Marlin or Henry

[ratdz]

I've posted this in the Henry forum as well.


I'll cut to the chase.....
I love 45-70's, I own a NEF one.


I know that Henry will be  making a 45-70 next year.
I also like the Marlin 1895.


Does anyone have any thoughts on which one I should buy?

The only thing I don't care for on the Henry is the way they load, but love the 100% american made aspect.


Any help?

[VeryOldDog]

Since Marlin was acquired by the same company that acquired Remington and DPMS, quality has deteriorated. They have closed the New Haven plant and there is, in effect, no knowledgeable customer service.
If you purchase a Marlin, see if you can get a good used one manufactured before the acquisition. If you elect to wait and purchase a Henry, at least, you are dealing with a company that has very good customer service.
Regards

[Duke0313]

Older Marlin, if you can find it! Hard to say on the Henry 'til you can get your hands on one. I love Henry's smooth action and the whole "made in America" thing, but, like you, I don't like the loading.

[ratdz]

I keep reading people posting about the quality issue.


However I haven't read any specific concerns.


Care to enlighten me?
I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I drop a good bit of cash on a new rifle.

[ironglow]

Ratzd says;
  " The only thing I don't care for on the Henry is the way they load, but love the 100% american made aspect"
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     I would have to say, I think that Henry method of loading is a definite plus.  The one thing Ilike least about my Marlin 336 is the  loading method.  With the stiff loading gate and the weird angle of entry, I am always concerned with loosening the bullet and/or scratching the brass in a major way.
  Since much of the time when I hit the woods I don't even fire a shot, much of my forays are a load... then unload process...jacking shells out of the gun.  Thus, when deer hunting, I rarely load more than 1 in the chamber and 1 or 2 waiting in the tube. 
         It appears this would not be a problem with the Henry .
 .


 

[ratdz]

Thank you for that insight.
Actually I hadn't thought about it that way.
Since I don't own a lever gun, I hadn't thought, or remembered how the marlins loads.
It would be much easier to unload the Henry, as all you would have to do is pull the rod out and dump any
unused rounds out.


Perhaps that isn't that big of a deal.....

[MZ5]

The only Henry I've actually owned (still own) is a 22 rimfire.  It's an excellent gun in every way, and the company's service matches it.
 
I own 2 Marlins: A 22 WMR and a 30-30.  The 22 is a bolt gun and it shoots extremely well, though I can't call it pretty in any way (bought it when I was broke, so it's the plain-Jane model).  The 30-30 is also an entry-level model.  It has good, smooth action at this point, but I'm not terribly pleased with accuracy.  Perhaps I'm too accustomed to other guns which are highly accurate?  In any event, I'm conflicted about the 30-30.
 
Overall, I look to Henry first if/when looking for a new rifle.

[ironglow]

MZ5;
      I had a Marlin .44 mag lever rifle back in the 70s.  It wouldn't group any better than 2" at 50 yards, so I swapped it off.  Knowing what I do now, if I had to do again, I would definitely re-crown the barrel.  I'm pretty sure that would have cured the problem.
   If you don't have a gunsmith near you, you can do the recrown by yourself..not difficult.  Youtube.com  has tutorials on the job, one by Larry Potterfield..boss at Midway.
 
  BTW: I do appreciate the .44 mag in the wooded, hilly country where I normally hunt..I have shot 3 deer with an H&R .44 mag, which I have given to my grandson.

[pastorp]

I have never owned a henry, but people I trust have. And love them.  The downside for me on the henry is the way their stocked they don't fit me. Maybe I'm used to crawling a stock or something, but I need about a 6" longer neck to shoot the ones I've handled.

All my Marlins are older, but the QC issues seem to be better with marlin. I still would want to handle the one I was going to buy though. 

Regards,

[MZ5]

Thanks for that, Ironglow.  I've been around one of my brother's home-brew re-crownings.  While it isn't very pretty to watch, the results are great!

[Ranger J]

I've never had a Henry but have several Marlins including an 1895 in 45/70.  It will put 300 Rem HPs one on top of the other at 50 yards.  Will the Henry have a shiny brass sideplates as some of their rifles seem to?  Would this be a problem if the gun is to be used hunting?

RJ

[ratdz]

I believe that you will be able to get a Henry 45-70 in all blue, with walnut stock. At least thats what they alluded to in an email.
I'm not interested in a gun with a bright shiny brass side plate.
 

[silverbuzzard]

I love marlin but don't buy one with seriel number that has an R in it.
Bought one 2 months ago from a saleman at a local store, it was his gun he had just bought and now I know why he sold it.
It was  a 1894 in 44 mag, R in the seriel number[ Remington}. Most beautiful walnut I have ever seen on a production gun
Marlin/Remington never polished the cut marks in the chamber. It would fire ok  [ was not on paper @ 20 yards] but to get the fired shell out it took both hands on the lever and about 5 seconds of pulling.
How that gun ever left a factory is shameful.! Anyway he took it back and have learned that new Marlins are junk
Just found a 2006  Cowboy for a good price so am happy. My buddy is buying a Henry this week, awesome gun ! So if new production stick with Henry and you will be pleased