Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General New ruger made marlin 357

Picked one up today. Was thrilled as I've been waiting for them to release them and didn't know they did. I almost passed thinking it was a 44mag. I really want to like this....I REALLY do, so I want to give it a chance. Here's my first take. Got it home and loaded 5 357 flat nose soft point 158gr. Wanted to see how it would cycle. IT DIDNT. Jammed up tight on first stroke! Had to take it all apart. The edges are razor sharp, so I'm typing this with band aids on my fingers. Lol. Get it all back together, seems to function, feed and eject just fine. Then I noticed the rear sight just flops around. Will figure out what to do with that, but for just shy of $1300, I expected better. Like I said, I REALLY want to like it, and I most likely will but,COME ON RUGER!!!!!

Why in the living fugk would you expect anything else from Ruger? It's a damn Ruger.

I have and had several rugers that were built like tanks. This is disappointing. Upon further review I have found the rear sight elevator is completely missing. RUGER/MARLIN will be getting a call tomorrow.

I experienced the same exact issue with a new 1894 .44 Mag. You better not stick your finger in the receiver or you'll be dripping with blood. This was a result of double-feeding.

You got that right. I'll see what they have to say when I call today. Need to get that sight elevator that happened to leave the factory without. Overall the gun is beautiful, nice walnut ect. I'm still wanting to like it. Did you/are you going to do anything about the sharp edges? You can PM me if you'd rather.

I've never owned a ruger that didn't need some sort of modification for reliability or to suit my needs. Nothing new here.......and I own a pile or crude rugeroni rubbish. Big ruger fan, but these cheap cock-suckers couldn't fit/finish their way out of a brown paper bag.

An entire multi-million dollar aftermarket industry has been created, to help consumers un-fk their rugeronis.

I'd be going back to the store that sold it.can they not inspect anything before putting it on the shelf?

Went back to dealer and swapped it for another. This one is worse!!!!! Jammed, fails the eject randomly, ect. Het at least this one had a complete rear sight. It's also going back. I'm afraid this is what we have in our manufacturing now......pure [bleep]

Lolololololol.

Soooo, Henry?

IMO, if Winchester would market their levers at under a grand, they’d own the market. This limited run bullchit is just a collectors market.

I predicted Ruger would put out a pile of shyt with the Marlin name stamped on it. They put out a pile of shyt with the Ruger name on it. I have no reason to believe it will be any different when they stamp them with the Marlin name.

I agree about Winchester. No henry for me. They just don't fit me. We will see what happens with the marlins. I'm holding faithfully they will make it right.

It's a damn shame. Made in USA used to mean something.

Dang Sweets. I hate the hear this. If they put half they attention into QC that they did into aesthetics, they'd really have something. The looks absolutely sold me upon sight when I saw the new 44 Mag.

Totally agree. It stopped me in my tracks. Picked it up and couldn't put it down. It's on its way back. Maybe I'm just a big sucker, but I'm giving them a chance.

Sounds like Rossi has better QC😆

Well, Rossi does have the advantage of having made the same design since something like the 1920s. They know how to make it work.

It seems like making pistol caliber levers is a chore that goes far beyond making and assembling parts. Remington and now Ruger lost a lot of expertise and institutional knowledge when they moved the operation.

I keep trying Ruger rifles and pistols, hoping that they will be nice. I have had three good experiences with them. When I had an FFL in the 70's, I bought and sold maybe a dozen SBH's. I kept the most accurate one. I bought for a friend an early 77 in 280 with a heavy barrel and it was accurate. I bought a semi-auto 9mm that was OK for what it was designed for, self-protection, certainly not a hunting piece - my son wanted it for a gift for his bride. But that was the only decent Ruger's I've owned.
One's that didn't work out so well, early and a later style 44 mag semi-auto, a couple Ruger #1's, and a few 77's. I had another #1 in 280, but I sold it before I got a chance to test it - who knows it might have been a good one???

I thought Ruger was looking for a quality control guy a while back (25 or more years ago), they may not have found anyone, I don't know. I keep reading about good ones, I've just not been lucky, I guess.

I have a couple Remington Marlins and I'm very pleased with them and I read a lot of bashing of those. With them I've been lucky, I guess. I think they are at least as good as the JM Marlins I own.

I'm hoping to see people in this forum say they like the new Ruger Marlins. I'm sure there has to be some. One thing I'm sure of, I'll never again buy another used Ruger, unless I can try it out first.

I picked up a new 44 this week. So far no complaints. Fired some mild 44 mag loads with 240 LSWC a few days ago. No jams and promising accuracy. I’m putting some skinner sights on it. Put together some loads for it today with 240 xtp and 240 LSWC and 240 LPHP.

I’ll run them over the chrono and group them soon.

I’m smitten with rifle so far. Very pretty and blueing seems indistinguishable from my JM 336. The wood is some of the nicest in my safe.

Did have some sharp edges. The action seemed a little rough but has slickend up as I continue to cycle the action. I think it’s going to be a very nice and fun rifle to shoot and hunt with.

Sounds like the OP needs lessons in tabletop gunsmithing.

Always take them completely apart and polish the innards.



(Go ahead...bring your Mommy into the discussion.)

N O N S E N S E .

Sounds like the Jefferena needs lessons in tabletop gunsmithing.

Always take them completely apart and polish the innards.



(Go ahead...bring your Mommy into the discussion.)

There is NO EXCUSE for razor sharp edges on the ejection port and any new rifle should cycle correctly, feed, fire, extract, eject, out of the box. When they don't, you can be sure it was not test fired at the factory and the manufacturer has zip for quality control/inspection, relying on clowns like you instead to finish the job they started..

Obviously you wouldn't know a good gun from a rusty bumper if you had one of each shoved up your ass. No doubt you'd enjoy the experience nonetheless.

You're a f k n dm as s.

Got six Marlins.

You still mad at your hippie mommy's failed abortion and her collection of flannel shirts and moustache wax.

You're a f k n dm as s.

Got six Marlins.

You still mad at your hippie mommy's failed abortion and her collection of flannel shirts and moustache wax.

You probably got your ass handed to you repeatedly up until your 85th birthday, huh? For a woman...you sure are mouthy!

Wow, six whole Marlins ! I'm mighty proud of ya but that don't have fuuck all to do with you not knowing a good rifle from a rusty bumper Gomer.

Don't complain here, take it back. I've heard other say their Ruger Marlins were great and they were happy with them. If there's a problem they should make it right. That price seems a bit steep though.

I just bought a new Ruger made Marlin 1894 in .357 and the fit and finish are excellent. I shot a box of .357 factory ammo though it and it was dead on at 75 yards even with my old eyes. Not one feeding or ejection problem. Ruger did not make a piece of crap with this gun as some on the forum have stated. I have no idea of why all the alleged complaints about this lever action gun and many on YouTube who have shot the gun, showed the actual video and reviewed it have praised rather than bashed the gun.

I'm really hoping the first one comes back right. It's a beautiful rifle. The bluing, the walnut, the finish.....just wouldn't feed. I'm sure they'll make it right and hopefully won't slice my fingers. Like I said, I want to like it, but at $1300 disappointment for sure.

When you get it back, hopefully with the issues taken care of, let us know how it shoots.

Been sorta maybe looking for a .357 Magnum lever gun to help go though my piles of .357 and .38 brass and bullets. Lots of used Marlin 1894's around as well as some other brands of good to mediocre reputation but by the time you find one of the better ones on the web, pay shipping and FFL fee then the Ruger Marlin advertised at $1,099 locally is in the same ball park.

Well, I got it back today. They smoothed up all the SHARP edges and put the rear sight elevator on that was missing. All seems to function well and smooth.

I have two of the Ruger-made Marlins, one is a 45-70 Trapper, the other is an 1894 in .44 Mag.

No problems with either one as far as function. I did throat the Trapper so that it matched my JM Guide gun so I didn't have to use different loads, and as the OP pointed out, I smoothed out some receiver edges on the 1894 because they were razor sharp.

The 1894 now has a 1/20 twist, so I can use the 300 grain WFNs I like.

Just got back from shooting them along with an 1885 Highwall in .45-70, was enjoyable.

Razor sharp edges. Always a mark of quality, attention to detail and vigorous quality control. LOL

Good lord. I expected better for 1300 bucks.

Maybe you'd get it if there weren't people all over the Country willing to accept crap wares and finish the job Ruger started without complaint, then go back and buy more of their junk. It ain't just Ruger or guns either. Half of what you buy today, from guns to household appliances is absolute garbage. It's to the point that I'm shocked when something I buy actually works the way it should right out of the box. I end up sending about half the stuff I order back. It's just rediculous. Might as well just burn your money.

It literally takes just a penny to smooth it out.



I had read that one of the improvements they wanted to institute was eliminating just that. If they addressed sharp edges, I would hate to see how the older ones were....

Other than that, I don't have any complaints so far.

There shouldn't be any razor sharp edges period. Neither my JM 1894 nor my 1894C had any.

I agree with you, but they were there and I remedied the situation. So far, that's my only complaint, and from what I've read on 1894s, it's been an issue for awhile. I'm not sure about JM guns, but apparently the Remingtons. This is the first 1894 I've had. At least it has the twist I want, the barrel looked good in the borescope, the trigger doesn't take two men and four boys to pull, and it it hits where pointed.

Yes the Remlins had sharp edges. And numerous other issues.

My Remlins don’t have sharp edges. Maybe I was lucky or maybe because I got later ones???

I don't know Bugger. Early in Remington production I found sharp edges, poorly indexed barrels, canted/misaligned sights, horrible wood to metal fit, poorly finished wood with horrible checkering. I soon lost interest and quit looking.

The only thing I've noticed is sharp edges. So, I took one of my closely-guarded pennies and rubbed the sharp edges with that. Still has a crisp edge, but isn't a hazard anymore.

I heard all about the Remingtons, so never really considered one.

My impression from the talk I heard is that Remington was getting their act together towards the end and actually made a fairly good product. So that very well may be.

I got one better than that--I've not had a Leupold fail....yet....

Craftsmanship isn’t developed over night, lever guns were not in Rem / Ruger line when they took them on. Remington had to stop production and re- boot to get the quality up to snuff. I expect Ruger took some of the lessons learned. I am happy these companies are keeping these lines alive and working to improve.

I have handled several of the marlins and think they did a nice job all around.

If you see one on the rack with sharp edges, poor fit, quality issue, point out the defects to the dealer and ask to see another. If purchase one on-line assure you have inspection privileges, and send it back. Point out the defects to the dealer and let them work with the mfg, Ruger will learn from mistakes.

Bottom line….If the gun doesn’t feel right don’t buy it, it’s not one of a kind. You have plenty of options, including used JMs 😉

Shop Smart, be patient, and be happy!

Ruger hasn't "learned from their mistakes" on their own branded guns. I have no reason to believe they will on the Marlins. I've personally seen more garbage from Ruger over the past 40 odd years than any other gun company. The most recent an American rimfire .17 HMR I purchased that had hard chambering and would not extract fired shells right out of the box. Every fired casing needed to be pried out of the chamber with a screwdriver and with difficulty from shot one and it did the same with Hornady, Winchester and CCI ammuntion. This tells me the gun was not test fired at all before being shipped from the factory.. I sent that POS back, whereupon Ruger sent me another with the same exact issue. I called customer service again and they offered to send me a third example. At that point I told them I didn't want any more of their junk and to send me a refund. Which they promptly did after I sent their second piece of junk back..

.
I have one of the last 45-70 22" Remlins.
I can't find anything wrong with it.

Damn, you'd think Ruger could scrounge up a few pennies.

Do you have it scoped? If so, what kind of groups are you getting?

I have a late remlin and it’s been great. The later guns were pretty decent. The new ruger made guns look pretty nice but haven’t cycled or shot one.

I’ll agree with you Blackheart on Ruger’s. But I’ll say my Remlins are nicer than my JM’s. They have better finish, bluing & the feed flawlessly.

The rumor, which I am inclined to believe, is that Marlin relied on craftsmen to do a lot of finish work and their drawings were inexact. Remington management wanted computer precision. The drawings from Marlin were ‘pathetic’. Remington tried to follow Marlins drawings and created the early Remlins. It took the Remington engineering department to correct the issues. In the end Remington had a design down pat for the “Marlin 336 etc.”.

I have a JM 35 Remington 336 that someone could pry out of my fingers. I don’t live where a 35 makes much sense.

You'd think. I was somewhat disappointed in that, having owned several Ruger products and my experience with a Ruger-made 1895, though it disappointed me with the fact that the throat in the barrel was too short, which I fixed.

I had just typed a detailed response, but it just disappeared. With no effort at load development it shot some 1" groups at 50 yards, about what I expect, but bear in mind I was shooting leftover ammo, if that has any bearing. It is scoped, and that is a Leupold VX-3i in QRW rings on a MI rail.

I was not trying to wring it out for accuracy, but simply function-check the platform as a whole. Got additional ammo loaded today, so 100 yards is next. Bumped the charge a smidge as the chrono and sooty cases indicated it may be slightly under-loaded, and H-110 isn't the best for that.

PSA is advertising these at $999 which is just shy of twice what I paid for my last one, new.

You are dead right Bugger.
The early Rwmlins may have had a few issues but thw later ines were as good as thw very best Marlin ever put out.

I used a bunch of these since the 1971 1895 was reintroduced and the later Remlins I saw were great lever rifles. Even bought one for myself.

I’ve got 3 new ruger made marlins, one 1984 in 44 and it is perfect with all aspects of the gun. I also have a 1895 SBL and a trapper in 45/70 these also are perfect. IMO these ruger made guns are as good if not better than the old JM stamped models. And I have lots of the older guns that I absolutely love but ruger is doing a great job on there production.

Oh really

I just bought a Ruger/Marlin .357 last Friday and I'm very impressed with it! Slick right outta the box, great wood to metal fit and the quality of the machining is better than any JM 1894 I've had or handled.
I put a Burris 1.5x Full Field on in Weaver mounts and grabbed some Federal A.E. 158 grain soft points. On a WINDY 37° day with snow squalls, 3 shot groups at 50 yards were an inch, give or take.
Her trigger can use a bit if work, but its liveable.
The bore doesn't copper foul and cleans easily.
I paid $1000 for her.
Yikes!
But she's a fine little carbine.