Ruger makes it official on the Marlin 336 Reboot
First introduced when Henry Truman was president, the 336 was a staple of Marlin’s catalog, most commonly chambered in .30-30 Winchester or .35 Remington. Sold through a variety of store brands in the 1970s such as the Glenfield Model 30, the simple lever gun was a go-to for sportsmen across generations.
The 336 is a classic as it is…
However, when the Marlin collapsed under the house of cards that was the old Remington Outdoors back in 2020, the 336 fell out of production for the first time in 72 years.
Then came Ruger, who purchased the brand and its assets as part of Remington’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy sale. After moving production from Remington’s shuttered plant in Huntsville, Alabama to a new line set up by Ruger in Mayodan, North Carolina, the Marlin Model 1895 in .45-70 returned to the market in December 2021.
Now, Ruger President and CEO Chris Killoy has kept his past promises to keep rolling out those Marlin favorites to the riflemaker’s huge fanbase.
“The legendary Model 336 helped to build Marlin Firearms into the iconic American brand that it is today,” said Killoy this week. “We have worked for many months on every detail to ensure that Ruger’s reintroduction of this iconic rifle lives up to its stellar reputation.”
I first ran across the new “Mar-ger” 336 in .30-30 at SHOT Show earlier this year some two months before it was “officially” released.
Chambered in .30-30 Win., the Model 336 Classic sports American black walnut furniture with checkering on both the stock and forend. The stock’s black pistol grip cap is inset with a Marlin Horse and Rider medallion and the forend is attached using a barrel band.
I had hoped the new 336 would be more affordable than the $1,479 Model 1895– after all, the “JM” marked 336 of old could be had in big box stores for $299 (with a Simmons scope included!) as recently as the 1990s.
Well, spoiler alert, it is $1,239.
Oof.
