Moving away from hand fitting is a good thing and if one can't beat it it means they have bad tooling.
Knowledgeable about lever-actions? Marlin vs. Mossberg
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Jlr2267
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I strongly disagree, as evidenced by new Marlin products
herrwalther
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greyling22 said:
I have handled about 2 or 3 dozen new model 336W Remington-produced Marlins in the last few months. One was just last night. None meet the quality of my older 336C, especially in wood quality or finish. The wood on my Marlin is very solid, glossy and ding free as was the day I bought it. The wood stock on the new Marlins would look at home being plywood over a home window after a hurricane.
115grfmj
Member
I have a '03 vintage 1894c....that literally couldn't be any better. Fit and finish is incredible, great wood, and a tack driver
. Much better than the recent remlins I've handled. Was it made in a cell or hand fitted?? Honestly I'd never heard of that before.
. Much better than the recent remlins I've handled. Was it made in a cell or hand fitted?? Honestly I'd never heard of that before.I have seen nothing in the most recent examples studied that leads me to believe that the fit and finish of the Remlin rifles is getting any better. In 336, 1894 and 1895 models I see extremely poor wood to metal fit, poor finish and canted barrels. You could give me a Remlin levergun, but I would turn around and sell it immediately to get a real Marlin.
kitsapshooter
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"over on marlinowners reports are coming in that the brand new marlins are roughly on par with anything marlin ever produced before."
So are Bigfoot sightings reports, but those reports are more reliable.
Anyone who think machine fitting is better then hand fitting is a sad,sad person indeed, and very sadly mistaken.
So are Bigfoot sightings reports, but those reports are more reliable.
Anyone who think machine fitting is better then hand fitting is a sad,sad person indeed, and very sadly mistaken.
45_auto
Member
Hand fitting merely means that your machining tolerances are not tight enough to ensure the correct function of the parts without some hand file removal of excess metal or the changing of an incorrect angle. Usually because the tooling and machinery to produce the required tolerances would be too expensive to allow the manufacturer to produce a competitive product.
I must admit that it makes me sad when some gun buyers seem to think that a gun with the internal parts hacked at by some minimum wage worker with a dull file is superior to one with properly machined parts.
Jlr2267
Member
That's not quite an accurate description of the process being discussed. The hand fit process used previously by Marlin was done by competent gunsmiths.
gunsandreligion
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I like the 464s I have handled, Id just never buy one with that horrible line-marring tang safety. and as far as the plywood look on the new marlins goes, would a refinish help any or is the wood hopeless scrap?
peacebutready
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Off Topic: Did they lay-off gunsmiths at Marlin when Remington took over?
At Para-Ordnance, I read they laid-off good employees when one of the founders passed away circa 2005. I think this happened when the other founder bought out his deceased partner's share.
Production was moved to another state. It is my understanding employees were offered jobs, but it was not practical for most to make the move.
My opinion, and I know not all will agree.
Lever rifles are not really that practical, we buy and use them for nostalgic reasons. To me the Winchesters and Marlins are the only versions that carry any nostalgia. Winchester quality has been up and down for the last 40-50 years. Much worse at times than the post 2007 Marlins. Yet people still bought and used them with good results.
The new Japanese made Winchesters are finely made guns, but not worth the expense to me. Even with potential problems a Marlin from the worst years is still a better choice than any of the imitators that do not capture the true meaning of what a lever rifle should be about.
If the new Marlins or Winchesters are not what you want, there are roughly 14 million used versions out there that are very well made and selling for less than a new Marlin or Mossberg, or Henry, or Rossi, or any of the other imitators.
peacebutready
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Col. Cooper coined the term "Brooklyn" something or other (scout?) for a lever-action rifle in gun restrictive areas like...New York City (Brooklyn is part of NYC). I always liked the .357 and .44 in lever-action rifles because they hold the most rounds in that design, the .357 is much more powerful in rifle form, and I accept the design not being as accurate as others. Mossberg doesn't make a .357 the last I checked. Used Marlins in .357 command top dollar, if I'm not mistaken.
Valkman
Member
Wow all this bashing of new Marlin guns. It may have been a problem but I just got a new 1894 and it is as perfect as I could hope for. Maybe they're better now, I have a hard time believing they're all crap and I got a one in a million.
herrwalther
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jmr40 said:
I'll disagree with you there. My lever Marlin is a great hunting rifle that I would rather use instead of my bolt action rifles.
Valkman said:
You may have. All the new Marlins I see are 336 models that are poor quality. I don't recall ever seeing a new production 1894.
115grfmj
Member
I'm afraid most would disagree with you, guys pay big bucks to have custom hand fitted things made for them (think Holland & Holland, Perazzi, Rolls Royce, Bentley just to name a few). Like it or not people just value hand crafting.
I guess some people can say the same about bolt rifles, or even Semi-autos (after all if your shot placement is better, or your toting the right caliber you don't need your gun to auto reload that second round for you
)The Point is Lever rifles are practical for the reasons they were practical 130 years ago. They are light, compact, slab sided, easy to carry, and quick to point & shoot. Millions are sold new every year and carried into the hunting woods for those reasons. Not only that they are a very viable self defense platform, as has been written by numerous defense experts.
peacebutready
Member
I appreciate hand crafting more than most but I won't choose it over a better built machine-made version. Not saying machine-made is better.
I mentioned on a forum the Les Baer pistols have more hand work than others and have more "soul". Someone teased me about that comment and said something like: My Baer sings to me, whispers to me.
Especially in the more restrictive states.
peacebutready
Member
That thing makes me cringe.
115grfmj
Member
You got that right!!
115grfmj
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gubowner
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Marlin/Mossberg
I have a Marin 336 in 30 30 pre safety. Wonderful rifle. As with some "newer guns" fit, finish and function for some reason just isn't the same. On a lever gun I would look for a quality older rifle or look at a Henry.
I have a Marin 336 in 30 30 pre safety. Wonderful rifle. As with some "newer guns" fit, finish and function for some reason just isn't the same. On a lever gun I would look for a quality older rifle or look at a Henry.
I had a new 336 six months ago. Everything on that one was straight and it was a good shooter. I dont know why but when you cycled it , it sounded and felt different compared to my older 336. It rattled a little more. The only real knocks I had was the front sight is held on by only one screw and that checkering... wow someone had to sit up nights to concieve a way to make checkering that bad.
peacebutready
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Used
This is good advice. I never bought used, though. I'd need to read up on how to sharply judge a used rifle.
This is good advice. I never bought used, though. I'd need to read up on how to sharply judge a used rifle.
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