I just picked up a new Marlin 1894 in .45 colt. Absolutely shocked at how their quality has improved since the Freedom Group takeover.
When I worked at an FFL in the 2010’s, it seemed every Marlin we got in had fitment issues worse than Rossi. Tangs that sat noticeably above the stock, hand guards with wood 1/8” thicker on one side than the other, large gaps between wood and steel, sharp edges on all machined surfaces (to the point it was uncomfortable/ painful to operate the action without gloves), actions that felt rough clunky and sticky, and blue that was so thin a sharpie could leave a darker color. We even had some of their high end stainless models with the long Picatinny rails with a noticeable twist in them because the mounting holes were drilled off center, and the rails were just forced on. It turned me off to the brand so much I refused to even consider anything they produced unless they were as old as I was.
I have been really into the .45 colt cartridge recently, and found a good deal on a new 1894. Decided to take a chance with it. Boy was I surprised at the build quality. It looks like an honest effort was put into the manufacturing of this rifle. Buttery smooth action, crisp trigger with no creep, dark walnut (though unfinished/ satin with no lacquer), few gaps if any between wood and steel, flush tang, symmetrical hand guard, decent blue, and shockingly accurate. Even the bolt to frame fitment is so close tolerance the bolt almost disappears into the receiver in battery. A far cry from the many others I’ve sold at the FFL where they were so loose you could almost drop a dime in between the bolt and frame. It honestly feels like an $800 rifle again. Good job Marlin....it looks like you finally got your crap together. I’m excited to see what improvements will be made under Ruger ownership compared to Freedom.
Excellent wood fitment. Flush tang, and no overlaps between the butt pad and stock.
Finally......symmetry in the hand guard. Even beveling, and the same thickness of wood on either side of the receiver and barrel.
The bolt looks as if it was actually fitted to this receiver, instead of picked from a bin and tossed in. The upper gap is so close tolerance it disappears when closed. Decent blue for a modern blued gun too. Nice and dark, with little grain showing through. Considerably better than the previous ones I’ve gone through that look like they were machined with dull tooling, and then blued so thin you could still see the white of the steel though the black.
Not just random pallet wood either. It’s honest black walnut with actual burl curled throughout. By no means a high grade piece of wood, but surprisingly good color and curling.
This surprised me the most. Shockingly accurate. My last Freedom Arms gun had terrible chatter in the rifling from dull tooling, and it’s accuracy was so poor the factory sights didn’t even have enough adjustment to regulate to the center of its large groupings. This was a ragged hole made with hand loaded 250 gr plated lead flat points at 25 yards. The rear sight needs to be drifted a bit, it’s noticeably off center, and required me to hold a full bead to the right, elevation was spot on for these warm colts, shot slightly high with traditional velocity colts of the same bullet. The sights being slightly off from the factory don’t bother me too much, since I’m replacing the rear leaf with a Skinner aperture. The groups are phenomenal though....especially since this ragged hole was shot free hand standing. And shot with ammo I pressed out with economy as a primary concern for banging steel with a revolver....accuracy was of no concern when making these.
I guess my faith in modern Marlin is a bit more restored. Pleasantly surprised.