Hello High Road,
About a year ago I was wanting a lever gun in 30 30 something bad and had decided upon a Marlin 336. I went out and had a look at quite a few of them at various gun stores. I found a nice looking stainless one but when I held it the sights seemed canted or something. So I put it back and checked out some blued ones, three actually. Two of the three just felt bad, and by that I mean the fit and finish were not right. The final one I held seemed OK. The sights seemed aligned and fit and finish felt and looked well. The only possible negative I could find was the action seemed very rough as if the parts 'almost' did not fit right but I chalked that up to the rifle being new and needed to be worked. I chose that last rifle and figured all would be well. Not so.
A week later I was finally able to get out and shoot the new Marlin. Right off the back I started having trouble. The first problem was loading the gun. Inserting the cartridges was difficult and it took considerable pressure to get each cartridge in. Next came the cycle, man did it suck. The first cartridge would go in OK but trying to follow up was almost impossible. The following cartridge would hang up, not quite a jam but close enough and it took some effort to get following cartridges to cycle. I am feeling quite disappointed at this point. However, the accuracy was excellent at 100 yards so I still felt that the rifle was that way due to being new.
I cleaned the rifle and began to work the action while watching TV. I had heard that could alleviate the roughness. After something like a thousand times the action did seem to loosen a bit but still was very 'gritty' and the lever still wouldn't lock in place without effort. Every few weeks I would go out and put some rounds down range and still the problems would persist. I was starting to get somewhat mad, I had expected Marlin to produce great rifles. I still have a Marlin 60 that I have had since I was ten years old and it functions flawlessly, I am now 38. My father had a Marlin 30 30 and I remember it being a great rifle, never a problem so this current rifle I had recently bought truly baffled me.
It was about three months later that I finally decided to do some research and see if people were having problems with their new Marlin rifles. My first query was all I needed to type in for an answer. I had had no idea that Marlin had been sold and all types of changes had occurred. Man, this was not good. I felt my stomach fall as I read countless stories of crap rifles being made and pissed off people. Great, I thought...just flipping great. I picked up my newish Marlin and quickly checked the stamp on the barrel.....REP. Dang, I had got one, a REMLIN. What was I to do? I really did not feel like sending the rifle back to the factory, what a problem that could turn out to be. So I stuffed the rifle in the closet and tried to forget about it for awhile.
Few more months pass and by now it is October and I pull that Remlin out of the closet and throw it in the truck as well as my last box of cartridges for it. I head out to the desert and figure I'll give it one more chance. I manage to get through all the rounds but it is problematic and actually painful on my hand to cycle the rifle. Your done, I say. I pack up and head to a lgs to get rid of it. I end up trading it on a NIB Gen 3 Glock 19 and am very satisfied. However, there remained the hole...ever so slight...of my need (for no reason whatsoever) of a genuine Marlin 336 in 30 30 Winchester. I resolved that if I ever came across a Marlin with a JM stamp, I would get it.
Every so often I would check out Gunbroker and I would squirm at the prices on real Marlins. Man, people jacked em up. Hopefully, I would encounter the right one at the used rack or pawn shop one day. Today was that day.
I had some time in town today to muck about so I decided to hit all the pawn shops and gun stores to see if my genuine Marlin (for the right price) would rear its head. The first few stops produced genuine Marlins but of calibers I was not interested in...44 Special and .444. Then, on my last stop, I am checking the used rack when low and behold I catch sight of a dinged up lever rifle out of my peripheral. I pick it up and low and behold it is a Marlin 336 30 30 with a flipping JM stamp on it and a serial number starting in 93. Sweet lord, I think, is the search over? I work the action slowly then fast, smooth...real smooth. I check the sights, perfect. I get my flashlight and check the bore, excellent. Lastly, I turn over the tag..slowly...$300! Kidding me, I think. $300 and it is mine. I put it on the counter with a box of cartridges and say," I'll be leaving with this."
I bee line to the desert and as soon as I hit BLM I stop. First test: I begin to load the rifle..the cartridges slip right on in with no resistance. Second test: I cycle the first round and it is equally as smooth. Third test: I fire, dead on at 100 yards. I cycle again and the rifle responds smoothly. I go through the entire box with no problems and realize that the journey has come to a happy end.
A few hours later I am checking the mail and see I have something from my insurance agency. I open it up and it is a refund check for $200 from an error that occurred four years ago on my old truck. In front of me on the table lay my new used genuine Marlin 336 30 30 Winchester, silently looking back at me. A smile appears on my face.
About a year ago I was wanting a lever gun in 30 30 something bad and had decided upon a Marlin 336. I went out and had a look at quite a few of them at various gun stores. I found a nice looking stainless one but when I held it the sights seemed canted or something. So I put it back and checked out some blued ones, three actually. Two of the three just felt bad, and by that I mean the fit and finish were not right. The final one I held seemed OK. The sights seemed aligned and fit and finish felt and looked well. The only possible negative I could find was the action seemed very rough as if the parts 'almost' did not fit right but I chalked that up to the rifle being new and needed to be worked. I chose that last rifle and figured all would be well. Not so.
A week later I was finally able to get out and shoot the new Marlin. Right off the back I started having trouble. The first problem was loading the gun. Inserting the cartridges was difficult and it took considerable pressure to get each cartridge in. Next came the cycle, man did it suck. The first cartridge would go in OK but trying to follow up was almost impossible. The following cartridge would hang up, not quite a jam but close enough and it took some effort to get following cartridges to cycle. I am feeling quite disappointed at this point. However, the accuracy was excellent at 100 yards so I still felt that the rifle was that way due to being new.
I cleaned the rifle and began to work the action while watching TV. I had heard that could alleviate the roughness. After something like a thousand times the action did seem to loosen a bit but still was very 'gritty' and the lever still wouldn't lock in place without effort. Every few weeks I would go out and put some rounds down range and still the problems would persist. I was starting to get somewhat mad, I had expected Marlin to produce great rifles. I still have a Marlin 60 that I have had since I was ten years old and it functions flawlessly, I am now 38. My father had a Marlin 30 30 and I remember it being a great rifle, never a problem so this current rifle I had recently bought truly baffled me.
It was about three months later that I finally decided to do some research and see if people were having problems with their new Marlin rifles. My first query was all I needed to type in for an answer. I had had no idea that Marlin had been sold and all types of changes had occurred. Man, this was not good. I felt my stomach fall as I read countless stories of crap rifles being made and pissed off people. Great, I thought...just flipping great. I picked up my newish Marlin and quickly checked the stamp on the barrel.....REP. Dang, I had got one, a REMLIN. What was I to do? I really did not feel like sending the rifle back to the factory, what a problem that could turn out to be. So I stuffed the rifle in the closet and tried to forget about it for awhile.
Few more months pass and by now it is October and I pull that Remlin out of the closet and throw it in the truck as well as my last box of cartridges for it. I head out to the desert and figure I'll give it one more chance. I manage to get through all the rounds but it is problematic and actually painful on my hand to cycle the rifle. Your done, I say. I pack up and head to a lgs to get rid of it. I end up trading it on a NIB Gen 3 Glock 19 and am very satisfied. However, there remained the hole...ever so slight...of my need (for no reason whatsoever) of a genuine Marlin 336 in 30 30 Winchester. I resolved that if I ever came across a Marlin with a JM stamp, I would get it.
Every so often I would check out Gunbroker and I would squirm at the prices on real Marlins. Man, people jacked em up. Hopefully, I would encounter the right one at the used rack or pawn shop one day. Today was that day.
I had some time in town today to muck about so I decided to hit all the pawn shops and gun stores to see if my genuine Marlin (for the right price) would rear its head. The first few stops produced genuine Marlins but of calibers I was not interested in...44 Special and .444. Then, on my last stop, I am checking the used rack when low and behold I catch sight of a dinged up lever rifle out of my peripheral. I pick it up and low and behold it is a Marlin 336 30 30 with a flipping JM stamp on it and a serial number starting in 93. Sweet lord, I think, is the search over? I work the action slowly then fast, smooth...real smooth. I check the sights, perfect. I get my flashlight and check the bore, excellent. Lastly, I turn over the tag..slowly...$300! Kidding me, I think. $300 and it is mine. I put it on the counter with a box of cartridges and say," I'll be leaving with this."
I bee line to the desert and as soon as I hit BLM I stop. First test: I begin to load the rifle..the cartridges slip right on in with no resistance. Second test: I cycle the first round and it is equally as smooth. Third test: I fire, dead on at 100 yards. I cycle again and the rifle responds smoothly. I go through the entire box with no problems and realize that the journey has come to a happy end.
A few hours later I am checking the mail and see I have something from my insurance agency. I open it up and it is a refund check for $200 from an error that occurred four years ago on my old truck. In front of me on the table lay my new used genuine Marlin 336 30 30 Winchester, silently looking back at me. A smile appears on my face.
