t IS Baikal now, import agreement with Remington arms. Great shootin' shotgun, well built. Ain't real pretty, not adorned with the best wood, but it's a shooter!
I've got an idea for them now that they own Marlin (which means they have access to people and equipment who can actually machine and finish a gun, which seems to be a skill lost at Remington, except for the guys at the Custom Shop, who can do that stuff, but only for a silly price).
Ditch the "Spartan" line and the current European-made (who does make them?) "L.C. Smith" line. Contract with Baikal to make barrel assemblies. Ship them to Marlin, who makes receivers and stocks, and finishes the whole guns. If you see my recent Model 39, it will be clear why I'd want Marlin to do the receiver, the finishing and the wood.
Seems to me they could make nice American (mostly) shotguns that don't break, but are gorgeous, well-balanced and come in under a grand.
I have no real problem with "outsourcing" parts or assemblies. Importing guns, even good ones, and just stamping your name on them, though, makes me look elsewhere. I'd kinda like to buy SKB from SKB (or, if I wanted to, Baikal from Baikal, Khan from Khan). Makes me feel like I'm not paying 20% extra to a middleman who adds nothing to the deal.
When Remington, Marlin, and Weatherby, right on their web sites, flat-out TOLD me that, in order to get really nice shotguns at decent prices, they had to go buy them from Italy, I did the only sensible thing: I took them at their word, went and bought a Beretta.