New Marlin Quality

My brother fixed up quite a few remlins, even the very early ones which were really crappy.
He'd strip them down and deburr, buff and polish the internals and replace the cross bolt safety with the beartooth safety delete kit.
The 336ss he did for me has a egw scope base, beartooth safety delete kit, wwg trigger happy kit and the x/s rail and sighting system with a sighted in 2-7x20 leupold scope on removable, return to zero warne qd rings.
I just screw the scope back on and it's sighted for 100 yards without me doing a thing.
I've had good offers for it but I'm so fond of it with the boyd hand checkered stock I won't let it go.
He also "chopped" the butt stock to a more suitable lop for me.
Remlins are kit guns like the rossi rifles are.
The potential is there if you are good with tools and don't mind getting your hands dirty.
 
tinbird said:
Since Lemington took over, they done good in ruining a fine name for Marlin. The QC is questionable IMO, some guys get lucky, a lot don't. For this reason I won't waste my time or money on anything associated to the Lemington name of recent manufacture. My loss, maybe, but there are better choices in lever guns available, again my opinion.
BTW, I could be wrong but I believe that their conscience got the best of them and that's why they stamped JM (Junk Manufacturer). :)
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Quality control (and pride in product) is out the door at the remlin factory in ilion ny as is any kind of hand fitting like they used to do in the ct factory when things didn't quite fit.
The ct factory had ancient machinery and none of the gun designs were committed to paper drawings.
The build plans were in the heads of skilled employees that had made leverguns for the kenna family for decades.
Remlin following the cerberus paradigm thought they were pretty smart firing the skilled marlin workers and their engineers produced drawings and tried to make 'blueprint' guns according to those drawings little realizing that the moving parts required looser tolerances to function in leverguns.
My brother bought a returned remlin 1895 from a dealer about 6 months after the ilion factory started production and it was so tight it wouldn't even cycle.
He spent a week of 'borrowed' lathe time at his workplace modifying the guns internal moving parts so they would function smoothly as a 1895 action.
He still has that guns and calls it his rehabilitated remlin prototype.
It's action is now smooth as butter.
Unfortunately not all remlin buyers are trained licensed master machinists like my brother is and their options are much more limited in regards to dealing with defective remlins.
 
contaucreek said:
One of the Dept. heads at Ruger said if you hand fit parts then all that means is that you can't manufacture parts that fit.
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LOL. Cute line.

In firearms, especially when you use real wood, you often have to choose between machine-perfect interchangeability and good fit/finish as both can rarely be had together without human hands intervening.

Everyone's view of "good fit and finish" varies. I'm picky and I'll bet my view of a good inletting job varies significantly from that of the mass consumer. I've yet to see factory Ruger "anything" that would meet my standards if I were doing the fitting.

YMMV.

Oh, and by the way, I'm still waiting for Ruger to start using "normal" gun alloys instead of the overly nickel-rich alloys they use to "cheat" the investment casting process. Increasing nickel content lowers the rejection rate and helps fill out the molds more than if you use a more firearm-typical carbon steel blend (we're talking blued guns here. The nickel keeps the pour ductile a little longer and ensures a nice austenitic structure in the end product). Virtually all their stuff is investment cast and minimally machined to keep prices WAY down, machining costs far outweighing the up-front casting expense.

A side effect is that almost all their blued guns turn purple over time.
 
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contaucreek said:
One of the Dept. heads at Ruger said if you hand fit parts then all that means is that you can't manufacture parts that fit.
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Remington thought they had all the answers to.
What could a bunch of 50 year old marlin employees show them?
Fire their azzes and bring in minimum wage workers to make leverguns at ilion.
When that first remlin came off the assembly line it wouldn't even cycle with or without ammo.
Guess they were wrong.
They didn't have all the answers.
 
I bought a late model 336 last summer. It was the 336Y carbine model. Fit, finish and function appears good to go at the price point. I got a great deal and IIRC it was about 120 dollars more than the 336TS I purchased new in 1985. So that should tell you how they've held the pricing down over 30 odd years.
What Claven has said on pricing versus expected QC shoul be noted here. Today if you pay 500 dollars don't expect 1500-2000 dollars worth of proven QC'ed product. Pay the 500 dollars, then iron out the wrinkles yourself if there are any and you got a good working cheap rifle.

To summarize, if you want no issues, a great looking fit and finish, and with accuracy to boot, buy an older Marlin at a good used price that is compatible to the NIB pricing.

The new 336Y I will say is an equal or better to the old 336TS in the accuracy department, they're still the most accurate(at 50 and 100 yds anyway) lever type rifles I've ever owned including 94's and BLR's.
I also know this little 336Y is priced way below some of the rifles mentioned, 1895 Guide stainless for example, and I wouldn't be as impressed if I had spent 950 or so taxes in on something requiring 5 to 7 issues corrected.
 
Two years ago I bought an 1895 45-70 from Cabela's in Edmonton..... by the time I was done, I had gone through all 8 of their inventory and of the 8 I found two that were satisfactory to me and of those two only one was "good" ...... I'm leary of buying Marlins sight unseen.
 
I just bought a 45-70 SBL (that's the one in the new Jurassic world) a couple of weeks ago and love it so far. Fit and finish are good, action is smooth and it was dead on right out of the box. Don't really care about the rail, but love the ghost ring sights
 
RememberTheSomme said:
I bought a late model 336 last summer. It was the 336Y carbine model. Fit, finish and function appears good to go at the price point. I got a great deal and IIRC it was about 120 dollars more than the 336TS I purchased new in 1985. So that should tell you how they've held the pricing down over 30 odd years.
What Claven has said on pricing versus expected QC shoul be noted here. Today if you pay 500 dollars don't expect 1500-2000 dollars worth of proven QC'ed product. Pay the 500 dollars, then iron out the wrinkles yourself if there are any and you got a good working cheap rifle.

To summarize, if you want no issues, a great looking fit and finish, and with accuracy to boot, buy an older Marlin at a good used price that is compatible to the NIB pricing.

The new 336Y I will say is an equal or better to the old 336TS in the accuracy department, they're still the most accurate(at 50 and 100 yds anyway) lever type rifles I've ever owned including 94's and BLR's.
I also know this little 336Y is priced way below some of the rifles mentioned, 1895 Guide stainless for example, and I wouldn't be as impressed if I had spent 950 or so taxes in on something requiring 5 to 7 issues corrected.
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Work out the wrinkles yourself?
I agree.
JM Marlin is no more and rossi always was a slam bang operation from the getgo.
Rossis only foray out of the junk gun category was when they made higher priced 92 clones for navy arms with real walnut stocks and superior fit and finish.
Yup, remlin and rossi are kit guns.
The best policy is to check them over and function test them BEFORE laying your money down on the shop counter thus screening out the worst of the lemons at the point of purchase.
My brother does a great job tuning and spiffing them up til they run butter smooth.
 
gmctech said:
Two years ago I bought an 1895 45-70 from Cabela's in Edmonton..... by the time I was done, I had gone through all 8 of their inventory and of the 8 I found two that were satisfactory to me and of those two only one was "good" ...... I'm leary of buying Marlins sight unseen.
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I never buy remlin or rossi firearms via internet or sight unseen.
NEVER!
If a shop won't let me inspect the gun I'm thinking of buying I go elsewhere.
I have 2 lgs that allow me to do this.
 
Can anyone who purchased a new Marlin recently from a store post the first two numbers of your serial number? If one site is correct, they say deduct it from 100 to get the manufacture date. If that is true, my 1894 was made in 1981 but it looks brand spank'n new for a 3rd owner.
 
I bought a 336BL back in late 2013 and had a few minor issues with it right away. The lever and receiver started rusting and pitting from my sweat just having had the rifle out a coupe of times and handling it a bit to clear the bore before and after firing. I wasn't too worried, I just started to be a bit more liberal with the oil before and after handling. The other immediate issue I had with it was the checkering on the laminated stock was exceptionally poor... Like almost not even there poor. The rifle cycled and fired fine, the accuracy was what i expected for a brush gun. In total I believe I had 160-200 rounds through it to this point. I like shooting my 30-30.

I've had one issue with feeding/cycling but it's still at the gunsmith's getting sorted while I am away so I'm not sure if it was a id10t error or a problem with the action. Overall for the $585 and smithing fees I'm happy enough with the rifle.
 
i to am interested in knowing what the new serial numbers would look like.
i am going to be out looking for a new marlin and the newer the better i suppose. don't want to get new old stock
 
Trinimon said:
Can anyone who purchased a new Marlin recently from a store post the first two numbers of your serial number? If one site is correct, they say deduct it from 100 to get the manufacture date. If that is true, my 1894 was made in 1981 but it looks brand spank'n new for a 3rd owner.
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I bought a Marlin 1895 .45-70 in Dec. 2014 and the first two digits are MR96

btw...I hear a lot of guys complaining about the new Remlins but mine is fantastic in everyway from fit to finnish to handleing to accuracy..I must have gotten a good one by reading all the complaints on here.
 
AlbertaJohn said:
I bought a Marlin 1895 .45-70 in Dec. 2014 and the first two digits are MR96

btw...I hear a lot of guys complaining about the new Remlins but mine is fantastic in everyway from fit to finnish to handleing to accuracy..I must have gotten a good one by reading all the complaints on here.
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Honestly, half the people - even in this thread - telling you all about horror stories either don't own a Marlin or own an older JM gun (that they think makes it worth more than a brick of gold, just check the EE) and have no personal experience of the new ones. They've read this, heard that, and will repeat it forever - kinda like the mythical sten gun that got thrown in a room to dump it's mag like a grenade.

This is one of the Internet myths that never goes away. I contend the new guns are as reliable as anything Marlin ever produced. And the bad guns exist now in about the same proportion as they did back in the day when things were stamped JM and needed unicorn tears and steady hands to make working less-parts-interchangeable guns

Ymmv.
 
I own a jm 336 in 30-30 from 1985 fit and finish was impressive last year i buy a 336y for my gf and talk about over tight barrel i install a peep sight and the front sight was off far left i need to refinish the chekering for a lack of finish so new remlin is a ####ing no go for me in the futur
 
Trinimon said:
Can anyone who purchased a new Marlin recently from a store post the first two numbers of your serial number? If one site is correct, they say deduct it from 100 to get the manufacture date. If that is true, my 1894 was made in 1981 but it looks brand spank'n new for a 3rd owner.
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I was at one of my local rifle dealers today for ammunition (32 Win Spl and 30-30) and decided to take a look at a new 336BL they had on the rack. FWIW, the fit and finish on the rifle was beautiful. It had the nicest butt stock to tang fit that I have seen in any Marlin 336 of any DOM. The only possible issue, the edges of the lever were very crisp, almost sharp.

I wasn't buying, I already have a 336BL (I repeated that to myself over, and over, and over again), so I didn't ask them to remove the cable lock from the lever and therefore can't comment on the action.

Dating a post Remington Marlin is not done from the serial number as were the JM stamped Marlins. There will be a 2 letter stamp on the left side of the REP barrel. The one noted above was stamped AJ, indicating a March 2015 DOM.

It was a very nice rifle.

http://www.remingtonsociety.org/manufacture-dates/
 
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I bought a 336 in 30-30 this summer, couldn't even chamber a round the first time at the range, it was full of burr, even a gunsmith could not repair the magasine that wasn't straight ... sent it back to marlin (remington) and i'm waiting... I'd suggest that you save up a few penny more and go with a henry rifle, they seem to have a better reputation.
 
Martin_333 said:
I'd suggest that you save up a few penny more and go with a henry rifle, they seem to have a better reputation.
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LOL. Henry rifles do not cost more than any of the standard model Marlins. Every time I hear this, I know the person posting it is talking BS.

The only Marlin that sells for much less than a Henry is the 336W or the shorter version of the same rifle, the 336Y. These are to the real models (336C and up) as a Remington 870 Express is to a Wingmaster.

The W and Y models have ZERO post-machining finishing done to them, they come off the machines (burrs and all), get sandblasted, and then a quick dunk in a black oxide solution. They are made to be the cheapest of the cheap crap to sell as cheaply as possible. This model was created at the behest of Walmart (hence the W in the model name) and is not a "real" marlin compared to any of the models sold in self-respecting gun shops.

Also, the Marlin 336C weights in at an even 7 lbs. The henry .30-30 weighs 8.3 lbs. That's a big weight difference. Both rifles use a nearly identical action (on the inside) but the henry uses more cast parts with looser tolerances (like the lever) and an inferior loading system. Frankly, the Henry should cost less for what it is - it's a more cheaply machined copy of a Marlin that is heavier and more cumbersome in every way.

Anyone who has both apart side-by-side knows this. Henry .30-30= copy of a marlin 336C, but with corners cut.
 
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