Expect a longer wait for new Ruger-built Marlin rifles

It looks like deer hunters might not see the trusty Marlin 336 return to Canadian gunstore racks this fall. Ruger's readying the Marlin line for production, but it doesn't appear ready to start cranking out lever-actions.

Back in late 2020, Remington needed a knight in shining armour to swoop in and rescue the Marlin brand. For the past several years, Marlin had been part of the Remington conglomerate, but when the company was broken up for its second bankruptcy sales in as many years, Marlin was one of the assets that left Remington control (along with Bushmaster, the Remington ammunition business, and much more). Ruger bought Marlin for $30 million, and started moving the production line to its factory in Mayodan, North Carolina.

The purchase was months ago, and we know Ruger started the process of moving out Marlin's machinery a few weeks later. Originally, it seemed like we might see production start in summer of 2021. However, Marlin's Facebook page shows staff are still unloading the machinery from the Remington plant, and setting it up:

Then, if you head over to Ruger's website, you can see a job posting for "Lever Action Assembly Technician." If Ruger is still hiring to staff its production line, chances are we won't see the new rifles for a while yet.

Hot gossip around the Interwebz says the first Ruger-built Marlin will be a stainless steel 336 lever action, which makes sense. Ruger doesn't need to build a new Model 60 or Model 39 right away, as it already sells .22 LR options. Ruger doesn't sell a lever-action, and demand is likely highest for the well-known .30-30 model, as the 336 is one of the best-selling sporting rifles of all time.

There's also some online conjecture about the nature of the new Marlin rifles: Will they have proper build quality? What about pricing?

No doubt the quality will be superior to the rifles built early under Remington management, but the price tag? Hard to say, as prices have risen for almost all US-built firearms in recent years. That's particularly true for lever-action rifles, which were once aimed at the budget-savvy market. Now, the Mossberg 464 is the only centrefire lever that meets that description, and MSRP is climbing for even that model.

With that in mind, and considering the delay it takes to get firearms from the US into Canada, it seems likely we may wait for next spring to see these rifles on Canadian shelves, and it seems unlikely the Rugers would come in at less than $800 CAD MSRP.