Return of Marlin’s 1894

When Remington purchased Marlin Firearms and moved the company from New Haven, Connecticut to Ilion, New York, many gun owners worried that Marlin would be swallowed up and lost. Many also worried that quality would suffer. The former did not happen, the latter did.

it was not because Remington intended to diminish the quality of guns with Marlin roll marked on the side, it was because building Marlin lever action rifles was not as easy as they thought. The machinery at Marlin was old and worn and each and every gun required a bit of handwork to get it out the door. When all that was attempted at Ilion, it just did not work and the rifle that probably suffered the most was the 1894.

For that reason, pre Ilion 1894 rifles have been bringing a premium; I’ve seen them go for as much as $ 1500! And no, I’m not talking about old 1894s. Efforts were rededicated and just the other day when I went by my local gun shop to pick up some test rifles, a brand new 1894 was among the group.

I’d like to tell you that I have been pulling the trigger on that rifle endlessly but the very next day – today – I had to load up and drive to Norfolk to participate in a round table with a variety of manufacturers.

What I will tell you is that after handling that rifle I can say without hesitation it might be the best Marlin I’ve seen in a long time. Fit and finish is fine and the action is smooth as silk on a swim suit model’s back side.

It looks like the 1894 is back and in the next few weeks before I head off to Africa I will be pulling that trigger. Stay tuned.