[My Toy]

I've been reading all the posts about 1894CSS's that were received in less than good workmanship quality condition. I called Marlin about a month ago and they old me they actually had shipped some new 1894 CSS's in late December and early January. I guess when the one I ordered comes in it will certainly be a Marlington product. My question is has anybody received one of these rifles that is in the condition you would expect a quality product to be in? I find it hard to believe that everything that leaves that factory is in that poor condition.

 

[wisc]

Last week I held a 1894 44 mag. 91 serial number. REP on barrel. I looked over the gun very well. The wood (I thought) looked very good. Fit was very good. Bluing looked very good. I didn't see any reason by appearance I wouldn't buy it. The lever was tie strapped and I did not ask to cut it off because I was not interested in it so I did not get to cycle it. But at least looked good.

 

[StarlifterCC]

I picked up an 1984C a few weeks ago at Cabellas on NRA day. I had seen it there a week before and was suprised to see it was still there. I looked it over real well and worked the action, which is smooth. The wood is ok and the bluing is nice and the wood-to-metal fit is good. One screw on the receiver is slightly scratched and the loading gate is a little marked up from loading, presumably for the factory test shooting.

I didn't know about the REP mark at the time but I was suspicious due to the slight flaws and the fact that it was a recent arrival, having heard of some of the horror stories. It was on sale at 539 and the sales guy took the NRA day 10% discount off the sale price so I got it for 495 + tax (531 OTD). I figured at that price I could live with the cosmetic flaws. After I got it home I found out about the proof marks and sure enough, it is a Marlington. I haven't gotten to shoot it yet and I'm not ordering any accessories for it until I do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If it shoots well I figure I got a good deal. I'm not worried about resale value as I bought it to shoot, not collect or re-sell. I'll let you guys know how it shoots, hopefully in the next week or so.