Marlin Dark

[Phat Man Mike]

Has anyone seen held or fired one of these mystical rifles? My brother seen a add for one in a magazine. Now he's in the hunt for one in 44 magnum. I don't understand what the big attraction of it myself.

[MrWolf]

No idea and I have not seen one. I prefer my Marlin levers in wood and JM stamped. I have a 44 which sits right between my 41 and 45lc. Well not exactly between - yet. I sure do hope they get their act together and produce some quality levers instead of what appears to be hit or miss. Oh well.

[farmbif]

I'm with mr wolf. if its a lever action rifle walnut and blued steel have been my favorites, but after getting one that's stainless with laminated wood I'm not going to complain.
whatever floats your boat, variety is the spice of life, although with such an outlier might have diminished market if you ever want to sell.

[sghart3578]

I bought one of the Marlin Dark rifles in 357 magnum when they first came out. I love it.

I am like a lot of guys here in that I prefer my lever guns to be wood and blue steel. I have several JM Marlins and they are a joy to shoot. But I also own at least 4 Remlins in various calibers and they are all just as smooth and just as accurate as any of my JM guns.

My Dark in 357 magnum is no exception. The XS peep sights are great. My son gave me a Bushnell red dot that he wasn't using and I mounted that on there. This rifle shoots 3 MOA consistently with just about anything I feed it.

I initially bought this rifle on a whim thinking that I would enjoy it for a while as a novelty then sell it off. But it has found a permanent place in my safe.


Steve in N CA

I will add this post script. Some guys complain that Remlins are stiff and "not slick like my old JM Marlin." Of course not! It is brand new! The more I shoot my Remlins the smoother they get.

I will add another post script. I don't know about other Dark rifles, mine is the only one I have seen in person. But mine is held together with Torx head screws instead of the standard flat head screws. It's a nice touch.

Steve

[MrWolf]

That is great to hear. Looks like they got over the restart hump with their QC.

[Phat Man Mike]

Every review I've come across points out that this rifle was to be tac cool effect. If I remember didn't Mossburg try this style of levergun and it flopped like a silver carp.

[uscra112]

Wholly Toledo! You see the prices they're asking on Gunbroker?

[Phat Man Mike]

Wholly Toledo! You see the prices they're asking on Gunbroker?

Yeah, my bank card ran away scared. Lol

[sghart3578]

Wholly Toledo! You see the prices they're asking on Gunbroker?

Yeah, I see those. I got mine for less than $900 when they first came out. I thought that was too much then.


Steve in N CA

[sghart3578]

Every review I've come across points out that this rifle was to be tac cool effect. If I remember didn't Mossburg try this style of levergun and it flopped like a silver carp.

Personally I don't see mine as tacti-cool at all. I see it as a rough duty rifle.

I have a lot of nice JM Marlins with good wood and great blueing. I don't hunt with those because I don't want to damage them. They get a lot of range duty.

These are more like truck guns in my opinion. Except now with the prices they are asking no one will want to drag that through the mud either.

It is an ironic twist that the stainless and coated guns that were meant to be hunted in harsh conditions now command the highest prices so tend to get babied and the blued/walnut guns that every one says they prefer and cherish are rattling around through the brush.

As far as the Mossberg goes I like the concept. I just can't get excited about a Mossberg. If Marlin had built it I probably would have bought one.


Steve in N CA

[Lloyd Smale]

im with some of the others A glock? Ar15? there fine black plastic but a lever gun is going to be wood and blued. Ive made excpetions to that with a couple stainless/wood marlins but It would have to be a real bargin to buy a plastic stocked lever over a wood one. Ive hunted hard with wood/blued guns and wonder if some of you run over them with trucks. mine may have a little ding in the stock or a spot the bluing might be a bit thin but thats character. Marlins are hunting guns not collectors items and thats what i use them for. If the stock gets to bad its a couple hour job to refinish one if the bluing has a bare spot a little cold blue takes care of that. Marlins being babied? thats about like babying a ruger because it might be worth money some day. I wonder how many buy a new truck and wont drive it in the rain?? So fair warning. If you ever see a classified add with one of my guns for sale. Be forewarned. it isnt out of the box new. It hasnt just been test fired and its killed something and most of them MANY things and has seen thousands of rounds. There tools. I dont oil my hammer when im done using it. Ive got a grade II browning side lock 20 guage that would make some of you cry. But i known when im gone my grandkids will sure know grandpa used that gun. Im sure that will mean more to them then perfect bluing and not a single ding in the stock.

[mcdaniel.mac]

The Dark knows exactly their markets. Threaded muzzle for a silencer (save your nit-picking, Hiram Maxim named them), synthetic stock, extended top rail for a low-power variable scope, and slightly enlarged lever for shooting with gloves. I've done similar to Marlins and Glenfields and the cost is similar. $300 for a waffletop or JM barreled gun that's been drilled inexpertly for a scope base, $100-200 for have it threaded and the holes retapped if needed, $150 for the XS sights and rail, $150 to have it cerakoted since half the finish is gone. I like walnut and a nice deep blue but for a working rifle I like stainless and cerakote and a decent laminate furniture. I'm happy for Marlin and Henry to keep offering renovations and innovations to tempt new shooters.

[Dunross]

Freedom of choice is a good thing.

If there are folks out there that want guns like the Marlin Dark they should be able to get them.

They do nothing for me, but if they are what folks want them they should have them. They won't be messing up otherwise good blued steel and wood guns building them. It also keeps those machines in action making lever actions in general more available.

Cheer them on.

[Airborne Falcon]

I am a JM Marlin man to the bone but gotta give credit where credit is due on this one ... Henry is really reaping the benefits of the modern demand for tacticool leverguns for whatever reasons ... political climate or black gun mythos or better in the weather or whatever.

Personally I believe it is good for the genre no matter the causation ... variety is the spice of life. That particularly applies to firearms (and their calibers) and women.

The darker the berry the sweeter the juice ... or so some say. ;)

[W.R.Buchanan]

You guys do know that Marlin is now owned by Ruger?

Ruger has taken everything over and moved everything to NC. There are no more "Remlins."

I have been informed that the target date for release of some models of the new guns will be late 3rd quarter this year.

They are working hard to make these guns the best ever made and are very serious about doing it right . I guess we'll see.

Randy

[sghart3578]

Yeah, I know there are no more Remlins. I am talking about the 4 or 5 that I have bought new in the last 2 years.

I am a Ruger fan and I am very excited to see what Ruger will do.


Steve in N CA

[stubshaft]

Although lever action rifles were the original assault rifles, this takes it a bit too far.

[jstanfield103]

Ruger will due Marlins proud

[Phat Man Mike]

I to am a fan of the Ruger product line , with a few taking up space in my cabinet. Like others have said time will tell how this new venture will turn out. Maybe they will produce the Dark models again. And I will be able to see one of those mysterious rifles first hand .

[Gray Fox]

Ruger would be smart to make the Marlin '94 in all the calibers of their Blackhawks as well as one in .327. GF

[indian joe]

Has anyone seen held or fired one of these mystical rifles? My brother seen a add for one in a magazine. Now he's in the hunt for one in 44 magnum. I don't understand what the big attraction of it myself.

Seen two of these on the wall in a local shop a few days ago - the look of em made me cringe - but tacticool stuff does that to me - not cheap just look it ........

[376Steyr]

If I ran the zoo, I'd put "Ruger" labels on the plastic and stainless lever actions, and "Marlin" labels on the walnut and blued steel versions, and charge accordingly.

[JSnover]

These threads crack me up.
The Marlin rifle looks a lot better than the Mossberg did and if you don't like either of them, you can still buy wood.
If I was in the market for a 'tactical' lever it probably would be one of these newfangled Marlins. But since I already have three wood/steel lever-actions and a couple of 'black' semi-autos, the price would have to come down quite a bit.