Apparently, more than a handful of people have noticed the latest products coming out of Marlin have Quality Assurance issues.
Oh dear. This might put a damper on acquiring a lever gun that shoots .38 Special Paid for with my Tax 'Refund' check that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Ried want to send me.
Marlin was bought by Remington, and now it seems the Marlin workers have let the quality slough WAY off. My buddy Chuckles bought a Marlin .17 and had to return it for a better version. The finish on the stock of the first one they gave him was peeling and cracked around a screw.
But I don't care about the rest of their customers, but what about ME?! What am I to do?! (Man this sometimes the self-induclgent purpose of this blog is annoying even to me.)
Now what? It'll be years before Remington can improve the quality. What a crying shame. Marlin used to be good. Dang.
My alternatives for "Gummint Cheez", my desired 1894C:
- ~ Wait. Purchase it way down the line. After quality returns or someone fills the gap in the market.
- ~ Buy a used one. I guess, but I shouldn't have to. And there aren't THAT many on the used gun market.
- ~ Find an alternative. Winchester had quality issues their last year or so, but the company that bought them out hasn't ramped up the lever-gun production yet, so a new Winchester is out. I don't like Savage, and don't even know if they make a 1894C. Puma is a brand mentioned in the Mad Ogre article, but one as "Marlin quality is so crappy that people are actually preferring the crappy Pumas, THAT's how sad-crappy Marlin is."
- ~ Take a chance. Have my dealer get a Marlin in, go over it carefully and reject it if sub par. But that's a pain in my dealer's butt if the findings are negative. I don't like being anything but a good customer to my dealer. But maybe I can squeak in under the wire and get a decent rifle on the first roll of the dice. I hate it being up to Chance.
- ~ Just don't get one. If one falls in my lap in the future, fine, but I COULD just take it off the list forever. Or bury it in the Tertiary List and just be disappointed. Spend the money on an M1A or something. Not that I can call an M1A "Gummint Cheez" like I planned for the Marlin 1894C. It just wouldn't be dignified.
I'll have to check with my dealer to see if he can recommend anything.
Anyone have any other recommendations? Am I overlooking an obvious solution, not listed above?
4 comments:
Could use someone other than "Your Guy" to purchase the rifle. That way you would not piss your guy off if you have to send it back a few times. Another thing you could do is call a few local shops (around work and home) to see if they have it so that way you can go and look for yourself before purchasing.
Or, Get yourself the M1A. You know you want too. Hell, I want too.
Check with all the smaller gun shops around (as opposed to the big chain stores) since they tend to hold on to inventory for a long time. There's a good chance you'll find an older one that looks nice.
If you call Marlin, they might even be able to tell you which serial numbers to look for.
FWIW, I just sold a Puma 1892 in 38/357 that had rather plain looking wood, but that was otherwise a nice rifle. Well, except for the silly looking safety.
Or pony up the cash and get a Browning BLR. Shiny perfect is how I'd describe them....
Yes you are missing one- buy a Henry
Post a Comment