1895 gbl
- Thread starter 458lott
- Start date
bluegrizz77
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort Mcmurray T9K2K7
The one I have is fine good quality, functions great. I filled the dovetail, you can't see it unless you look for it. Polished the internals no flaws when shooting. Love it 
- Location
- Haliburton County, Central Ontario
You will be even more disappointed if you handle a new 336. The name Daisy comes to mind...
Jamie Black R/T
CGN Regular
- Location
- God's Country, AB
You need to find one of the old ones before they moved everything to the Remington plant.
I bought one from Epps and sent it right back. Extra dovetail and action was just plain nasty. Found an older one at a local shop and it doesnt have the extra dovetail and the action is smooth right outta the box.
The good ones are pretty well all gone now. So buy used or wait and see if Remlin can up the QC for this line. But dont hold your breath.
My .02 of course
PS i LOVE my GBL....its one of those "forever
guns if you know what i mean.
I bought one from Epps and sent it right back. Extra dovetail and action was just plain nasty. Found an older one at a local shop and it doesnt have the extra dovetail and the action is smooth right outta the box.
The good ones are pretty well all gone now. So buy used or wait and see if Remlin can up the QC for this line. But dont hold your breath.
My .02 of course
PS i LOVE my GBL....its one of those "forever
guns if you know what i mean.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Admittedly, my 2010 Marlin 1895 GS had a feeding problem from new. Basically, it didn't feed a single round!! How did that get past QC???? At my shipping dime I sent it off to Gravel Agency in PQ for repair. I got it back in under a week and now it functions perfectly. I have to say that my first Marlin experience was unpleasant, but the gun is a keeper now that it works. The wood, while far from premium grade, fits nicely to the metal, the stainless steel is easy to maintain like new with a scotch-brite, and its deadly accurate at 50 metres with open sights. The 45-70 chambering is also supremely versatile for 100 metre or less shots. Just my 2 pennies worth.
It is fair to say that you can not buy a current marlin without handling one to make sure it is good to go. I went through a number before I could find one serviceable. The quality control was out to lunch. Once you find a good one, it works and you will be happy.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
I hate to admit it, but since my Marlin experience, and a slew of other well documented QC issues with Rem/Marlington I have turned my attention to other established manufacturers, including CZ-Brno, Zastava, and other Euro Mauser-based rifles. I am optimistic that this recent QC shadow is temporary and Remington will get back on top.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Check out Ruger too, there's is not a better bang for your buck on the market for a Mauser type / CRF action. The prices seem crazy for the fit, finish, and quality you receive. Winchester is doing great things with the model 70 too, I recently handled a brand new .243 M70 in a true small town (300 people, northern Alberta) hardware store. The price was $675 brand new, it had nice walnut, perfectly fitted for a production gun, and a gorgeous smooth CRF action. Why Remington has fallen so far behind, I could only speculate.
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Really is sad to hear about all these quality control issues with the Marlins. My dad is all hot under the collar about getting GBL in 45-70, but there are none available locally to handle and I've been discouraging him from ordering one on-line due to all the issues people reporting. I've got a Rossi in .454 arriving any day and I've got to say I'm glad I went with that over ordering a GBL myself, which I was very tempted to do.
Almost sounds like maybe Norinco should do up a couple of containers of GBL clones and send them over...
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Well, just yesterday I was handling a Ruger .243 m77 mannlicher (one of the few remaining rifles left at Lebaron's! -- they apparently had a "good fall"), and while not a bad rifle in terms of fit and finish from initial observations, there were a few things that irritated me... one was that a fastener holding the front stock ferrule was a bit knackered from the factory, which would indicate swiss cheeze quality fasteners and small details overlooked during QC. I also didn't quite like the finish on the stock, it seemed a bit crude. I suppose you can't expect much from an $800-900 firearm these days. Now those Merkels at Wolverine
You will be even more disappointed if you handle a new 336. The name Daisy comes to mind...
Boy are you right. My 336 is so old it does not have the cross bolt safety. The other Marlins are all new bought about 4 years back. My guess the quality started to go about that time.
There are reviews on the MARLIN JAM at Lever Guns. Called 2 up as it won't cycle because of the 2 round going under the elevator.
pageophile
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Edmonchuk, AB
Wow, I'm glad I got my 45-70 a few years back. It's a shooter and cycles like a dream.
Well you lucked out. The 5 rifles that I went through to find one that FUNCTIONED suggests that they have some serious issues in quality control. I love the one I have now however I would not casually brush off the issue. One of the rifle I had would not cycle at all, another had no finish on the large loop and it was so sharp I ended up cutting my hand. Another had the sights based on with a hammer rather than adjusted and had dented the barrel in the process. Clearly they have issues.
I love mine but I had to do some serious work to make it reliable. As I said, make sure you check out what you are buying to make sure it is one of the good ones.
