marlin-run away!

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Axis II

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So I have wanted a marlin lever action for years and ohio finally allowed strait walled rifle cartridges so I skimped and got a cva elite stalker 45-70 but found it lacking so today after much research, thought, etc I decided to buy a Remington/freedom group marlin 1895 45-70. for those that don't know they put out some junk for a few years and cabelas refused to get me a rifle that wasn't 2yo, dinged up and loose lever and action so I went to a mom and pop chain store I always deal with and talked them into price matching the $400 price tag someone else had but the kicker was I had to buy it today and had an hour to get there.

I got there with about 30min to spare and made sure the action, wood to metal fit, etc was right and it was so I told the guy lets do it. I got home and was looking at it hanging on the wall rack and noticed the forend was lighter color then the stock. buttstock is black walnut and forend is almost like pine so I began examining it and the forend has deep, nice checkering and the buttstock has scratched in checkering. I am now so pissed that I have a headache. About 50% of me said leave it alone and use what I already had and the issues in the past pushed me away but on a marlin forum it seemed all the issues were worked out but it looks like they aren't. They have a 30 day return policy with $40 restock fee so I might just take advantage of it cause if you cant get wood stocks right whos to think anything else will be right.
 
ohihunter2014 said:
... a mom and pop chain store...
Click to expand...
I'm still trying to envision "mom-and-pop" owning a whole chain of stores. They must be doing rather well.


It is possible they had that gun in the store for 9 years when it's retail price was $400. They finally got rid of it.
 
If the aesthetics of the wood really do bother you, definitely return it. If you can overlook the wood, test the trigger before live firing it (slip in an empty case as you really shouldn't dry fire Marlins). I bought an 1894 in .44 mag about a year and a half ago and I practically needed a hydraulic press to help pull the trigger. I decided to drop in a wild west guns trigger that is orders of magnitude better, but that rout is going to be another $100 and a couple hours of work (getting the hammer spring back in place was a major PITA).
 
ants said:
I'm still trying to envision "mom-and-pop" owning a whole chain of stores. They must be doing rather well.


It is possible they had that gun in the store for 9 years when it's retail price was $400. They finally got rid of it.
Click to expand...
the store started out in a old convenient store and then moved to a 3 floor monster store down the road. he opened up a smaller store in an old k mart a few years back and now has like 4-5 stores. still one owner and I often see him in 3 of the stores I visit actually helping customers and greeting them.

the gun is stamped late 2016 so the issues should be non existent. cabelas gun was like 2015. I said how do you have a rifle that 2yo still on the shelf.
 
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ColtPythonElite said:
You inspected it in the store. It didnt change on the way home. I don't see tow different shades of wood as a big deal.
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one is a very dark black walnut and the other looks like pine. I can fix the color but the checkering on the stock I could scratch my finger nails on it and not even grab into it.

Its my fault 100% for not making 100% sure all was good but I'm thinking of the woods half assed then what else is.
 
Jason_W said:
Sometimes it's a matter of lighting. Those eye-assaulting florescents in most stores can make true assessments of color near impossible. Once you get something in sunlight, it can look completely different.
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yep. ive done that with scopes in the store. inside they look good but go outside and its bad. in store it looked a little different maybe 10% different but take it outside in the yard when I put rounds in it to cycle it and make sure all was good and it looks like pine IMO. ill post a pic. you can see the difference in the checkering and the wood.
 

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ohihunter2014 said:
one is a very dark black walnut and the other looks like pine. I can fix the color but the checkering on the stock I could scratch my finger nails on it and not even grab into it.

Its my fault 100% for not making 100% sure all was good but I'm thinking of the woods half assed then what else is.
Click to expand...

The serial number should tell you when it was manufactures. Is it possible that the rifle was manufactured just after the Freedom Group take over?

This forum post breaks down how to find the year of manufacture based on SN http://www.gunvaluesboard.com/marlin-serial-numbers-dates-of-manufacture-1664.html
 
ohihunter wrote:
Its my fault 100% for not making 100% sure all was good but I'm thinking of the woods half assed then what else is.
Click to expand...

The metal is done in a different department of the factory (if it's even done in the factory at all, and not provided by a sub-contractor) from the metal, so I doubt there is a connection - and if there is, it is likely to be cosmetic like the stocks.

Also, the lighter stock is not pine. It will be a lighter hardwood, probably something like ash or birch or an Asiatic species similar to them.
 
I say keep it if the action is good. It's going to get beat up in the woods anyways. Run it a couple of seasons and if the color still bothers you down the road,buy some unfinished stock and forearm and make a nice side project out of them. It's still a step up from your cva anyway you look at it
 
Also, my son bought a Marlin XT series bolt action 22 for his first rifle last year and about a year before that my father bought another Marlin 60 semi-automatic 22 and they have both been completely trouble-free and reliable.
 
hdwhit said:
The metal is done in a different department of the factory (if it's even done in the factory at all, and not provided by a sub-contractor) from the metal, so I doubt there is a connection - and if there is, it is likely to be cosmetic like the stocks.

Also, the lighter stock is not pine. It will be a lighter hardwood, probably something like ash or birch or an Asiatic species similar to them.
Click to expand...
so your thinking its not even black walnut like they say it is?
 
ohihunter2014 said:
So I have wanted a marlin lever action for years and ohio finally allowed strait walled rifle cartridges so I skimped and got a cva elite stalker 45-70 but found it lacking so today after much research, thought, etc I decided to buy a Remington/freedom group marlin 1895 45-70. for those that don't know they put out some junk for a few years and cabelas refused to get me a rifle that wasn't 2yo, dinged up and loose lever and action so I went to a mom and pop chain store I always deal with and talked them into price matching the $400 price tag someone else had but the kicker was I had to buy it today and had an hour to get there.

I got there with about 30min to spare and made sure the action, wood to metal fit, etc was right and it was so I told the guy lets do it. I got home and was looking at it hanging on the wall rack and noticed the forend was lighter color then the stock. buttstock is black walnut and forend is almost like pine so I began examining it and the forend has deep, nice checkering and the buttstock has scratched in checkering. I am now so pissed that I have a headache. About 50% of me said leave it alone and use what I already had and the issues in the past pushed me away but on a marlin forum it seemed all the issues were worked out but it looks like they aren't. They have a 30 day return policy with $40 restock fee so I might just take advantage of it cause if you cant get wood stocks right whos to think anything else will be right.
Click to expand...


If its bothering you, like cant sleep, then take it back.

Stocks for the marlins are not matched sets, ive seen a few that were pretty close, a couple that were REALLY close, but many others that were much like yours and completely different.
Personally, if this is to be your NICE rifle, id probably sell the CVA and use the money to purchase a set of matching stocks from a stock maker/seller. There are some guys on ebay who offers stocks (usually made on duplicators so expect work), that will actually select a pair thats at least pretty close for you. Or you could go with the Laminate option, which is what im going to do on my Rossi92 as i find its wood pretty ugly.

I thought marlin used something like beech on some stocks?
 
If you decide to return it and eat the $40 restocking fee, I encourage you to take a look at Henry leverguns. I looked one over in the shop and the fit and finish and general slickness of the Henry was way better than the Marlin.

I foolishly went with the Marlin because of the traditional side loading gate. You, know, because in that inevitable gunfight I'm bound to have with the gang of methed up bikers intent on breaking into my house and stealing my mediocre (if not sad) possessions, I need that quick loading option of the side gate.

But, it turns out that the loading gate is small and stiff as Hades. There's no way I'm thumbing in extra rounds under stress.
 
LoonWulf said:
If its bothering you, like cant sleep, then take it back.

Stocks for the marlins are not matched sets, ive seen a few that were pretty close, a couple that were REALLY close, but many others that were much like yours and completely different.
Personally, if this is to be your NICE rifle, id probably sell the CVA and use the money to purchase a set of matching stocks from a stock maker/seller. There are some guys on ebay who offers stocks (usually made on duplicators so expect work), that will actually select a pair thats at least pretty close for you. Or you could go with the Laminate option, which is what im going to do on my Rossi92 as i find its wood pretty ugly.

I thought marlin used something like beech on some stocks?
Click to expand...
from the description on their website its supposed to be black walnut. I'm not really losing sleep it just makes me a little mad that people don't care about the consumer and half do stuff. the guy told me I could return it but don't shoot it and then it becomes used. I'm slowly coming to the fact its a hunting gun. it was meant to be nice but function is more important. I have an o/u that didn't go off one time and cause me to would something because the 2nd shot wasn't there to put it down and then it locked up so I couldn't shoot it again and that gun almost got the oak tree treatment so function when taking somethings life to ensure its done quick and painless means more to me. I'm still pissed though. lol.
 
Six years ago, I bought a new Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70. I got it home and took a really strong look at the wood. It was basically finished in a opaque stain/urethane spray on. I like rubbed oil, so I stripped it. Once the finish was off I had a mismatched for-end, and butt-stock. The butt stock had a large portion of near white sapwood. Not the black walnut that I had been led to believe was Marlin over the years. I ended up staining everything with Fiebing's leather dye to get it all to match. I shot a nice hog with the gun, but sold it a year after. I won't buy another Marlin.
IMG_0147.JPG
 
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