# Marlin Closing Down



## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

*Marlin Firearms Co. To Close North Haven Plant*

By ERIC GERSHON
The Hartford Courant
11:45 AM EST, March 26, 2010


Marlin Firearms Co., a Connecticut gun manufacturer founded in 1870, will close its North Haven plant and lay off 265 employees.

A statement from Remington Arms, the North Carolina firm that owns Marlin, said the plant will close in mid-2011. The statement did not say whether the work will move, or be absorbed into other plants owned by Remington.

Remington agreed to buy Marlin in late 2007 and acquired it in 2008. At the time, the North Haven plant had 345 employees and a Marlin plant in Gardner, Mass. Had 225 workers.

Remington, which began in upstate New York in 1816 and later was based in Bridgeport, is part of a group of gunmakers owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, called Freedom Group Inc. Executives told investors in early 2009 that the profit margin in its firearms division had dropped, even as sales surged after Obama's election  in part because of Marlin.

"This decrease was primarily due to an unfavorable product mix during the first quarter of '09 including product sales attributable to the Marlin acquisition," said Chief Financial Officer Steve Jackson, who also named other factors.

Marlin was founded by John M. Marlin, who worked in Hartford for Colt during the Civil War. In 1870, Marlin "hung out his sign on State Street in New Haven, manufacturing his own line of revolvers and derringers," according to Marlin's website. In 1924, Frank Kenna bought Marlin and the Kennas owned and operated it until the sale to Remington.

Marlin's brands have included Marlin, Harrington and Richardson, New England Firearms and L.C. Smith.

Legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in the 1880s, is said to have owned a Marlin lever-action .22 repeater rifle.


Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Well that just sucks. Marlin makes a great gun.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

I have a Marlin 30-30 that was made in 1950. That makes me sad that they're going to close down.


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## ajmorell (Apr 27, 2007)

Crap. Guess I better go buy a 336 while I can.


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## Rustyaxecamp (Mar 1, 2005)

rumors are flying that they will be relocated and slim down what they make. Never good.....

Buy them while you can!


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

Speaking of Marlin.. I have a 30/30 as I mentioned a few posts ago. I have a problem with the lever action be sticky. If I slam the shell in it doesn't have a problem, but if I do it slowly it sticky and sometimes jams the shell. Is there any way I can fix this? I always oil and maintain my guns during the off season as well as during the season.


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## Gil Martin (Jan 18, 2003)

I hate it when that happens. All the best....
Gil


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## KalamazooKid (Jun 20, 2005)

When the founding family is no longer involved and private equity firms are calling the shots, tradition means nothing. Sad but true.


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## UPhiker (Jul 13, 2008)

diztortion said:


> Speaking of Marlin.. I have a 30/30 as I mentioned a few posts ago. I have a problem with the lever action be sticky. If I slam the shell in it doesn't have a problem, but if I do it slowly it sticky and sometimes jams the shell. Is there any way I can fix this? I always oil and maintain my guns during the off season as well as during the season.


You aren't supposed to do it slowly. Lever actions are made to be cycled briskly. Just like when you chamber a round in a semiauto- you let the slide fly forward, you don't ride it slowly.


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## Ole Spike (Nov 22, 2004)

ajmorell said:


> Crap. Guess I better go buy a 336 while I can.


Me too. My brother has one and I have always liked it. To me its the classic whitetail gun.


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## Enigma (Jan 30, 2006)

Damn they make a great lever action.


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## Perferator (Oct 18, 2003)

UPhiker said:


> You aren't supposed to do it slowly. Lever actions are made to be cycled briskly. Just like when you chamber a round in a semiauto- you let the slide fly forward, you don't ride it slowly.


Exactly....ram that sucker home. Of course, I'm assuming all else is working fine. You could also pull the bolt, clean and lightly lube the bolt and sliding surfaces in the receiver. That's what I do for my guide gun when things start feeling "sticky".


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## 3fingervic (Jan 28, 2009)

My guess is Remmy will still offer the Marlin levers. I'm sorry to see all those people out of work.


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## BUSTA'YOTE (Aug 26, 2003)

Looks like the work will be heading South, or across the pond like everything else.




> By Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor
> 
> NORTH HAVEN &#8212; Longtime gun manufacturer Marlin Firearms Co. will shut its doors in June 2011, leaving 265 people without jobs.
> 
> ...


http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/25/metro/doc4babf68566c3c076509311.txt




> Marlin Firearms to close next year
> (AP) &#8211; 1 day ago
> 
> NORTH HAVEN, Conn. &#8212; Marlin Firearms Co., a 140-year-old company which made a gun that was a favorite of Annie Oakley, is closing its Connecticut plant, company officials said Friday.
> ...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGdPLmmpsEk0M-aK4NVxVXPK1WTAD9EMG9N80


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## BUSTA'YOTE (Aug 26, 2003)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


KNIGHT RIFLES HAS NEW OWNERSHIP. 
Athens, TN: On March 15, 2010, PI Inc acquired the Knight Rifles Brand, intellectual properties and real estate in Centerville, Iowa. 
For the immediate future, Knight Rifles will be relocated to Athens, TN where PI, Inc is headquartered. 

PI, Inc President Jeff Beene says, We hope to make this a seamless transition for all the loyal Knight Rifles customers. It will take us a few days to get all of the Knight Rifles goods moved to our facility, but we hope to be shipping orders next week. 

Several members of the PI, Inc management team have been loyal Knight Rifles owners in the past and that spurred the interest in purchasing the brand when Knight Rifles ceased gun production in July 2009. Beene stated, Im very impressed with my personal Knight rifles and want to breathe new life into this brand that started the muzzle loading world as we know it today. 

The immediate plans are to continue the excellent customer service for which Knight has always been known. Warranty for all rifles except the KP1 and Revolution will still be handled in the Knight Rifles warranty center in Centerville, Iowa. The KP1 and Revolution will be serviced from the Pradco Outdoor Brands Decatur, Alabama facility. 

President Jeff Beene does want muzzle loader hunters to know that the long term plan for Knight Rifles is to return to its roots and once again manufacture the best inline muzzle loaders on the market. 

For more information go to www.knightrifles.com or call 866-518-4181.


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## UPHuntr (Feb 24, 2009)

Makes me happier with the decision I made and bought the old Marlin 45-70 Cowboy gun two years ago. That thing is a deer killin machine.


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## Sib (Jan 8, 2003)

Nice guns, I've got a .32 special and a couple model 60. Rem will probably have them made under contract in Turkey.


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## Whats His Face (Mar 19, 2010)

I HATE to see any Gun Manufacturer go out of Business, especially one a good as Marlin is. I have the 30/30 lever and a 1974 H&R 22 convertible 22 6 gun (shoots 22 LR as well s 22 MAG.)
Now f we could keep the Rifle makers and get rid of the ACLU we would get somewhere!


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