Faulkner
Member
Another evil tax paying employer bites the dust. Gun maker too, makes them double evil. Should make the Connecticut liberals proud to have these new people on the unemployment rolls.
Marlin Firearms to close in North Haven
- Thread starter 45Wheelgun
- Start date
WaterburyBob
Member
No surpise, really, in a state dominated by liberal democrats for the last 60 or so years. CT is extremely anti-business with all their regulations and taxes.
And the idiot legislators that the even more idiotic population keeps electing can't figure out the reason the state is in such dire shape.
I feel most for all the good people that will lose their jobs.
And the idiot legislators that the even more idiotic population keeps electing can't figure out the reason the state is in such dire shape.
I feel most for all the good people that will lose their jobs.
Funny you should mention the parking lot.....another thing came to mind with that comment.....
Shooting at cars in the parking lot w/ 45-70 lever actions....
When I worked there, the 'new' 45-70cal '95 Lever Actions were starting to go out the door there. They were a big deal and much was made of them around the factory.
In the range, as standard practice, they were proofed first & stamped,,then (re)loaded and put back onto the 30 gun wheeled carts and over to the other side of the range area for the targeting/function fire.
One shooting bay was set aside for just the new 45-70 rifle for this targeting/function fire purpose. The others were used for the 336 in both calibers, the 444 and the .22 rifles.
(Shotguns,,you just had a chest high window size opening that you swung open into the range and poked the shotgun down range and let 'er go. No patterning, it either worked or it didn't.)
anyway,,
The backstops apparently couldn't take the constant pounding of the heavy 45-70 slug in one small concentrated spot and soon, punched a hole through the steel back plate.
After that they were free to knock through the concrete block wall of the south side of the factory building.
Outside was the main parking lot. Quite a few rounds flew into the lot.
A couple of cars fell victim with slugs buried into them before someone came into the receptionists desk and alerted them. No one was hurt. More than a few red faces though. Extra steel for the backer plates!
No one inside ever noticed the backstop damage developing as the targets were on a continuous roll and viewed on a closed circut TV by the range shooter.
Never a need to go 'down range' that way..State of the art in the early 70's!
Excess unburned powder buildup on the range floor ignited occasionally and that was allowed to just burn itself up. Not look upon as anything to be concerned about.
The range exhaust fans took care of the smoke. A little water from a fire extinguisher splashed onto the floor by a range employee in there if it seemed like it may get out of hand. Never any alarms, fire dept, ect.
They do have a 200yrd (two hundred) underground range beneith the building and part of the parking lot. Never used too much as the noise both for those using it and up on the factory floor was a bit much.
Nice idea,,but for a company that prided itself on lever action woods rifles it seemed a little out of place.
Just someplace for the front office to relax after a hard day I guess.
Sounds like they'll have a lot of free time on their hands soon.
scooter123
Member
While I am quite sure that Ct. is not a climate condusive for cost conservative manufacturing, I don't think that all the blame can be layed on the state. I've been looking for a Marlin lever action in 357 Magnum for more than a year now and they just don't exist. Fact is that Marlin has dropped the ball on matching production with what is wanted by the shooting public. They could probably run off 5000 357 Magnum lever guns and sell every one in short order.
I also think that they are missing out on a great state for re-location. That being Michigan. Yeah, I know that myth about high priced auto workers demanding too much pay. As a resident, I'll tell you that those former auto workers are now willing to take any job offer they are given, even minimum wage flipping burgers at McD's. Fact is that the entire state currently has a large pool of very skilled metal workers willing to take anything available and the state is in such need for restoring employment that they are offering tax breaks nearly beyond belief. There is an old Holley carberator plant about 2 miles from my house that's been vacant since the 90's, that's about 200K sq. feet they could purchase for a song and have a 10 or 15 year moratorium on property taxes.
I also think that they are missing out on a great state for re-location. That being Michigan. Yeah, I know that myth about high priced auto workers demanding too much pay. As a resident, I'll tell you that those former auto workers are now willing to take any job offer they are given, even minimum wage flipping burgers at McD's. Fact is that the entire state currently has a large pool of very skilled metal workers willing to take anything available and the state is in such need for restoring employment that they are offering tax breaks nearly beyond belief. There is an old Holley carberator plant about 2 miles from my house that's been vacant since the 90's, that's about 200K sq. feet they could purchase for a song and have a 10 or 15 year moratorium on property taxes.
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DHart
Member
Wow. Sad.
Last I checked (admittedly about five years ago) I was buying some really nice lever rifles from Marlin. As for customer service, through my own fault I needed some factory work on one of my Marlins, which they did very quickly and even picked up the entire tab! Their customer service five years ago was superb.
I'm going to cling closer to my Special Edition 1894 Trappers in .357 and .45 Colt and my other 1894 Cowboy rifles. No doubt they will become increasingly desireable and valued with this turn of events.
Last I checked (admittedly about five years ago) I was buying some really nice lever rifles from Marlin. As for customer service, through my own fault I needed some factory work on one of my Marlins, which they did very quickly and even picked up the entire tab! Their customer service five years ago was superb.
I'm going to cling closer to my Special Edition 1894 Trappers in .357 and .45 Colt and my other 1894 Cowboy rifles. No doubt they will become increasingly desireable and valued with this turn of events.
The Freedom Group being part of Cerberus Capital, and Cerberus being Cerberus, when it was announced that Russington (many of the Remington guns are now made in Russia) bought Marlin the first thing I thought was "When is North Haven going to close?"
I'm interested in where Russington will move the Marlin production, just out of curiosity. Ilion? or Izhevsk?
My advice: You want a Marlin? Buy it before 2011. And maybe now, because some dealers will be propping up Marlin prices on the "news."
Darn it.
Noah
I'm interested in where Russington will move the Marlin production, just out of curiosity. Ilion? or Izhevsk?
My advice: You want a Marlin? Buy it before 2011. And maybe now, because some dealers will be propping up Marlin prices on the "news."
Darn it.
Noah
tripledipper
Member
Very pleased with my 39A, bought from another forum member (thanks, Ed), which was mfg. in 04 according to the Ser# and a very minor ejection problem was fixed for $10 by a local gunsmith. Am sure the prices will go up now on all the auction sites, even for the more current ones. This one is a keeper for sure.
2152hq-
"Excess unburned powder buildup on the range floor ignited occasionally and that was allowed to just burn itself up. Not look upon as anything to be concerned about.
The range exhaust fans took care of the smoke. A little water from a fire extinguisher splashed onto the floor by a range employee in there if it seemed like it may get out of hand. Never any alarms, fire dept, ect."
That reminds me of the little publicized tragedy at Glock in Smyrna, GA a few years back when at least one employee was killed in a flash fire just like you mention.
"Excess unburned powder buildup on the range floor ignited occasionally and that was allowed to just burn itself up. Not look upon as anything to be concerned about.
The range exhaust fans took care of the smoke. A little water from a fire extinguisher splashed onto the floor by a range employee in there if it seemed like it may get out of hand. Never any alarms, fire dept, ect."
That reminds me of the little publicized tragedy at Glock in Smyrna, GA a few years back when at least one employee was killed in a flash fire just like you mention.
If the operation was just relocating (to NC?) wouldn't the company offer their present (well trained) employees a chance to also relocate?
GatorFarmer
Member
If a company fails to evolve their products, and to sell what the market wants, then they will fail. Note that in the article the Marlin President admits that they were selling half as many rifles when they were sold to Remington than they did in the 1970s. Why? Because people buy different things today and obviously Marlin wasn't selling them those things. The Guide Rifles for example are a neat bit of kit, but don't come from the factory with certain mods that would make them more useful as Scout platforms and such, like 1913 rails. Marlin also treated the camp carbine line like ugly step children and never resurrected them, even after the AWB. Stick a rail or two on a 9mm camp carbine and drop it in a Choate folder (ala the "tactical" M1 cabines that Kahr now sells) and presto, you have an entry into the lucrative EBR market.
Make what people want to buy. It doesn't matter if you don't like it, or think it is stupid. You're in business to sell things and make money, not to make everyone conform to your tastes. Simple market economics.
Colt Defense, that cowboy gun company now under the old Colt Dome, and S&W all operate in New England and seem to do okay. The firearms market has actually been pretty good as of late, just not necessarily for the kind of guns that Marlin made (they really needed to do a .30-30 scout too come to think of it, and more pistol caliber carbines...)
Make what people want to buy. It doesn't matter if you don't like it, or think it is stupid. You're in business to sell things and make money, not to make everyone conform to your tastes. Simple market economics.
Colt Defense, that cowboy gun company now under the old Colt Dome, and S&W all operate in New England and seem to do okay. The firearms market has actually been pretty good as of late, just not necessarily for the kind of guns that Marlin made (they really needed to do a .30-30 scout too come to think of it, and more pistol caliber carbines...)
cowart
US Veteran
There are several for sale on gunbroker and some are NIB.
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Sorry to hear this. Conn. isn't a gun friendly state. Hope they move & keep turning out good guns, Bought my first Marlin in 1954, Model 39. Now only have 2, a model 60 .22 & a guide gun.45-70.
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