Remington has cancelled production on dang near everything with a Marlin name tag. Specifically the lever action rifles. The Savage knock-off X7 rifles, I believe are still rolling out the door. We’ve had no problem getting those. Just Lever Actions, and the Rep told us that most of the orders we had were cancelled because they not in production. This doesn’t make me very happy. The problem Remington is having is that all the guys that used to know how to build a Marlin Lever Action are all now retired or laid off or working someplace else. This is just the tip of the iceberg that I’m seeing here. They buy Marlin pretty much to get into the lever action business… and then ruin it. Yet Remington is still cranking out the Savage Clones. To me, that makes no sense. If I was Remington, I’d kill the X7 line completely and concentrate on moving Remington’s own Bolt Action rifles. But Remington can do what it wants… that’s fine. But I also don’t get why Remington has moved the Sendero rifle to the Custom Shop, which has a completely different Dealer Program. What was one of the best production guns they made, and one of the most popular out here in my area of operation… they go and hamstring it.
I can’t get the Marlin Lever Actions to sell and now the Senderos are going to be difficult… Great. No, really… You guys concentrate on getting that ACR Contract and ignore the Hunters that have made Remington what it is. That’s a good plan. Worked great for Colt.
Here’s the deal… if you guys can’t sort out production of a gun made since the 1800’s… sell Marlin to someone who can actually build the things. Springfield would be great. Lifetime warranty, aggressive marketing, customer service like Marlin has never had before, and custom shop work that’s top notch. That would give Springfield some serious Hunting chops in the industry. I’d love to see Springfield own Marlin.
I can get worked up about Lever Actions… I love them. I have always loved them. And Marlin has always been a favorite brand. Most of the deer I’ve taken was with a .44 Mag Marlin 336… So it has a solid place in my heart. And we can’t even get any of the Marlin pistol calibers. I could have sold a hundred this summer… instead, I sold none. Can’t sell it if I can’t get it. Come on Remington!
Tag Archives: Rifles
Less than ideal
.300 RUM, Elk, 225 yards, perfect side shot, well placed hit, Hornady GMX. Complete pass through with evidently no expansion.
I would say this is a perfect example of too much gun for the game/range. Well, specifically too much bullet. Animal was tracked over a mile before it was located laying down… still breathing, still bleeding. The bullet had torn through both lungs and a ventricle of the heart, but not much actual damage. Without expansion, there was very little shock effect… almost no blood-shot tissues internally, and the exit wound looked like maybe a .40 caliber hole. The hit was observed, clean, and animal was able to run away without so much as a limp.
Take the same situation, same animal, same range, same gun… and load the SST bullet instead of the solid, or a classic Sierra Game King, and I bet that beast would have been dead right there… because that’s what I’ve witnessed before. Bullets that open up faster will deliver more shock, and that is what’s going to put the animal on the ground. Roy Weatherby discovered this many decades ago, and evidently this is a lesson we are still learning.
Lever Action Reaction
There are few firearms that just give me such gratification as a lever action rifle. The elegant lines that fuse form and function with a mechanical simplicity that makes the Lever Action one of the most beautiful of all firearms. Doesn’t matter which lever you have… they are truly lovely. I find myself simply taking out my Rossi made Winchester 92 clone, just to look at it, just to feel it, just to hold it in my hands. I’ve got a lot of other guns that I like… but they don’t stick in my mind like that little 92. I’ve got my guns I use for certain purposes… and to be honest, this 92 doesn’t fall in to any of those purposes. But that’s all besides the point. I could probably very easily adopt the 92 for more serious purposes. Maybe I will. But I do prefer the right tool for the right job, shotguns, magazine fed semi-auto rifles, long range precision bolt actions. And they are all fine and good within their spheres. But if I had to have just one gun… well… that would still be an 870, but the 92 is encroaching on that in a big way.
What is it for?
That’s a question most often uttered at the gun counter while the person is looking up at the .50 caliber rifle. Many of those people asking came out to the factory range day and tried it out. Just an observation here… but not one person at the range day who watched or tried firing the .50 cal ever uttered that stupid question. ‘What is that for?”
I did get a lot of questions about if it’s legal to hunt with. “Yes, with soft point ammo.” I heard people utter their desires to take elk, mule deer, and bear with it. Many people actually do and it doesn’t destroy as much meat as people think. There are a lot of Urban Legends and Myths about the .50 that were dispelled at the range day.
Below are some of the people that when asked, can tell you what the .50 cal is for.
Bushmaster BA50, .50 BMG Rifle.
This has become my favorite .50 BMG rifle. Okay, I know the audio cuts out… but watch.
My impression is that this is the best production .50BMG on the market. Great action, very accurate, and it’s the softest shooting .50 BMG out there. I’ve shot a number of other big fifties, and this is the softest shooting of all of them.
I like everything about this gun… save for one thing. The trigger pull is not good… But I think it’s going to be able to wear in just fine. Regardless… I think this one to buy. More accurate than an M107, softer shooting too. And it’s half the price. And you can shoot it just as fast with some practice.
Crusader Weaponry could really take one of these to the next level.
The Savage Axis
The Sub-300 dollar Savage Axis has been impressing me more and more. In just about every caliber, the reports have been overwhelmingly positive. The only hesitation or complaints have been in the trigger. It’s not a bad trigger by any means… it’s just not a good trigger by any means either.
Available in all the classic calibers, and 7mm-08. I think in the .223, .243, and .308, are the more appealing of choices to me. Quite honestly, this makes the cheap little Axis a very interesting rifle. Very interesting indeed. For a knock-around working gun, this just might be an absolute ideal platform.
Now, what scope would go good on this one? Normally, I’d personally start out with a Nikon Monarch. However, I want to keep this package as “affordable” as possible. Say, something in the 200 dollar range, or even a bit less. Nikon’s new ProStaff’s are pretty good. But I’d also take good hard look at the Vortex Diamondback BDC scopes. Something in a 4-12 would do quite well on this.
Let’s see… this rifle, with the Timney upgrade, and a Vortex Diamondback… You are looking at about 600 dollars total. I think this would make for a great lightweight knockabout package. Yes, very interesting indeed.
Edit: The Howa 1500 Scoped Rifle Combo that usually retails for about 499 is a good deal on a good rifle. The comparison to the Axis becomes a natural one. Which would be more accurate is a good question, which I can not answer. Both have proved to have very good accuracy. So I’ll judge that to be Sixes. The Howa package however is considerably heavier and it lacks a detachable box magazine, a feature that I favor when I have the option. Considering that with this Timney upgrade, the Savage Axis then has the better trigger, lighter weight, detachable mag… I think the Axis is the choice to make.
Marlington
I think Marlin, and by that I mean Remington, needs to stop making the X7 centerfire bolt action rifles. Marlin is a Lever Action Company… they need to stick to that. They do fine Rimfires… which is fine. Remington has nothing in that market. But Remington making a Marlin branded Savage Knockoff? Feh… Why? To get that 300 dollar rifle Market? I thought they already had that with their 770. Which is total crap, but hey. It’s at least a Remington.
Now, there is really nothing wrong with the X7 rifles. It is quite good for a cheap knock-around gun for those that have a hate for Savage and refuse to buy one… so now they can buy the Marlin option, which is a Savage knockoff crossed with a Vanguard if it got drunk with ambition and delusions. Reportedly the X7’s shoot pretty good. Especially their heavy barreled .308. But why would Remington want make that, when they would rather be selling their own 700 SPS Tactical? I don’t get why they feel the need to make a product that competes with their own product. Remington needs to squelch that.
I still assert that Mossberg needs to GTFO of the Lever Action market too.
Winchester 94-22M Temptation
We have a Winchester 94-22m .22 Magnum that came in on trade. It’s sporting a nice peep sight set up, nice checkered wood stocks… really nice looking. From a distance. Up close the gun is ugly. Pitting everywhere and the wood has more dings than I’ve ever seen. Some are unfortunately too deep to fix, and wood was amazing. New, this rifle would have been stunning.
The temptation is to restore it. No collector value, that’s just gone. This would be a rescue.
I want a custom Marlin…
I’m thinking of a Marlin 1895 “Trapper”, much like this one:
However, I’d like it with a blued barrel and magazine tube, stainless receiver, and walnut stocks. The peep sights from Wild West Guns in Alaska, and a Big Loop.
Hmmm… Perhaps – also – maybe 336 version in .30-30 Win.
Marlin Firearms
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.