I was wondering if anyone out there can tell me if there is any way to tell just by looking at the gun if that gun was made by Marlin before they went out of buisness or if it is a Marlin made by the new Remington/Marlin factory? I want one of the last newer ones made by Marlin if I can find one.
I think it is safe to say that no Marlin rifles have been made in the "new" factory yet so any Marlin rifle you buy with a serial# that begins with 90 will be final year Marlin rifles from the CT plant.
What do you mean by out of business? Do you mean when Remington/Cerebus/Freedom Group took over or do you mean since they closed the Marlin plant in Connecticut? The plant closed about a week and a half ago, but I don't think New York Marlins have started being made yet.
I believe Remington took over Marlin in January 2008 and Marlin stopped production of the 336 30-30 at the end of July 2010 (but it may have been first of August). So, if you want a (non-Remington) Marlin 30-30 you need to confirm it was made prior to 2008 and if you want a Connecticut (but still Remington owned) made Marlin you need to confirm it was made before August 2010.
All Marlin's manufactured after August 8th or so will be from New York.
Thanks, doesnt the serial number on the barrel have the date in it somehow? Dont you subtract the first two numbers from 100 and it gives you the manufactured date or something like that?