Quality of new Marlins?

F

fowkes

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Does anyone know much about the quality of newer Marlins? I'm asking because with the buyout of Marlin by Remmington and the movement of some manufacturing overseas, I'm hesitant to purchase something new until I know the quality has remained the same.

I'm considering the new 336BL.
 
fowkes said:
Does anyone know much about the quality of newer Marlins? I'm asking because with the buyout of Marlin by Remmington and the movement of some manufacturing overseas, I'm hesitant to purchase something new until I know the quality has remained the same.

I'm considering the new 336BL.
Click to expand...

Like a lot of things, it depends... fit and finish of recent (last 3 yrs) Marlins can be hit-or-miss. My recommendation would be to either buy from a local vendor where you can inspect the rifle before purchase or buy from a retailer that will accept returns (albeit it would probably still cost you the shipping).
 
i can't speak for all the new Marlins, but i have a new (2010) Marlin 1894 Cowboy .357 Mag and its a peice of art. Super nice smooth action and very accurate right out of the box.

Overall a beautiful Carbine.

i would like to get a 336BL as well.

good luck with your search

Gord
 
Son-in-law bought a 308 Express about 3 years ago. Blued version, 22" barrel.

Nothing wrong at all with fit and finish, shoots very decent.

However, did replace the trigger...which was basically horrible...with a Wild West from Brownells. Amazing difference, breaks like glass at about 3 lbs!

Also had a Decelerator recoil pad installed, which took the surprisingly sharp bite out of the recoil.

I don't think there's any need for concern over a Marlin lever.
 
If it helps I bought a 336BL from Ellwood Epps July 23rd. Fired a few rounds off of the Hornady ammo and had no problems. Took the gun apart to do a full cleaning after and everything seems very well made. If it helps the gun I got was still made at the Marlin factory in CT. The only thing I'm not to fussy about is the hardwood laminated stock, but for now it will do. I put the rifle on a digtal scale last week for weight check and it comes out at 7.5 pounds as listed.

From what I've read on the Marlin owners fourm alot of the crafts people in CT aren't going to NY so it might take a while to get the quality control up. If you can get CT made ones for now ,get them is what they're saying. Because the NY guns might not be as good when they start coming come out, and that from the Marlin employees.
 
I have been hearing complaints too.

My experience was a Guide Gun bought from Phoenix in Edmonton about 3 years ago. I paid for it, took it into their rifle bay to fire a few rounds - and it promptly bunged itself up. It would not feed from the magazine and I had 3 rounds stuck up the chute! Apparently a metal burr left over from the machining process wasn't letting the shells out of the tubular magazine.

When I took it out front and explained the problem that fat kid behind the counter told me it would have to go back to the factory for warranty work, with the shipping at my expense! I had only put four rounds through it!!! Fortunately the owner was there and he saved the kid's life - he relieved me of the defective rifle and gave me another one instead - and it has worked flawlessly ever since. I was really thankful for the guys at Phonix stepping up like that - they took the defective rifle off my hands and handled the warranty/repair hassles themselves.

Not to slag your rifles or anything...but I'm just sayin'. It has been my experience that when manufacturing is outsourced and different suppliers are brought in, anything can happen. Quality can go for a dump or it can improve dramatically - it's that way with anything really.

I would approach Marlin with caution myself - and make sure the seller is willing to step up like Phoenix did if anything goes wrong.
 
Well, I went ahead and picked up the 336BL today. I really couldn't say no. Le Baron was offering no taxes plus Marlin has the $35 mail in rebate unitl December. Final price ends up being $556. Mine was made at the Marlin plant in CT and feels solid enough. I'm impressed with how it carries. I had thought it would be a bit butt heavy with the laminate stock and 1.5 inch shorter barrel, but it evens out prefectly when carrying with one hand. I won't be able to take it to the range until labour day weekend though.
 
fowkes said:
Well, I went ahead and picked up the 336BL today. I really couldn't say no. Le Baron was offering no taxes plus Marlin has the $35 mail in rebate unitl December. Final price ends up being $556. Mine was made at the Marlin plant in CT and feels solid enough. I'm impressed with how it carries. I had thought it would be a bit butt heavy with the laminate stock and 1.5 inch shorter barrel, but it evens out prefectly when carrying with one hand. I won't be able to take it to the range until labour day weekend though.
Click to expand...

Just a heads up the 336BL isn't part of the rebate. I called Marlin Canada and was told it's not even though Lebaron's has it listed as. Said it's an error on the store.
http://www.gravelagency.com/images/rebate/MarlinCouponsPrint.pdf

I tried last month to get the BL from Lebarons at there no tax sale and they weren't instock as of yet. You were lucky to find one there. Your going to love it.
 
Interesting. Well I sent in the paperwork for the rebate. If I don't get the money then I think I'd have a valid reason to contact Le Baron head office. If they're going to print something in their catalog the should stick with it.

Bigjake1907 said:
Just a heads up the 336BL isn't part of the rebate. I called Marlin Canada and was told it's not even though Lebaron's has it listed as. Said it's an error on the store.
http://www.gravelagency.com/images/rebate/MarlinCouponsPrint.pdf

I tried last month to get the BL from Lebarons at there no tax sale and they weren't instock as of yet. You were lucky to find one there. Your going to love it.
Click to expand...
 
My Marlin 917VST shoots well, ejects well but feeds like crap. The mag sits too low so you have to push it from the bottom so the round's nose can be at a chamber level to feed properly. I tried 4 different mags, all have the same issue so I suppose it is not the mag issue but the mag well issue holding the mag too low. The other thing is that amazingly, the holes drilled for the bases are not parallel to the barrel. The rear ones were drilled slightly to the left so I had to purchase windage adjustable rings to keep the scope parallel to the barrel. My friend's Marlin 22WMR stainless tube fed since new has serious issues ejecting, more FTE than not. I just bought 982VS. Did not install the bases yet but will post when I do and if they are drilled badly again. My two 336 in 30-30 so far are performing well, feed nicely and eject nicely. So yes, there some quality issues with the newer guns but the levers seem fine. Rimfires do not seem that fine but the price is nice for a change.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom