You're much too kind. Have you looked at a new Marlin lately? Remington and their parent have effectively turned that brand into the Llama of American firearms manufacturers. Pure crap compared to a few short years ago.
No, I haven’t and that is too bad. I have a Model 39A I bought in the 1970s and it is one of my favorite rifles. I have been thinking about buying a Marlin 45/70 but I guess I might look at the Henry instead. I own a model 870 Wingmaster made in the 1960s and it is a fine and beautiful shotgun. My Dad recently bought one of the new model 870s and it seems junky to me compared to the one have. I also have an old Remington 550 .22 made in the 1950s that is a fine rifle as is my 700 BDL from the 1970s. Their new stuff just does not look or feel as good to me as the older firearms they used to make.
Yeah, when Marlin was rolled-in with Remington by Cerberus, the employees weren't part of the move to New York. Remington machinists who were unfamiliar with the Marlin designs began building them, with poor results. Recently, that production line was retooled to use CNC more heavily. Reviews have since been improving.