Marlin shopping

[hondo1892]

I am wanting a .357 lever gun that I can mount a scope on for coyote hunting. So I went to a gun shop yesterday to do some looking. I picked up a couple of new Marlin 1894's to look at and was very disapointed. I have a 336 that I have had for years and like it a lot because of scopabilty(is that a word?) and quality. The new rifles I looked at had very poor fitting stocks I never bothered looking a the metal work. The action didn't seem too gritty when I cycled it but the poor stock work just turns me off. There is a gun show this weekend near home so I'll go and see if any old ones are to be had. What is the going price for a decent Marlin 94 in 357 these days. I will not part with the amount of money they are asking for the new ones as long as the workmanship is so poor. Anyone else notice this with other Marlin models lately.

[dr walker]

The local gunshop here has a new Marlin 1894 in 357. I gave it just a quick look over. It was as good or better than what I normally see with new Marlins. There was nothing I notice that distracted me other than the price of $595...............

[AJMD429]

If you don't find a used one you like, you may try getting a new one, and making it into a 'used' one yourself; slick up the action (easy), smooth off the stock, and give it some 'character'.

The fundamental 'gun' underneath it all is the same one they've always made, and the fit-and-polish stuff you can do yourself.

It's a shame to have to do that, I guess, but these days for $500 you're not going to get the same thing you'd have gotten for $300 in 1975 (I say that because I compare my 1975-vintage 1894 vs. the current ones). I think dollars are worth about 1/4th as much as back then, so you want that kind of fit and finish on a present-manufactured gun, and you may be spending over $1,000 on a Marlin someone has finished up for you, or getting some other make of gun.

Personally, I'd just buy a current Marlin, and use the money I saved towards some emory paper, stones, and refinishing the stock; unless I could find a nice used one, that is...

[rangerider7]

There are not many new guns on the market that I would spend my money on. Find you a good old one. That's my two cents.

[horsesoldier03]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =204995802

HERES ONE! Don't wait too long, I am sure at this price it won't last long. The buy it now price is even decent!

[Chuck 100 yd]

Were they Walnut stocked guns? With or without bullseye? I have bought several new Marlins in the last few years. I have special ordered all but one, so you take your chances. I have not been disappointed yet. Maybe I am the lucky one or maybe I am not as picky as some.

[Hobie]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =204995802

HERES ONE! Don't wait too long, I am sure at this price it won't last long. The buy it now price is even decent!

That's the one to get. The buy-it-now price is reasonable nowadays and the minimum bid is a steal. Around here, that pre-safety gun is wonderful. I'd put a Williams FP on it anyway, so the missing rear sight is nothing...

[Old No7]

"I am wanting a .357 lever gun.. So I went to a gun shop yesterday to do some looking... I picked up a couple of new Marlin 1894's to look at and was very disapointed... The new rifles I looked at had very poor fitting stocks..."

I've been looking at those lately too, and the few "new" ones I've handled looked like the stocks were a high-school woodshop project. Check that... I'll bet the kids could do a much better job! Unfilled grain, sloppy staining (uneven, smears, drips), poor to downright lousy wood-to-metal fit, and crappy wood to start with too.

Guess I'll keep looking for a nice used one -- although I would prefer a checkered stock, if I can get it.

At the few shops I've been to, my remarks were always the same... "Gee, this must have been made in the final days at the plant." (Before the shutdown and move...) They were not even close to the Marlin quality I grew up with...

Old No7

[hondo1892]

I do like the one on gunbroker but I hate buying without holding it first. I'm hoping to find one locally that I can pick up for around the same price.

[J Miller]

I have watched the quality of American made guns slowly degrade since the mid 1960s. Now with all the companies going out of business or being bought out and moved we can't even find a single American gun maker with a consistent good quality level.

It saddens me that those young folks coming up are being exposed to plastic, stamped aluminum, modular guns such as the EBRs and when they do come around to the old way of thinking the quality is not there in the new guns.

Look how many of us have Winchesters, Marlins, Colts, S&Ws, H&Rs, Iver Johnson's and others, made over a 100 years ago that we still hunt with, still shoot, still show to our friends with pride. The fit of the 100 yo wood is still in many cases superior to the new guns we see today. Even considering the shrinkage and use they've been through.

Occasionally I'd like to buy a NEW gun. But there is nothing or very little made today that I would drop the coin on. Other than the Cowboy series, Marlin makes nothing I'm interested in. Winchester quit making guns I'd buy when they went to the CB safety. Ruger quit in 73. Colt quit when they discontinued all their double actions and added all the gizmos and widgets to the 1911 design.
S&W died for me when they signed the Clinton agreement and put key locks on their revolvers.

I could go on, but you get the idea. There is a lot of used older guns out there, but eventually attrition and collectors will reduce the number of good usable ones to where new guns will be needed to replace them.
And it looks to me like we really have nothing worth buying anymore.

Very sad.

Joe