Re: New 1895M finally arrived
Well, my new 1895M (2008) arrived yesterday and will be sent back to Marlin early next week for replacement stock(s). About 30 seconds after opening the box I found the first serious defect which was the inletting receiver & tang (upper and lower) to the stock on the left side. The right side is just fine from the receiver all the way back to the end of both upper & lower tangs. The right side has proud wood to the tune of what looks to me to be almost 1/8th inch. The gap at the beginning of both upper and lower tangs is nearly the same 1/8th inch, but tapers to touching the back end of the tang (most of the back 1/2 of the tang). I can take one hand and squeeze the front stock "wing" on that side and move it noticeably.
Next was the grossly mismatched forend. I simply gawked at it for a few minutes not even believing what I was seeing. The forend fit fine but the closer I looked the more this piece looked like a birch forend. I own 5 other Marlins, two produced in 2007. I'm not expecting exhibition grade walnut, but the buttstock was nicely grained and forend was, well
nothing 
. Looking closely I could clearly see the stain used and also white wood underneath, without one little hint of grain. The color was perhaps 5 shades off from the butt, and clearly only had stain to enhance it. I honestly believe it's a birch forend from a 336W. I've refinished lots of rifles and own over 50 walnut stocked rifles now & have never seen any piece of walnut look like this.
Metal finish was decent. Bullseye and stud seem aligned correctly (so what with inletting like that!). I worked the lever and it functioned at least as smoothly as my 2007 1895, but of course nowhere like my 1980 .444
. The trigger pull is as good as any of my Marlins, perhaps the best of them all. I brought the gun home and checked function with both 350 and 325gr loads and all worked fine, smoothly. I thought it over last night and decided I would not fire it before sending it back and also decided I would opt for stock(s) being replaced, rather than a refund as the rest of the rifle, other then the stocks, is not bad. I actually think the buttstock would more than likely split within a few shots the way it's now installed & inletted.
I called Marlin today and will ship it with a letter of explanation and request for replacement. They recommended I ship immediately, rather than waiting for a shipping label. I had to explain to the lady on the phone that she needed to give me the address (even she could not find it on the site). She first tried to have me take it to the nearest repair facility which is well over 150 miles away. I explained that I was not interested in burning $100. gas to bring it and pick it up. She then told me it needed to be returned & repaired. :-[
