Has Remlin gotten any better lately?

N

Nickel Plated

New member
Seriously looking into getting my first rifle soon. Trying to hold off since it would be tough on the wallet but it's getting hard to resist. Just one, nothing too expensive (I'm sure everyone here keeps lying to themselves about that :p)

It will be a simple plinker to go to the range with once in a while. No hunting (not really an interest to me though I might try it once just so I can say I did)

The Marlin 336 in 30-30 keeps calling to me. However all the horror stories I keep reading about the new Remington-made Marlins is getting me seriously worried. I mean I'm a handy kinda guy, a rough action or some other minor problem is nothing I can't fix over a weekend. But there are things floating around about crooked barrels, misaligned sights, cracked and unfinished wood.

So has Remington-Marlin fixed their issues yet or are they still churning out junkers? I imagine that there would be some problems with the guns after you go through the whole issue of moving an entire factory and hiring a new workforce. But it's been what, four years now? I would hope these things have been dealt with by now.

I really want my first gun to be "new". But with some of these problems it seems the new Marlins may as well have been on this earth for 40 long years in the hands of someone who used them as baseball bats.

So would a newly manufactured (like, this year) Marlin be a safe choice if I make sure to look it over before purchase or should I just go with an older JM marked rifle? I was at a Cabellas today and they had a decent selection of used Marlins ranging from $300-$400. All of them seemed to be in good shape. But still something in me just wants a "new" gun.
 
I don't know why everyone disses Remington so much. I bought a new 700 SPS Buckmasters .270 Win last summer and it's well made, the new trigger works great, it's a tackhammer, and I'd buy another.

The Marlin is a whole different design and I can't believe the company that owns Remington would change the design and risk disaster. Why would Remington (manufacturing and engineering) have anything to do with changing anything on this rifle?

BUT... I've heard that (for some reason) they are not made well anymore. If not, blame the company that owns them, not Remington.

Marlins are also made in NC. Not the Remington plant.
 
If you really like the Marlin in 30-30 and are concerned aboout recent production, there are plenty of excellent condition used ones in the gun shops and pawn shops.

I have seen in the used gun racks dozens of used, older Marlins that appear to be NIB examples, not a mark on them and literally no signs of being fired at all.

On the other hand I would not hesitate to buy a new Marlin 336. Just look it over closely, make sure everything looks correct, no uneven gaps anywhere and the lever cycles smoothly.
 
Yea I had visited MarlinOwners.com and checked out a thread asking people opinions on the newest made Marlins. Specifically all opinions, not just bad ones as is normal in their rants forum. And most people seemed to be pretty pleased with the newest (probably in the last year) production Marlins. The 336 seems to have less problems than some of the other models.

So I guess as long as I check the gun over before buying, I should be OK.

Though i may have to stick to a good used one. A NIB Marlin is still kinda pushing my budget. $350ish for a lightly used JM seems like a much nicer price. Especially taking into account some ammo, a set of peep sights and a decent sling.

Thank you for the replies guys.
 
BUT... I've heard that (for some reason) they are not made well anymore. If not, blame the company that owns them, not Remington
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In this case, it IS Remington that deserves the blame. Whether or not it was a decision made by people at higher levels, to move Marlin production, it was (still is?) Remington employees in Remington factories putting out firearms with major quality issues.


Marlins are also made in NC. Not the Remington plant.
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The vast majority of Marlin production and assembly is done in Ilion NY (Remington) and Mayfield KY (Remington).

If you're curious about how well the Mayfield plant is run, give this thread a read.
 
All I know is what I hold in my hands...the quality is getting better...
the lever-actions are still a bit off...but better than the last round...still need some work in QC...

The semi-auto's & bolts are cooking right along!! Beat the heck out of the 2005-2011 ones!!
 
The Marlin is worth its weight in gold.

I have easily dropped 4 lifetimes of yearly income on my collection, and this Marlin ALWAYS feels great in my hands.

For an equiv. numerical value you can pickup the FIRST Savage Avis in .308 , which makes a pretty awesome range gun.
 
Now if they would make the "D" model again they'd sell barrels of them. I'd take a chance on one of those. They have to be the slickest little companion rifle ever!
 
From what I understand from people that know, much of the tooling that Marlin had was pretty much shot and Remington had to start from scratch using OLD plans and specs. A lot of the Marlins were made by people who just made parts as they went along, nothing wrong with that except if someone has to follow you, like Remington.
The new ones I have looked at are much better built than some just a few years ago. This not to say that the new ones are better than Marlins of say 10-15 years ago, but the new ones have a solid feel to them that some of more recent ones lacked. Just my opnion and ask my wife what that is really worth-----LOL
 
If you really like the Marlin in 30-30 and are concerned aboout recent production, there are plenty of excellent condition used ones in the gun shops and pawn shops.
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....though right before deer season is not the best time to buy a 30/30, as far as price and selection, particularly in pawn shops and on the consignment racks at the LGS ..... January to March time frame is best, as Christmas bills are coming due, construction work is at it's slowest, and the tax return checks have not showed up yet ......
 
Unsure of the 336 but I have a 2 year old xl7 in .270 and a 6 year old 981T .22lr and both are fine accurate rifles. The trigger on the xl7 is amazing.
 
If you want something accurate, good looking, well made, accurate, and good value check out the Savage bolt actions. Make sure it is a 'newer' model with the accu-trigger.
 
If you want something accurate, good looking, well made, accurate, and good value check out the Savage bolt actions. Make sure it is a 'newer' model with the accu-trigger.
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Not really interested in a bolt-action and never particularly liked the way Savages look anyway. A Ruger Hawkeye seems like it would be a nice rifle but out of my budget right now.

I got my eye ona few other guns but they are all abit out of my price range at the moment. Ithaca 37, Saiga-12 (converted ofcourse), Romy G build with some mods, Mini-14, or a Century C93.

So many guns to buy, so little money. :(

....though right before deer season is not the best time to buy a 30/30, as far as price and selection, particularly in pawn shops and on the consignment racks at the LGS ..... January to March time frame is best, as Christmas bills are coming due, construction work is at it's slowest, and the tax return checks have not showed up yet ......
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Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind.
 
We got a new 336C in April of this year. It's a "remlin". It is my wifes gun. She wanted something suitable for deer and hogs, and she always wanted a lever gun.

We haven't taken any game with it, just punced a lot of paper. We have put about 100 rounds down range so far, no feed problems, no extraction problems, accurracy is fine. Fit-n-finish is not quite as good as my weatherby, but hey, for a $500 rifle, it is pretty good. I shot a 336 back in the 1980's, and this new one seems indistinguishable.
 
i bought a remington made 308mx marlin last year .it not only functions correctly,it shots the daylights out of anything i have owned.three shot groups are average quarter size at 100 yards.fit and finish are great for a production run gun,the only downer i have is the trigger is heavy,but i am looking at lightening that up.i say if you want a marlin dont be the least bit afraig to get one.
 
I recently pillar-bedded a friend's relatively new wood-stocked, Rem 700 BDL, .223 and tried it with a few reloads tailored for my Tikka yesterday.

At 100 yards in a swirly wind, it shot a 3-shot, 3/8" group and two shots in 1/16". I'd say the barrel quality is excellent. Workmanship otherwise appeared very good also.

My load of 25 grains of Accurate 2230, 50 grain Hornady SX, Federal primers and Rem cases is the most accurate I've found for my Tikka 595. OAL is 2.260".
 
If it doesn't have any QC problems it's a Marlington, if it has poor workmanship it's a remlin:).

I was weary about Marlin quality but I took a forum members advice and bought an1895 GBL a couple of months ago for $539 at Dicks. I love the rifle but there are a cuople of minor is3sues like the stock fit and a crooked reciever screw that didn't want to come out. Marlin offered to fix it right away but I'm not OCD and I'm having too much fun shooting it a Theissues weren't a big deal to begin with, but some people demand perfection and that's fine. The rifle is very accurate for a lever and I've grown quite fond of it and the 45-70 round. It's lots of fun and to shoot and reload for.
 
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