Pre Remington Marlin 1895, Is this desirable?
- Thread starter BurlewLLB
- Start date
Originality. Marlin made them better. When Remington began production they were plagued with issues, from quality control to a workforce that was improperly trained in how to manufacture lever guns. I bought a Remlin only to find the barrel and sights to be improperly indexed, meaning everything was tipped to the 1 o’clock position. How this gun made it out of the factory I don’t know. Add to that all the edges on the gun were sharp, leading me to believe they didn’t even tumble-finish the parts prior to final assembly. The new Ruger-made guns are supposed to be far superior in fit and finish.
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
The 336 and 1895 remlin's generally had higher grade wood, too bad every single one I've seen the inletting is terribly wrong to a truely pathetic level.
Generally the inletting was so terribly off centre that it looked like it was poorly refinished.
That's where the marlin dark series came from - hiding the poor fitment of metal and wood.
Also the Remlins are notorious for feeding problems.
Note that the early Remlin guns manufactured in North Haven, were generally better than the ones marked as Ilion.
But the North Haven guns built during/after the layoffs had many reported problems.
If you look at the 1894 series, remington changed the bolt and extractor geometry approx 3 times, during the fairly short period they manufactured them.
Better fit and finish. Better reputation for not breaking. I’d take one over the new junk anytime.
YES!
Most prefer the older, re-Remington Marlins, and look for the JM stamped versions.
The older employees knew all of the tricks to make and assemble the rifles to function properly. As stated above, Remington lost this knowledge when they bought and moved the plant, and let the original staff go.
If looking for more modern versions, the Ruger rifles appear to be much better built than the Remlins (haven't yet had a chance to try one).
I hope to soon, as I have ordered the new limited production 10MM Trapper version!
Most prefer the older, re-Remington Marlins, and look for the JM stamped versions.
The older employees knew all of the tricks to make and assemble the rifles to function properly. As stated above, Remington lost this knowledge when they bought and moved the plant, and let the original staff go.
If looking for more modern versions, the Ruger rifles appear to be much better built than the Remlins (haven't yet had a chance to try one).
I hope to soon, as I have ordered the new limited production 10MM Trapper version!
I obtained a Remlin Model 1895 in 45-70 just towards the end of production. The fit and finish is much better then the earlier ones they made. I've killed deer with it and scoped it, and never had any feeding, firing or discharging the fired cases from it.
They may very well be - but I'm just reporting that not all of the Remlin built 1895 in 45-70 were duds...
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
I have two original Marlin lever guns, one from the early 80's and one late 70's.
Am very happy with both. Bought one new (336 model) and the other (44 mag) excellent condition used.
Hope I didn't overpay, I recall around $200 each...
I have no experience with Remlins or Ruglins.
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I hear they mostly figured it out towards the end of the Remington era. It took a while though.
I worked in a gun store from 2009-2012. We got a batch of ~20 Marlin 39A once. Screws were rattling around in boxes, many would bind just trying to cycle the lever unloaded. We sent them all back to the distributor. It was absolutely horrendous.
Here is a basically brand new JM Marlin 1895 in 45/70 from very near the production end.It is head and tails better than the upstart Remington guns which did get better over time.No comparison in checkering, wood quality,fit and finish, bluing, mechanical movement etc
Ive had a few Remlin 1895's, i like them after you smooth them up inside a wee bit
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
I’ve had a few of each, the one I ended up keeping was a final production year Remlin 1895 CB. It’s probably the smoothest, most reliable and well put together lever gun I’ve handled. If someone stamped a JM into the metal you’d never know it apart.
That said I had an 1894 Remlin in 45LC and the barrel was starting to strip out at one of the lands.
Value wise original will almost always be worth more, until later when people get sick of sending their Ruger Marlins in for warranty and Remlin becomes its own cult collectable.
That said I had an 1894 Remlin in 45LC and the barrel was starting to strip out at one of the lands.
Value wise original will almost always be worth more, until later when people get sick of sending their Ruger Marlins in for warranty and Remlin becomes its own cult collectable.
