Marlin Firearms: Lever-Gun History, Remington Years and Ruger Ownership

Marlin Firearms is a historic American firearms brand best known for lever action rifles. Its roots go back to John Mahlon Marlin and nineteenth century New Haven gunmaking, and its modern story includes Remington’s 2008 acquisition of Marlin, the Remington Outdoor Company bankruptcy, and Ruger’s 2020 purchase of substantially all Marlin Firearms assets.

Origins in New Haven

John Marlin started a pistol manufacturing business in New Haven in 1863. Marlin had worked as a gun builder at the Colt plant in Hartford, Connecticut, and went independent in 1870.

Marlin’s early business was not built first around the lever action rifles that later defined the name. He began with small single shot, brass frame derringers in .22 rimfire, then later added .32 and .38 calibers. Marlin’s first rifle was a single shot Ballard rifle.

The Marlin Firearms Company was incorporated in 1881. Ballard rifles were produced under the Marlin name until about 1891.

That early period matters because it places Marlin in the same New Haven gunmaking world that shaped several major American firearms brands. It also shows that Marlin’s lever action identity grew out of an existing maker of pistols and single shot rifles, rather than appearing fully formed at the start.

The first Marlin lever actions

The Model 1881 was the company’s first repeating lever action rifle. It was a side loading, top eject rifle chambered for large cartridges, including .45 70 Government and .38 55. The Model 1881 was available in calibers ranging from .32 40 to .45 70 Government.

The Model 1881 began Marlin’s repeating rifle line, but the Model 1889 became an especially important design milestone. The Model 1889 was the first lever rifle to side load and side eject while leaving a solid top. Marlin ties the term “Marlin Safety” to that solid top receiver and side ejection arrangement, noting that the term was stamped into the top of the receiver.

That combination helped define what many readers now think of as a classic Marlin lever gun: a tubular magazine, a lever operated action, side loading, side ejection and a closed top receiver.

Why side ejection and the solid-top receiver matter

In a lever action rifle, the shooter moves the lever to operate the action. On Marlin’s important late nineteenth century lever rifles, the company emphasized side loading and side ejection, with the Model 1889 adding the solid top receiver arrangement that became central to the brand’s identity.

The Model 1893 added another key mechanical landmark. The Model 1893 incorporated a locking block and a two piece firing pin, features Marlin says are in all current models.

The Model 1894 was a smaller version of the Model 1893. Early Model 1894 chamberings included .25 20.32 20.38 40 and .44 40.

For a broader explanation of this rifle type, see our guide to lever action rifles.

Major Marlin rifle families

Marlin’s catalog history is wide, but several families stand out in the company’s public history and current model names.

Ballard and early repeaters

The Ballard single shot rifle came before Marlin’s repeating lever action line. Ballard rifles were produced under the Marlin banner until about 1891.

Marlin’s early lever action record includes the Model 1881, Model 1888, Model 1889, Model 1891, Model 1892, Model 1893, Model 1894, Model 1895 and Model 1897. The Cody Firearms Museum lists factory information covering serial numbers 4001 through 355504 from 1881 to 1906.

Model 1894 and pistol-caliber heritage

The Model 1894 is one of the best known Marlin names. It was a smaller version of the Model 1893, and its original chamberings included .25 20.32 20.38 40 and .44 40.

Ruger reintroduced the Model 1894 Classic on June 26, 2023, in .44 Remington Magnum. For background on that cartridge, see our guide to the .44 Magnum.

Model 1895 and large cartridges

The Model 1895 name is part of Marlin’s long lever action record. The Cody Firearms Museum includes the Model 1895 in its Marlin factory information for serial numbers 4001 through 355504 from 1881 to 1906, and Marlin also lists it as one of its model names.

In the Ruger era, the first Ruger made Marlin model shipped was the 1895 SBL chambered in .45 70 Government. For cartridge background, see our guide to .45 70 Government.

Model 39, Model 39A and rimfires

Model 39 and Model 39A are among major Marlin model names. Marlin’s current lever action lineup also presents the brand’s lever action heritage as stretching back to the Model 1891, which it calls the company’s first rimfire rifle.

Marlin’s early derringers were also built in .22 rimfire. For general cartridge background, see our guide to .22 LR.

Model 336, Model 444, Model 60, XT and Glenfield

Ruger reintroduced the Model 336 Classic on March 27, 2023, chambered in .30 30 Winchester. For cartridge history, see our guide to .30 30 Winchester.

Model 444, Model 60, XT 17, XT 22, Dark Series and Glenfield are also among Marlin names. At a high level, those names show that the brand’s history is not limited to centerfire lever guns, even though lever actions remain its strongest public identity.

Marlin-Rockwell, wartime production and the Kenna family era

The Marlin Firearms Company was sold in 1915 to a New York syndicate with J. P. Morgan ties, after which it became Marlin Rockwell.

World War I brought major expansion in military firearms and non firearm products. Marlin was one of the world’s largest machine gun manufacturers during that period, producing Browning 1895 and Model 1917 guns.

After the war, financial problems led to bankruptcy and foreclosure in 1923. Frank Kenna acquired Marlin after the foreclosure.

The company later moved manufacturing. By 1969, Marlin had outgrown its original factory and moved manufacturing from New Haven to North Haven.

Remington and Freedom Group

Remington acquired 100 percent of the shares of Marlin and its subsidiary, H&R 1871, LLC, on January 28, 2008. Marlin primarily manufactured shotguns and rifles at the time of that acquisition.

This period is often discussed separately because Marlin had been a long running independent brand before becoming part of the Remington and Freedom Group structure. For this profile, the key points are the January 28, 2008 share acquisition and Marlin’s placement inside the Remington related corporate structure.

Ruger ownership and the return of Marlin production

Ruger closed its acquisition of substantially all Marlin Firearms assets on November 23, 2020. The asset purchase came from the Remington Outdoor Company bankruptcy and had been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama on September 30, 2020. The purchase price was approximately $28.3 million.

Ruger began manufacturing Marlin branded rifles in late 2021. The first Ruger made Marlin was the 1895 SBL in .45 70 Government.

Ruger made Marlin rifles can be identified by a Mayodan, North Carolina manufacture marking on the barrel and an “RM” serial number prefix. That is a current production identifier, not a description of earlier Marlin made or Remington era firearms.

Current series families include SBL, Dark, Classic, Trapper, Guide Gun and Mad Pig Customs. That current lineup sits on top of a much longer historical catalog that includes Ballard rifles, nineteenth century lever actions, rimfire rifles and later sporting rifle families.

For more on Ruger as a company, see our profile of Sturm, Ruger & Co..

Marlin’s place in lever-action history

Marlin’s importance comes from continuity as much as from any one model. The brand connects John Marlin’s New Haven pistol and single shot rifle work to a long line of side loading lever actions, then to the Model 336 and modern Ruger made rifles.

The major historical milestones are clear: the Model 1881 as Marlin’s first repeating lever action rifle, the Model 1889 as Marlin’s side loading, side ejecting solid top milestone, and the Model 1893 as the action family associated with the locking block and two piece firing pin.

Readers looking at Marlin history should keep the eras separate: John Marlin and the early New Haven years, the Marlin Rockwell and World War I period, the Kenna family era, the Remington and Freedom Group period beginning in 2008, and Ruger ownership beginning with the 2020 asset purchase. Current production details such as model names, chamberings, markings and serial prefixes can change over time.