Interesting. 

I know a lot of people weren't happy with the quality control of Marlins after Remington purchased them.  I heard many of those issues were ironed out over the years. 

Maybe now that Ruger has purchased Marlin the concerns about quality of the new Marlin's versus older versions will fall to the way side?  I'm sure Ruger will make improvmenets.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/09/30/long-live-lever-gun-ruger/

Ruger quality? A half century ago; yes. Today it's hit or miss. They stand behind their products for sure but I can only see the New Haven, CT Marlin's holding their value even more or going up in price. Then you have early Remlin's with gremlins vs. "we finally fixed the bugs" Remlin's in between the new Ruglin's. 

Let's hope the Ruglin's are a cut above in quality.  

Marlinger?  Marger?  Sturmarlinger?  Rugler?

Should be shipping 4th quarter.  All I want for Christmas is a Ruger lever action....

 

2 minutes ago, gleninjersey said:

All I want for Christmas is a Ruger lever action....

 

This

Marlin had quality problems long before Remington. Lots of hand fitting required due to loose manufacturing tolerance. 

On 8/15/2021 at 7:41 PM, gleninjersey said:

Marlinger?  Marger?  Sturmarlinger?  Rugler?

Should be shipping 4th quarter.  All I want for Christmas is a Ruger lever action....

 

Old article but timely for this thread. It will be interesting to see what Ruger produces, and if they offer any additional chamberings. 

The Marlin 336: What Does the Future Hold for this Classic Lever Action? | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

 

 

Just asking.

For a quality lever action wouldn't a Henry fit the bill better than the above 

I’m not very familiar with lever action rifles.....but F&S says these are the best ever made.  Possibly a bit subjective, but they probably don’t suck.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/greatest-lever-guns-ever/

Henry does top the list.

I know I’ll ruffle some feathers here but I raised my eyebrows when I read “quality lever action” and Henry in the same sentence.

While Henry’s are good they are typical for what’s being produced in today’s times. I’ll pick the simplicity and sturdiness of an older "JM" Marlin or the more complicated Winchester over any modern Henry when it comes to a "cowboy-looking" levergun. 

I'm not a fan of Henry’s MIM parts, their need for that flimsy transfer safety bar, or that fragile two-piece firing pin.

For something entirely different, find a Savage 99. Ahead of its time years ago, and in production for almost a century, it was chambered in more than a dozen modern centerfire cartridges over the years. Stout and accurate, its magazine first came with an internal rotary spool that could feed modern spitzer rounds. In later years Savage switched to a detachable box magazine. These are slowly disappearing as collectors snap them up and drive the prices up.  Or if you're lucky, two others in the discontinued area are the old Sako Finnwolf or the becoming collectible Winchester 88 if you can find one. 

Want a more modern lever action that' still made, that’s a bit on the non-traditional side, then get a Browning BLR. Easily takes modern optics, comes in short and long actions and is chambered in modern standard and magnum cartridges.

 

 

 

I'm a big fan of lever guns for hunting. My deer rifle is a Marlin 336 in .30-30, and for small game I have a Henry in  .22.  I'm not a huge fan of the cross-bolt safety on the Marlin but once you get used to it (and remember it's there!) it's fine. 

16 hours ago, Grapeshot said:

I'm a big fan of lever guns for hunting. My deer rifle is a Marlin 336 in .30-30, and for small game I have a Henry in  .22.  I'm not a huge fan of the cross-bolt safety on the Marlin but once you get used to it (and remember it's there!) it's fine. 

That crossbolt safety appeared around 1983. There are "delete" kits sold by Ranger Point Precision and a fellow in Wisconsin if you want to remove it from your Marlin. 

Replacement Kit for the  Marlin Cross (leverguns.com)

 

On 8/26/2021 at 12:28 AM, Kevin125 said:

I’m not very familiar with lever action rifles.....but F&S says these are the best ever made.  Possibly a bit subjective, but they probably don’t suck.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/greatest-lever-guns-ever/

Henry does top the list.

You gotta get one.  Similar to a pump shotgun there is just something about manually working the action.  Classic lines.  Not an "evil black rifle".  Versatile, especially if you get one that shares same caliber as a revolver.  And just all around cool.

On 8/23/2021 at 4:06 PM, Parker said:

Old article but timely for this thread. It will be interesting to see what Ruger produces, and if they offer any additional chamberings. 

The Marlin 336: What Does the Future Hold for this Classic Lever Action? | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

 

 

Updates from Ruger:

 

https://1895gunner.com/news/9-01-21.html

 

On 8/27/2021 at 9:35 PM, gleninjersey said:

You gotta get one.  Similar to a pump shotgun there is just something about manually working the action.  Classic lines.  Not an "evil black rifle".  Versatile, especially if you get one that shares same caliber as a revolver.  And just all around cool.

Yeah,  nice to have a piece of history.  Some of the cartridges are pretty hefty.  Not really long range, but I suppose they weren’t built for long range.  Will have to check availability of ammo.  Sadly, thats part of the decision process these days.

Audio interview with Ruger President / CEO about their forthcoming Marlin offerings

Marlin 1895 SBL (stainless big loop) in 45-70 and 444 Marlin to be first released in December.  Then the 336 in 30/30.  Followed by the 1894 in 44 or 357 magnum!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_AHFat3yqE

.444 Marlin is a cool but sometimes misunderstood round. It doesn't get the attention the .45-70 does. 

It’s my understanding the first Marlin, an 1895, rolled off the assembly line in North Carolina today. 

7 hours ago, FairbanksRusty said:

It’s my understanding the first Marlin, an 1895, rolled off the assembly line in North Carolina today. 

On 10/6/2021 at 3:31 PM, Parker said:

.444 Marlin is a cool but sometimes misunderstood round. It doesn't get the attention the .45-70 does. 

It's a nice round hampered by a lack of bullets that work well with it. You have like two choices unless you both hand load and cast. 

given the guns are fairly simple, I expect that ruger may have some teething issues, but get it sorted out and make some quality guns. 

I wouldn't mind if another micro groove barrel was never made. They really don't have a reputation of shooting well with the heftier cartridges. 

25 minutes ago, raz-0 said:

It's a nice round hampered by a lack of bullets that work well with it. You have like two choices unless you both hand load and cast. 

given the guns are fairly simple, I expect that ruger may have some teething issues, but get it sorted out and make some quality guns. 

I wouldn't mind if another micro groove barrel was never made. They really don't have a reputation of shooting well with the heftier cartridges. 

True. It needs a better bullet selection. 

Maybe my .444 Mircogroove is an anomaly, but it will consistently group 265 gr. FP handloads into 1.5" for a 5-shot group @ 100 yds. 240 gr. lead swaged bullets would group into 1/2" @ 50 yds. with a reduced load of Blue Dot were also common. (And Microgroove barrels aren't supposed to shoot soft lead bullets well.)  

PS - I had to do a bit of load development to find these recipes. 

3 minutes ago, Parker said:

True. It needs a better bullet selection. 

Maybe my .444 Mircogroove is an anomaly, but it will consistently group 265 gr. FP handloads into 1.5" for a 5-shot group @ 100 yds. 240 gr. lead swaged bullets would group into 1/2" @ 50 yds. with a reduced load of Blue Dot were also common. (And Microgroove barrels aren't supposed to shoot soft lead bullets well.)  

PS - I had to do a bit of load development to find these recipes. 

Mostly speculation on my part, but given the shallow nature of the micro groove barrels, I suspect that some of the accuracy issue is leading up fast, and others come down to how used up the tooling was when your rifling was cut. That latter bit is also probably a function of how cheap marlin was being that week/month/year. 

 

 

Does this mean I need a lever gun now? 

5 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Does this mean I need a lever gun now? 

I don’t think you can establish residency in Texas without showing proof of lever gun ownership. 

Damn it…..I guess I need a lever gun. 

Happy to help

1 minute ago, Displaced Texan said:

Damn it…..I guess I need a lever gun. 

Nah, you got those bitch'n AR pattern rifles.  Not as cool as lever guns, but the ARs will do.

21 hours ago, raz-0 said:

Mostly speculation on my part, but given the shallow nature of the micro groove barrels, I suspect that some of the accuracy issue is leading up fast, and others come down to how used up the tooling was when your rifling was cut. That latter bit is also probably a function of how cheap marlin was being that week/month/year. 

 

 

My "newest" Microgroove-barreled Marlin is dated 1986, the oldest is from 1963. I've never experienced inaccuracy, fouling or leading in any of them. All seem to be made in a time when Marlin put together a decent gun. I have no Marlin's with Ballard style rifling, so can't compare. 

My newest Marlin is a 1979 1894 in 357 Mag. The oldest is  a 1967 336. All of my Micro grooved barrels shoot jacketed bullets way better than lead. The 336 will shoot excellent groups using FTX bullets and Leverevolution powder. I shot it last week using 165gr MBC coated lead loads and W748 powder and the groups looked like I was patterning 00 buck. I also shot 150gr JSP bullets with the W748 powder and the groups were 1.5" @ 100yds. I have really struggled to get any real accuracy with Micro grooved barrels and lead. 

Pictures of the new Rumlins are slowly popping up on the Internet and social media sites with positive comments. 
 

Gunsmith Phil Larocca has some pictures of the new 1895 on his Instagram account: 

https://www.instagram.com/buffalodiller/?hl=en