NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Snagged this today for the kingly sum of $200-
Marlin M989 M2.
Made from the mid-60s through late 70s and based on the M70 action, the 989 and its tube-fed sibling the 99 M1 were meant to mimic the general style of the M1 Carbine in an inexpensive .22 package.
The 989 is much more Carbine-esque thanks to being box-fed, though Marlin could have put a little more effort into the stock profile and parts-bin ramped front sight to complete the facade.
Another nice thing about the box-magazine guns is they avoid the loose two-peice feed ramp problems which plague the old tube-fed Marlins.
At least Marlin did supply a nifty, fully adjustable rear sight kinda, sorta similiar to the post-war Carbine unit- though without an actual peep aperture! These rear sights are often missing as they were commonly removed for scope mounting and subsequently lost over the years. Fortunately, this gun retained the rear sight, and even came with an extra 7-round magazine.
The single-rivet upper handguard and barrel band are very close to those found on early-production M1 Carbines.
My example is in nice shooter-grade condition and I was able to put a few down the pipe this afternoon-
I did have some failures to eject- the gun looks like it hasn't been cleaned or lubed in decades, so hopefully that will help with functionality. Cant complain about the accuracy, though-
If you didn't catch the reference, "War Baby" evokes the excellent, definitive M1 Carbine books "War Baby" and "War Baby Comes Home" by Larry Ruth.
Ive seen (and passed on) tons of 99 M1s through the years, but the 989 seems to be a little less common and though I certainly don't NEED any more .22s, I couldn't resist this handy plinker with a touch of milsurp style.
Marlin M989 M2.
Made from the mid-60s through late 70s and based on the M70 action, the 989 and its tube-fed sibling the 99 M1 were meant to mimic the general style of the M1 Carbine in an inexpensive .22 package.
The 989 is much more Carbine-esque thanks to being box-fed, though Marlin could have put a little more effort into the stock profile and parts-bin ramped front sight to complete the facade.
Another nice thing about the box-magazine guns is they avoid the loose two-peice feed ramp problems which plague the old tube-fed Marlins.
At least Marlin did supply a nifty, fully adjustable rear sight kinda, sorta similiar to the post-war Carbine unit- though without an actual peep aperture! These rear sights are often missing as they were commonly removed for scope mounting and subsequently lost over the years. Fortunately, this gun retained the rear sight, and even came with an extra 7-round magazine.
The single-rivet upper handguard and barrel band are very close to those found on early-production M1 Carbines.
My example is in nice shooter-grade condition and I was able to put a few down the pipe this afternoon-
I did have some failures to eject- the gun looks like it hasn't been cleaned or lubed in decades, so hopefully that will help with functionality. Cant complain about the accuracy, though-
If you didn't catch the reference, "War Baby" evokes the excellent, definitive M1 Carbine books "War Baby" and "War Baby Comes Home" by Larry Ruth.
Ive seen (and passed on) tons of 99 M1s through the years, but the 989 seems to be a little less common and though I certainly don't NEED any more .22s, I couldn't resist this handy plinker with a touch of milsurp style.
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