Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers Marlin 1895 quality?

I am currently considering a NIB Marlin Model 1895 that was made in November of 2013 so For you guys that know much more about Marlin than I when did Remington retool the Marlin facility with the latest greatest CNC machinery? From what I can gather when Remington first got Marlin the old New Haven equiptment was mostly worn out then at some later date after many shoddy rifles were produced they got their ducks in a row and retooled with the latest CNC machinery and also tightened up QC considerably.....From what I have been reading these latest Marlins are some of the best rifles ever produced but what year did these better quality rifles start being produced?.........Thanks Hb

Flip a coin and pick a year. The only way to determine the better quality rifles is to hold one in your hand and examine it paying close attention to the wood and metal fit. Then run 4 or 5 dummy rounds through the action and see how it feeds and ejects.

Also check the sight alignment. I have seen two at the LGS that had the front sight clocked around to about 12:30. I understand this is a common problem with the bad years, whatever they are.

I have a pre Remington SBL and it works and looks great. I have read that Marlin is producing a better product than resent past years, lets hope that is true.

I'd look around a buy a pre Rem.......

lots out there.......

better odds on getting a good one.......

From what I understand the Marlin machinery was practically worn out toward the end before Remington bought them, from what I gather the first Remington/Marlins were shyte, fit and finish was shameful but Remington at some point retooled the whole factory with the latest CNC machinery and as of late are producing some of the best Marlins ever made but I dont know exactly when this change took place, i am currently eyeing a nice looking model 1895 that was made in November of 2013 but the rifle is on gunbroker so I cant get a hands on look at it........Hb

One feature I do like on the old Marlins is the no pushbutton safety, I would like to see this removed as I see no benefit in a push button safety on a lever action rifle........it kind of rediculous really..........Hb

If it don't say JM on gun stay far far far away it's junk !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reports are getting better on the so-called "Remlins".

Recently I've seen some very well fitted and finished rifles and carbines and suggest you look at them and keep the older Marlins in mind, too.
The older Marlins can often be bought for less money and do have a better reputation for fit and finish quality.

Same thing I'm hearing.

I bought a brand new 2015 guide gun a couple of weeks ago. Unlike
my last 3 NIB Marlins (2 JMs and 1 Remlin) this one actually feeds from the magazine.
Fit and finish is the best I've seen on an 1895 in years. Hopefully they finally got their act together.

bufaf,

That is great news. I been holding off buying a new Marlin hoping they would improve. My experience is similar to yours with the JM models. I must of purchased 6-8 of them in various calibers from the mid 90's to about 2004 and finally gave up. None of the one's I owned would feed and eject 100% and accuracy was mediocre at best.

I got a 1895SBL last year. Accuracy is fantastic. I put a Wild West trigger, ejector, and follower on it. Out of the box, it fed fine and ejected flawlessly. Only problem was the edges on the loading gate and ramp were very sharp with burrs. Took it apart and cleaned those up a bit with emery cloth, and it was good to go.

My dad bought a 1895GBL just a month or so after that. He left all the factory parts in his. But, on his, the magazine tube was screwed up from the factory. The follower would get stuck if you loaded more than 2 rounds in the mag, and that in turn would jam the action. Marlin had no problem replacing the part, but it took over 2 months to get it, so that gun didn't see the woods for hunting season. Best we could tell is the tube had a thick spot in the wall, which made the internal ID too tight. There was no bend in the magazine tube. The replacement tube works perfectly.

Both guns seem well built and put together, it was just the small QC errors they had with final checking and testing.

I have heard they invested in some very nice machinery, so now that they have good people running it, they should be producing quality items.

pre Remington guns are the best marlins out there

Good to hear.

The last few years that Marlin made them were nothing to brag about!

You guys that have bought model 1895s recently - did they come with the hammer spur extension? I bought a guide gun a few years ago that came with one, but I just bought an 1895C that didn't have one although the owners manual shows an illustration of it being installed.

??

I will say that they are still heads above the early Remingtons. There were some simply atrocious samples sold to the public.

Looking at recent examples, I'll have to say the they (Remington) have come a long way.

The newer ones are doing just fine quality wise.

That has been my impression. They (Remington) seem to have gotten their Marlin game together.

It's quite possible that with the new machinery, the quality and uniformity from rifle to rifle may exceed the Marlin-made rifles.

It's funny how many people believe good guns depend on good machinery. It isn't so. Good guns depend on skilled craftsmen hand fitting, filing, grinding and polishing until everything fits and functions as it should. The latest and greatest machinery simply cannot produce high quality firearms. It still takes skilled human hands to do that.