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Worn out machinery doesn't enhance a skilled Craftsman's work, either.

The two will work together. You can't make Chicken salad out of Chicken Schidt.

Guess I'd better quit my job then. You see, I'm a gun builder by trade. I spend 40 hours a week fixing machine shop shortcomings {which are too numerous to count} to come up with a perfectly functional, good looking, good shooting firearm. You might even say I get paid to take chicken shyt and turn it into chicken salad. Most of the problems I've seen and heard about with the Remlins were/are the result of untrained/unskilled/inexperienced staff, moreso than worn out machinery.

You probably don't do it with crappy equipment either.

Like I said, they both go together.

As was mentioned earlier, the original Marlin machinery was wearing out.

Remington invested in new equipment.

They failed to keep the skilled workforce.

That workforce is now gaining the necessary skills to exploit the better equipment.

I certainly don't want to build rifles with a Little Smithy.

You'd be shocked by the truth. It recently took me 4 months of constant bitching to get a new 60 degree dovetail file. My old one was so dull it removed material by the process of erosion rather than by cutting. The list of things I need that I'm constantly out of is longer than the things I have. Adapt, improvise and overcome is the motto here. I do know wtf I'm talking about here regarding the lack of quality in the Remlin leverguns.. Poor fit and finish, incorrectly indexed barrels/sights are CERTAINLY NOT machine shop issues. And rifles that don't function/feed correctly most likely aren't either. It comes down to poorly trained/unskilled/inexperienced gun builders just as I said. Denying it won't make the FACTS OF THE MATTER change one iota. Period.

Well, I commend you on your persistence and you apparently have enough pride in your work to accomplish what you do with what you have.

That is what a Craftsman's skill is about.

It's a joy to combine good skill with new equipment. We are in the process of engineering a new line with equipment for product-specific manufacture of one of our products, rather than adapting the existing equipment, as we are now doing. We're having good results, but the effort can be more than necessary, and quite frankly, we have some individuals who won't ever be able achieve our quality objectives with existing equipment either because of skill(lack of) or the fact that they simply don't want to work that hard, and we have to relegate them to other tasks.

We've also had an influx of new-hires, and it simply remains to be seen where they stand in regards to skill/motivation. I imagine about one-third will be what I consider "good".

With the new equipment, we'll be able to significantly increase the output of this (very profitable) product without undue physical effort, and state of the art instrumentation will give some of the less-skilled a crutch.

The individuals who possess more skill and motivation will still out-perform their less motivated/skill co-workers, though.

Thanks Vic. I certainly meant no disrespect in our conversation. I consider you one of the most courteous and respectable posters here and have always enjoyed your input on multiple subjects. I've been in the gunsmithing/ gunbuilding busines for a long time and see much erroneous information posted on multiple websites. I work for a small manufacturer building first quality semi custom, custom and production firearms. Guns I've built have been featured in magazine articles several times over the years but company policy forbids me to give any details or say who I work for. Hard to garner any credibilty on these forums without giving any proof so I don't make a habit of talking about it much out of pure frustration.

Thank you for your comments.

I did not see any disrespect, and fully understand the frustration.

As merely a hobbyist, I have dabbled enough to know the level of skill it takes to make a good-performing and aesthetic custom rifle/shotgun/pistol.

Anyone who can do it for a living earns my respect.

I don't know what year my 450 was made it says North Haven CT on it.
Never had a failure to feed or eject.

I shoot a Ranch Dog mold 430 grain, GC, wide melplate that hits like Thors Hammer.
Last time I shot it at the range, it shot a 3/4 inch 3 shot group, which was basically one ragged hole.


It came with a 24 inch barrel which I promptly had a gun smith cut to 20 inches.
Trigger was smithed to a crisp 3 lbs.

I looked it up and it was made in 2006, and has a JM stamp. What does the JM stamp signify?

Proof mark for Marlin. Now it's REP. There were some JM marked barrels used after the Remington takeover-during the transition phase.

That's not correct.

JM was a proof mark that was only used after a gun was test fired at the Connecticut factory.

The proof marks aren't stamped until the gun is finished and has been test fired.

Any gun with a JM stamp is a 100% Marlin made Marlin in North Haven Connecticut.

Some digging over to Marlin Owners forum will verify this info.

Sorry. Got it backwards:

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-collectors/181545-value-hybrid-jm.html

(North Haven stamp with Remington proof)

all marlins pre remingtons are much better guns and it won`t be long those pre Remington marlins will cost you more used too. so buy used you will be much better off ! I am also a gun dealer so I hear and see what`s happening with guns and its terrible Remington purchased marlin and now I don`t really want to carry new marlins to many mechanical problems now and gunsmiths know it too. so good luck finding a used one look under> guns international.com

I personally would put less value on a Marlin built in the last few years before Remington, and the ones built by Remington just after the transition. This is from a using standpoint, not a collector standpoint, but I certainly wouldn't buy a Marlin as a collector in the first place.

If I was looking for another hunting gun from Marlin, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a later 2014 or 2015 model. I have an 1895SBL that was mid 2014, and have absolutely no complaints. The newer ones are even better.

I have an 1895 Guide Gun marked JM, w/the safety (neutralized with a neoprene "o" ring around the red "Off Safe" indicator). I bought it new, probably mid to late '90's. Everything's well-fitted and it has always functioned flawlessly. It shoots around an inch, easily, for three shots. I slicked it up a bit. Buddy of mine has one a year newer that he bought after borrowing mine the first year I had it and killing four deer with it that year. His is just as good as mine. Another buddy has one somewhat newer, stainless and not ported. He brought it to me to fix, took it apart and it had chunks of wood floating around inside the receiver. This was a new gun. Mine has become one of my favorite rifles.

I could not agree more. The three Marlins I owned/purchased approximately 2004-2008 were all junk and none would feed correctly 100% of the time. I would buy a new model Remington without hesitation in today's world