Question about Marlin's JM stamp

Help Support Ruger Forum:

mohavesam

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
5,847
Location
Rugerville, AZ
On a Classifieds thread there was a recent question about the meaning/value of the "JM" stamp on old Marlin gun barrels. It is often misunderstood and has been bantered about on various gun forums from a proof mark to JJ Marlin's original stamp copy?"

The oval-enclosed JM stamp was applied to the final years of New Haven production Marlin rifle barrels, on the left side of the chanmber OD. I note that I have a few '50s and '70s production Marlins without the "JM" stamp, so information that it was used on all Marlin/Glenfied/Sears production rifles is inaccurate...

Remington bought the failing Marlin manufacturing operations in 2009-10, and tried to salvage most of the worn-out & antiquated machinery and systems from New Haven, re-locating it to Illion, NY and Mayfield KY plants. Teddy Nowlin - Freedom Group: "Machines were held together with what amounted to little more than Band-Aids, creating inefficient and costly production processes . . .We were dealing with equipment that was old—in some cases, more than 60 years old. Some of the equipment was in such bad shape that sheet-metal dams had been built around the machines to keep fluids from leaking out onto the floor....Compounding the difficulties, Remington discovered dimensioned drawings of Marlin's iconic rifles did not exist. The plans at North Haven had simply been passed down through the generations."

Re-assembly and holding tolerances proved un-workable using the Marlin equipment, and so quality on the first year Marlins suffered. Much has been written covering Remington's stoppage and re-evaluation, re-tooling and updated quality systemic changes to bring the post-2012 guns into 21st-century standards. IMO the current Marlins are better in metallurgy and better in many categories than the past few (last gasp) years of Marlin New Haven production.
Additionally the new guns made at Illion and Mayfield are being designed using CAD-CAM and virtual drawings, as the New Haven drawings and manufacturing operations and tooling sheets (MOTs) were almost unuseable prior to the move.

Anyway, The much-discussed "JM" stamp was impressed prior to blueing, so I doubt it is a proof-mark or a test-fire inspector's mark. I suspect it was either a supplier's mark for Marlin-bound barrels, or a stamp of initial inspection/acceptance prior to the oxide or blueing finish being applied. Don't know, wasn't there. In any case, I own three 336-series Marlins sans the "JM", so it is not a universal indicator of pre-Freedom Group/Remington manufacture.

Read more on current production - http://www.gunsandammo.com/reviews/marlin-1894-review/

I am a lowly accumulator of lever-actions, not a Marlin historian - New Haven Marlin employees are invited to opine with more....? :roll:
 
Joined
Jun 19, 2006
Messages
4,247
Location
Midwest Illinois
There were some real quality control issues when Remington first took over production. From what I have been seeing on the Marlin Owners Forum these seem to have been cleared up in the past year or so.

I have a JM marked stainless Guide Gun that is very well made and accurate. I don't know about all marlins, but I have had two 1895's in 45/70 and an 1894 in 44 mag, and they all had the JM marking just forward of the receiver on the left side. The Rems have a different mark on the right side.

Because of the issues Remington had I would still be skeptical of buying one sight unseen. I would want to handle it first just to be safe.
 

eveled

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
5,606
I've only seen one Remlin, model 39, and it was gorgeous. Gave 'me some hope for the new production. I hope they can pull it off.
 

mohavesam

Hawkeye
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
5,847
Location
Rugerville, AZ
eveled said:
I've only seen one Remlin, model 39, and it was gorgeous. Gave 'me some hope for the new production. I hope they can pull it off.

I think that if Remington cannot save the design and brand name, no one can.

Marlin BTW, suffered exactly the same failures that Winchester did in the early 60s - why do we continue to fail to see ourselves in others ?
 
Top