Marlin Firearms

Marlin Firearms Co. is an American manufacturer of semi-automatic, lever-action, and bolt-action rifles. In the past, the company, now based in Madison, North Carolina, and formerly based in North Haven, Connecticut, made shotguns, derringers, and revolvers. Marlin owned the firearm manufacturer H&R Firearms. In 2007, Remington Arms, part of the Remington Outdoor Company, acquired Marlin Firearms.[1][2] Remington produced Marlin-brand firearms at its Kentucky and New York manufacturing facilities. In 2020, Sturm, Ruger & Co. bought the Marlin business from bankrupt Remington Outdoor Company.[3][4]

Marlin Firearms Company
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryArms industry
Founded1870 (1870)
FounderJohn Mahlon Marlin
HeadquartersMadison, North Carolina, United States
ProductsFirearms, weapons
ParentSturm, Ruger & Co.
Websitemarlinfirearms.com

History
Marlin gun mounted on De Havilland airplane, 1921

Marlin Firearms was founded in the 1870s by John Marlin. Marlin produced a large assortment of firearms such as lever-action rifles, pump-action shotguns and single-shot rifles. Marlin was considered the main competitor to Winchester.

In World War I Marlin became one of the largest machine gun producers in the world for the US and its Allies, building the M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun and a later variant called the "Marlin gun" optimized for aircraft use. In 1917 Marlin Rockwell bought out the Hopkins & Allen Arms Company to promote an expanded line of firearms and restore the image of the Marlin company as makers of "sporting arms".[5]

Marlin Firearms labored for a century as an underdog levergun maker to Winchester (formerly of New Haven). However, in the 1980s and 1990s, Marlin finally began to outpace its old rival. It is currently the dominant seller of lever-action rifles in North America. Its use of side ejection allows for flat-topped firearms, thereby making the mounting of scopes easier than for traditional Winchesters. This helped Marlin capture more market share as American shooters came to rely more and more on optics. Marlins are larger, stronger and heavier than most of the comparable Winchester line, allowing Marlin to use higher powered cartridges such as the .45-70. Marlin's model 1894 lever-action rifles and carbines are available in handgun calibers, including .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum, making them suitable companion long guns for revolvers in those calibers.

Acquisitions

In November 2000, Marlin purchased the assets of H&R 1871, Inc., a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of shotguns and rifles (New England Firearms branded), founded in 1871, and now located in Gardner, Massachusetts. Marketing its products under the brand names of Harrington & Richardson and New England Firearms, H&R 1871 claimed to be the largest manufacturer of Single-shot shotguns and rifles in the world.

In December 2007 Remington Arms Company purchased Marlin.[6] Remington announced in April 2008 that it would close the Gardner manufacturing plant by the end of 2008 affecting 200 workers.[7] In March 2010, Marlin announced that it would close its North Haven plant, and move the work to Remington plants in Ilion, New York, and Mayfield, Kentucky.[8][9]

In September 2020, Sturm, Ruger & Co. bought the Company from bankrupt Remington Outdoor Company.[3][4]

Products
Marlin Model 60 .22LR rifle manufactured in 1982
Marlin Model 1894C – .357 Magnum carbine
Marlin Model 25N .22 LR rifle with aftermarket sling and scope
Marlin Model XT-17 VSLB .17 HMR with rifle scope
Marlin Model 336W lever action in .30-30 Winchester

Major models of Marlin rifles include:

  • Marlin No. 20, a .22 caliber pump-action rifle with a tubular magazine
  • Marlin Model 20, a .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle bolt-action rifle
  • Marlin Model 27 and 27s, Pump-action rifles chambered in several smokeless powder cartridges. Early models had octagon barrels.
  • Marlin Model 1881, lever action repeater, the first commercially successful lever action that could handle big bore cartridges such as .38-55 and .45-70.
  • Marlin Model 1893, lever action repeater, the precursor of the Model 36 and 336, identifiable by the square flush bolt.
  • Marlin Model 1894, lever action carbines in revolver calibers — .357 Magnum (1894C), .41 Magnum (1894FG & 1894S), .44 Magnum (1894SS or plain 1894), and .45 Colt (1894 Cowboy) Based on the original 1894.
  • Marlin Model 1895 Several versions like 1895, G, GBL, GS, M, SBL, CB. All are chambered for the .45/70 caliber except for the "M" (.450) Introduced in the 1970s, based on the Model 336 and named after the original 1895.
  • Marlin Model 1895 Square bolt. The original rifle introduced in 1895, based on the 1893 action but scaled up for larger cartridges such as 45-70 and 45-90 to replace the Model 1881.
  • Marlin Model 444, produced from 1964 to present date. Variations include (from oldest to newest) 444T, 444S, 444SS, 444P (Outfitter) and 444XLR
  • Marlin Model 1897, lever action repeater, the precursor of the Model 39 and 39A
  • Marlin Model 25M, .22 WMR bolt-action rifle
  • Marlin Model 25MG, .22 WMR, smooth bore, bolt-action shotgun. It was designed and marketed as a "Garden Gun"
  • Marlin Model 25N, now the Model 925, a .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle bolt-action rifle
  • Marlin Model XT-22 available in long rifle and .22 WMR, There are 15 variations of this rifle available
  • Marlin Model XT-17 chambered for .17 HMR, There are several variations of this rifle available
  • Marlin Model Golden 39A, lever action repeater, the longest continuously produced rifle in the world
  • Marlin Levermatic, an innovative short-throw lever-action rifle in a variety of small cartridges
  • Marlin Model 60, a popular .22 LR caliber semi-automatic rifle
  • Marlin Model 336, one of the most popular lever-action hunting rifles in the world
  • Marlin Camp Carbine, a discontinued model
  • Marlin Model 70P "Papoose", a lightweight, magazine-fed, .22 LR carbine with a detachable barrel; it is designed to be taken down for easy transport while camping, backpacking, etc.
  • Marlin Model 795, a .22 LR semi-automatic rifle.
  • Marlin Model 700, a .22 LR semi-automatic rifle, similar to the Model 795, but has a heavy tapered target barrel
  • Marlin 780, a bolt-action hunting rifle
  • Marlin Model 80 (and subsequent 80C etc.) Bolt action .22 rimfire using 7-capacity detachable magazine introduced circa 1939, the predecessor to later versions such as Model 25, etc.
  • Marlin Model 7000, a .22 LR semi-automatic rifle, similar to the Model 795, but has a heavy non-tapered target barrel
  • Marlin Model 2000, a .22 LR bolt-action rifle, designed for competition target shooting (biathlon version available)
  • Marlin Model MR7, a long action center fire bolt-action rifle available in .30-06, .270,and .25-06 manufactured from 1996-1999 A few were offered in .280 Remington in 1999
  • Marlin Model XL7, a long action center fire bolt-action rifle available in .30-06, .270, and .25-06
  • Marlin Model XS7, a short action center fire bolt-action rifle available in .308, .243 Win, and 7mm-08
  • Marlin Model 1881, one of the earliest large caliber lever-action repeating rifles

Significant variations of many of these rifles have usually also been manufactured. For example, there are six distinctly different variations manufactured for the Marlin Model 60. Marlin has been making lever-action rifles since 1881, and in 2008, they produced their 30 millionth lever-action rifle, which was donated to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.[10]

Double-barrel shotguns:

The Marlin Model 90 Over and Under

Exposed hammer, pump-action shotguns:

  • Marlin 1898
  • Marlin Model(s) 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 30, 42, and 49

Hammerless pump-action shotguns:

  • Marlin Model(s) 28, 31, 43, 44, 53, 63, 120

Submachine guns:

Revolvers:

  • Little Joker
  • O.K. Revolver
  • XXX Standard 1872
  • XX Standard 1873
  • Standard 1875
  • Tip Up 1878
  • Top Break 1887

Derringers include:

  • 1st Model
  • O.K. Derringer Square Butt "Rare"
  • O.k. Derringer Birds Head
  • Victor Derringer
  • Nevermiss Derringer
  • Stonewall Derringer "Extremely Rare"

MicroGroove Rifling
Micro-Groove rifling

In 1953 Marlin Firearms was issued U.S. Patent 3,100,358 for what was named MicroGroove Rifling, which was a departure from the standard "Ballard," or cut rifling. One purpose of Microgroove rifling was to increase the speed of producing rifle barrels. Microgroove rifling is described in the patent as having 5 grooves for every 1/10 of an inch bore diameter, and that the driving side of each land would be "tangentially disposed" to prevent accumulating fouling in use.

Marlin introduced Microgroove rifling in their .22 Rimfire barrels in July 1953, with 16 grooves that were .014" wide, and nominally .0015" deep. Ballard rifled barrels have grooves generally in the range of .069–.090" wide, and .0015–.003" deep. This change was marketed in the 1954 Marlin catalog, as having numerous advantages that this new form of rifling had, including better accuracy, ease of cleaning, elimination of gas leakage, higher velocities and lower chamber pressures. The catalog also claimed that Microgroove rifling did not distort the bullet jacket as deeply as Ballard rifling hence improving accuracy with jacketed bullets at standard velocity.

Designed for factory loaded ammunition, Microgroove barrels have a reputation for accuracy problems with centerfire ammunition handloaded with cast lead bullets due to the increased bore diameter generated by the shallow grooves. The use of oversized cast bullets greatly solves this problem, restoring accuracy with cast bullet handloads to levels seen from Ballard rifled barrels.[12] Early Marlin .30-30 microgroove barrels had a twist rate of 1 turn in 10 inches optimized for factory ammunition with jacketed bullets; later Marlin .30-30 microgroove barrels show a twist rate of 1 turn in 10.5 inches which improves accuracy with cartridges loaded to lower velocity than standard.

References
  1. "Remington to Acquire Marlin Firearms". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008.
  2. S. P. Fjestad (March 1992). Blue Book of Gun Values, 13th Ed. Blue Book Publications, Incorporated. ISBN 0-9625943-4-2.
  3. "Remington Auctioned Off to Seven Bidders in Bankruptcy Court". September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  4. Max Zimmerman; Jef Feeley (September 28, 2020). "Remington Auctioned Off to Seven Bidders in Bankruptcy Court". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020.
  5. Walter, John (2006), The Guns That Won the West: Firearms on the American Frontier, 1848-1898, Greenhill Books, pp. 206–207, ISBN 978-1-85367-692-5
  6. "Gunmaker Remington to buy Marlin Firearms". USAToday. New Haven, Connecticut. Associated Press. December 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012.
  7. "Manufacturer Remington Closing Gardner Plant". WBZTV. Gardner. April 7, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008.
  8. "Marlin to close North Haven plant; 265 jobs going". Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  9. "Marlin Firearms Closes In North Haven, Ending 141 Years Of Manufacturing In Connecticut".
  10. "Marlin Donates 30,000,000th Lever Action Rifle to NRA–ILA". Archived from the original on July 8, 2008.
  11. "The L.C. Smith Collectors Association". Archived from the original on March 10, 2021.
  12. Glen E. Fryxell, "Marlin's Microgroove Barrels", Leverguns.com, source cited: William S. Brophy, "Marlin Firearms: A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them", Stackpole Books, 1989.
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