Marlin 336

[valnar]

Even if the new 336 "looks" good, it was still made by people who have never done it before. I wouldn't take that chance.

Still get a Marlin 336, but get one from 2007 or earlier. Some say 2008 is still safe, but by then the workers already knew the writing on the wall.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Mdauben, thanks for the insight. Please don't take my thoughts in red below as intentionally inflammatory:

"The problem is, there isn't just one problem or even a small group of problems. It seems that just about anything that can go wrong with a rifle has been reported at one time or another from a new Marlin. The things I have heard include:

-Fit and finish of stocks (up to and including stocks that are actually broken in the box) Evidence of a breakdown in QC, sure, but a broken stock would never be bought by someone off the shelf, right? Fit and finish can be inspected @ the LGS and a choice can be made as to the best level of quality.

-Fit and finish of the reciever (including stripped screws, scratches, dings and dents)Again, a determination could be made @ LGS if these items are present, and hopefully a discerning vendor would simply return these as unsellable

-Rough actions Seems to me normal purchase procedure would included a function check which would include cycling the action.

-Failure to feed Definitely an issue, in my book. Would this have to be serviced by Marlin? Do all new marlins all have this issue?

-Failure to eject Again, major issue in my book. Does the specific issue include the round getting hung up at the bolt opening?

-grossly missaligned sights Sights are dovetailed into the barrel and receiver aren't they? Do you mean that they are actually milled/machined incorrectly?

-unacceptable accuracy Does this come from the same rifle that had misalligned sights? or are there actually barrel/rifling issues?

-missing/incorrect parts Do you have an example of this for those looking to buy a new rifle?

And probably a few others I forgot."

Again, not trying to be inflammatory. I think it'd be beneficial to gather real hard data as to the level of quality of guns manufactured after 2008 thru 2011, to see if QC issues have been addressed.

All guns manufactorers let lemons out of their doors, from time to time and quite frankly, I hardly ever put any weight in E-rumors. I've handled and shot a few 2010-2011 marlins (.30-30, .45-70, .357mag) and honestly they all seemed to have nice blueing, nicely figured wood, with fairly smooth actions.

Maybe we could ask owners of 2008 present Marlins to post up some info?

Model
purchase date
Manufacturer date
Issues (or lack thereof)
Actions required for resolution

 

[Gizards'n'Gravy]

Does anyone have any experience with a Rossi Rio Grande .30-30? As far as I can tell Rossi makes good lever guns but I have no personal experience with them but I know the 16" .357mag sales like hotcakes at one of the local gunshops. I'm pretty much set on buying a used Marlin but if I can get a new gun that is just as good or close I would prefer that

 

[Abel]

Does anyone have any experience with a Rossi Rio Grande .30-30?

I am not sure why you would want one. There are bunches of used 336 rifles that are way better than a Rossi. I suppose that some folks are just hell bent on owning a new rifle? Help me understand please.

 

[halogrinder]

bingo. stay with that 336!

 

[jwsracin]

i tell ya things happen even in the older guns - my 79' model 336 has the front sight tilted to the left about a 1/8th inch, has been sence bought it new. it was bought with a scope on it and was not inspected well (yea im a dumb a$$). I'm almost positive its from over tightening the barrel on the reciever, and i've just now started wanting to use irons, so its never really been a problem till now. so what i'm saying is you need to inspect (and know what to inspect) on every gun you buy

 

[El Mariachi]

And no one in 31 years ever noticed the front sight was leaning to the left?......

 

[jwsracin]

and one thing i've noticed on the forum and others i read alot, most of the problems with marlin has been more with marlin customer service, i think there are always some issues with new guns no matter who the manufacture and it's the amount of after the sale service you get that makes great guns great and great manufatures great

 

[jwsracin]

naw EL i knew it just never really hurt the operation of the gun (always kept it scoped) so i never really worryed about it. i absolutly love the gun and it has always been dead on, i just in the last year even thought about irons.

 

[StrutStopper]

I bought a new Marlin 336CS in .35 Rem just about 32 years ago. It was the first gun I ever bought. I actually haven't used it that much, it's still in great shape. Where I've been hunting since then was mainly shotgun/ML only.

 

[jwsracin]

i've also have a few friends that work for a local sporting good store, and they tell me that most of your big box stores do not inspect and send back unsatifactory guns anymore, they just throw them out on the shelves and say its up to the customer to report the issues to the manufacture, in there opion "thats what they were sent and thats what they have to sell". The store i buy from sometimes goes months with out certain guns to sell, they will have a one in the store to show customers, and they will point out the flaws to the customer and explain that they are waiting on guns to come in to sell. I've asked to owner several times "how could this be good for sales" and his reply is that once they point out the flaws the "show guns" have, people leave and go to the big box store and look over there guns more closely. Recently he had a whole batch of BLR's that the but stock was extreamly proud of the metal, he keep one and sent the rest back. He said they agreed to send them back one by one as they where ready.
I GUESS what i'm trying to say is, LOOK at them good because the stores won't!!!!!

 

[El Mariachi]

StrutStopper
Member



I bought a new Marlin 336CS in .35 Rem just about 32 years ago. It was the first gun I ever bought. I actually haven't used it that much, it's still in great shape. Where I've been hunting since then was mainly shotgun/ML only.

If my research is correct.....that rifle is worth more than just a buck or two.....

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Abel, I simply don't take the e-myth that Marlin rifles are "junk" after 2008. I'll definitely say that there seemed to be quite a few reports of QC problems during 2008-9, but problems CAN be corrected. Changes CAN be made to processes and standards.

I personally am finding used Marlins to be the same price as new ones in my area. Honestly, if they're the same price, and there aren't any BIG issues with quality other than a lemon here and there [As with any gun] I see no issue with buying a brand new gun.

Honestly, what I would love to see are press releases from Marlin addressing specific issues with factory recall fixes or clear changes to QC processes, as Ruger did with it's Blackhawk (I think?) revolvers that had old style hammers. If I remember correctly you were/are able to send your gun in to get retrofitted.

I see two possibilities. Either they're seeing a ton of issues and are simply ignoring them (hard to believe, since eventually it would start effecting their bottom line), or they're taking care of issues as they arise, but aren't seeing a mass of complaints that would warrant more than simply taking things on a case by case basis.

 

[El Mariachi]

Swiss, have you visited the Marlin Owners 'Rant' thread lately? I think it's up to just about eleven thousand pages now.....

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Swiss, have you visited the Marlin Owners 'Rant' thread lately? I think it's up to just about eleven thousand pages now.....

haha!

No, but that's good reading I'm sure!

I'll have to check it out. Maybe I'll "see the light".

 

[shiftyer1]

I have an older 1894c in .357 that has been flawless except for the loading gate loosening up every now and then. I don't have experience with the new ones. I have a winchester 94 truck gun i'd like to swap for a marlin in the same condition.

 

[El Mariachi]

Here ya go, Swiss. See ya in a couple of months.....


http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-rant-forum/

 

[bergmen]

one of the issues i know that have popped up(a friend bought the youth model) and he was willing to overlook the tool marks, bolt sticking out of the back on one side more than the other, rough action. he got to the range threw 2 rounds in the magazine and went to cycle the lever, and.... the lever opened and that was it. he had to break the whole rifle down to remove the bullet.

This is not an uncommon issue. I had this same thing happen with my new 1894 in .45 Colt. It is a simple fix. The front edge of the carrier assembly is sharp and digs into the base of the next cartridge in the magazine locking things up. When you take the gun apart to free things up you should see a burr on the base of the cartridge where the carrier dug in. Also, when the gun jams you can look in the open action and see the carrier hanging up on the next cartridge base. Here is a pic of the exploded assembly:

I fixed mine by taking a stone and breaking the front edge so it had a bit of a radius on it. Works smooth as a babies butt right now.

Dan

 

[bergmen]

Even the New Haven plant had it's share of quality issues. When I went to buy my 39A back in the mid-70's (on sale at BEST for $120.00) I inspected the first one they brought out and the action was not smooth. I had them bring out another one, same thing.

I told them I would only get one with an acceptable action and to bring out a stack of boxes so I could choose one worth taking. After 3 or 4 guns I found one that was better than the rest (but still not as good as it should be) and bought it. I took it apart when I got home and it was pretty rough inside. These are hand fitted and hand assembled so each gun is different.

I worked over the rough surfaces (it took forever, these parts are hard as a rock) and it now the action is quite smooth.

The lever and trigger also had sharp edges on them, very different than my 336 which had rounded edges on the trigger and lever. After shooting the 39 a bit I tokk these parts off and started working them down. Again, took forever I thought my arm was going to fall off, extremely hard. I finaly got them both worked down with butter smooth edges, had the lever deep blued and the trigger 24 carat gold plated.

It's all better now.

Dan

 

[El Mariachi]

Can someone here remind once again why we're rebuilding brand new guns?.....

 

[Captain33036]

Swiss

One thing I read....an e-rumor ...was that the machines that make the components for the marlin levers were very old and perhaps out of spec. Apparently Marlin workers could coax them to make good guns. When these machines got to the Rem plant, things did not go as well.
The rumor is that Rem stopped production for a while in order to re-tool.

That makes sense to me. But...again...rumor....though this seems to be substantiated by my observation that new Marlin 1894's are scarce. And, this was also told to me by a distributor.

If true, we might expect that newly made Rem Marlin's may be getting better and better and be of very good quality sometime soon. This is also substantiated by the fact that Marlin lever guns made when rem first took over production had issues and that those issues have been fewer and fewer and recently, almost none. This, again, was told to me by a distributor who said that some time ago, the first few batches of guns he got had issues, but that the latest batches did not.

Anyway...just a data point.

To me....my main interest is in having a $560 gun be accurate and reliable, put together properly with no gross marks on it. If the stock is off in one place by 0.5mm, I am not sure it is something to complain about... in a $560 gun. If it were a $1600 Weatherby....that would be different.

Hope this helps

Best

John

 

[CaliCoastie]

Bergman, im aware of how to fix the problem, but with a new gun? i should expect they would at least cycle. in a used gun i would love it honsetly, i could get the price down siginificantly more. That and alot of people arnt nessarly comfortable really getting into the guts of the rifle.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Ok, holy moly...I just read through a few threads in that Marlin Rant forum...Jeez!

Definitely see some legit concerns, and definitely see some "crybaby" action, too.

What was clear, though, is that with Marlin announcing that it is pulling most lever action rigs off the market to fix QC issues, is that they are in fact taking action to either fix address the problems or they are simply going to end production. I'll be interested to see what happens.

Thanks for that link, Mariachi. Definitely a wealth of info as to particular issues being dealt with by owners, and some good anecdotal info on Marlin customer service experiences.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

So how about those Mossberg's?

LOL. (kidding)


That's an interesting bit of info, Captain.

As I said, I've held, operated and shot several 2010-2011 models and they've seemingly had no issues to speak of, not to say that these weren't exceptions to the rule.

 

[jwsracin]

Can someone here remind once again why we're rebuilding brand new guns?.....

well not that i totally disagree with you but i got a couple buddys that will lay down $1500 on a new colt and will not even pick them up till they come back from the smith. but i do feel that a gun should function right as soon as i get home with it, but with todays mass production and line workers that really don't care about what they build, i do think it's more of a crap shoot!