my 1911 was built by a guild member.
The lever feels fine on my fingers. I read some complaints about the edges being sharp. Mine feels perfect. I won't smooth it or wrap it.
I've read some complaints about the hammer spur being roughly finished, sharp, and needing stoning on the edges to prevent cutting your thumb. Again, my example is perfect. It looks sharp & square, but feels absolutely fine on my thumb. That said, I went ahead and installed the spur extension since they include it, and I'm sure to scope this thing one day anyways.
The foreend is perfectly fitted, with no wiggle and the wood/metal fit is symmetric all the way around the metal. The barrel channel is fitted closely to the barrel. I don't see any way to make it better.
The stock fit is imperfect. The tang/stock interface has a gap you can see through. And, there's a gap at the rear of the tang where the screw hole is. I doubt this will ever be a "real" problem, but it's not the fit you expect from a rifle at this price point. Also the scallops at the top are asymmetrical. One is clearly higher than the other. !?! How? Again... not a functional issue but c'mon.
The top of the receiver is the only thing that really worries me. I'm worthless with iron sights, so I'm certain to wind up with a scope on this thing soon. The geometry of the top plain of the receiver doesn't appear to be correct. I'll post pictures to help explain my concern.
Function was perfect. It feeds any shape bullet. It even fed fully flush-seated wadcutters. They're a pain in the butt to get into the magazine, and you can only have one in the mag tube. If you load two, it will try to feed them both and lock up the gun. But you can load them one in the mag and one in the chamber. It cycles them perfectly! I wasn't expecting that. Of course, after that, I wasn't surprised to see it feed 158rf's, 358156, 358249, MP's 359640's... it feeds everything.
I'll reserve comments on accuracy because, as I said, I was just eager to shoot it a little. I'll do proper load workups with the molds I have and let you know how it goes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.