Rossi 45/70 OR Marlin 45/70???

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sharpshooter81

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So I have decided to order a new rifle soon and wondering what to get...If I had lots of money I would go for a Uberti Yellowboy, but since that ain't happening, I have narrowed it down to a Rossi Rio Grande in 45/70 or the Marlin (Remlin) 45/70.....Just wondering what everybodys thoughts and opinions are on both? Thanks for any and all input!! :D
 
Well, ones a Marlin, and one is a -- ehhh -- Rossi.

If it was me?
I'd go find a real nice used pre-RemLin Marlin, and Bee Happy ever after!

rc
 
Rossi's quality has been improving lately, while Marlin has been slipping. Seems like Rossi builds a better Marlin than Marlin does now. I wouldn't buy either one sight unseen, but either should do the job just fine.
 
The rossi seems to have all the features I want right out of the box....big loop lever, full length mag tube, good recoil pad and a pistol grip :) Ranch dog says the rossi's will shoot cast boolits in their intended size for 45/70 which is a 457-405......whereas the marlins mostly like bigger cast boolits 459-461 diameter....apparently the bigger boolits dont chamber well in the rossi (from what i understand)
 
Not that mine is an 1895, but only last month I bought a brand new Marlin 1894 standard (as in NON-Cowboy) 20" round barrel in .45 Colt, and I don't have any complaints.
I'm under the impression that Marlin quit making them in .45 Colt a year or so ago, so it's possible that it was made before the quality problems, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that.
Either way, I was able to put all five inside one ragged hole with my initial sight in target at 50 yards firing from a very poor rest, my soft side lunchbox.
Accuracy looks nice, and while the fit and finish aren't quite up to where my 1984 vintage Marlin 39A is, it's more than acceptable to me.
Just my $0.02.
 
Definately don't get a Rossi. This is my story.
When I moved to Alaska this year I saved up my money to buy a good all around rifle for bear safety and hunting moose and caribou. I thought the Rossi 45-70 Rio Grand would fit the bill well and bought one on May 1. After putting one round through it I discovered it was defective and wouldn’t feed. Since the rifle had a lifetime warranty I sent it in to get fixed. After about 6 weeks I began to contact the Rossi customer service. This is the only gun I have for bear protection and by this time bear season was in full swing. I was told it should be done 6-8 weeks after it was received. I thought this was a bit excessive but couldn’t do much about it. I continued to call the customer service every few weeks. After they had the rifle for 10 weeks a gunsmith finally looked at it. Apparently they decided to replace the barrel which has nothing to do with shells not releasing from the magazine. By this time hunting season is creeping up and my only rifle is still not back. Now I have been calling them every week and get the same response they are waiting for the barrel to arrive from Brazil. This week I found out the barrel is being shipped by boat and they still have no idea when they will get it. Last week I went on a caribou hunt and had no rifle which seems ridiculous seeing I bought this Rossi brand new on May1. I think this has got to the point of being unreasonable. I expect I will get back the rifle sometime after hunting season is over and it still won’t work.
 
Well I purchased a Rossi Rio Grande 45-70 Blued model at Bud's in person. Now I looked at 2 new Marlins both 45-70 also but different finishes. Now after feeling the guns and based on simple things like the feel of the action, fit and finish it became an easy chose as well as $300 cheaper in getting the Rossi. I waited a week to find time to take the gun down and completely clean it as Rossi come greased the max. I also suspected owning many guns over the years to expect some need of a buff and shine. Well it turns out this is the best finished gun internally I've ever owned as far as machine work goes. I found a slight burr on that required a couple of passes with 1000 grit sand paper. The loading gate also was really strong so I relieved it a bit also. Reassembled after oiling and it now cycles perfect. Based on this gun I would hesitate to buy another. I would assume the two marlins are new since they are listed as such in the store. I walked out with a total price of $437 + 6% sales tax and have not regretted it for a second.

Now I also own a Rossi 92 lever rifle in 45 Colt that I did the Steve Gunz tune up on as well as 3 Taurus Pistols all of which have function flawlessly for a number of years and many round through each.
 
Ditto on what joecil and Craigc said.

For every Rossi horror story you read about there will be a matching horror story about Marlins especially since Remington took over production. In fact I have seen a lot of Marlins in pistol calibers have feeding problems and need work with pistol calibers before they would run in CAS.

Rossi makes a darn nice Model 92. High quality, nice finish and reliable.
 
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I've owned guns made by many makers in my years with them. I've had good mostly but also had high end guns that had problems with poor customer service to boot. On the other hand I've had good CS with Rossi and Taurus over the last 2 years but admit it was slow in some cases. The best CS I've ever had was with RIA/Armscor at Armscor Precision in NV and they put all other companies to shame regardless. Guns are machines and as such can break with occasional lemons. I also think if you will read as many negative as positives on the internet which makes the problem seem greater. Most people will be happy with their gun and never mention it at all.
 
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True, but just not as good as Marlins.
Click to expand...
I've got three Marlins and no Rossi's but I don't believe that. Marlins are good guns but they're not exactly the pinnacle of fit and finish.
 
The Remlin Marlins being produced are still full of fit and finish problems. I just saw a 45/70 Marlin that just shipped last week. It had blemishes in the mag tube and some of the scope mount holes weren't drilled and tapped properly so that the screws wouldn't seat on the mount. The Remlin before that the butt stock didn't fit right. The Rossi/Braztechs that I have seen all look pretty good. An old Marlin may be the best way to go but if I couldn't find one I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Rossi/Braztech.
 
Considering that my brother had two Rossi's that didnt work straight out of the box, I would Rossi way below Marlin. Rossi rifles look good externally, but the machine work on internal parts and surfaces is awful. I never saw a Marlin that didnt work.
 
I've never seen any levergun that didn't work but together it's statistically insignificant. Marlins tend to be rough inside and out. Have you ever really looked at one with a critical eye? Most modern guns are at least a little rough on the inside.
 
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