Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General New Marlin M1894 - I'm bummed...

Bought a NIB M1894C in .45LC from a 'fire member and my son took it out to shoot this last Sunday; first shots down the tube.. Beautiful rifle - excellent wood etc..

Monday morning I was going to tumble the brass and reload. Then I saw the brass... WOW.. To say they had bulges would be an understatement.. Brass beyond the web was .012 over!!! Looked like mini-balloons..

If they test fire these before they leave the factory, the testor must have been Stevie Wonder...

It's on the way back to Marlin with 4 examples of the brass and a note that I expect a new barrel.. Geez... Oh well, I won't need it until summer anyway.. Gotta take some dammitall pills..

Marlin will back up the rifle 100%! Every manufacturer has their screw ups no matter where they're made.

I had a Marlin 1894 with a bad barrel and Marlin replaced it and did a lot of other work and I had it back less than 2 weeks later. Marlin repair: they're fast and good!

Yeah, I've heard they're ok.. However, I've had a customer's M336 at the factory since Oct 15th (their receipt) and when I called today, the lady couldn't find it.. They got a 'new system', she says...

Oh swell..

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that! They must have changed because the old system worked too good????

LMAO.. Most likely - and I'm betting it's the bean counters that enacted this change..

She said she'll call me on Monday when she finds out who has the rifle.. I can hardly wait..

Doesn't Remington own Marlin now?

I hear ya. I just got an 1894 .44, and boy was I disappointed. At first. The wood didn't match, the rear sling swivel was off-center, the rear sight is slightly crooked, and there is almost no crown. But instead of sending it back right away I shot it first.

Wow, I'm not doing a darn thing to it, I'll just be extra careful with the muzzle. First five shots, handload 275 grain Cast Performance over 20 grains H110 shot into about 2 inches. About the same size group with 270 grain Gold Dots over 21 grains of H110 and same point of impact. So-so. Then just for reference I shot five rounds of factory Federal American Eagle 240 grain jacketed hollowpoints. 4 rounds into one ragged hole and one called flyer an inch higher. These were all at 50 yards with the crappy factory sights. I'm ordering a set of XS sights to slap on and will now start on some handloads.

Redneck, when Marlin first introduced the Cowboy version of the M1894 in .357 MAG (about 9 years ago +/-) I bought one. On the first round I fed from the magazine the lifter locked up the action in the open position. It seems they had a bad run of lifters; timing was wrong, causing the second round to jump out of the mag and into the open action. I had to take the mag tube off to empty it and clear the jam. My dealer sent the rifle back to Marlin - he called me exactly 3 weeks later to tell me the rifle was back. It performed flawlessly after being returned. I don't know about now, but Marlin was first class then. I hope you have the same luck. Odessa

Well yesterday as promised a rep from Marlin called, apologized for the delay citing holidays and a new system but assured me the rifle would be on it's way back to me before the weekend.. I assured her I wasn't upset, just wanted to know the status..

It was very good of them to call on the day they said they would.. So far, I'm impressed..

In the last few years, it does seem like Marlin's quality control has been lacking a little. That doesn't mean they won't fix one promply, but I have seen quite a variation in quality from rifle to rifle, to the point, that I would not just order one, I would have to see it first before buying it.

Well, some good news... The customer's M336 arrived yesterday with a brand-new barrel on it just a very few days after their call..

Now, I'm just waiting for my M1894 to get done...