i thought marlin was going downhill for awhile before the remmy thing anyway. seems to be a unpopular opinion anyway. the budget rifles killed the handi. why would you buy a single shot when you could have a bolt action repeater like a axis, or ruger american for almost the same cost? before that they lost sales to the stevens 200 and mossberg budget guns.
I just like the H&R, combination of handling and balance and carry weight with simple operation. I just liked it and not looking for a cheep gun. Maybe the first H&R was for price. My first shotgun was a Browning Auto 5 that set me back $200 back when that was real money. I later got an H&R shotgun to carry in my trunk for spur of the moment hunting. Surprise! I did better with the (?) $50 H&R than my 4x the cost fancy gloss semi-auto. The rifles are nice for the same reason. Call it an acquired taste. I never care for barrel swapping, when a whole new gun was so little cost. My first 28ga was an impulse curiosity H&R buy. That is a great little shell, so; later I got a nicer double. I still love that little 28 and use it quite a lot. H&R also made great little 20 slug gun with a leupold compact scope. The gun, merits the scope.
Thats why.