Marlin Camp Carbine 9 availability

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

WoodchuckAssassin

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
821
Location
Lynchburg, VA
I'm very curious about this rifle, but every price tag I've seen online is around $800. Is this right, or are people just being greedy? Also, how often do these guns pop up at gun shows?
 
No, that sounds about right. My LGS does a huge business in used guns and the owner told me he hasn't had one come through the store in years. The 45 one is even harder to find.
 
I think mine cost $365 new but if they don't make them anymore they are worth what someone will pay. Kind of like the $100 P mags people were buying two years ago that you can get for $8.99 now.
 
Demand determines the price. Not made anymore so the demand is high. They weren't particularly good guns in the first place (yeah, I had one) so other than being a 9mm carbine I don't see the current cost of them. If you want a 9mm carbine get a Hi-Point or maybe a Mech-Tech CCU for your pistol.
 
Prices are determined by supply and demand. These rifles are no longer made, but many people want one, keeping demand (and price) high. Its up to you to decide if an asking price is "worth it".
 
Are these carbines reliable? I remember when they were out, and always wondered what the attraction was, but I guess back then, and now there are not many choices in this class of rifle. Ruger must not have been selling them at the time and/or production costs were too high for the market.
 
I have fired both extensively (owned a .45) and they are nothing to write home about. They didn't sell well when new, were known to be unreliable, and have cheap pallet wood stocks. A certain percentage of the population wants something simply because it isn't made anymore. Demand driving up the price doesn't make the rifle any better. They are a $300 rifle tops and I'd rather have a ruger or hi point.
 
With good magazines mine has always ran perfect. They are not a robust design though. I don't think I have fired mine since I put together a 9mm AR.
 
jmorris said:
With good magazines mine has always ran perfect. They are not a robust design though. I don't think I have fired mine since I put together a 9mm AR.
Click to expand...
If you substitute 300 blackout for 9mm then my experience is identical. I pulled it out of the safe last month just to run a few rounds through it and after the second or third round I noticed plastic crumbs falling out of the trigger guard. The buffer was disintegrating, which is a known problem with the factory buffers. When I took it apart to install the new aftermarket buffer I discovered that the hammer strut bridge had sheared, which is also a known result of the buffer failing. I made a replacement from flat stock using a band saw, grinder and drill press and it's back in action.

Until the buffer failed mine was always 100%. Now it's back to 100% again and my understanding is that the aftermarket buffers last forever.

There's something to be said for them in spite of their relative rarity. The ability to use S&W 59 series magazines is a real plus to me. IIRC the reason Marlin stopped production were more political than economic: Marlin didn't want to be in the magazine fed semi-auto business ("assault rifles") except for rim fires. My fuzzy memory may be wrong but I think this was a reaction to one of the highly publicized mass shootings.
 
Last edited:
I've seen them for quite a bit less in local shops. Usually between $250-$450. Pistol caliber carbines don't do much for me in general especially now when you can pick up an AK PAP pistol for $450 and throw a Sig brace on it, now you have the rifle caliber. Or even built an AR pistol w/ said brace now you got your choice of uppers to throw on there, .223 or .300BLK depending on your needs.
 
I have a 9 and a 45. With a little knowledge both are quite reliable. They are fun and nice looking if you like wood. The 9 I.bought in a basket. The 45 was basically unfired.
 
I found the 9mm limited the utility for me. Bullet drop makes it a close range weapon only IMO. Sold mine years ago when I got a Mini 14 in .223. Never missed not having it (don't have that Mini either). An AR carbine offers so much more capability.
 
I have a couple of S&W gen 3 9mm's and a Kel Tec P11 truck gun, so I just HAD to have a Marlin Camp 9 since all interchange magazines.

I shopped LGS's & gunbroker.com for about a year, finally finding one on gunbroker that needed some attention. The stock had been painted with a "stone" imitation krylon. It cost $495 w shipping and transfer fee and that was about 6 months ago.

Mine needed a new polymer buffer (get them from www.blackjackbuffers.com or from Numerich at gunpartscorp.com, maybe other places too). I'd recommend getting a couple for the future and the heavier recoil springs too. The action tends to hammer the receiver back into the stock, cracking or breaking the wood at that spot (I had to re-glue an old repair using AcraGlas at this location).

After those minor repairs, a thorough cleaning, and refinishing the stock (strip the old paint, stain the wood, Tru Oil finish rubbed on) it is a handsome little carbine. And being 9mm, it's not expensive to shoot. As time passes, the price on these will likely rise a bit more with greater shooting interest and a limited supply.
 
It of course depends on condition. There are several minor changes in them also. The $600 to 700 range is about right for very good condition.

They are just plain cool little carbines. Classic if you will. I like mine in 9mm. It is what it is. You either like them or not, Not they are not the best rifle out there. I have more fun shooting it than my RR AR in 9mm.
 
As I stated earlier I bought my Camp 9 in a basket. Almost all pieces were there. But the stock and trigger group were fine. The early non-checkered one. The stock may be some "fruit wood", but it's not "pallet wood" :D. Basically someone had tried to bomb can the thing all black and then couldn't get it back together. I stripped it all down and had it reblued. Looks quite nice. I got the new stiffer spring, new pins, new small spring and a couple other parts plus the polyurethane buffer. The mags that came with it were clone mags and they were junk. Got some real S&W mags. Completely rebuilt it to specifications and it's a nice shooter. I paid less than $100

My Camp 45 I bought from a lady who was selling her husband's guns. In the box late model with a gorgeous checkered stock. I could see by the powder residue that someone had shot it but perhaps didn't know how to field strip it. The original buffer looked like it had just aged, but hardly contacted. It even had the Marlin 1911 magazine. I changed the main spring and the buffer. I paid $700 for it. I love shooting this gun and am torn........I feel like I want to thread the barrel and add a suppressor. It's actually very quiet with mild loads. I figure with a suppressor it would be a quiet varmint gun. Sacrilege. I should just get a sub sonic 45 AR....
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Marlin Camp 9 Carbine
Replies
4
Views
764
Flatfender
F
H
  • Locked
PC9 or Marlin Camp 9?
Replies
13
Views
4K
albanian
A
G
  • Locked
Marlin Camp 9
Replies
14
Views
1K
RSVP2RIP
R
W
  • Locked
Marlin Camp 9
2
Replies
25
Views
3K
Avenger29
A
A
  • Locked
Just got a Marlin Camp 9...
Replies
7
Views
885
Avenger29
A
Back
Top