New Marlin SBL.... nasty surprise!

nomad 68 said:
You can't fix stupid. But, apparently, you can hire it to assemble rifles.
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A bunch of minimum wage part time flunkies don't care about the product they are making.
Why would they?

The North Haven plant when the Kennas owned it was a more dedicated operation.
The fitting & finishing skills were passed down right on the plant floor.
There was no computer guided cutting & machining or blue prints to set the machines by even if there had of been.

But a close comparison of the JM and REP rifles tells the story.
A lot more care and skill went into the JM product and the employees gave a sh!t what they were packing into the boxes to ship to customers.
 
win94luver said:
A bunch of minimum wage part time flunkies don't care about the product they are making.
Why would they?

The North Haven plant when the Kennas owned it was a more dedicated operation.
The fitting & finishing skills were passed down right on the plant floor.
There was no computer guided cutting & machining or blue prints to set the machines by even if there had of been.

But a close comparison of the JM and REP rifles tells the story.
A lot more care and skill went into the JM product and the employees gave a sh!t what they were packing into the boxes to ship to customers.
Click to expand...
Reality is if they still made them as they did in New Haven, the asking price would be so high they wouldn't sell. Same as if the savage 99 had continued production. My one Marlin lever is from back in the good old days. Wouldn't trade it for new production.
 
win94luver said:
A bunch of minimum wage part time flunkies don't care about the product they are making.
Why would they?

The North Haven plant when the Kennas owned it was a more dedicated operation.
The fitting & finishing skills were passed down right on the plant floor.
There was no computer guided cutting & machining or blue prints to set the machines by even if there had of been.

But a close comparison of the JM and REP rifles tells the story.
A lot more care and skill went into the JM product and the employees gave a sh!t what they were packing into the boxes to ship to customers.
Click to expand...

That type of time and dedication is wonderful and also wonderfully expensive. It only makes sense that Remington stopped this in order to make money again.
 
Update today!

Marlin got back to me with the contact information for the Gravel Agency, I gave them a ring and the lady was quite pleasant!
I have filled out the required paperwork and sent along my pictures; they were wondering if it would be better to send me a new rail to fit myself (might be preferable) as I am unsure how long it would take to get my rifle back if I send it off.
If thats the case I would I would save on shipping/ insurance, but have to live with the damaged dovetail on the barrel (which they may or may not fix anyways). I guess it wouldn't be too bad as its hidden under the rail.....
 
Mr.Crumbz said:
Update today!

Marlin got back to me with the contact information for the Gravel Agency, I gave them a ring and the lady was quite pleasant!
I have filled out the required paperwork and sent along my pictures; they were wondering if it would be better to send me a new rail to fit myself (might be preferable) as I am unsure how long it would take to get my rifle back if I send it off.
If thats the case I would I would save on shipping/ insurance, but have to live with the damaged dovetail on the barrel (which they may or may not fix anyways). I guess it wouldn't be too bad as its hidden under the rail.....
Click to expand...

I've dealt with Gravel before and have had good experiences. I am not sure how they can "fix" a damaged dovetail and I doubt they would replace just the barrel. They would likely replace the entire rifle. Just make sure they have the same model in stock and let them know you hand picked one (tell them you want good fit and finish). Otherwise you might be waiting for a new production run and shipment into Canada (and potentially UN Markings). I've had their armory gun smith handpick and test an SBL and a Rem 700 5R for me, so they can do it if you push them. They even adjusted and tested the trigger. You can always reject what they send you.

If a damaged dovetail is "acceptable" in manufacturing tolerances according to Marlin, they will just replace and install the rail. You may want to find out before making a decision on what to do and proceeding.
 
I wouldn't accept a damaged dovetail or anything else on a brand new rifle. I also think it is greasy to make you pay shipping on their defective crap. I had to pay it on a rem 597 right out of the box with canted front sight. Pretty peaved I was. Haven't bought a Remington product (or affiliates) since.
 
Well, Ibit the bullet and shipped the rifle off last week, it should be arriving on Monday. I had a few chats with the Gravel Agency regarding what could be done for me before sending it out. They have parts in stock for the lever rail and said that anything else would be decided when they had the rifle in hand.
I couldn't get much of a timeline out of them, but hope it's not away too long. I packaged it quite well and hope they do so for the return as well; nothing would be more frustrating then getting back my precious in worse shape then I sent her off in!
I'll update once I get the rifle back, and hopefully be able to give this whole process a positive review!
 
Just got confirmation from the Gravel Agency. My SBL is on its way back to me! Kind of nervous to pull of the XS and see what they did. I am hoping for a proper install and fitting of the XS Sight and a touched up Dovetail. Will post pics and update when it arrives and I have time; might be out of town for a week or so before I can pick it up.
 
They will need to touch up those protruding horns on the dovetail in order to properly install a new rail and have it sit flat on the barrel. Unless they do it with a sledgehammer, it probably won't be visible at all.

Good luck, I hope it works out well; the SBL is a terrific little rifle and you will enjoy it. I have one and it's a definite keeper.
 
Sorry to hear of your issues. I hope that Gravel sorted you out and did a good warranty repair. Please let us know how you get on. I don't know what to think off Marlin anymore.

Everytime I hear they are on track a post like this appears and says otherwise. The fact they haven't produced an 1894c or 39a since 2012 sums it up. I really want the brand to succeed but with QC issues like this who knows.

The Winchesters made by Miroku are first class and Henrys are good I fear it will be an uphill battle for Remington. A lot of goodwill has been lost, only have to see posts on the Marlin forum.
 
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