We’ve all seen how brands like Bud Light fucked up their consumer franchise by stupid marketing.
Image what we’d be saying if, say a decade ago, Bud Light had simply stopped making and selling their beer. “Throwing away the market” would have been a common refrain.
So what does one say when confronted by this:
What bullshit is this? For decades, multiple decades, Marlin pretty much owned the rimfire rifle market — at one time, more Marlin Model 60s had been sold all over the world than any other gun model, period. The 795 was also popular — I’ve owned two, myself, and the only reason I don’t still own them is that they ended up being (much-treasured) birthday gifts for the young son and daughter of a good friend. (Now in their mid-twenties — hi, Robin and Jimmy! — they still own them and plink with them all the time.)
Hey, Marlin: fuck you. Fuck you for “stopping production” of your rimfire rifles. Fuck you for trashing your proud heritage, and fuck you for giving us less choice in the market.
And for all those people who will say, “Oh, people stopped buying them; what do you expect?” I say again, with equal vehemence, bullshit. If people stop buying a product, it’s either because it’s shit — flimsy, unreliable, too expensive etc. — or because… [wait for it] …the company stopped marketing the product.
We know that product quality was never a problem for Marlin’s rimfire rifles — any of them, despite the rifles being inexpensive — so it’s not that. But I don’t recall seeing an ad or promotion for the Model 60 in… actually, I don’t remember ever seeing an ad or promotion for the Model 60, and until recently I was a voracious reader of almost all the gun magazines. And when I bought my Model 60 back in the mid-1980s, it was very definitely either the #1 or #2-selling rimfire rifle on the market at the time.
And there’s nothing worse than reading “…is perfect for target practice and small game” and then, having created the setup, to read: “oh but too bad, we don’t make it anymore; sucks to be you.”
Marlin had a good name and a brilliant set of products, and they pissed it all away.
It’s just shameful. There’s no other word for it.
I’ve had a 60 for about 25 years, silver/black/4x scope, and I like shooting it, hate how long it takes to load it. Even with speedloaders. It’s super lightweight too, I think, a little over 4 lbs empty. The first gun I ever shot was the Remington version (model 795?) when I was 4 years old – same year my dad gave me a Daisy.
That’s because Marlin was bought out by Ruger in 2020. Ruger already has a very popular rimfire in the 10-22, and I’m sure that the decision was made to stick with the successful rifle that they were already making, rather than compete against their own product.
I think Dive Medic is right that Ruger won’t bring back the Marlin model 60 to compete with their 10/22. I have a couple of 10/22 rifles and they run well.
I was shocked that Marlin was sold to Remington. I just hope Ruger brings back the entire Marlin line up. There were some fine rifles in their catalog.
JQ
I believe that Ruger is bring out the large frame Marlin lever rifles.
I don’t buy that the Model 60 will be discontinued in favor of the 10/22. Why limit yourself when all profit will be going to Ruger? I do believe that, since they already have the 10/22, they’re in no rush to get the 60 back in (relocated and improved) production like with the lever action centerfires.
Ruger has said that they intend to put the 60 back in production. I suspect there is a lot of wreckage to clear away from Remington and they are gradually doing that. The lever guns are back in limited production. Marlin’s reputation for QC suffered during the Remington years and it is reasonable to Ruger to sort that out before putting it back in production. At least the Model 60 production is in Huntsville instead of CN.
It’s “not currently in production,” rather than “discontinued.”
Like other commenters here, I suspect that’s most likely due to the absolute Charlie Foxtrot that Remington’s former owners made of all their gun companies, combined with Ruger’s cleaning up of the aforementioned mess and getting things back into production properly.
Do remember that Cerberus/Remlin managed to screw up the production lines of even such venerable and well established models such as the 700 and 870 with their “cost saving” measures, to say nothing of the hits the Marlin guns also took.
The Model 60 will likely be back, and if Ruger’s versions of the 336 and 95 are any indication, probably as good as they ever were, and certainly better than recent offerings.
would you rather these firearms be rushed back into production yet suffer quality control problems and such or would you rather Ruger bring these back more slowly after getting their production lines, distribution and quality control back to where it was at Marlin’s pinnacle or higher?
JQ