Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions September AH is out, feature on new 336C, C is for Classic

2016-2017 I bought two 94 Winchesters; a rough 1976 model ($200) and a used but not abused 94 Antique ($340). I usually don't even buy Marlins but when a '55 Texan in 35 Remington listed on Armslist in late 2020, I grabbed it for less than half what Ruger wants for a new one.

Some of today's pricing is attributable to inflation. A hell of lot of it is 'Charge what the traffic will bear."


Per the US Inflation Calculator, the cumulative rate of inflation for Mike's 2016 Marlin 336 is 27.4% and today's price should be $560.42. Of course Rem/Marlin went TU so it's impossible to draw direct conclusions. Ruger now makes the same basic gun, obviously with a better finish and ostensibly "Quality crafted into every rifle." Their asking price is $1,239.00.

So I guess the question to ask is Ruger's 336 worth $678.00 more than Moose Mike's inflation-adjusted 2016 version?

Not to me it isn't, but I've got the only Marlin that really interests me. Ruger is apparently selling all they can make.

In 2015 they were made by Remington and those were possible the worst ever made until they threw everything they got from Marlin out and started over. By the time they figured it out and were turning out decent ones, the .

In 2015 they were made by Remington and those were possible the worst ever made until they threw everything they got from Marlin out and started over. By the time they figured it out and were turning out decent ones, the .

I posted the link to an article that gives an excellent account of that above. You can deny deny deny Hillary, but it’s right there for you and everyone else to see. If you want to hold onto the fairytale you pulled out of your azz, go for it.

From that article:

In January 2008, the Remington Outdoor Company (aka the Freedom Group, Cerberus) acquired the Marlin Firearms Company, which had been a family-owned business (Frank Kenna and descendants) since 1924. While the new owners invested deeply with the intention to improve and modernize this remarkable company, they made one major mistake; in an effort to increase efficiency, during 2010 they moved the company from New Haven, Connecticut, to Ilion, New York, to be manufactured within the huge Remington Arms plant. Only a handful of employees made the move, so the know-how and tweaking that was necessary to make guns work perfectly was lost. Blueprints were outdated and did not correspond with modern CNC tooling. Essentially, it had to start all over with new employees, engineers, new tooling, etc. I worked closely with company personnel, offering insight into technical aspects and areas that really needed to be improved, as well as input for new models that would be in high demand. While improvement was steady, corporate “white shirt-types” stifled the process. Nonetheless, Marlin eventually began producing good rifles and became very successful. In fact, they carried Remington Arms financially as that company failed to produce quality guns and struggled to make ends meet!
Tragically, the Freedom Group that also owned DPMS, Bushmaster, Dakota Arms, Barnes Bullets and many others declared bankruptcy in July 2020, with Ruger purchasing Marlin shortly afterward. This was a match made in heaven and I knew that it would only be a matter of time for savvy Ruger engineers to take the Marlin design and make it more or less perfect once again!

Soon after the bankruptcy, the Ilion plant was closed, and with the humidity associated with a New England fall, tooling, parts, barrels and receivers began to quickly rust and deteriorate. By the time Ruger moved the company to Mayodan, North Carolina, much of the tooling and some parts were unusable. Ruger engineers immediately began drawing new blueprints and engineering production processes that better fit within that company’s highly efficient manufacturing techniques and methodology, which has been a huge undertaking. As the work progressed, I was periodically forwarded blueprints, proposed changes, etc. for input. It quickly became clear that Ruger was taking its latest acquisition to new levels of quality and reliability and I anxiously waited for the announcement indicating production was underway

Follow the link for the full text.

Where did you get that info? Remington never threw anything out and NEVER retooled. They were bankrupt. Thst's why their product sucked. Had Remington retooled Ruger wouldn't have been off line 3 years retooling .

What I'ld really like an answer to is, why do you mothball the 77 because its too expensive to build, but go ahead with a 1200 + 30-30,?

Where did you get that info? Remington never threw anything out and NEVER retooled. They were bankrupt. Thst's why their product sucked. Had Remington retooled Ruger wouldn't have been off line 3 years retooling .

What I'ld really like an answer to is, why do you mothball the 77 because its too expensive to build, but go ahead with a 1200 + 30-30,?