Marlin-Ruger=Ruglins!

[Crow Choker]

What's the City's view on Ruger buying Marlin gun manufacturing from Remington in the Remington sale of alot, maybe most, maybe all of their stock to various outfits. Alot of chatter on Ruger.net and Marlin forums. Thought there'd be some here buy now. Mostly if not all remarks positive on other forums. Now we'll have JM Marilins, Remlins, and Ruglins. IMO I think it be positive for thee ol lever guns. Early Remington Marlins were pretty shody and undesirable. Saw some of em at gun shows. I've seen the latest ones and as according to reports, they are back to better quality, not like the old JM's, but not bad at all. Most post that they think Ruger will offer a quality product when they start producing them.

[Major 2]

I saw that, I'm glad Marlin is free of Cerberus Capital Management I:E Freedom Group.


I  see it as positive move for Ruger & Marlin

[Abilene]

It can only be good for Marlin.  Doesn't mean I'll start liking them. 

[Marshal Halloway]

This is a commentary from Jim Shepherd this morning:

In the long-term, there's also reason to be optimistic about the future for Marlin Firearms.

But, as Ruger CEO Chris Killoy reminded me, "this isn't like an acquisition where we're assuming a working operation."

"We've got a lot of work still ahead of us," Killoy told me, "but we're delighted to add Marlin. And we're not going to absorb Marlin into Ruger's lines. It's a great brand and products, but it will take some time to get the results and quality it deserves."

It's not like Marlin hasn't been on Ruger's radar for some time. Ruger considered acquiring Marlin in 2007, but that didn't work out.


This time, however, there's no option to combine facilities. This is a bankruptcy auction, and Ruger's acquiring assets, not facilities. That means the future's not quite so bright for Marlin's factory workers, but engineers and other technical staff could bring a world of expertise and experience with the intricacies of building lever-guns.

Lever actions, Killoy reminded me, aren't uncomplicated pieces of equipment. Neither are some of the pieces of equipment acquired in the purchase.

And relocation of those pieces to Ruger facilities, wherever they're located, will mean they'll need to be reassembled, wrung out and brought back into tolerance before they can consider making products.

Right now, Killoy says, "we couldn't build a Marlin if we had too. But give us some time, and the results will be quality."

This week has focused almost exclusively on how a legendary brand got into dire straits. Going forward, it seems the story will focus on how the various parts and pieces reemerge.

As always, we'll keep you posted.

— Jim Shepherd

[Blackpowder Burn]

Marlin --> Marlington -->  Marger

Have to keep the Marlin name primary!

I am glad to see Ruger got the business.  They'll make a good product.