Manufacturer quality

[72mustang]

Just a quick rant...

In the past Ive only owned 2 marlins. First I bought the .375 lever. Couldnt hit the broad side of a barn with it. Local basement dealer would not take it back ( I was younger then ). He moved the rear sight so far to the side you had to hold the rifle sidways to shoot " Shooten good now " he says. Sent it to the factory in the States and they replaced the barrel. Final analysis was when the barrel was installed new it was put on so tight it twisted the barrel.

Second was the 39a given to me by my uncle. He said the lever jammed every time you levered it. He thought it was because of a screw inside was taken out and not replace back properly ( My cousin borrowed it and it jamed on him so he took it apart and told my uncle who blamed him ). Took the gun to a smith who stated the "timing" was off on a couple of things inside the lever action (like a watch). Paid the bill and it doesnt jam now, but not nearly as smooth as my wincheser 9422.

So... 2 Marlins in the family and both were factory duds. Anyone else experience this?

 

[220Swifty]

Never owned a marlin, so nope

Mossberg has irritated me a bit though. A 3" 12 ga that wont eject any federal brand ammo, because the ejector was a CH (construction term, not a metric or imperial measurement) too far forward. Warranty guy told me it was an easy fix, shoot another brand.

 

[bogie]

Marlins are usually box guns-in other words you take them out of the box and shoot them. Usually till you die of old age then your family fights over them. Sometimes its the people using them and sometimes its someone that owned it before. Thing is Marlins are easy to fix cuz they have a simple mech. Now a newer Winnie 94 well thats another story. Dont even think about taking it apart. Besides the guns are designed to clean out of the chamber and the 22 is an automatic takedown. Geez give them to me and I will take care of your junk

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

I've owned and or own a swack of Marlins and I'm of the opinion that earlier production Marlin levers are pretty bulletproof. The last couple of years I have noticed a decline in quality control. My '09 1894C took alot of work on my part to produce a shooter, and a Guide I bought in '08 had some issues as well. I attribute this to the Remington buy-out. I have first hand experience of being in a situation where a small manufacturing operation is absorbed by a large company. The environment is stressful, corners get cut do to the shuffle and employees generally aren't able to concentrate 100% on thier work.
Winchesters certainly aren't without thier own problems either

 

[Ormachek]

I've owned and or own a swack of Marlins and I'm of the opinion that earlier production Marlin levers are pretty bulletproof.

You're supposed to be shooting bullets OUT of your Marlin, not AT your marlin!!!

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

You're supposed to be shooting bullets OUT of your Marlin, not AT your marlin!!!

There were a few times there I wanted to shoot bullets at my 1894C!

 

[H4831]

I too, have been leary, just on general principal, of the Remington buy out.
Simple asnwer, just get the used Marlins that have the Bullseye in the stock.
Oops, this brings up another question. If I list my older 1894, or the 39 Mountie, both of which are in pristine condition, must I list them "about 20%" under new price, to keep from being trashed on these threads?

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

If I list my older 1894, or the 39 Mountie, both of which are in pristine condition, must I list them "about 20%" under new price, to keep from being trashed on these threads?

I think the rules are 20% less than what you paid. So if you bought a BNIB mid eighties vintage 1894, you should sell it to me for around 125$. Unless of course she has "less than a box of shells through 'er", "A couple of tiny safe kisses" and a "groups somewheres around an inch is mainly the norm".
I love the EE bashing threads running right now. I read them front to back

 

[y2k]

Just bad luck i guess

 

[KnightofCydonia]

My Marlin 925 made in 2008 is fine, albeit there is some plastic like the trigger guard and magazine feed ramp/well. But it's accurate and works well.

 

[Longwalker]

Remington bought Marlin? that explains so much....

 

[struff55]

You can put any list price you want on a firearm as i have noticed on EE and when you do enough price drops it will sell .

 

[ctelford]

A purchased a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun a few years ago and right out of the Box you could not cycle rounds into the chamber with the lever. Wholesale Sports replaced it and the second gun is fine.

 

[chappy]

i have never owned a new one but the vintage 30 30's and 444 have been very accurate and trouble free. i like the look of experianced oder ones

 

[Claybuster]

So... 2 Marlins in the family and both were factory duds. Anyone else experience this?

Yes I had the same experience as your 375. When the scope was properly adjusted at 50 it grouped to the right at 25 and to the left at 100.

 

[abolt]

i love my gs, but i've been hearing some horror stories about 39a's. really sad.
marlin was really listening to their customer base, and developing some neat
model's. i think campcook had something to do with the sbl model. they would
be selling truck load's of sbl's if they had any to sell. and just think if they produced
a stainless short barreled 39. i dont think it's marlin, i think it's the big boy's that
bought them both out. bean counting freaks!!!!

 

[chrisco]

As the proud owner of six Marlin levers, I can say that I have never had any issues. My model 57m is at least 40+ years old(no serial#-so I am not exactly sure of age). I do think that quality will suffer under Remington's hand.

My advice is to buy only older Marlins that are in good condition and then never let them go.

 

[warrenb]

Never owned a marlin, so nope

Mossberg has irritated me a bit though. A 3" 12 ga that wont eject any federal brand ammo, because the ejector was a CH (construction term, not a metric or imperial measurement) too far forward. Warranty guy told me it was an easy fix, shoot another brand.

My answer would have been,

"nothing else patterns".

 

[Bracen]

I just purchased a Marlin 1895GS Last week. I was like a little kid on Christmas. I couldn't wait to take it out to the range. When I finally did that weekend the damn thing won't cycle properly!!! Seems like there's a problem with the feed part/timing. You have to wiggle the lever back and forth a couple times to get the round to chamber properly. It happens every 2nd or 3rd round. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed, and left the range only having shot 20 rounds. Now they want to send it out for "Repair". I'll bet i'm not gonna see my rifle for another 3 months!!! Pretty piss poor for a rifle I've wanted for YEARS! It's left me with a REALLY bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention I got a flyer from Cabela's that day where the same rifle is $300 cheaper than what I paid...

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

I just purchased a Marlin 1895GS Last week. I was like a little kid on Christmas. I couldn't wait to take it out to the range. When I finally did that weekend the damn thing won't cycle properly!!! Seems like there's a problem with the feed part/timing. You have to wiggle the lever back and forth a couple times to get the round to chamber properly. It happens every 2nd or 3rd round. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed, and left the range only having shot 20 rounds. Now they want to send it out for "Repair". I'll bet i'm not gonna see my rifle for another 3 months!!! Pretty piss poor for a rifle I've wanted for YEARS! It's left me with a REALLY bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention I got a flyer from Cabela's that day where the same rifle is $300 cheaper than what I paid...

I feel for you. I saw the cabelas flyer too and thought that was a pretty killer price for a NIB 1895GS. I bet a few folks on the EE have to eat-it if they want 600$ plus used.