Marlin announcement from Ruger

I bought a Remlin 1894 in 2017. It was awful compared to my JM 1894.

I sold it a couple of months ago for what I paid for it and bought a Henry that was twice the rifle for the same price.

Seems not many people have noticed that Ruger products have been decreasing steadily in quality and increasing in price. I was just at the LGS today and compared a Ruger Max 9 to a Taurus GX4. Identical build quality. The counter guy noted the same thing; Rugers are decreasing in quality while Taurus is getting better.

I would not expect the Ruglins to be much better than the Remlins. Of course, they can't get much worse.

Trey Veston said:

I was just at the LGS today and compared a Ruger Max 9 to a Taurus GX4. Identical build quality.

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Pretty broad statement. Can you provide at least one or two specifics between these guns?

Trey Veston said:

Rugers are decreasing in quality while Taurus is getting better.

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Based on your gun shop comparison with the Taurus? Do you/have you owned other Ruger's of poor quality?

With the amount of required master level craftsmanship, I think we have seen the last of the 39As.

I'd recommend hanging on to any Marlins you own as they will surely increase in value.

No doubt, Ruger will make a rugged and dependable "New Marlin" line but with investment castings instead of machined steel.

Hope they come close to the quality of Henry stocks.

A deer shot with either type will not know the difference.

My hope is for a stainless steel 39M "Mountie" .22LR.

TarDevil said:

Do you/have you owned other Ruger's of poor quality?

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Yes... about 6 or 7 different single-actions. They ALL have had issues. They are also ALL gone except one Vaquero that is tolerable after I had work done on it.

The caveat here is... rifles are different than pistols. I think Ruger's QC with their handguns is terrible, not so much with their rifles. I think they will make a real effort to turn out good Marlins, but let's not forget... even the sacred JM Marlins weren't perfect, either. I don't expect quality Ruger Marlins to bring the prices of JM Marlins down, much like a Belgian HiPower or a 'pinned and recessed' S&W will always command a higher price, generally.

It's not surprising Ruger's prices have gone up, considering the current market... it's Economics 101.

I’m wondering how much if any of the tooling ruger got during the acquisition or if they are tooling up from scratch. Ruger and marlin have very different styles when it comes to how they build firearm parts. I expect if they are tooling up from scratch that it will be a heavily CNC production line.

Charlie98 said:

Yes... about 6 or 7 different single-actions. They ALL have had issues. They are also ALL gone except one Vaquero that is tolerable after I had work done on it.

The caveat here is... rifles are different than pistols. I think Ruger's QC with their handguns is terrible, not so much with their rifles. I think they will make a real effort to turn out good Marlins, but let's not forget... even the sacred JM Marlins weren't perfect, either. I don't expect quality Ruger Marlins to bring the prices of JM Marlins down, much like a Belgian HiPower or a 'pinned and recessed' S&W will always command a higher price, generally.

It's not surprising Ruger's prices have gone up, considering the current market... it's Economics 101.

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I have two double action ruger revolvers and although they are built like a bank vault, they were both half finished. Both needed extensive internal polishing and deburring, both had an issue with the transfer bar hanging up on the firing pin and locking up the action (also experienced that on a 3rd that I test fired at a gun shop), and one of them I bought was out of time when I bought it. I’ve grown accustomed now days that practically any new firearm I buy from any manufacturer is an unfinished parts kit.

Charlie98 said:

Yes... about 6 or 7 different single-actions.

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Thanks for that information, but I would still like a response from the person to whom the questions were addressed.
Just FYI, I have more Ruger's than other handguns combined, which would not be the case if experienced your issues. They have been reliable, accurate and a joy to shoot.

Which proves only one thing: The wonderful world wide web is a deep well of every anecdotal story one wishes to find.

I own a Remlin GG.

Still like it but the finish just isn’t that great.

A Ruglin GG would be great…

greg

Trey Veston said:

I bought a Remlin 1894 in 2017. It was awful compared to my JM 1894.

I sold it a couple of months ago for what I paid for it and bought a Henry that was twice the rifle for the same price.

Seems not many people have noticed that Ruger products have been decreasing steadily in quality and increasing in price. I was just at the LGS today and compared a Ruger Max 9 to a Taurus GX4. Identical build quality. The counter guy noted the same thing; Rugers are decreasing in quality while Taurus is getting better.

I would not expect the Ruglins to be much better than the Remlins. Of course, they can't get much worse.

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I don't buy that crap at all. I've bought more Rugers than most people will ever even consider, nearly 80 guns total. No, Ruger is producing more guns than ever and the people who do experience problems are more likely to whine about it on the internet. The internet has always been the world's complaint department. Bad news gets more press and it makes it appear worse than it really is.

I'd love to know how you determined that the Ruger you looked at was "identical build quality" to the Taurus?

To judge Marlin, we first have to determine the truth about them. Remington bought Marlin, obviously without first knowing that the old employees were very good at making do with old worn out machinery. When they moved production and started back up with new employees, this is when the problems arose and this is why the early "Remlin" guns were hit & miss. Remington completely revamped Marlin production with brand new machinery and everything got better. The 1895 I bought in 2016 is head and shoulders above any JM Marlin I ever owned or handled but not only does bad news travel faster but poor reputations are long to live down. Let's be honest here, the JM guns weren't all that great to begin with.

someguy2800 said:

I’m wondering how much if any of the tooling ruger got during the acquisition or if they are tooling up from scratch. Ruger and marlin have very different styles when it comes to how they build firearm parts. I expect if they are tooling up from scratch that it will be a heavily CNC production line.

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They got it all. I would wager that Ruger bought Marlin 'for' the tooling. All new CNC equipment that Remington had just bought.

If Ruger puts out a decent type of 336 C 30-30 with good bluing, wood, and standard rifling that I can handle before buying I'll take a look, but if its north of $700 I'll just put the money towards an old 1894 beater in 32 spl or 38-55 and spend the remainder on dies, brass, and molds.

blue32 said:

If Ruger puts out a decent type of 336 C 30-30 with good bluing, wood, and standard rifling that I can handle before buying I'll take a look, but if its north of $700 I'll just put the money towards an old 1894 beater in 32 spl or 38-55 and spend the remainder on dies, brass, and molds.

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Looking at Ruger's main levergun competition (Henry), their centerfire lever MSRPs are well over $900.00 now.

I'm afraid we're all looking at a new norm of centerfire levergun pricing.

I will be the curmudgeons in this thread, and say I am not terrible excite about this, I tried and failed to be. I think Ruger buying Marlin made a lot of market sense but none of the Marlin lever guns appeal to me. In pistol calibers the Winchester 92 is so much better in my book. My dad and brother both have Remlin 1895's in 45/70 and they are fine guns but I like my 450 Bushmaster AR a lot more. The only Marlin product I own is an old 25MN 22 Mag bolt action that I believe it predates the Remington acquisition by a couple years. Unfortunately this is a big yawner for me...

Goosey said:

If they were releasing new models one by one, I bet they would start with .45-70, and then .357. The more practical guns and the older classics can wait for later. I also bet they will make one with space rails on it!

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Congratulations to the owner of this, but if I bought a lever gun like this one, I'd feel that I'd have to go to confession, because it might be a sin for someone my age!

mcb said:

I will be the curmudgeons in this thread, and say I am not terrible excite about this, I tried and failed to be. I think Ruger buying Marlin made a lot of market sense but none of the Marlin lever guns appeal to me. In pistol calibers the Winchester 92 is so much better in my book. My dad and brother both have Remlin 1895's in 45/70 and they are fine guns but I like my 450 Bushmaster AR a lot more. The only Marlin product I own is an old 25MN 22 Mag bolt action that I believe it predates the Remington acquisition by a couple years. Unfortunately this is a big yawner for me...

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Good thing Winchester rifles are still being offered. I love the looks of the Trapper takedown. https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/model-1892/current.html

However, I really need an optic mounted on a levergun these days. A Marlin makes that super easy to do.

someguy2800 said:

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Needs a really big scope!!!! LOL

I just hope they’ll bring back the camp carbines.

I think an 1894 in 44 mag would be sweet. But I highly doubt we’d ever get the combination of Ballard rifling + no crossbolt safety that I’m really wishing for. IMO in .357, the 1894 is too heavy.

I think a 336 in 30-30 and in .35 Remington would be sweet too. Versatile and almost universally appealing.

I think the 45-70 Guide Gun is a fan favorite (though oddly I don’t really want one myself… cool, but do I really need it unless I’m in moose or polar bear country?)

Lastly I think the 39a and model 60 should make a return because they’re such great guns. But sadly I’m not holding my breath for either. Ruger will probably see the model 60 as competition for their own 10/22 and make sure it stays gone. And the 39a…. I sure wish they could manage to do it, and price it under $1k. But I’d be shocked if it makes a comeback, labor costs being what they are. Maybe a successor 22 lever that’s thoroughly reengineered for modern production methods, though. But with blued-steel and walnut aesthetics and build quality. THAT would be sweet. Price it at 700 and watch them fly off the shelves. They could do one in 32 as well. Sign me up.

As a not levergun guy and ruger fan, I'm enjoying the variations of opinions voiced in this thread..... No matter what Ruger does, I am at this point looking forward to seeing whose predictions were right... Or closest anyway...
If there's one gun that they could bring out that I would buy, it'd be a lightweight, stainless steel pistol caliber carbine chambered in 454.

Danwin22 said:

My hope is for a stainless steel 39M "Mountie" .22LR.

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I would totally buy one if they did......but highly doubt they would.

I think Ruger will reintroduce the Marlin model 60. To have the number one and number two selling semiautomatic 22lr rifles in your catalog is not a bad thing.
It boils down to profit margins for the individual models.
Many of us would like to see a 41 mag lever action. They will make it if the $$$$ makes sense....

WisBorn said:

I think Ruger will reintroduce the Marlin model 60. To have the number one and number two selling semiautomatic 22lr rifles in your catalog is not a bad thing.
It boils down to profit margins for the individual models.
Many of us would like to see a 41 mag lever action. They will make it if the $$$$ makes sense....

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I guess it would depend on if they can analyze the data and see if there was a big uptick in 10/22 sales…. that was somehow unattributable to the pandemic. I hope you’re right. I never even owned a model 60 (or 10/22) but they’re still quite legendary as reliable workhorse rifles at a good price.

LoonWulf said:

As a not levergun guy and ruger fan, I'm enjoying the variations of opinions voiced in this thread..... No matter what Ruger does, I am at this point looking forward to see whose predictions were right... Or closest anyway...
If there's one gun that they could bring out that I would buy, it'd be a lightweight, stainless steel pistol caliber carbine chambered in 454.

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Yep, it will be interesting to see who's closest to being right.

I'll put up a box of ammo on my belief that anything except a lever gun won't be made by the New Marlin for quite a while, if ever. "Long Live the Lever Gun" is what Ruger announced at purchase time, not "Long Live Marlin Firearms".

Mosin77 said:

I think an 1894 in 44 mag would be sweet. But I highly doubt we’d ever get the combination of Ballard rifling + no crossbolt safety that I’m really wishing for. IMO in .357, the 1894 is too heavy.

. . .

Lastly I think the 39a and model 60 should make a return because they’re such great guns. But sadly I’m not holding my breath for either. Ruger will probably see the model 60 as competition for their own 10/22 and make sure it stays gone. And the 39a…. I sure wish they could manage to do it, and price it under $1k.

. . .

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Funny thing is my Marlin 39AS is virtually the same weight as my Marlin 1894 CSBL. +/- 2 ounces within one another, depending on what's mounted on them.

WisBorn said:

Many of us would like to see a 41 mag lever action. They will make it if the $$$$ makes sense....

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I would buy one if fit and finish was good.