Tighter machine tolerances has been the goal since Remington bought H&R/Marlin, they already took steps in that direction when they installed equipment during the plant move to Ilion, for now tho, I think they're more geared to just catching up due to the move, there are still members here waiting for Handis that were sent to Gardner in June!! I have a Marlin/Remington contact that keeps me abreast of changes, I got the reply below the end of July, he just moved to Madison, I expect an update as soon as he gets settled.
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Tim
The assembly process has been totally re-engineered and I was real impressed at how it was established. I spent time with the Quality staff and they were beginning to review the quality standards and areas that could use improvement. I believe in the next year you will see some genuine improvements in cosmetic finish and parts interchangeability. The support staff, engineering etc. is significant in the Ilion facility and that should make a difference.
I will keep you posted as I see things progress.