Are the Remlins any better?

thehunterman

thehunterman

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Hey guys lately I've been thinking about getting a dedicated "brush gun" for deer and bear and as much as I love practical gun I am a major sucker for classic lever guns,I was thinking about a marlin 1894 in 44 mag,I know the "remlins" QC has been terrible but I also hear a rumor that they are starting to get back on track,is this true?I sure hope so as I have fallen in love with the lines of these rifles,Note also that I would be buying it from a shop so I would have time to handle it and look for "lemonosity" :p anyway I would love to hear your thoughts on both the cartridge choice and the rifles.
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
I just purchased an 1894 in 357 yesterday. The fit and finish look okay, but not exceptional, and the action is actually quite smooth. I will know more when I fire it.
 
Remington and Marlin USED to be good solid performers that IMO set the standard along with Winchester and Browning.
I used to work in firearm retail and lost all faith in low end lemingtons (poor to no quality control regardless of caliber) and since Marlin was purchased, factory shut down and relocated, their lever gun became such pieces of low quality I bet even remington was almost too embarassed to ship (almost).
The only good thing was that Remington definitely keeps Gravel Agency busy!!!

your far better off either purchasing a pre-Remington Marlin or if you want new look at Browning.
If you decided to go new with Marlin or Remington, personally examine the specific firearm, work the action, and try the trigger. Several customers were put off when they inquired about either until they had a chance to examine and try a few different models right out of the box!!

TB
 
Last two 1895's I have seen appeared alot better cosmetically however both had to get warrantied for an inability to extract rounds or cycle at all. A shame cause I wanted to get myself one. Glad I didn't now. If I were serious now about buying a marlin now in any caliber, I would invest in a couple snap caps and ask if I could load it cycle it and pull the trigger at least once.
 
I just bought a savage 99c from a fellow in town. Why should we try Marlington knowing that the quality is Hit and Miss.

Boycott New Remington and Marlin until they make it right. You can not blame their bad quality if you by pass other better brand names.
 
I just bought a Marlin 336. Absolutely nothing wrong with that rifle. Functions flawlessly and is getting smoother. Nice tight groups at 100 yards and shoots 125 grainers at the 300 yard gong consistently. The only negative part is that I have to reload more shells more often. :D
 
I recently posted this in a similar thread:

I have owned a few Remington rifles. A couple of years ago I had a 597 which was problematic and frankly unsafe.

However, I think due to their declining reputation, they have improved things a bit.

I have a new production 597 that is flawless. They've truly worked the bugs out of this one. It's also very accurate.

I just bought a marlin 336 made in 2012. Remington's reputation with these rifles was so poor they stopped producing them in order to work out the bugs.

The one I have shoots sub moa and the cycling and finish is okay.

The sight is indexed off a bit and the wood is too proud of the tang on one side.

That said, my marlin 36 from 1947 also has the sights indexed off and the wood is too proud on the same side so I guess the new one is no worse than the old one.

All in all, I'm happy with the new ones. The ones from just a couple of years ago were a different story.

I will say that I've had better experiences with Remington QC than I have with Savage. I have owned about 9 Savage rifles and have found major (IMO) problems from the factory with every single one.

The only brand that I've owned which has had NO factory defects that I could find is Weatherby although I certainly haven't owned them all!

IME

IMO

YMMV

FWIW
 
Go to Marlinownersforum and check the "Rant" section . Remlins are going back to the factory at the rate of 50 per day , according to the lady who is head of customer service . This does not count the ones that are going to the Remlin warranty centers across the USA . So many owners sending them back 2 or 3 times to get problems resolved . That's not last year and the year before and the year before . That's right now . Seems about 50% are coming out of the factory satisfactorly and 50% have problems so it's hit or miss . I have a few Marlins , older ones with zero issues and would love to buy the 1895SBL in 45-70 but i won't risk the money . If you decide to buy a Remlin , don't make an internet purchase . Inspect the rifle yourself . Cycle it many times , cycle it with dummy ammo or snap caps . Look at the barrel index , see if the front sight is canted . Look at the rifling to see if it looks smooth or is nothing but machine marks . Same with the bolt and inside of the receiver . If it's drilled for a scope , see if the holes line with the bore . Check the safety . Cycle the lever forward with force and then see if it will return and lock up to fire . Check the wood to metal finish . With snap caps or dummy rounds loaded in the mag tube , check the loading gate . Put a bore light in the chamber to see if the chamber is smooth or nothing but tooling marks . It may load , now will it eject ? On a 45-70 check the buttstock to back of the receiver fit . If there is a space , even a small one , expect the buttstock to start to crack . Check the barrel band around the forestock . Some are coming out of the factory so tight they slightly crush the mag tube and once loaded the rounds won't back out under spring pressure to load . Just some things to look for .
 
thehunterman said:
Hey guys lately I've been thinking about getting a dedicated "brush gun" for deer and bear and as much as I love practical gun I am a major sucker for classic lever guns,I was thinking about a marlin 1894 in 44 mag,I know the "remlins" QC has been terrible but I also hear a rumor that they are starting to get back on track,is this true?I sure hope so as I have fallen in love with the lines of these rifles,Note also that I would be buying it from a shop so I would have time to handle it and look for "lemonosity" :p anyway I would love to hear your thoughts on both the cartridge choice and the rifles.
Thanks,
Hunter.
Click to expand...

How about a Henry in 44 mag...? They are nice guns to be sure...

IMG_0525-1024x506.jpg
 
I just bought a 2012 Marlin XT-22 a few weeks ago. I've taken it out to the range a few times and not a problem with it. Great gun so far. Decent quality and workmanship for a 22 bolt gun for $189.
 
We just bougt a new production Marlin 1895GBL last week. I talked to the store manager before I bought (I've known him for about 25 years). He told me that this years rifles are way better than the 2-3 years before, but he still had to send back a couple. The rifle we bought looks fine (I gave it a detailed going over), but the extractor is very rough, and will need some work. Right now it grinds up brass pretty bad, and has to be worked hard to slip the extractor over the rim of the brass. Everything else seems to be 100%.
 
Northman999 said:
We just bougt a new production Marlin 1895GBL last week. I talked to the store manager before I bought (I've known him for about 25 years). He told me that this years rifles are way better than the 2-3 years before, but he still had to send back a couple. The rifle we bought looks fine (I gave it a detailed going over), but the extractor is very rough, and will need some work. Right now it grinds up brass pretty bad, and has to be worked hard to slip the extractor over the rim of the brass. Everything else seems to be 100%.
Click to expand...

I was debating whether or not to get one of those rifles or a Rossi M92 in .454 Casull and i decided to go with the Rossi. Just too many bad reviews of the Marlins got to me i guess. I still realllllly want one but i'm going to wait until i get the chance to handle on in store and see how it is. The closest store to me that carries them is Epps and they are a 6 hour drive south so it may be a while before i get to handle one. :(

I havn't had any problems with the Rossi yet (only about 2 boxes of ammo through it mind you) and it cycles well. I just had my heart set on getting a 45 caliber brush gun and with marlintons reputation as of late i put my money on the brazilian gun and it seems to be a pretty good choice. I'm going to try out some Colt 45's on partridge this week and see how it works. Might be a bit too much bang but oh well. Should be fun anyways. :dancingbanana:
 
Hmmmm...I am happy and impressed with my 336. So, some of you folks are telling me that I should not be? Over what? Old news?

Move on...it's the dawn of a new age, new serial numbers, tight groups and happy shooting. My new rifle is simply awesome! First hand experience...as opposed to keyboard wisdom and numbskull taunting.
 
Most of the new-production Marlin rifles are showing a marked improvement over the quality and fit-and-finish exhibited on models built during the 2010/2011 season.

Historically, Marlin had experienced a moderate number of flaws with their general production guns, even before the take-over by Remington's parent corporation, the Freedom Group.

Over the initial 12 months following that take-over, the quality of production and finish on most Marlin lever-action guns was nothing short of abysmal, with examples showing such flaws and faults as poorly aligned barrels and sights, loose actions, failures to feed, failures to eject, unfinished machining in the receiver, marks and dents and scratches on the final product. . . . The list went on and on.

In response to the levels of complaints levied against Marlin, the Freedom Group initiated a complete rebuild and reinvestment in the Marlin line-up of guns. As of early 2012, the examples we have been receiving here at Epps have proven to be far more reliable, and of far better overall build quality than those units sold over the previous year.

While Marlin rifles are not (and never have been) flawless in their construction, we are definitely seeing a reduction in the number of guns being returned to our store as a result of manufacturing faults. At this time we are close to the historical numbers when it comes to faults in these firearms, which is a significant improvement over the previous year's totals.

Are Marlin firearms worth the purchase price? Absolutely. However, that being said, we strongly suggest that any potential buyer should conduct a close inspection of the firearm in question before finalizing any purchase, in-store, preferably, if they are able. If this is an off-site order and the buyer wishes to purchase one of these guns, we can have our gunsmiths inspect the firearm for proper feed and function (but no test fire) prior to shipping that firearm out to the end-user.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our store at 705.689.5333, or send an E-mail to info@ellwoodepps.com, and I will be happy to respond to your questions as quickly as I am able.
 
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