Ruger Set to Bring Back Marlin Lever-Action Rifles

(Top) Marlin MFC 1895 MXLR, (Btm.) Marlin MFC 1894 FG

Comments made by Ruger President and CEO Christopher J. Killoy during the company’s Feb. 18 quarterly earnings conference call provide detail on the much-anticipated relaunch of Marlin Firearms, and the challenges his company faces during the transition. Ruger purchased nearly all the famed manufacturer’s assets during last year’s Remington Outdoor bankruptcy proceedings.

Volume of equipment and its locations were the initial challenge. “[W]e had over 100 tractor-trailer loads from three of [its] former locations, from the Remington folks, that we moved, primarily into our Mayodan [NC] facility and an adjacent warehouse,” Killoy explained to an investor during the call. “We moved the woodworking equipment up to our facility in New Hampshire.”

“We inherited a lot of equipment that needs some additional maintenance and additional work,” he added. “We’re going through that with a lot of technicians and maintenance folks right now. We’re fortunate to have some great mechanical engineers going through, again on a part-by-part basis. We did hire a handful of folks from Remington, who are familiar with some of those products. And, that’s helped us.”

Ruger is in the process of evaluating designs and tailoring the manufacturing approach to meet its quality standards and deliver the performance Marlin enthusiasts expect. Killoy said centerfire lever-action rifles will be the first to come out of the factory, sometime later this year.