Ruger acquires Marlin assets from Remington

[bikemutt]

As a Marlin collector of sorts, this can only be good news.

Marlin Firearms

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[osprey]

Yes, hopefully ruger can straighten out the mess rem made of marlin.

 

[Medic!]

There gonna be way better with rifling in the barrels.

 

[bikemutt]

I'm not a Microgroove fan myself. I used to have a 39A years back that was Microgroove, despite my dislike, it shot real good. The Marlins I have now are all Ballard rifled.

 

[Ura-Ki]

One has to wonder what sort of improvements Ruger might make, At least un do the damage done by Remmy at the least! I would really like to see better fit and finish, at least what Marlin used to produce back in the good old days! Hopefully they also improve the Q.C. of both companies at the same time!

 

[Xrperry]

Just wonder if ruger will kill the marlin 60? It is a serious competitor to the 10-22

 

[kevlar]

It's not a competitor if they own both.

 

[Southpaw]

That is good news, got a few JM Marlins and a few Rugers, I'm confident Ruger will work out the bugs and
MMGA (Make Marlin Great Again)

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Does Ruger have the money and motivation to invest in making Marlin what it was in the 60's? Does that make financial sense for them?

 

[Pete F]

Remington did invest money into making their Marlins better in the last few years, mostly tooling. With a little more work, they should be back to the JM standards.

 

[bikemutt]

Does Ruger have the money and motivation to invest in making Marlin what it was in the 60's? Does that make financial sense for them?

Excellent questions. For a company like Ruger that's enjoyed organic growth, to see them become acquisitive will raise some eyebrows. My gut feel is they bought this at a bargain price. It really doesn't take much to make Marlin what it was; just don't FIU as Rupaul would say. If I were to invest in a firearm manufacturer these days, I'd look for anything but semi-autos for growth potential.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Remington did invest money into making their Marlins better in the last few years, mostly tooling. With a little more work, they should be back to the JM standards.

Excellent questions. For a company like Ruger that's enjoyed organic growth, to see them become acquisitive will raise some eyebrows. My gut feel is they bought this at a bargain price. It really doesn't take much to make Marlin what it was; just don't FIU as Rupaul would say. If I were to invest in a firearm manufacturer these days, I'd look for anything but semi-autos for growth potential.

I hope you're both right. I know a lot of companies are only about the bottom line. If they do decide to put the money in to bring the quality back, do they raise prices or rely on gaining market share to cover those costs? If it's market share, are they running the risk of cannibalizing market share from the 10/22? It would make sense with the lever action as I don't think model 96s are flying off the shelves like a quality, well, any Marlin lever gun would.

Fingers crossed that the dollars make sense because a 336 is one of my bucket list guns. Would be nice to not be limited to pre-1964 anymore

 

[bikemutt]

Remington did invest money into making their Marlins better in the last few years, mostly tooling. With a little more work, they should be back to the JM standards.

I agree that things have improved with the newer Remlins but, the fact that word exists in our lexicon speaks volumes for how far Remington let things slip before they got off their corporate bubblegum and changed direction. Trust lost is not easily regained.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Trust lost is not easily regained.

So do the first new Marlins have the trust level of Remington or Ruger? I think I'll trust them like a Ruger and let them prove me wrong.

Edit: And by trust, I mean I'll extend my moral support. They're not getting a dime until I see results. Trust but verify.

 

[bikemutt]

If Remington had lost my trust solely on their poor Marlin transition, I might be more forgiving.

The bitter taste of the R51 pistol disaster is just one more reason for me not to trust Remington.

 

[Koda]

Fingers crossed that the dollars make sense because a 336 is one of my bucket list guns. Would be nice to not be limited to pre-1964 anymore

Whats the quality concerns post-64? I have a JM 336 from the mid 1980s thats a great shooter. I cant recall when Rem bought Marlin, Ive heard they dropped the quality but dont know what the issues are.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Whats the quality concerns post-64? I have a JM 336 from the mid 1980s thats a great shooter. I cant recall when Rem bought Marlin, Ive heard they dropped the quality but dont know what the issues are.

Every now and then (10-20x/day), I get my wires crossed. Winchester changed their manufacturing in '64. It's their levers I look for pre that date. Marlin added a cross bolt safety while still producing JM stamped rifles. The JM and no cross bolt safety are supposed to be the best quality

 

[RVTECH]

Winchester changed their manufacturing in '64. It's their levers I look for pre that dat

Don't get too hung up on the 'pre' or 'post' '64 issues without a thorough understanding of them.

Many 'post' '64 Winchesters are excellent rifles.

 

[Koda]

Every now and then (10-20x/day), I get my wires crossed. Winchester changed their manufacturing in '64. It's their levers I look for pre that date. Marlin added a cross bolt safety while still producing JM stamped rifles. The JM and no cross bolt safety are supposed to be the best quality

No worries. My brother has a safetyless original JM Marlin (I keep telling him never to sell it). Im younger, and got a JM Marlin with the safety.... the gun is solid, but honestly I dont use the safety and have to tape it off during hunting because breathing on it bumps it in the safe position and you never know. The half cock is plenty safe for carry, it will never fire from the half cock.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Don't get too hung up on the 'pre' or 'post' '64 issues without a thorough understanding of them.

Many 'post' '64 Winchesters are excellent rifles.

I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed for eating crackers