I have Marlins ranging from 1968 - 2006. The old ones are the best. 5 years ago I began shooting NRA Cowboy Lever Action Silhouettes. My 1968 .22 is great. I had to find a pistol caliber and tried a 32 H&R, the accuracy was non-existent, slugged the barrel and got a .314 reading. The bullets are .312 so back to Marlin. The barrell was replaced and the new barrel slugs .310. Better; but, a 5 in. group at 100 yards is unacceptable for everything.
Picked up a used .25-20, about the same story, no accuracy @ 100. My 336 is great. Now one might think I had the result of a couple of bad luck of the draws; however, Marlins are prevalent in NRA slihouettes and I stand around and discuss Marlin quality with shooters at every shoot, it's common with new Marlins, quality control is poor. For those thinking quality is great, let me know, there are a lot of slightly used Marlins for sale out of my collection and/or the guys I shoot with. The hope is that with the buy out, in two years quality will return.