I just bought a Marlin SBL and in regard to the finish and fit it is better than the last two Marlin Guide guns that I have owned, which were made before Marlin was bought out by the Freedom Arms group. When buying from Epps it is possible to see when the stock was added, since it has the date when the posting was added to the inventory (check the Date added - for example some Marlin stock was added in 2011). I looked at the Epps's Marlin GBL's in stock earlier this year, however I noticed that they had been in stock for more than a year, so I think that they were still sorting out the quality control issues. The Marlin SBL which I bought from LeBarrons has a Marlin Firearms North Haven CT barrel marking on the left side and MR serial number, while on the right side of the barrel it has a REP making i.e Remington, the barrel marking on the left hand side is PH indicating the barrel was made in June 2013. The stock fitting is much better than in the picture of the GBL and the rifle functions with absolutely no issues with feeding and is just as accurate as the last two guide guns I have owned. If you are going to buy a new Marlin I would try to get one made in 2012 or latter.
I am not surprised, since the new ones seem to work well because the suspect parts produced at the original factory are all used up, also the finish on the stock, is a lot better than most of the originals I have seen. To check the date on the left side of the barrel, it consists of two letters indicating the month and year manufactured. This is for barrels that have REP on the right hand side, indicating Remington.
