I’ve mentioned the issues I’ve seen with rifles from Marlin, say the last 2 years. Sloppy fits, poor assembly, bad fitting parts/stocks, and wood on the butt stock that looked like it came from a different species of tree than the fore end. Just not a gun I’d recommend to anyone.
Well, last couple of months we’ve been getting in new Marlins. And I’m very pleased to say that each one has been better than I’ve ever seen from Marlin before. The quality is there. These are the best guns ever to have the Marlin name. The fit and finish are outstanding.
This is good news for people on a budget. Rough finish can be dealt with, out of tolerance parts not so much.
I’ve thought about the Marlin 336 W Y. The short barreled 5 rounds of .30-30 for youth, short stocked rifle, for a poor boys cowboy assault rifle. Stick a thick recoil pad on the stock to bring the stock out to an adult length. There are a number of reasonably priced scout scope mounts available so you could put a Bushnell red dot on it. It would make, in my opinion, a handy truck gun. Have a bandolier in a pouch and you could get ready to go fairly quickly. I kind of wish they still made their straight stock version of the 336 but for some reason it never sold all that well. I suspect it just didn’t “feel” enough like the Winchester, Rossi, and others to win the fans of those rifles over??
I am SO glad to hear this… my Marlinitis thanks you.
Caryn however… may stab me.
Jim
I love Marlins. Their 1895SBL is bad @ss. And for a budget .22 the 795 is hard to beat.
Ogre,
Are these new Marlins made in New York and/or Kentucky? I remember Freedom Group announced the closure of the old Marlin plant about a year ago.
Thanks,
Rob
They are now made in Ilion NY.
Jim
That’s good to hear. Lots of Marlin enthusiasts have been losing confidence in the brand of late… I really hope this is evidence of a long-term trend toward quality.
Robinson
Well, since Marlin’s manufacturing is now all moved In House with Remington – I’m guessing we are going to see not just better QC in all the assembly and such, but also better barrels, which will mean better accuracy.
This is extremely good to here, George!
Let’s hope they keep it up from here on in. I’m tired of not having a .444 and I will force my self to buy one. But next year.
Whatever…
My Marlin’s Fit and Finish are perfect and it’s the worst rifle I’ve ever owned. Fit and Finish isn’t something that should please you. It’s assumed. It won’t get you a gold star by your name but rather is a pre-requisite to simply be in the game. Anything less is flawed. Further, it mechanical function should be flawless each and every time it’s called upon to do it’s job. Years of use and wear may affect that mechanical reliability but a new rifle should function perfectly. That’s PERFECTLY.
Accuracy is another matter. Rifles that shoot ammo out to 150 yards can be a little less accurate but rifles that shoot ammo out to 400 yards and are advertised as such need to hold a reasonably tight group with good factory ammo. If your ballistically superior (Hornady FTX Bullets) can’t shoot any better than 2 inches at 100 yards under controlled range conditions, and your hunting open country, try and get your money back, exchange or something because you’ll just be disappointed.
Fit and Finish are on the bottom in my list of priorities. What occupies the top are function, reliability and accuracy. If Fit and Finish are an issue, send it back to Afghanistan or perhaps Marlin.