The Marlin 39 Club

[boonenc]

Greetings,

I have a Marlin 39A golden and love it. I liked it so much I bought my son one too! I am looking for a sling for it. I would appreciate recommendations. One fun thing about my little Marlin is I have been shooting CCI 22 CB Longs in my attic at a hanging golf ball about 33 feet away. Nice way to take a break from the computer. Great little centering exercise. Looking forward to learning a lot about this great rifle here on this forum. Thanks

[Nematocyst]

Welcome to the fun house, Boone.

Good on you for getting your son a 39A. Great heirloom. He'll remember you forever.

As for slings, I like the Quake Claw. I have one on my 39 and 336. (Had one on my recently sold 1894C, also, but left it on the gun when I sold it to my friend.)

Not very traditional, but feels good to me.

[tubeshooter]

Nem,

I'm a little surprised you sold your 1894C. Did you decide you didn't like it?

I've always kind of wanted one... just not quite as bad as a 39a. With ammo prices and availability the way it is, maybe it's just as well.

[Nematocyst]

Tube, in my never ending process to identify a minimalist efficient toolkit,
I decided that I just didn't need two carbines in such similar calibers. And my 336 won hands down as the keeper.

I also decided that I want to keep my handgun calibers in my handguns, and that I want to start reloading so that I can experiment with a wider range of rnds in my .30-30. I started this thread (now a sticky) over on Marlin Owners Forum to explore that, I have learned a ton.

The range includes everything from 150 and 170 gr to 180 gr Buff Bore all the way down to 110 gr and even 98 gr!

That takes care of everything above .22 that the 39 (and an upcoming .22 revolver for my kit).

If I add another rifle someday, it'll be something either in the .4x caliber realm, or something that shoots long and flat.

[SGW42]

I like a leather sling on a gun like this and I went with the standard two-piece military sling (the 1907/National Match type).

I found a nice one made by Hunter for $20. Not as nice as a Turner or something, but looks good and does its job.

[tubeshooter]

Hey, thanks for the response Nem. I've been keeping tabs on the 1894C pretty much ever since I had a handgun to match. It seems like a decent idea on paper, and a lot of people say it's a really fun gun.

My only designs on it were for plinking, basically. I guess you could hunt small game with light 38s if you wanted. I've never shot .357 in a rifle, but I do know that my 336 seems like plenty of gun for anything I'd need to do around these parts. Reloading to ramp it down if needed sounds like a fun pursuit.

If the 1894C is as fun as some claim - it would be a victim of its own success in my case. I have some ammo, but not THAT much...

I wouldn't mind having one, but for what they're asking nowadays and pretty much having to special order I don't see it in my future anytime soon. Now if I were to hit the lottery...


Anyway, enough derailing. Thanks again.

[oldfella]

"I am interested in trading my Mountie (SN 68109533) for a good quality semi-auto .22 rifle. I've had this rifle for about 7/8 months, have taken her to the range twice, to sight my scope. So far it has functioned flawlessly. I'd be interested in a face-to-face trade in Middle Tennessee (Tullahoma or Manchester) - would consider selling it only if I can find no trades. Thanks.

Pete"

Nothing materialized yet - Any one seriously interested? Thanks.

Pete

[Nematocyst]

Pete, if you're gonna get a response anywhere in these parts, it will most likely be from around the club house here, given the number of people reading this thread.

Problem may be that you're wanting to do it in middle TN. That sort of limits your numbers of potentials.

But I don't know how to do a trade using FFL with shipping and stuff. Guess it can be done, but ...

PS: I spent a lot of time as a kid around your area there. Dad was from Winchester. Beautiful country.

[oldfella]

Thanks Nem - I did get a response from a member from beautiful Tennessee, we'll see how it develops... and I do hate to part with this rifle, but I do want to continue plinking with a reliable .22 rifle.

... and I fully agree with you about the natural beauty found most every place in Tennessee - Y'all come, ya heah?

Pete

[oldfella]

Well, a local fella heard that I was looking to trade my Mountie, stopped by my house and twisted my arm real good and sold it to him. Now I am on the hunt for the only other rifle which fits my bill to replace my Marlin, and that is a Remington Model 552 BDL, that's the newer short barrel model. Any one here has one to sell? Thanks

Pete

[Nematocyst]

Congrats, Pete. Hope the Mountie found a new home.

Even though you're 39-less (or do you have another?), hang out anyway if you want.

[oldfella]

Thanks Nem - I'm here to stay. Do let us know when you shorten your 39A.

Pete

[Nematocyst]

Cool!

Yes, will do. I've got to make sure overhead is covered this week, and am expecting a $ influx on the 15th, but then, in it goes to the smith.

I think I'm going to cut it to either 18" or 20".
It's not too late to influence my decision.

May do the .30-30 at the same time. (Cutting it to 17.5 or 18.)

I wish I had time to get a chronograph to do a before and after comparison,
but I'm just too busy for that. Hopefully, we can at least do it after sometimes.

[gunsandreligion]

By the way how much is a 39 TDS worth?

[SGW42]

Alright, I'm kind of being goofy about this, but I could use some reassurance...

I got a nick on my muzzle.

I dunno when it happened or how. The 39A is my favorite and probably most treasured arm (aside from gifts from my father) and I treat it with kid gloves. Except for the usual wear around the lever pivot and the sides of the hammer, it looks like I pulled it out of the box new. I have no idea how it happened. I checked my cleaning rod and it doesn't seem like it could have created it. Anyway...

It is tiny, but enough that I can see it up close in the light. I'd take a picture but I doubt my camera is good enough to pick it up. I don't know what the muzzles of vintage 39As look like, but mine is somewhat current. It has a flat face, and then the smallest of slopes before it hits the rifling. The nick is on the flat face of the muzzle, and extends ever-so-slightly into that shallow little slope, but it doesn't touch the rifling.

I noticed this awhile ago. Since then I've taken it to the range twice. Both times it still performed well. Outside at 50 yards it grouped pretty good for the hasty lunch-hour shooting I was doing - at an indoor range at 25 yards my friend made smaller groups with it than he could with his model 60. So I think it is okay.

But it nags at me. Something in my mind makes me think the rifle is now imperfect. Everything I've read says the 39A is a match-grade rifle posing as a lever action. I want to make it achieve that when I practice enough to shoot that well. I think I once read a smallish muzzle nick is okay as long as it doesn't touch the rifle lands. Is that true? Does that little slope from rifle lands to muzzle face attribute that much to the accuracy of the rifle? With the examples above, I think it is okay, just need some reassurance.

[tubeshooter]

It sounds like it is okay, from what you're saying.

I feel you pain, at least in some way. I have a couple of smallish scratches on the stock, and naturally I'd rather they weren't there. But I figure given enough time there are more to come.

If it's still shooting okay, I'd try to let it go.


If it's something you just can't live with, I guess you could get a smith to cut an inch or two. Might shoot better - might very well not. Judging from your story, you might never be able to tell the difference.

[SGW42]

I was thinking if was a problem, I could get a recessed crown with no overall length loss. Problem is there are no gun shops I trust in this city.

[CB900F]

SGW42;

A recrown will not remove an inch or two from the barrel. A competent smith might take off ten thou, .010" doing a crown job. You will then want to get the new crown blued to match, as it will be in the white. The going rate is about $40.00 around here from a smith that indeed does know what he's doing.

900F

[Nematocyst]

This all raises a question I've had for a while.

Are some crowns "better" than others?

My smith, a very capable guy that is highly praised around here, tells me that when he cuts my 39 down, he's "going to put a better crown on it than what came from the factory".

I didn't bother to ask him what he meant.

How would one know? What are the criteria for good and bad crowns? Does it affect ballistics or trajectory?

I'm pleading total ignorance here. I confess I don't even know what the crown does, why the barrel is not just lopped off flat.

Nem the ignorant

[SGW42]

As I know it, the crown is the area where the rifling meets the face of the muzzle. It is the last thing the bullet touches before leaving the rifle (and directs the expanding gases behind it) and as such is of utmost importance.

My shooting buddy co-worker assured me today my rifle is likely okay. I guess I am going to have to shoot it more just be sure.

[Nematocyst]

Good plan, SGW. Much quality assurance shooting is called for here.

[Nematocyst]

I went to the range today for the first time in ... oh, can't tell you. It's been way, way, way too long.
(Embarrassingly so; blame self-employment in a troubled economy.)

I took my 336 and 39A. (New range, too; very nice; like it better than the old one, and it's closer to me by a lot. Another story.)

I didn't plan to shoot it much today, just a few times before I have the barrel cut down (coming soon ... I promise; need to make sure I've got truck repair covered first ...), and also to test whether it was still suffering failure to fire issues. (It is; two misfires with CCI minimag; next time, will try other ammo that the smith recommends; he doesn't like CCI, but Remington ... also another story.)

The point of this post however is my horrible shooting at 50 yds.

Now admittedly, this scope is still not fully sighted in. I fell off that project when I got busy at work. Still, it was (and still is) descent at 25 yds (not taking great care today, but reasonable, on table with rest). See the image below of 25 yd results. (The bigger holes are a .223.)

But at 50 yds, I couldn't even hit the target, even with scope (Leupold Rimfire) dialed all the way up.

Shot about 10 rnds at center. Nada.

Shot another ten by aiming at far left (of 1' target), then right, then top, then bottom. Only got 2 on the target at far left of target. (Didn't bring that one home.)

What th'....?

If it's fairly OK at 25, how can it be that far off at 50?

I'm confused, not to mention a little troubled.

But then we ran out of time, so couldn't explore it further.

I'll keep you posted, but am open to explanations involving ghosts from the 5th dimension that hanging out at 49 yds, breathing hard on my rnds ...

[SGW42]

I don't own a scope but my first guess is that you have a screw loose in your mount somewhere.

[264killer]

i have original golden 39a barrel blue on muzzle is just a little faded.has light spot 3/8 " long on right side of barrel at the muzzle crown looks perfect. removed it when i put 16 &1/2 barrel from gun parts co. on my 39a. take $45.00 if any one wants it

[ShakyJake]

Hi Nem,
I think the first two screws I would check, if not locktited in, would be the ones holding the base on the receiver. Then double check every screw that holds the scope onto the M39 however remotely. The last I would check, if your scope has them, is the lockdown screws for the lateral and vertical adjustments. Check that they are tight. If so loosen them, adjust for sight in and retighten to take tension off. Hope that is some help. Glad you finally got a chance to get some trigger time.
TaKe CaRe
Ted