As we all know by now, Ruger has purchased the Remington assets a few months ago. They are now in the process of moving all the equipment to their own facilities and they say they should start shipping new Marlin Rifles by the year's end - we shall see.

The one thing that helped make Marlins strong enough to handle large calibers such as 45-70, 444 Marlin etc. was their forged frames. Somehow I don't see Ruger forging frames as they have successfully been making their line of firearms using the investment casting process.

Ruger is a very well run Company and they seem to always make good decisions - so exactly what method they will use in making the Marlins will be interesting to see. I'm in no way holding my breath, but I am hoping they do choose to forge the receivers - heck, that could even help their own line up in the future. Since in the past Ruger has mostly produced guns based on price points, I am hoping that they will try and make Marlin a premium line of lever actions as compared to others in the field. I would like to see them restore the Marlin forged JM quality once again.

So would I, but I am a fan of the 77 bolt guns

I'm hoping that Ruger/Marlin will make an 1894 style carbine in .327 Fed Mag. I would buy a Henry steel carbine (if available, but they have been scarce), but much prefer the Marlin design.

Ruger has been doing a pretty good job putting .327 revolvers out, hopefully they will make a carbine to go along with my SP101 in that caliber.

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Only a cold warrior

Been a big fan of the 1894 line myself. Glad Ruger acquired them as they will probably due a decent job. Love to see the 1894 22 magnum Marlin used to make.

Sure would like them to make the .32 magnum lever gun.............@ a cheaper price than the current 2,500+ range for the old Marlin version.

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LEX ET ORDO

Do folks seriously still doubt the strength of investment casting after all these years?

You'd think it would have proven itself by now, especially when it comes to Ruger who makes what are widely acknowledged as the strongest Revolvers around, but evidently that isn't the case. (No, barrel separation was due to over-torqued barrels, which has happened with practically every brand of revolver at some point or another.)
I mean, really, Ruger already makes .45-70 rifles like the No.1, which I've yet to hear any stories of self-destructing, so why should I doubt their ability to make a robust, working lever action rifle?

If you aren't convinced of the strength of investment casting by now, then you never will be, so I would honestly recommend that you just stick with the old "JM" prefix models.

I'm going to make a prediction, right here, right now... The Ruglin Lever Action Rifles will be released with some initial teething issues, but will ultimately be recognized as the strongest and most robust Lever Action Rifles ever made. However, Marlin purists will repeat instances of the issues of the first edition production for decades after they have been resolved, and complain about minor differences in aesthetics between the old and the new.
I know this because it's basically how every change of hands between manufacturers and their subsequent production runs always plays out.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I'm mostly interested in knowing when the rifles will start showing up - ordered one at a really poor time (April 2020) and have pretty much all the gear for it (RDS, replacement fore end, sling and mount, light and mount, etc.).

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NHI, 10-8.

Sistema1927, I would probably buy a .327FM carbine, also, although I don't need one. (But when did NOT NEED stop anybody?)

I hope Ruger doesn't let their Elbonian design team fiddle with these old designs. Ruger makes some of the most unattractive guns in the world. Wonderfully functional, of course, but ugly as a mud fence with a sense of aesthetics usually only found in East German car styling.

I'm curious to see what Ruger will do with Marlin's .22 rifle line. Particularly the Model 60. It always has been one of the 10/22s biggest competitors and IMHO a better rifle.

It is pretty much a generally known fact of metallurgy that no casting is as strong as a forged steel part given they are both of equal size, thickness and shape.

"Forged steel is generally stronger and more reliable than castings and plate steel due to the fact that the grain flows of the steel are altered, conforming to the shape of the part. The advantages of forging include: Generally tougher than alternatives. Will handle impact better than castings."

Not saying that cast Receivers will fail, however comparably speaking, I'd much rather have a forged Receiver for my money.

Well, maybe since they brought all of the machining and equipment over from Remington they’ll continue to forge the parts for it as is?

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“Look life in its iron face”

They're most likely going to be cast because that's what Ruger is most familiar with, and frankly it's probably for the best that they stick with what they're good at.

Besides, investment casting will drive the cost down, which is a good thing because man were they expensive when Remington was still making them.

Folks can argue all day about how forged steel is stronger, but Ruger's investment casting seems plenty strong as it is, seeing as their Revolvers are capable of shooting a lifetime of the absolute hottest of rounds which would otherwise wear out the superior forged Revolvers by other brands in short order.

If investment casting bothers you, then hunt down a "JM" marked model and save the inferior "SR" marked models for those of us who would actually enjoy them. You'll be much happier shooting a "JM" marked model, not to mention flaunting their objective superiority in every single thread that will ever be posted regarding "SR" models until the end of your days.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

As many of you are aware, in November, we purchased substantially all of the Marlin assets for $28.3 million. Since that time, we moved all the inventory, manufacturing equipment, tooling, fixtures, and gauges to our facilities, which is no small task. We are still in the process of evaluating these assets, reviewing the product designs, and determining the best manufacturing process for each component part. We have started to establish a manufacturing cells that will produce the Marlin rifles and plan on shipping the first Ruger-made Marlin lever-action rifles from our Mayodan facility in late 2021. Like many of you, I've been a fan of Marlin products for as long as I can remember. We have heard from hundreds of the Marlin-faithful and countless firearms consumers who are excited, as excited as we are, to have this legendary brand as part of Ruger.

From Q&A:
Marlin is a phenomenal opportunity, but it's also a phenomenal undertaking for us. We've got -- we had over 100 tractor-trailer loads from three of -- three of their former locations, from the Remington folks, that we moved, primarily into our Mayodan facility and an adjacent warehouse. We moved the woodworking equipment up to our facility in New Hampshire. And we will be trading, from a new product categorization standpoint, we'll be treating that as new products for Ruger. And the team is doing a phenomenal job as we outlined. Going through part by part, making sure we understand how it was made, and looking at what's the best way to make it going forward. So, it's been a phenomenal effort by the team with the extraction of the equipment out of the former facilities and moving it into the Ruger facilities and the lines are taking shape nicely. But there's still a lot of work ahead. To make sure we produce quality rifles, the focus will be on the centerfire lever-action rifles, initially. The models 1894, 1895, and the 336. And then, second -- following that will be things like -- for example, the model 60's semi-automatic rimfire.22.

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Alden
Guns N' Rosés

I don't think that you can just swap the forged parts for investment cast.

I have a feeling a wee bit of engineering goes into the investment casting.

When done the part may have a slightly different look in some areas, like thickness and radii?

Figuring all the machines, tooling and parts seems like a fun job!

100 semi loads from upstate NY to NC in the winter. Yum. Not.

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NHI, 10-8.

I'd be proud to own a Ruger manufactured Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum.

I'll bide my time.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

I would like an 1895SBL. I've wanted one for years, but persistent reports of shoddy workmanship coupled with the high pricetag kept me away.

Thought about settling for a Rossi R92 a few times, but ultimately decided to just forget about it.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Post as a Sticky, LOL.

.45 Camp Carbine please.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Ruglin just sounds plumb awful. I think Maruger has a much better ring to it.

Specifically which Ruger firearm are you referring to? I'm very pleased with the aesthetics of my M77 MKII, both of my 10-22's, and my half dozen Ruger handguns.

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- Change it back -

Guevera, Are you referring to Ruger's line of metal framed DA/SA semi-auto pistols?

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

Yeah, that's what I was going to say....

Sometimes, but not always. I rather like the aesthetics of this "mud fence" Ruger!

John


(click for larger picture)

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -