It's settled... Lever Actions must have side-gate loading port.

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Three days ago:

"In Ruger's latest press release, CEO Killoy says the company looks "forward to reintroducing Marlin rifles in the latter half of 2021." If Ruger can produce quality Marlin lever-action rifles -- a task presumably made easier by the painstaking technical drawing, research, and development Remington carried out a decade ago -- it may add an additional revenue source to---"

Note the "painstaking" reference to Remington. Note also the late 2021 for resumed production. It also appears that Ruger will run Marlin as something of a wholly owned company to itself, or at least it appears they plan to maintain some separation of products in that there will be a Marlin website and Marlin product line. Again, not entirely unlike what Remington did. It basically took Remington five years to get the Marlin lever guns back to decent quality and function level. Hopefully Ruger has a head start with the technical drawings and numerical data files from Remington (that they paid some 30 million for). This give Henry about six months or so to have the lever gun market to itself. A rare opportunity to capitalize though Marlin diehards (like me) will likely wait for Ruger to show us what they can do.

And for those that have complained largely about wood fit of many Remington and late end of run JM Marlins, do not expect any different from Ruger. The metal parts are CNC, the stocks are CNC. They are never going to be hand fitted and burned on again.
 
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With the introduction of the side loading gate, I will now consider Henry if I decide to purchase another lever gun. I wouldn’t have before.

I do think of the Savage 99 as a true lever gun. I believe what killed it more than anything else was the high cost of manufacturing compared to the 336 and 94.
 
Old Dog said:
As far as I'm concerned, life is getting better all the time for lever-action aficionados. We got absolutely nothing to complain about . . .
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Fully agree. These days seem like the best times for the "old west based" lever gun in quite a while.

I think a lot of the credit for that goes to Henry Repeating Arms. When the other lever makers were stagnant or discontinuing models, Henry was expanding their line up and introducing (or reintroducing) people to well built and affordable lever guns.

I can only imagine what would have happened to the lever gun if Henry hadn't come along. Marlin might have even gone down the path of Winchester as being high end and being built overseas. What happened to the Marlin 39 sure is one indicator.
 
But it is Marlin that offered the Dark series with a threaded barrel. Does Henry have a post modern threaded barrel lever gun?

I think we are going to see a strong comeback of the lever gun for many reasons and no offense to the MSR guys (I being one of them to a small degree) they are under public scrutiny whereas the lever gun and six-shooter are ostensibly as wholesome and American as apple pie and Twinkies.
 
3Crows said:
Three days ago:

"In Ruger's latest press release, CEO Killoy says the company looks "forward to reintroducing Marlin rifles in the latter half of 2021." If Ruger can produce quality Marlin lever-action rifles -- a task presumably made easier by the painstaking technical drawing, research, and development Remington carried out a decade ago -- it may add an additional revenue source to---"

Note the "painstaking" reference to Remington. Note also the late 2021 for resumed production. It also appears that Ruger will run Marlin as something of a wholly owned company to itself, or at least it appears they plan to maintain some separation of products in that there will be a Marlin website and Marlin product line. Again, not entirely unlike what Remington did. It basically took Remington five years to get the Marlin lever guns back to decent quality and function level. Hopefully Ruger has a head start with the technical drawings and numerical data files from Remington (that they paid some 30 million for). This give Henry about six months or so to have the lever gun market to itself. A rare opportunity to capitalize though Marlin diehards (like me) will likely wait for Ruger to show us what they can do.

And for those that have complained largely about wood fit of many Remington and late end of run JM Marlins, do not expect any different from Ruger. The metal parts are CNC, the stocks are CNC. They are never going to be hand fitted and burned on again.
Click to expand...

It's funny how quickly we start fondly remembering Remington.... Remington took nearly a decade for them to relearn how to make Marlin and deliver passable quality firearms and even then many would argue their QC was lacking. And we expect a company that could not get QC right, and starting in 2014 was bleeding engineers from their R&D like a stuck pig, due to the move and mismanagement, is supposed to have made an organized and "painstaking" high quality data package (CAD/CAM) that was ready for someone else to pickup with an run with? I wish Ruger the best and do ultimately think they will figure it out but I think late 2021 is unrealistically optimistic. My money on late 2022 early 2023. Hopefully I am wrong.

Armored farmer said:
Yeah. tube fed rifles are awful.
Nobody in their right mind would buy one now............!

<.....patiently waiting on a bargain tube fed levergun in .45colt >
:evil:
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May your search go well, someone needs to adopt and love these lever actuated firearms that sort of look like a real lever-action. :rofl:
 
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mcb said:
It's funny how quickly we start fondly remembering Remington.... Remington took nearly a decade for them to relearn how to make Marlin and deliver passable quality firearms and even then many would argue their QC was lacking. And we expect a company that could not get QC right, and starting in 2014 was bleeding engineers from their R&D like a stuck pig, due to the move and mismanagement, is supposed to have made and organized a "painstaking" high quality data package (CAD/CAM) that was ready for someone else to pickup with an run with? I wish Ruger the best and do ultimately think they will figure it out but I think late 2021 is unrealistically optimistic. My money on late 2022 early 2023. Hopefully I am wrong.

:rofl:
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To be clear, I was not and am not a Remington hater, so cannot include me in that group :) .

From about 2014 on the Remington Marlins were fine mechanically and functionally. Better than fine. My opinion of course. The data package is what Ruger paid for along with the brand name. I think Ruger could design a new rifle in a year, but sometimes designing something new from the get go is easier than capturing the intangibles of a long tradition product, that make a Marlin a Marlin, Remington struggled with that to the end and I expect Ruger will to. Reverse engineering is not easy. Some folks will never be satisfied and for them there are plenty of JMs out there, got some myself. I think Ruger will begin a phased in production of most popular models beginning later half of 2020, they will have to, they cannot let a $30 million investment make no return for several years, that is a business model for failure.

Why does the print get small when I try to correct a typo??????????
 
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3Crows said:
From about 2014 on the Remington Marlins were fine mechanically and functionally. Better than fine. My opinion of course. The data package is what Ruger paid for along with the brand name. I think Ruger could design a new rifle in a year, but sometimes designing something new from the get go is easier than capturing the intangibles that make a Marlin a Marlin, Remington struggled with that to the end and I expect Ruger will to. Reverse engineering is not easy. Some folks will never be satisfied and for them there are plenty of JMs out there, got some myself. I think Ruger will begin a phased in production of most popular models beginning later half of 2020, they will have to, they cannot let a $30 million investment make no return for several years, that is a business model for failure.

Why does the print get small when I try to correct a typo??????????
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From 2014 on you could get lucky with a Remlin. The two in my OP are decent guns that have served my father and brother well. But there were still lots of QC issues almost right up to the end of Remington. A computer drive full of CAD models and drawing and a bunch of G-code does not magical produce a rifle. If Ruger had gotten any of the people that had generated that data (engineers, programmers etc) I would have more faith in their optimistic time table but they did not, not one person, a lot of knowledge and experience walked out of Remington before Ruger purchased Marlin. And as an engineer by profession I know just how difficult it is to pick up another person(s)' project and how much easy that is if they are still a resource and how much harder that become when they are not available. Again I think Ruger will succeed I just think its going to take a lot longer than everyone hopes.

But the important thing to this thread is that all JM Marlins and Remlins lever-actions (except the 39A that Remington never did figure out) has a side gate loading. I fully expect Ruglins to all have the requisite side gate loading too. :D
 
the only Ruger rifle I have to go by is my new-ish Hawkeye. If this rifle is any indication, I expect Ruger produced Marlins to be familiar for any of us that own a Remington made Marlin, with varying degrees of improvement over the Remingtons in the areas of bluing, wood quality, wood fitment. That and I expect to see chamberings that align with what Ruger is offering in their revolver lines and I'm holding my breath for an octagon barrel 41 magnum.

I also own a Redhawk and a Blackhawk. The Redhawk has pluses and minuses and overall I lean toward S&W on the DA side. The Blackhawk I'm nuts about and wouldn't hesitate to add more Ruger SAs to my collection. Overall I have a positive impression about what Ruger makes and the Marlin acquisition seemed like a best case scenario to me. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.
 
mlankton said:
the only Ruger rifle I have to go by is my new-ish Hawkeye. If this rifle is any indication, I expect Ruger produced Marlins to be familiar for any of us that own a Remington made Marlin, with varying degrees of improvement over the Remingtons in the areas of bluing, wood quality, wood fitment. That and I expect to see chamberings that align with what Ruger is offering in their revolver lines and I'm holding my breath for an octagon barrel 41 magnum.

I also own a Redhawk and a Blackhawk. The Redhawk has pluses and minuses and overall I lean toward S&W on the DA side. The Blackhawk I'm nuts about and wouldn't hesitate to add more Ruger SAs to my collection. Overall I have a positive impression about what Ruger makes and the Marlin acquisition seemed like a best case scenario to me. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

I have a .45LC Blackhawk and want a Marlin 1894 in matching caliber. I missed out on a pretty one a couple of months ago thanks to the X!!?&^ clerk at Cabela's. Or maybe just get a Super Blackhawk in.44M and get a matching Marlin in .44M. Ruger will be happy either way. Now that it is mentioned, when Marlin came out with the Dark rifles for suppressor ready Henry had to go with the X side loading gate, guess I never thought that through.

I see what you did there :)
 
We've been talking alot about Henry's and Ruger Marlins, but little has been said about the Miroku Winchesters. I bought a Miroku Winchester 1873 chambered in 357 Magnum recently and have been impressed with it.

While I'm interested in the new side gate Henry's, the Miroku Winchesters are definitely an option for me. The Ruger Marlins are on the "wait and see" list.

I'd like to see some of the old time cartridges such as 25-20 or 32-20 offered in new production lever actions.

P.S. I do have a 32-20 Winchester 1873 built in the 1890's. It is a good shooter but fit, finish, and operation is not as nice as my new 357 Magnum Miroku Winchester 1873.
 
Plenty of excellent designs out there that utilize a lever action. But to me something feels unnatural about a lever without a gate. Too many Westerns I guess.
 
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WestKentucky said:
View attachment 958357
Side gate? No, detachable box. A pair of Marlin 62s. Dull stock is a .30 carbine. Glossy stock is .256 winmag.
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I just cant warm up to those or the Savage 99.
Can you really watch a good western then fondle your Marlin 62 or Savage 99 afterwards? No way.

RE Henry, now that the finally figured out the importance of a loading gate, they need to dump that pot metal cast receiver. Then I might buy one.
 
Lack of a side loading gate was the main thing that made me hesitate when considering a Henry. I still would like a 357 lever action someday, and the fact that they added one bumps Henry to the top of the list. It just makes it more practical for me as a "grab it when I need it" rifle without having to store it loaded (which I do with a few of my firearms but not most of them). I always kind of liked the idea of a lever action with a low power scope as a pest (larger pests to be fair) control option.
 
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Opinions I guess. Maybe some will be ditching those tube loaders at a fair price since they are so evil I can pick up another. Got 2 and never a problem loading safely. How anyone would think they are dangerous must have no clue how to properly load one. Kind of like those who hate on Glock for no safety. Common sense is key when handling firearms...
 
drobs said:
I just cant warm up to those or the Savage 99.
Can you really watch a good western then fondle your Marlin 62 or Savage 99 afterwards? No way.

RE Henry, now that the finally figured out the importance of a loading gate, they need to dump that pot metal cast receiver. Then I might buy one.
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What is this pot metal you are talking about? Henry uses steel or brass in all of their center-fire receivers. The rimfires are the only none brass or steel receiver and uses what they call brasslite a brass plated Zinc alloy that is lighter than brass but is stiffer and nearly at strong as 6061-T6 aluminum. And this is a rimfire we are talking about.
 
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The Henry centerfire rifles do not use the pot metal as do their rimfire rifles. And it is pot metal, die cast zinc alloy. If it is stiffer than brass and nearly as strong as 6061, then why not use 6061 for the rimfires or steel. Steel is good, I like steel. I am just not fond of the brass in the centerfire rifles, gaudy looking, and would not purchase a Henry die cast zinc receiver rimfire. Maybe make it as a pro model or heritage model or something so they can charge a few dollars more. I would pay more for a steel receiver.

I am hoping that Ruger will return the 39A to production or at least make runs of it. It is a steel and wood rifle and it a way better rifle than the Henry stuff. I imagine Henry has spent a lot of effort on the side gate, money and time, kudos to them. It will be a success, a home run for sure. I suppose it would be another home run if they came out with a pump centerfire rifle!

I have just become a stainless steel guy. Blued rifles are pretty but if Ruger were to build a stainless steel 39A I would probably fall over dead, I would have to have one, even if only to be buried with. I need one to match my stainless Single Six convertible. And I want a Triple 4 too. I hope I come into some money ;).
 
3Crows said:
The Henry centerfire rifles do not use the pot metal as do their rimfire rifles. And it is pot metal, die cast zinc alloy. If it is stiffer than brass and nearly as strong as 6061, then why not use 6061 for the rimfires or steel. Steel is good, I like steel. I am just not fond of the brass in the centerfire rifles, gaudy looking, and would not purchase a Henry die cast zinc receiver rimfire. Maybe make it as a pro model or heritage model or something so they can charge a few dollars more. I would pay more for a steel receiver.

I am hoping that Ruger will return the 39A to production or at least make runs of it. It is a steel and wood rifle and it a way better rifle than the Henry stuff. I imagine Henry has spent a lot of effort on the side gate, money and time, kudos to them. It will be a success, a home run for sure. I suppose it would be another home run if they came out with a pump centerfire rifle!

I have just become a stainless steel guy. Blued rifles are pretty but if Ruger were to build a stainless steel 39A I would probably fall over dead, I would have to have one, even if only to be buried with. I need one to match my stainless Single Six convertible. And I want a Triple 4 too. I hope I come into some money ;).
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Can't die cast aluminum is the primary reason for the Zinc alloy. Die casting is very affordable to do. Yes a steel or aluminum receiver would be nice but they could not sell enough of them even at the required higher price to justify the NRE and still make money.

I don't think we will see a 39A again. The Marlins were all hand fitted right up to the point that Remington bought Marlin. Remington could never reverse engineer out the need to hand fit many of the parts and thus could never justify the cost to produce them at a saleable price. You could still by 39A right up to when Remington went under earlier this year but they were all built from left over parts from the pre-Remington days that were being hand assemble and hand fitted by the Remington Custom Shop in Sturgis SD. IIRC they were going for ~$3600
 
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