Tag Archives: new Ruger Marlin

Ruger makes it official on the Marlin 336 Reboot

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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.

Everything old: Lever Guns are the new Modern

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One interesting thing I noticed walking around SHOT Show last month was that there just seemed to be lever-action rifles everywhere. Besides the expected cowboy offerings from the usual suspects like Browning, Chiappa, Cimmaron, Henry, Rossi, Taylor’s, and Winchester, there were new really new (and returning) names in the game.

The new Tombstone by POF-USA is the black rifle company’s take on a modern lever-action chambered in a pistol caliber. “Initially offered in 9mm,” the carbine uses the company’s proprietary magazine already introduced last year with the Phoenix PCC. While this is sure to solicit quick groans from folks who already have lots of Glock, Beretta, Colt, or SIG pattern 9mm mags around the house, the company markets the new line of 9mm bananas in 10 and 20-round formats with a 35-rounder promised for a cost of about $30.

The cost of these, for some reason, is almost $2K.

Even Bond Arms (the derringer guys) has a black rifle lever gun they were showing off. While it may look kinda funny, it is extremely modular, using standard AR-15 uppers and mags, as well as Remington 870 pattern shotgun stocks.

Word is that a lot of folks out in Arizona had some input on it.

TriStar, the Turkish shotgun guys, are now in the lever action game, albeit in a more traditional flavor.

Lots of folks like Tri-Star’s shotguns, so the lever guns will probably be a hit. 

While Ruger’s new Marlin line has concentrated on bringing back the classic Model 1895 Big Loops in .45-70 last year, this year will see the vaunted old Model 336 make a comeback. The fast-handling icon of whitetail deer hunters everywhere, this lever-action rifle is chambered in .30-30 Win. and .35 Remington and will be available sometime later in 2023.

Sorry, no prices on it yet, but as old JM-marked guns have tripled in value just over the past few years, it couldn’t be too far off the mark.

Probably more deer were shot at in the southeast by one of these than any other rifle over the years.