Just returned from the Colby Kansas gun show. Another one of our small but good small town gun shows in our area.
Have been playing with trading for or buying one of the Marlins in 45-70 but have also been reading on the site about a few of the newer model's problems.
Only had one at the show so cannot say if it is true with all of them but this one was supposest to be new and only removed from the box to put it on the rack.
Wow.
Hope they are not all like that.
Metal was blued but had a crude sanded finish to about 150 to 180 grit with a lot of cross scratching. Some edges broken, some not. Very rough and poorly finished.
The wood was the real kicker. Very courserly sanded on a band sander with no follow up sanding at all. Wood standing proud ( above ) all the metal and not by any small amount. Many cross scratches with no attempt to smooth sand. Don't have any idea what they might have tried to checker it with but it didn't work. Very rough, inconsistent depth, fuzzy, rough. Would have been much better to just have left everything smooth. The real kicker was the wood aging crack along the RH side. Was about 3 inches long at least and opened to about 1/32" in the middle. Who know how deep. The stock finish looked a great deal like what is done to Hemlock to make it rot and fungus resistant. The greenish cast did nothing for what ever kind of wood it was.
If this is the best that Remington can do with the Marlin name ---- best to just give it up. Will not allow something this pathetic in my stable !!
PS
Talked a bit later with another local fellow who also was looking into one of these Marlins. Had about the same opinion that I did not only with the 45-70 but the 30-30 sitting next to it. Not much better of a gun but at least it didn't have the aging crack.
He said he was going to stop off in Atwood on the way back home and check out another one the fellow there had. Hope it was a better gun.