My Marlin 30-30 (bought in early 90s)often shoots clovers at 25 yards. My stainless 30-30 Marlin comes pretty close to that at 25 yards. Apparently I got lucky with both. There was a period up until a couple of years ago when their quality control slipped. The aforementioned stainless is a replacement. The first barrel was crooked. Marlin stood by their mishap and made good. Granted, I was persistent with my dissatisfaction. One should be fine with a currently made one. Of course expectations with a 30-30 should be kept realistic. Although I got extremely lucky, most are not expected to shoot
as good. I wish I got as lucky with all my other factory rifles-lol. Careful inspection of a new purchase can help reduce the chance of buying a poor performer. Keep your expectations realistic and you should be fine buying a new one.
Marlin has stepped it up the last couple of years.
