I sold a couple of ARs and a couple of ACOGs and I'm buying back some of the rifles I had in my youth and always regretted selling.

My new Marlin 336C in .35 Remington



And my Marlin 1895 .45-70





I just bought a Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum of which Post pics of. And I ordered a Marlin 336C in .30-30 which should be here soon.

I was hesitant for a few years after Remington took over Marlin as I know some people had some quality issues. I haven't shot any of these yet, but fit and finish-wise, they are as good or better than Marlins I owned in the past. And they cycle factory loads without issue.

I have some Leupold bases and Burris signature rings on the way. I'm going to put some low-powered fixed magnification Leupolds on them.

Nice looking guns. I have come to realize these are more addicting than AR-15s.

Beautiful rifles. I love the Marlin lever guns. 45-70 takes the worry out of being close.

My wife looked at the .45-70 and asked me why I needed something that big. I reminded her that Virginia is full of invasive species that need to be dealt with. There's all kinds of things showing up at our bird-feeder.

"Hey, I don't know what to tellya, Honey. Seeing is believing."

Congrats and enjoy. One of my worst regrets in selling firearms was getting rid of a minty pre-Remlin, pre-crossbolt safety 1894C in .44 mag. I just wasn't in a position where I could afford to feed it, and getting started on reloading wasn't an option. I let it walk. I fear the first good deal on a Marlin lever gun that piques my interest is going to result in some wallet bite.

The fit and finish on yours look nice. Since you held off and have bought recent production, what are your thoughts on the current quality level? Up to snuff with the older ones? I am seriously craving an 1894C in .357 and it's been long enough I wonder if "Remlin" got squared away, or if I should keep saving and hunt for a JM.

quote:

The fit and finish on yours look nice. Since you held off and have bought recent production, what are your thoughts on the current quality level? Up to snuff with the older ones? I am seriously craving an 1894C in .357 and it's been long enough I wonder if "Remlin" got squared away, or if I should keep saving and hunt for a JM.

I'm not the OP, but I have an 1895 in .45-70 that is a "Remlin", and it is quite nice all around. A buddy just bought a new production .357, and it is a sweet rifle. Good fit and finish and the action is smooth...it'll even feed empty cases (or wadcutters), both .38 and .357. If you can live with the safety, and aren't looking for collector value, I'd have no qualms about buying a new production Marlin. They shoot just as well if not better than the old ones.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Bob C.:
Beautiful rifles. I love the Marlin lever guns. 45-70 takes the worry out of being close.

Takes the worry out of anything within 200 yards.

Around here that is way past the edge of our flat earth.

Love my 45-70 and the other thumpers I've kept around over the years.

Congrats to the OP.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: apprentice,

I've owned several pre-Remington Marlins. The looked good and functioned perfectly.

My new 1894 is a 2016 production rifle. The .44 magnum only ammo I have is Prvi Partizan 240 grain SJHP and 300 grain SJSP ammo. They cycle fine through the rifle. The loading gate is a bit tight, but otherwise, it functions fine.

However, I just noticed that it has two fore-end cap tenon screws that are faulty. The screw heads are too thin, and the slots cut too deep and wide, and one of the heads has broken in half. Didn't even notice that when I picked it up. And the magazine tube is a little off center. I suspect the wedge that holds magazine to barrel under the forend cap is off center. But Marlin can figure that out. I sent it back to Marlin yesterday on their dime. The tennon screw head issue is apparently a known issue. All other aspects are fine. Bluing, stock finish and fit, and all else looks good. All the other screw heads look proper.

My new 336 and 1895 are 2019-made. Everything looks proper on them. All screw heads, alignment, finish and fit are good to excellent. Certainly no worse, and are in most cases better, than any pre-Remington Marlin I ever owned.

I still have a 336 in .30-30 coming my way.

I knew Marlin has some issues for a couple of years after Remington bought them. Simple fact is I love Marlins. I still have some pre-Remington Marlin .22s.

I googled problems with Henrys and it has its own crop of issues. Even Winchester has it jamming problems with many complaints logged on the issue.

So I went back to Marlin. I don't regret it.

Congrats I picked a Henry 45/7p up today. Not sure about the tube loading but we will see and the price was right.

Weren't Bonnie and Clyde ventilated with a 0.35 caliber?

quote:

Originally posted by Valpo Fz:
Congrats I picked a Henry 45/7p up today. Not sure about the tube loading but we will see and the price was right.

The tube loading is different. But I find it nicer and easier than a side gate.

quote:

Originally posted by mr kablammo:
Weren't Bonnie and Clyde ventilated with a 0.35 caliber?

I think so. Along w/ some 30-06 and 45ACP IIRC....

Yes, but it was from a Remington Model 8 semi-auto, not a lever gun.
ETA: The Posse emptied everything it had into the car. First the rifles were exhausted, then the shotguns, and finally the pistols were shot to empty after the car had come to a stop.

I've long sort of wanted a .35 Remington. I think it is underappreciated. I have no real use for it, but . . .

I don't really have a use for my .45-70 either.

.35 Rem is great... I love mine.

Nice! I have the 1970 version of that 336 35.

Though it's not available in a lever action, you might want to add a rifle in .35 Whelen.

I have a wartime Mauser receiver sporterized into .35 Whelen and I'd use it to hunt any animal in North America and most of the game in Africa except cape buffalo, elephant, hippo, and rhino.

When you begin loading for the .45-70, I use a 400 grain cast lead bullet over 33.0 grains H4198, ignited by a large rifle primer.

It gives about 1750 FPS, with greatly reduced felt recoil, and the bullet will still pass through a 6x6 piece of pressure treated pine. Best of all each reloaded cartridge costs about 75 cents.

I don’t own a 35 Remington, but everyone I know that hunts with them swears by them, at least compared to the venerable 30-30.

The 45-70 is a different beast altogether. You can load a wide variety of bullet weights and powder types to achieve small game pop gun cartridges to heavyweights that will take any game on the planet. If one reloads, a 45-70 is an absolute must to have in the livery; there’s so much you can do with them.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I don’t own a 35 Remington, but everyone I know that hunts with them swears by them, at least compared to the venerable 30-30.

Both are good cartridges that perform well in the same situations. They have been debated for years like Ford vs. Chevy. Ammo for the 30-30 has a lot more options/availability today but as long as you can still get the .35 in 200 Core Lokt, the .35 is just fine.

You can also get the .35 in LeverRevolution, which gets you an additional 200 FPS over the round nose versions like Core Lokt, at the same 200 grain weight. My rifle loves the LR rounds.