Marlin

This page updated 1st April 2024

YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE THAT MARLIN WAS TAKEN OVER RECENTLY BY STURM RUGER  WHO ARE HIGHLY REGARDED IN THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY. THIS RESULTED IN THE TRANSFER OF THE MACHINERY INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF MARLIN RIFLES AND HAS LED TO A DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE FUTURE OF  THESE ICONIC LEVER ACTION RIFLES. AS OF NOW THE FUTURE IS STILL UNCERTAIN BUT THE INDICATIONS ARE THAT WE ARE HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO SEE ANY MARLIN LEVER ACTION RIFLES ARRIVING HERE IN THE UK UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR AT THE EARLIEST. OUR VIEW IS THAT WE MAY BE LOOKING AT LATE 2024 BEFORE WE CAN OFFER ANY NEW RIFLES FOR SALE. HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE PROVED WRONG ON THIS (WE CERTAINLY HOPE SO!) AND WE WILL OF COURSE UPDATE THIS PAGE WHEN WE DO HAVE ANYTHING POSITIVE TO ADD.

A FEW DAYS AGO WE NOTICED A RECENT YOUTUBE VIDEO WHICH WOULD SUGGEST THAT RUGER HAVE ALREASDY COMMENCED PRODUCTION OF THE MODEL 1894 IN .44 MAGNUM CALIBRE ONLY AT THIS TIME. WE ARE ALSO AWARE THAT A SMALL SHIPMENT OF 16″ BARREL “TRAPPER” MARLINS IN .45-70 HAVE ARRIVED IN THE UK! SO POSSIBLY EVENTS ARE HAPPENING EARLIER THAN WE EXPECTED.  KEEP WATCHING THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES!

Whilst there are several other manufacturers of good quality lever action rifles whose products are available in the UK including Winchester, Rossi, Henry and Chiappa to name a few we have always had a special affinity for the Marlin. The main reasons for our preferred choice is largely based on the requirements of competition shooters and certain features of the Marlin brand are particularly relevant to the more action orientated disciplines. Firstly the receivers used for the 1894 models feature a solid top and  side loading and ejection. This also allows for the easy fitting of a scope or red dot sight which is more difficult to fit to most of the other brands of lever action rifles.

We are particularly pleased to offer all our new centrefire pistol calibre Marlins with our complete tuning package. This is done by stripping the rifle after checking for correct function, and polishing some internal parts.  The hammer is reshaped to help reduce the jerky movement found as the bolt rides over the hammer as the lever is raised to close the action.  Most importantly the trigger pull is lightened to an average of around 2.5 lbs or frequently lighter. This is achieved by stoning the sear on a specific jig to alter the engagement angle and cut a small relief angle before it is hardened. During reassembly the factory hammer spring is replaced by a custom spring made in England for us. The factory uses a three  piece firing pin assembly comprising a front firing pin, a rear firing pin, and a small leaf type firing pin spring. This system works well but here in the UK we tend to give our lever action Marlins a bit of a hard time, often cycling them rapidly for many shots. This leads to failure of the factory parts in particular the front firing pin which has a small slot cut in it to receive one end of the firing pin spring. This slot acts as a weak spot and breakage of the front firing pin is not uncommon. So we replace the three parts with a one piece stainless steel firing pin manufactured for us in the UK.

Other parts and accessories are available from us to fit both to the rifles we supply and for you to use with your own rifle if you already have one. This includes our reshaped sear, one piece stainless steel firing pin, modern style extractor, reduced power hammer spring, picatinny scope base, aperture sights etc.  Details and prices are shown below.

TUNING SERVICE FOR MARLIN PISTOL CALIBRE RIFLES

Our tuned Marlin rifles have proved very successful and we have been asked on many occasions if we are prepared to tune a Marlin which is already owned by a customer. The answer to this question is “yes” and you are welcome to call in with your rifle and leave it with us for tuning or alternatively you may send it to us for attention. We will carry out exactly the same tuning service that we offer on the new Marlins we sell here but reserve the right to refuse to carry out any work if we feel the rifle has already been modified and may be rendered unsafe if we carry out further work on it. The cost for our tuning service is  £180 but a surcharge MAY be applied if the rifle is in a particularly dirty internal condition and requires extra time spent cleaning it before the work may be carried out. The charge includes the supply and fitting of our modified sear, springs and one piece stainless steel firing pin. Return carriage of £30 will apply where necessary.

MARLIN LEVER ACTION RIFLES FOR SALE

With virtually no new Marlins currently available in the UK we will continue to take in as many used Marlins we can find at reasonable prices. The dearth of these fine rifles has inevitably seen prices for good, clean examples rising quite dramatically although some shooters are demanding what we feel may be excessive prices! This has meant we are needing to pay more than we would prefer for good quality Marlins but would respectfully point out that ALL our centrefire pistol cartridge Marlin lever action rifles are offered with our latest full tuning package applied which is aimed at providing maximum shooting pleasure including a smooth and easily operation of the cycling action plus a trigger pull weight usually between 1.5 – 3.0 lbs  The examples shown here are also on our page devoted to secondhand rifle

SY19808  Marlin Model 39 Century .22LR lever action rifle made in 1970 commemorating Marlins 100 years of manufacturing. Features a 20″ octagonal barrel with two golden colour medallions on the receiver and butt stock and a gold coloured trigger blade. The quality of the metalwork with its deep, lustrous bluing and woodwork with varnished finish remain quite stunning (95%+) and the end cap on the forend is polished brass. This really is a beautiful little rifle and bearing in mind it is now over 50 years old it is quite outstanding …..  £900

SY19804  Marlin Model 39A Century .22LR lever action rifle in very clean condition, functions well. This was a  limited edition with 31,197 rifles made in 1970 which was Marlin’s 100th anniversary. It features a 20″ octagonal barrel which, like the rest of the metalwork shows excellent blued finish with the woodwork also very good with a few light marks only. Fitted with an unusual Pecar 3 x 36 scope (age unknown) but of vintage appearance. The view through this scope is cloudy but usable under bright light conditions ….. £650

SY19809  Marlin Golden 39A .22LR #U7286 (I’m trying to establish the year of manufacture but a tentative guess would be 1961) This take down model has a 24″ round barrel and shoots well. The bluing on many areas of the receiver, barrel, mag tube and tang show considerable loss of the original blue and is now patchy grey in colour. However the woodwork remains in very clean and tidy condition ….. £295

SY19807  Marlin Model 1894CS in .38/.357 calibre with 18.5″ microgroove barrel and non-checkered woodwork. the barrel is proof marked 1991 and also shows the “JM” mark. The whole rifle is in very good condition with just one or two very minor marks on the woodwork and metalwork and it goes without saying that this example has been tuned ….. £950

SY19810  Marlin Model 1894CS in .38/.357 calibre. This rifle is proof marked 1995 and shows the sought after “JM” marking on the 18.5″ microgroove barrel. The checkered woodwork and metalwork are in excellent condition for the year and the  exhibits a  particularly smooth and pleasant cycling action …… £1,000

SY19802  Marlin .357 mag with 20″ octagonal barrel. Stunning, exceptional, amazing or incredible are just a few of the words which may be used to describe this magnificent (ah …. there’s another word) example of a highly sought after Marlin Cowboy rifle (perhaps we should be estate agents!)  Seriously this is one beautiful rifle which although was manufactured in 2009 looks as if it has just come from the factory. The only marks we have found are two tiny pin pricks at the rear of the stock. It has been fully tuned by us of course. It is fitted with a Simmons Classic Whitetail 1.5 – 5 x 20 scope which was always our favourite scope for Marlin lever action rifles  …. £1,500

SY19382  Marlin .44 mag with 20″ round barrel, blued. Rather like buses, you wait for ages for one and then three turn up at the same time! This example is similar to the one above but there is one scratch on the buttstock which is not very obvious but you can see it if you look hard. Fitted with Weaver 63B base for optics and tuned of course and looking for a good home …. £1,000

SY19803  Marlin Model 1894 Cowboy in .44 calibre with 24″ octagonal barrel in truly outstanding condition despite a manufacture date of 2002 this rifle has been extremely well cared for by its previous owner(s)  It retains almost all its bluing and the woodwork is outstanding too. A truly beautiful rifle which has benefitted from our full tuning work with a wonderfully smooth action ….. £1,250  SOLD

SY19778   Marlin Model 1894 Cowboy in .45 Colt calibre with 24″ octagonal barrel. This example dates back to 2001 but is in beautiful condition which belies its age! Woodwork and metalworks showing around 95% original finish and the bore is excellent too! We get the impression this rifle is what our US friends would call a “safe queen” meaning it has been locked away and seem very little use. We don’t see many Cowboy rifles with the longer 24″ barrels either! It goes without question that the mechanism has received Roger’s full treatment and is fully tuned with a 2.5 lbs trigger pull …£1,000

Errors & omissions excepted