The Marlin 39 Club

[robpark]

CB900F - afaik, the 39A and 1894 bases have screw holes in different positions, I don't know if they are the same size/thread. My local supplier sells a #90 Weaver rail for the 39A, and a #63 for the 1894 (http://marlinspares.com/products/rails/)

Lever Action - nice guns ...I particularly like the oiled stock, not a fan of shiny!

OldBrownDog - snap! I was looking for a .44 Marlin and came across a 39D at an irresistible price - arrived at my dealer yesterday, I just have to wait for a 'variation' to my firearms certificate before I get to bring it home (the joys of UK licensing!)

Here it is:

 

[rfwobbly]

Wow! I've been a forum member for years and never knew this was here !!

This thread turned up while looking for parts for a Marlin 39AS that belongs to my father-in-law. I really would appreciate some "cartridge carrier" photos from someone with another AS. This gun has the carrier (number 8 in this diagram), but there seem to be pieces missing from the left side that interact with the op lever to make the carrier rise as the bolt closes.

I hate to pay $50 for a carrier assembly, when main piece seems to be fine. It's all the springs and plungers not shown in the diagrams that I need. See below.

 

[ammo86]

New 39 Owner Needs Advice on Re-scope

THR 39 Club Members,

Need your thoughts on my newly acquired early Model 39. Very happy with it, as it's a very early gun with no prefix and four digit (11XX) serial number. No star on wood or bullseye, but the star is marked-stamped on the upper tang inside frame. Anyway, see pics where the rifle had a barrel scope at some point.

QUESTIONs:

1- How hard is it to find an original (or correct) scope and mounts of the type required to make my rifle look much better? Or should I just fill in holes with correct screws an enjoy? Dark pic of barrel, but it has two more screw DT holes forward of flip sight.

2- What quality of the walnut would you call the wood, just for fun?

3- How would THR 39 Club rate my rifle?

4- Other recommendations for new owner of early M39?

Respectively, Ammo86

 

[dfariswheel]

RFWOBBLY:

Sorry, I just saw this.

The carrier pictured is missing a coil spring and a plunger.
Trouble is, the plunger is permanently staked into the carrier at the factory and the plunger assembly is not intended to be replaced.

About all you can do is buy a complete 39-AS carrier.
Gun Parts Corp have them:

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/419220.htm

Brownell's also sell brand new ones:

http://www.brownells.com/schematics/Marlin-/39A-sid283.aspx

 

[dfariswheel]

1- How hard is it to find an original (or correct) scope and mounts of the type required to make my rifle look much better? Or should I just fill in holes with correct screws an enjoy? Dark pic of barrel, but it has two more screw DT holes forward of flip sight.

Finding an original scope and mount would be just a matter of luck. You might watch Ebay, the online gun auctions, and hit the gun shows.
Until then I'd get some filler screws to protect the holes and make them look better.
I'm not sure what the thread size is, but if they'll fit, Brownell's sell dome-head filler screws. These give a much more "finished" look then ordinary filler screws:

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...ware/metal-screws/plug-screw-kit-prod792.aspx

2- What quality of the walnut would you call the wood, just for fun?

Marlin had several grades. Obviously this is a better grade, but I don't know enough to help on this one.

3- How would THR 39 Club rate my rifle?

Fairly nice. Most of the color case hardening is gone, and I'm not sure the stock finish is original, but still nice.

4- Other recommendations for new owner of early M39?

DO NOT shoot High-Velocity ammo through this rifle. These early rifles had bolt designs that WILL BREAK if fired with High-Velocity ammo.
In the mid-1930's when Marlin was making the early Model 39, they changed the bolt design for High-Speed ammo.
At that point they added an "HS" prefix to the serial number.

If you want to shoot this rifle use Standard Velocity ammo ONLY.

Here's a site with some good into on the early Marlin's.

http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/marlin_LARF_rifles.htm

 

[OldBrownDog]

OldBrownDog - snap! I was looking for a .44 Marlin and came across a 39D at an irresistible price - arrived at my dealer yesterday, I just have to wait for a 'variation' to my firearms certificate before I get to bring it home (the joys of UK licensing!)
Here it is:

Rob - really nice 39D you have there. Must be a '71 gun by the white line spacers. Shame about the licensing in the UK. If it's any consolation, you might have yours before I get mine!

I've been pretty busy lately and since it's an hour's drive to the gunsmith who does transfers for me, I probably won't be able to get my rifle until two weeks from now at the earliest. Oh well, just gives time for the Skinner peep to get here. I'll post pics when I finally get it!!

 

[chuckles]

This is a great source for us lovers of 39s. KIeep it on top.

 

[rfwobbly]

RFWOBBLY:

Sorry, I just saw this.

The carrier pictured is missing a coil spring and a plunger.
Trouble is, the plunger is permanently staked into the carrier at the factory and the plunger assembly is not intended to be replaced.

About all you can do is buy a complete 39-AS carrier.

That's what was afraid of. If forced to buy one, I'll study that one, make the missing part and then sell the used one. Thanks so much for your confirmation.

 

[Normandy]

Had to Have One

I finally bit the bullet, so to speak, and bought this 39A last week. It has screws that occupy scope mount holes in the barrel, and the original rear sight is missing. But it sports my favorite rear sight, a Williams aperture sight.
I haven't taken it to the range yet, so I cannot speak to its accuracy or reliability.

I had a 39A Golden in my collection for a while, but my grandson turned 13, and his favorite rifle (guess which) was given over to my son until grandson turns 21. So, I was without a Marlin lever action, except for my Glenfield .30-30.

Please sign me on as a 39A fan, and I promise a range report as soon as I get back from its first range session.

 

[OldBrownDog]

Merry Christmas everybody!!

I finally picked up my new 39D.

'71 39D on the left, '81 Golden 39A on the right.


I bought it from an estate sale, and it might have been unfired. Still has a factory sticker on it. 40+ years of dust, but it cleaned up nice.


Skinner sights showed up today and quickly replaced the Bushnell 3-7x Custom .22 it came with.


Tomorrow I might celebrate Christmas by taking it out and blasting some clay pigeons . Oh, and my gunsmith/FFL, who knows the family selling off the estate said there's a '46 39A that might be available for cheap too.....

 

[CB900F]

OldBrownDog;

If the original owner put that scope on it, I'd think it'd be a pretty good bet he fired it also.

900F

 

[OldBrownDog]

CB - You're probably right, but I noted nearly no wear marks on the bolt or other internals, and there was congealed grease inside the action, like a new gun might have from the factory. The outside is also very nice. No scratches, dings, wear, etc. Either way, it doesn't matter now. I put 100 rounds of Mini-Mags and the better part of a Winchester 333 pack through her this afternoon.

Merry Christmas!

 

[CB900F]

OBD;

Good for you & Merry Christmas!

900F

 

[Normandy]

Exactly what this awesome rifle was made for!
Good on you, for putting it through its paces.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

Weaver makes a scope adapter rail for the model 39a, that's certainly reasonable in price I think. It's just under ten bucks at Midway, not including shipping. The Weaver part number is: #48090, and the Midway product number is #513848. Not in stock at the moment, but it's OK to backorder.

Now then, is there any way to convert a rebounding hammer model 39a to a non-rebounding hammer? Or perhaps the proper question is, can it be done fairly easily at reasonable cost?

900F

 

[dfariswheel]

There is a method to change the new rebounding 39-A to a non-rebounding.

I never bothered to read up on it, but I think instructions are posted on the Rimfire Central forum.

 

[chicharrones]

Fella's;
Now then, is there any way to convert a rebounding hammer model 39a to a non-rebounding hammer? Or perhaps the proper question is, can it be done fairly easily at reasonable cost?

Well, if I remember correctly if you change out (or modify) the two "pronged" hammer strut to get rid of the rebounding feature, the hammer won't come back to clear the cross bolt safety after firing.

So, if you change out that strut, you might as well get a half cock notch hammer, too. Which might mean getting the right trigger for that half cock hammer on top of that. Plus, a safety plug . . .

What's your biggest concern? Light strikes or accuracy due to hammer bounce?

 

[johnmcl]

There is a good set of instructions on the Rimfire Forum on modifying the hammer strut to convert to a non-rebounding configuration.

I was considering it once. Then the question came into my mind on whether I needed it or not. Being a bit of an anal engineer, I ran a rigorous accuracy test across 100 rounds through two rifles, one an early 60's vintage 39A and the other a (rebounding) late 90's 39A.

Guess what? Statistically there was no difference in accuracy or muzzle velocity between the two rifles across the test course of fire, which ran from 20 yards to 75 yards on a common set of ammunition and optics. None at all.

That was the last time I thought about the modification.

 

[chicharrones]

My 39AS used to have intermittent light strikes. I took maybe .030" off the rebound side of the hammer strut and apparently that problem has diminished. I still have use of the rebound feature and the safety.

Of course while I was in the action, I shortened the hammer sear by 1/3 and polished it (polished trigger sear, too). I also reduced the preload of the trigger spring as well. While the trigger is no light weight, it is improved to make repeatable accuracy a bit easier to do from the shooters point of view.

 

[chuckles]

Good resource for Marlin lovers. Thanks.

 

[kimberkid]

So I sold my unfired '82 golden with the correct Marlin 4x scope ... I'm left with my '49 that I pieced together with a 20" Annie Oakley barrel and slim forend from Numrich parts ... The '82 is an awesome gun but I couldn't bring myself to shoot it, I don't need another safe queen ... And the buyer really really wanted it ...

 

[william2010bc]

hello .. I'm new to this post.. I'd like to install a different forearm on my 39A since I do mostly bench rest shooting... would be nice to find a wider beaver tail style forearm, something wider for bench rest. The 39A is impressively accurate for a lever action.

 

[dfariswheel]

The older 39-A from the 1950's had a "fat" fore arm, but to get what you want will require something custom made.

I don't know of anyone normally making custom wood for the Marlin, but a good gunsmith could make one for you.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I forget what the exact year was in the '50's when the forearm shape went from the perchbelly to the slim design, maybe '56-'57?

And a further question concerning model 39's and their variants. What about the model 1894M? In all respects it appears to be a model 39 with the major exception of the depth of the breechblock, and the minor differences in the magazine tubes to accommodate the .22 magnum round. Is it indeed a model 39 variant, or a completely separate model? Without knowing any more than the visual differences, I'd think it was a 39 variant, not a completely different gun. If that's so, I wonder why Marlin gave it a separate model number? How do the collector cognoscenti here regard it?

900F

 

[johnmcl]

Woo Hoo! 39D!

Hi all,

Well, a pristine 1966 vintage Marlin 39M came home with me from a friend's collection. There's not a mark on her, and the bore is bright and shiny. A quick field level dis-assembly shows that she's been used, but gently and always treated well.

Despite all my other shooting venues and all the fun I have with those guns, none resonate with me as these Marlin 39s do.

Here's a couple of perspectives on the new rifle in the box: