I originally posted this in GD, but I figured some here may find it interesting, so here it is-

There's been a lot of discussion about the, uhhm... decline in the quality in Marlin rifles after their procurement by Remington, but I I haven't seen too many pics. So I took some today.

For comparison, I've got a later model Remington built 336, and an old, well-used Marlin 30AW from Marlin's North Haven, CT days. For those who don't know, the 30AW was Marlin's budget model.



The Marlington is on the left, the 30AW is on the right. The 30AW is short some checkering on the wood, but it's evident that both the wood and the metalwork on the 30AW were finished to a higher degree of polish. It also looks like the wood on the 30AW is one solid piece, and the wood on the Marlington is the sort of laminate found on Remington 870s.

At a closer look, the fit of the wood doesn't look too hot on the Marlington compared to the old 30AW...



The difference gets a bit more pronounced down by the tang.



The old 30AW has a gold trigger for whatever reason. That detail didn't make it to the Remington Marlin.

Things don't get much better for the Marlington when you look at it from the side, either.



The gap between the steel and wood is significant, and those half-ass proof marks look like something I'd find on one of my Mosin Nagants. They're cool on a Mosin... not so much on a rifle produced on what's supposed to be a modern production line in a developed nation. The JM mark on the 30AW is good and clear.

It's also at this point that the difference in finish becomes more obvious. The 30AW hasn't had an easy life, but you can see that when it was built, it received a basic level of polishing before being blued. It's obviously not on the level of something like a S&W Model 27, but it's a decent finish, and it shows somebody cared. It doesn't appear that any such investment was made on the Marlington 336. I can't quite tell, but the 336 might have that classic Remington "rusts if you look at it wrong" finish. I think that would be more evident if this example had more field time.

The other side is more of the same.



The difference isn't only cosmetic. I suppose the Remington built Marlin would function okay, but the action and the trigger is clearly rougher and grittier than the 30AWs. I suppose wear could account for some of the difference, but certainly not all. The difference is substantial.

As a bonus, here's a pic of another 336. Remington is so proud they built it, they proof marked it twice-

I have had Remington 870's all my life, recently my Son in law gave his fairly new one for a cleaning. I couldn't belive how cheap the trigger assembly has gotten. quite a few part that used to be made of metal are now plastic.
Marlins were my first guns. They always had a nice polish on the side of the receiver.
That's just sad

 

The new remlins sadly do have the notorious rusts if you look at it wrong finish, It will rust through the finish if the gun is not oiled after handling.

You do realize that isn't a current Marlin (What you're calling a Remlin) rifle, right?

After more careful scrutiny, that is an open 39A receiver. With the JM Stamp on the barrel!

Yep, you can't blame Remington for that gun. It's probably a last run 39, I have a JM 39a built the year before Remington took over and it's not as nice as the older ones. The wood to metal fit is a little sloppy and there are some machining marks on the inside of the receiver but the action is still very slick and the wood and metal finish is flawless.

I've only seem one Rem built Marlin that looked good(an 1895G)in terms of fit/finish, but the sights were canted bad. All the 336's I've seen looked cheap with the non glare finish, satin wood, and painted bolt. Plus the wood on all of them was chunky looking.

Remington as a whole has took a major nosedive in terms of quality. Most of their guns function fine, but fit is terrible. My last two 870's were by far the sloppiest I've ever seen and the finish on the one I have left is so thin you can scratch through it with your finger nail. Even the 700 I bought last fall needed a few boxes to smooth out so the bolt would cycle and lock up smoothly and the finish on the bolt is thin also and is already missing about half the finish on the knob. The two 700 I bought back in the late 90's were worlds better.

Took a look at a couple at the local Gander Mountain today.  They are still shit.

I was in a Scheels store a month ago and they had around 7 or 8 new marlins, 1 1895G and the rest were 336W's. One of the 336's had sights that were straight but the fit/finish left a lot to be desired, the rest of the guns all had canted sights. The 1895G did have decent wood to metal fit and a nice finish, but with the canted sights it would be a no go for me since I don't put optics on leverguns.

Thank you.  And the period 336C Marlins were even nicer, especially the polishing, deep blue and nicer walnut.  I took my first deer with one.  It was later stolen.  I've never gotten over that loss.  I was a teen.  I'm now 64.

Holy shit

I have never owned a Remington, and probably never will own a new one.  After seeing the recent issues with Marlin, the 700s, and that new pistol, I am starting to see a pattern.