Disappointed in Marlin quality...

[Rangerone]

Good evening to you all,

I thought I would pass on to all of you my experiences this evening when I nearly purchased a brand-new Marlin 1894C in 357 Magnum. Note I said "nearly"...

I drove out to Ashland, Ohio to Fin, Feather & Fur. I had called ahead and I knew that they had this rifle on the shelf, along with another that was in excellent condition but used. One I arrived, the used one had been sold, so I concentrated on the new one that was still on the shelf.

I gave it the quick once over... the bore looked shiny, the action was okay, not particularly smooth, no rack dings, et cetera. The trigger pull sucked, but then the vast majority of them do, but this was something I could easily correct when I smoothed out the action.

I said "I'll take it" and started filling out the required paperwork. While the clerk was writing, I took a much closer look at the rifle from muzzle to butt. I said "stop" to the clerk when I got to the junction of the butt stock and the rear of the receiver. The fit of the stock to the metal was poor to the point of being able to place a paper match in the space between the two, and it looked as though the finish itself had dripped into the opening. Also, the fit between the receiver and the tang was quite rough and uneven. When I showed it to the clerk, I said this was unacceptable and I felt that this one obviously got past Marlin's final inspection. I was apologetic for wasting his time filling out the paperwork. The clerk was gracious and told me that he probably wouldn't have purchased it for his own use either...

I was really excited about buying this rifle, especially after reading all of the positive comments here. I actually went as far as to contact Midway to check stock on a four cavity SAECO 180 gr. mould. On one hand, it seems that these rifles are like hen's teeth right now and this was the only one I was able to find within a reasonable distance. For a brief moment, I considered purchasing the rifle and then returning it to Marlin with a letter complaining about the fit and finish and given my past experience with their customer service, I am sure they would have replaced the stock with no questions asked. And yes, the fit and finish on the rifles I have now is superb.

On the other hand, I just didn't think it was right for me to have to return a brand-new rifle to the factory at my expense to fix something like this. I am certainly a true believer in Marlin rifles, I have five now and have owned and sold many more over many years.

So, the search continues. I am going to call Marlin on Monday morning to see when the next run of these will be in the distributor's hands. I really want one of these rifles so I guess I'll have to keep searching the area. If anyone here is from northeastern Ohio and you happen to see one at a gun shop, please let me know. I would be most appreciative ...

[6pt-sika]

Give some thought to the Marlin 1894CB in 357 . I have quite a few of the Cowboy rifles and the fit and finish on all of mine is quite acceptable :Fire:

Also have a few of the Guide Gun types and they are fitted nicely as well .

Goodluck hunting :drinks:

[6pt-sika]

Try Cabellas in Dundee MI . I was in there a month or so ago and they had a pile of marlin's .

[Rangerone]

Thank you for the advice..

I did handle one of the cowboy models and you are correct, it was quite nice. However, I'm looking more for the basic rifle, especially given that I'm probably going to spend about $100 for a four cavity SAECO mould.

Yes, the guide guns are nice... I have one of those too...:-D

I didn't think about Cabela's... There is a store about 90 minutes from me in West Virginia... I will call them in the morning.

Have a great night.

[6pt-sika]

Try to get one that has no barrel bands . As they are not a help in the accuracy department .
I have a pair of marlin 357's one of the Cowboys and a 1894CP which has a 16.25" barrel and is ported. The little CP shoots cast very well . Shot quite a few Lyman 215 grain SWC GC's thru it and RCBS 158 grain SWC GC's .
Neither of my 357's have barrel bands.

[Newtire]

I have 2- Win. 94's, both angle eject. The early model has a superb wood-to-metal fit and all around great looking to the point where it's almost a shame to shoot it. the later model has a plastic stock as the wood stocked model they had was very poorly fitted and even this plastic stocked model just plain out sucks (as you say!). I plan on making a set of stocks for it one day as a project. guess some are good and some are not.

[Ranch Dog]

Rangerone, I think you did all you could do. Sure, the rifle got past Marlin's quality control but the dealer should have never put the firearm up for sale. It should have gone straight back to Marlin when they received it. The dealer is Marlin's last line of representation and I can assure you that Marlin wants it no other way.

I've bought 3 new Marlin's in as many years; a 444P, a 39A, and a 1895MR. I have to say that these three rifles are flawless and with some of the best wood I have on any firearm. My dealer didn't have a 39A so he had to order one. When it arrived, the inspection revealed a slight depression or flat spot on the magazine tube. It was may be 1/4" long and did not appear to be caused by any shipping damage. My Marlin dealer didn't even offer me a choice, he said the rifle was unacceptable while he boxed it up for return.

These three rifles are a definite step above the work I've seen on my other Marlins made from 1963 through the eighty's. I've owned three 375's and a ER, these rifles command the highest dollars, and I would call their wood finish "broomstick" quality at best. I feel the wood finish played into the failure of the rifle to attract Winchester and bolt buyers to these high performance cartridges. Buy the way, check out this 336 ER on Auction Arms. (http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=7453893&aa=%20%20MARLIN%20-%20Model%20336ER%20.356%20WINCHESTER....Rare%20Rif le...UNFIRED%20IN%20BOX)

After winning a Remington 700 that was pooped out of a plastic forming machine, I've been very pleased with Marlin's work.

[Rangerone]

Thank you for the link to that nice old rifle... note the wood to metal fit at the tang.

I agree with you about the current models generally been nicer then some of the older ones. However, I have been blessed in finding a lot of the old ones that were really well done. As an example, I recently purchased a 1969 vintage model 336 in 30-30 from Gander Mountain. the rifle literally looked brand-new and the wood, while very straight grained, was superbly fitted.

Ultimately, I look at these rifles as I would any other tool. I am more concerned with the overall strength of the stock that I am the grain structure. That said however, I consider close wood to metal fit to be important to the strength of a lever action. I'm not looking for Al Biesen handfitting, just better attention to detail.

I did call Marlin this morning and to their credit, the very nice lady in customer service said that I could buy the rifle and then return it to them and they would either replace or refit the stock. While I'm not interested in doing that, I appreciated their willingness to fix the situation. Also, she said that they were ramping up production of this particular rifle so they should be plentiful over the next few months. She stated that they regularly receive calls from people like me who are looking for them and it was obvious that they underestimated the demand...

Cabela's didn't have any either... I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait a couple months. This is probably a good idea, given that I just spent a lot of money with Midway on my new SAECO sizer...

[Rangerone]

And...
I have a old Pachmayr Lo-Swing mount for this rifle, along with a new Leupold 2.5 scope. Methinks it will be a good combination...

[6pt-sika]

Al Biesen...

Man , its been a good many years since I heard or saw that name.
That man built some wonderful rifles . But his guns are not the first thing his name brings to mind for me .
When you mention Al Biesen the first thing I think of is Jack O'Conner . Seemed like everything O'Conner ever wrote had a mention of Biesen in it somewhere :drinks:

[6pt-sika]

Buy the way, check out this 336 ER on Auction Arms. (http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=7453893&aa=%20%20MARLIN%20-%20Model%20336ER%20.356%20WINCHESTER....Rare%20Rif le...UNFIRED%20IN%20BOX)

.


I thought I paid a bit to much for my 336ER , and I paid less then half of where that auction is [smilie=1:

[Rangerone]

Man , its been a good many years since I heard or saw that name.
That man built some wonderful rifles . But his guns are not the first thing his name brings to mind for me .
When you mention Al Biesen the first thing I think of is Jack O'Conner . Seemed like everything O'Conner ever wrote had a mention of Biesen in it somewhere :drinks:

I had one of Al's M70's in .243. It was a varmint weight barrel and a beautiful rifle. Like so many others, it was sold back when I was young...

[Bucks Owin]

Man , its been a good many years since I heard or saw that name.
That man built some wonderful rifles . But his guns are not the first thing his name brings to mind for me .
When you mention Al Biesen the first thing I think of is Jack O'Conner . Seemed like everything O'Conner ever wrote had a mention of Biesen in it somewhere :drinks:

Did you happen to notice the Biesen/O'Connor M-70 .270 that was up for some kind of raffle last winter? Talk about nice! (Talk about expensive!) It wasn't even one of Jack's rifles, just built identically...

Wish I could remember the price of the ticket, but alas.......CRS again!

OK, sorry. Back to the Marlin thread... :D

Dennis

BTW, I DO remember a Biesen M-70 at Gunbroker "starting" at $6500...

[6pt-sika]

Did you happen to notice the Biesen/O'Connor M-70 .270 that was up for some kind of raffle last winter? Talk about nice! (Talk about expensive!) It wasn't even one of Jack's rifles, just built identically...

Wish I could remember the price of the ticket, but alas.......CRS again!

OK, sorry. Back to the Marlin thread... :D

Dennis

BTW, I DO remember a Biesen M-70 at Gunbroker "starting" at $6500...



O'Conner died in 1979 I believe , anyway a year or two after that I was looking in Shotgun News and they had 3 or 4 of his rifles for sale . At least one was a Biesen Pre 64 270 . Think they wanted about $1800 then , and I thought they will never be worth that much. Boy I was dumb :(

[waksupi]

As far as I know, Al Biesen is still building rifles. I believe his daughter is doing the engraving and checkering, and his son is also building rifles. Family business.

[Bucks Owin]

O'Conner died in 1979 I believe , anyway a year or two after that I was looking in Shotgun News and they had 3 or 4 of his rifles for sale . At least one was a Biesen Pre 64 270 . Think they wanted about $1800 then , and I thought they will never be worth that much. Boy I was dumb :(

I guess we've wandered way off the trail here, but there was a .44 Blackhawk of Skeeter's on GB last winter too, fairly reasonable too. Around $1200 if I remember and it didn't raise much interest. Wish I'd of been flush at the time!
I'd sure be cool to own a gun that Skeeter owned...

Dennis

[Rangerone]

Well, Since I started this thread, I guess I can unofficially close it by saying " I bought one!"... yesteday. I found another dealer who gave me a great price and I took it home. It is a beauty with a great wood to metal fit, just as it should be...

Now, I am going to buy one of the SAECO molds for this rifle and have fun!

Thanks for all the input...

[Bucks Owin]

Well, Since I started this thread, I guess I can unofficially close it by saying " I bought one!"... yesteday. I found another dealer who gave me a great price and I took it home. It is a beauty with a great wood to metal fit, just as it should be...

Now, I am going to buy one of the SAECO molds for this rifle and have fun!

Thanks for all the input...

Hey great! A happy ending.... :D

Dennis

Let us know how it shoots....:Fire:

[Rangerone]

Hey great! A happy ending.... :D

Dennis

Let us know how it shoots....:Fire:

I will...

I just finished melting about 50 lbs of linotype so as soon as I get the mix correct, I will use my 358156 to try it out. I am blessed to have about 300 pounds of linotype, as well as 150# of wheelweights and 2000# of pure lead... And I bought a Cabin Tree tester that I am very consistant with, especially once I learned to preload the sample, which deviates somewhat from the directions...

I just ordered a SAECO #354 4 banger for this, but it will be a while for that to arrive...