Marlin 336C debicle

[The Jester Race]

Henry makes a nice gun, but I don't like that they load from the top of the tube. It's fine for rimfire but for centerfire I like a side loading gate.

How much do you want for the Marlin? PM me.

-Jester

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Its a throwback thing to the original Henry... at least they bent the rules and put a forearm on it.

Truth be told I am going to see if I can get my money back first... if not I am going to see if I can get them to pay to ship it back and forth until they get it right so I have don't have a POS fixer upper to try to sell for dirt cheap at a huge loss.

 

[gjm4l]

That sucks about your marlin. I saw you mentioned mossberg so I just need someone to agree with me. Have you seen their tacticool lever action? Tell me that is not the most disgustingly ulgy thing anybodies EVER seen? I'm a diehard mossberg shotgun guy but really? a plastic tube stock and covered in rails on a lever gun I kinda wanna puke thinking about it. I do wonder if the normal stocked one's are any good.

Sorry this isn't meant to be a thread jack. I'm interested to see if you get your money back from marlin as I'm lightly in the levergun market too.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That sucks about your marlin. I saw you mentioned mossberg so I just need someone to agree with me. Have you seen their tacticool lever action? Tell me that is not the most disgustingly ulgy thing anybodies EVER seen? I'm a diehard mossberg shotgun guy but really? a plastic tube stock and covered in rails on a lever gun I kinda wanna puke thinking about it. I do wonder if the normal stocked one's are any good.

Never seen one in real life but I think it was the fairly new .22 thread somebody posted that. I fail to see the point and I have no idea who is going to buy it, it seems more like a bad joke than anything. Nobody that is into the tactical stuff will want a tube fed lever action and nobody into lever actions will want anything to do with it.

I got to looking on their website just now and there are actually two of them, one with a flash suppressor to keep your position hidden for those long range sniper kills that 30-30's are famous for and just a plain barrel for the budget minded buyer. The .22 has a much need muzzlebrake available however

Playing with them in stores the regular Mossbergs look like a pretty well put together rifle though... nothing but regrets at passing them up for a new Marlin. Early on they had problems with the extractor but I think they have that fixed by now. If you are shopping new pricewise their only competition is Marlin and I think it would take a purposeful effort to do any worse than they are at the moment. I was looking at new Marlins at Sheels today, they had a stainless 336, 336C like mine, 336W and a 94 .45C. Oddly the best looking one of the bunch was the W, the walnut stocked ones had the same checkering and wood fitment as mine and two of them had crooked sights. The levers were zip tied down so I couldn't sample the actions.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Since I had a rather lengthy novel I tried to email them first on Monday, they emailed me back this morning saying to call them, which I did.

Basically I don't think refund was on this lady's answer card, she acted like she has never had a caller ask for that before. They want to take another swing at it... at least I got a prepaid shipping label out of them this time.

 

[UpStandingMember]

Good luck with the Marlin. I was thinking of buying one years ago but never did. My Dad GAVE me one of the Winchester's he owned. The really nice one he still has was my grandfathers pre 64, very pretty too. The one he gave me he claims is a pre 64, but I don't think so. The wood was in bad shape and the action was pretty stiff. Over this past winter I took it apart, refinished the wood, and freed up the action quite a bit. Sometime soon I'm bringing it to a gunsmith and having the sights replaced.

I think I'd do the same as you with that Marlin though. They need to keep working on it til it's fixed.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I am irritated enough by it that unless it is a drop dead gorgous gun when I get it back I doubt it will be sticking around. Probably get traded off for a pistol in the short term as soon as I get something that works.

Dad has a '73 model 94, action is like glass and all around looks new. The reason I went with Marlin was they are so darn simple, take a screw out and basically the gun falls apart for cleaning. I do love the feel of the action on a Winchester though.

My grandfather has a '94 30-30, it wouldn't miss being a 63ish gun by much. He says it hasn't had more than two boxes shot through it, just never had much use for it but liked it anyways. My grandmother got it for him for his birthday, my dad was with as a little kid when she picked it up. I have been thinking about it, I might just save my pennies for it when the time comes.

 

[UpStandingMember]

The 94 my Dad gave me was not smooth at all. It was in real bad shape. I figured since it was free, I could learn a little about that gun while I fix it up. Dad told me he knew the guy that owned it, and he knows he had that rifle in the 50's. The serial number is just over 3,000,000, and the cutoff for pre 64's is about 2,600,000. But the workings inside look like a pre 64, according to the pictures I've seen on the internet.

I don't know how the new 94's are, but I bought a 12 gauge side by side Miroku when I was in Japan for $20. lol That was when I was single and had money, so I sent it off and had Rhinehart Fagan put exhibition grade English walnut on it, and had Doug Turnbull reblue the barrels. After $2000 it's a beautiful shotgun for bird hunting. And it fits me perfectly!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My dad was born in '57, so running the numbers where dad would be tagging along with grandma it would be really close.

The new ones are really nice looking in stores, I won't pay that kind of money for one however. $1k-1500 is too much for no more than a 30-30 is capable.

 

[UpStandingMember]

Have you ever checked out Gunbroker.com?

My Dad was born in '33, and the 94 he has, my grandfather had before my Dad was born. Dad told me the 94 I have now, he knew the guy had it in the 50's. Serial number just doesn't jive with his story though.

Dad said his uncle had a 10 gauge double barrel I wish I could find.

But check out Gunbroker.com, they have everything! Well, almost. I still haven't found a Dan Wesson .445 Super magnum that I want.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Have you ever checked out Gunbroker.com?

Yes I have, I need to decide for sure if I am getting rid of mine first or what I am going to do.

I am thinking in the short term it will go towards either a Blackhawk or Vaquero.

 

[UpStandingMember]

Good choice! I've always liked the bigger Ruger revolvers. If I decide to buy another revolver I'd like at least a .44 magnum. I looked into a S&W .460 because I can shoot .460's, .454 Casull's, and .45 Long Colt ammo in it, but they cost way too much. Now the Ruger you can buy a .454 or .44 mag for lots cheaper. I also almost always pull the hammer back before I shoot anyway. Oh, and the .44 magnums you can also shoot .44 specials. That's another reason why I like my Dan Wesson .357, I can shoot .38's and I can also change the length of my barrels.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Right now I am stuck between .45LC and .38spcl/.357 Mag...

The .45... is the classic of all time where the .38's are cheap to play with and .357 Mag is enough for just about everything I intend to do.

Mainly looking for something that doesn't have to be babied as much as my blackpowder cap and ball revolvers.

 

[UpStandingMember]

Blackpowder cap and ball! Which revolver do you have? How do you like it? What caliber is it? I've wanted to buy one of them but I always thought reloading them were a pain in the butt.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Blackpowder cap and ball! Which revolver do you have? How do you like it? What caliber is it? I've wanted to buy one of them but I always thought reloading them were a pain in the butt.

Two '58 Remington .44's (one 7" barrel and the other 5.5"), 1851 Confederate Navy .44 (never really existed in .44) and a 1860 Army, all made by Pietta.

The 7" '58 is my favorite to shoot, the '60 is probably my favorite looking one (I love the rack and pinion loading lever)

I use the .44 cal pistol pellets so I don't have to mess around with loose powder. I have the tool to put the '58's cylinder in so I just pop in five powder pellots, push in five wads and then cram in 5 balls, install in gun, cap and shoot. Dad still gets off three salvos with his Vaqueros to my one with any of mine though... I do think mine are funner to shoot though. The big problem is the the crap the black powder turns into is basically black salt and you have to religously clean them right away after every time you take them out.

The Colt vs Remington debate has been going on for 150 years, I do prefer the takedown of the Remington and the ability to swap cylinders (with practice similar in time to a mag change on a modern gun) but they have harder to clean areas around where the barrel meets the cylinder and with the smaller cylinder pin are not as forgiving with fouling. The Colts with their huge grooved pin will run longer before gumming up but are weaker without a full frame and tricker to get apart (especially the first time).