MacTech
Member
I gotta' stop going to my toy store....
I went in tonight to have them look at the muzzle weirdness on my 1980 Marlin 39 that I just got, the verdict is it left the factory like that, the rifling stops about 1/16" from the crown itself, that said, I can still shoot dime-to-one-holers at 25Y and quarter to half dollar at 50Y with CCI Subsonics and the Williams FP rear peep and stock Marlin brass globe sight, if I don't concentrate on tackdriving accuracy, and just offhand plinking at pieces of wood, empty shotgun hulls, and fallen leaves, targets of opportunity, I can hit them with the first shot
I haven't adjusted to peep sights yet, so my groups are a tad more open than I want, then again, it's not fair to expect tack-driving one hole accuracy from my peep sighted 39A and compare it to my 4-15X AO scoped, bipod-ed CZ 452 Trainer, two different styles of guns, two different styles of shooting, the CZ is not as much fun as the Marlin 39A for plinking and general loafing around, the Marlin 39A is not as accurate as my precision benchrest CZ, and it's unfair to compare the two
Anyway, to get to the meat of the matter....
While I was in the shop tonight, I went to peruse the .22 racks, and lo and behold, found they had gotten in a *NEW* CZ 452 Ultra-Lux, a CZ I have always lusted after, even though I have a nice 452 Trainer, there's just something graceful and nice about that long, long barrel, and with my penchant for ultraquiet .22 rounds in my backyard range (Super Colibri, CCI CB, and Remington CBee), the Ultralux would be whisper-quiet with those rounds
So, my thinking is this;
I have a 452 Trainer, I would be trading that rifle towards the Ultra Lux, and have minimal out of pocket expense, around $100 or so worst case, and I'd be replacing one CZ with another, sort of a swap/upgrade in features
OTOH, I *could* trade my '09 Marlin 39A towards it and be out *NO* money, as the 39A is worth more than the Ultra Lux....
To complicate matters further, when I compare my '09 39A against my '80 39A, the '90 comes up a little short.....
1; the action on the '09 is a tad rougher
2; the firing pin is captive, held in place by a stop pin, I like the free-float/unrestrained firing pin of the '80 better, easier to clean the firing pin channel
3; it has the crossbolt safety and rebound hammer, I find the "Sproing" of the rebound hammer annoying
4; it has a random FTF problem, probably due to the rebound hammer, failures generally ignite on the second strike (the '80 has been 100% reliable, no FTF
5; the bolt has a slight gap when closed on an empty chamber (the '80 is flush)
6; the front sight sits a hair proud of the dovetail, and I can see a sliver of light under it
7; I hate the muddy brown Marshield finish, the '08 has a nice glossy oil finish to the walnut, and better character and grain, I don't like the checkering on the '09, it looks and feels like cheap pressed-checkering
8; it has the factory semi-buckhorn irons, after using a peep sight, I like the peep better
9; you have to whack the barrel on a soft surface to get it apart for cleaning, the '80 splits with firm arm pressure, no whacking needed
Basically, I like the older pre-crossbolt/rebound models far better than the newer safety/rebound models, and would not have any regrets trading it back for store credit, the only thing the '09 does better is feed truncated cone cartridges like the Remington CBee, the '09 is unfussy, the '80 occasionally hesitates, but the '80 looks like it hasn't really been fired all that much, so it may either need time to wear in, or a slight adjustment of the cartridge guide spring
I'm willing to work with the '80's idiosyncrasies, it just seems better built to me, comparing the two directly against each other, the '80 wins *every time*, it just feels better put together, and more solid, the '09 just feels....."cheap" (compared directly against the '80 only)
So, I think I've made my decision, I'm going to the toy store with the CZ Trainer *AND* the '09 39A, trade them both towards the Ultra Lux, and put whatever store credit I have left over on a gift card, and keep an eye out for another classic pre-safety/rebound 39A to replace it
I went in tonight to have them look at the muzzle weirdness on my 1980 Marlin 39 that I just got, the verdict is it left the factory like that, the rifling stops about 1/16" from the crown itself, that said, I can still shoot dime-to-one-holers at 25Y and quarter to half dollar at 50Y with CCI Subsonics and the Williams FP rear peep and stock Marlin brass globe sight, if I don't concentrate on tackdriving accuracy, and just offhand plinking at pieces of wood, empty shotgun hulls, and fallen leaves, targets of opportunity, I can hit them with the first shot
I haven't adjusted to peep sights yet, so my groups are a tad more open than I want, then again, it's not fair to expect tack-driving one hole accuracy from my peep sighted 39A and compare it to my 4-15X AO scoped, bipod-ed CZ 452 Trainer, two different styles of guns, two different styles of shooting, the CZ is not as much fun as the Marlin 39A for plinking and general loafing around, the Marlin 39A is not as accurate as my precision benchrest CZ, and it's unfair to compare the two
Anyway, to get to the meat of the matter....
While I was in the shop tonight, I went to peruse the .22 racks, and lo and behold, found they had gotten in a *NEW* CZ 452 Ultra-Lux, a CZ I have always lusted after, even though I have a nice 452 Trainer, there's just something graceful and nice about that long, long barrel, and with my penchant for ultraquiet .22 rounds in my backyard range (Super Colibri, CCI CB, and Remington CBee), the Ultralux would be whisper-quiet with those rounds
So, my thinking is this;
I have a 452 Trainer, I would be trading that rifle towards the Ultra Lux, and have minimal out of pocket expense, around $100 or so worst case, and I'd be replacing one CZ with another, sort of a swap/upgrade in features
OTOH, I *could* trade my '09 Marlin 39A towards it and be out *NO* money, as the 39A is worth more than the Ultra Lux....
To complicate matters further, when I compare my '09 39A against my '80 39A, the '90 comes up a little short.....
1; the action on the '09 is a tad rougher
2; the firing pin is captive, held in place by a stop pin, I like the free-float/unrestrained firing pin of the '80 better, easier to clean the firing pin channel
3; it has the crossbolt safety and rebound hammer, I find the "Sproing" of the rebound hammer annoying
4; it has a random FTF problem, probably due to the rebound hammer, failures generally ignite on the second strike (the '80 has been 100% reliable, no FTF
5; the bolt has a slight gap when closed on an empty chamber (the '80 is flush)
6; the front sight sits a hair proud of the dovetail, and I can see a sliver of light under it
7; I hate the muddy brown Marshield finish, the '08 has a nice glossy oil finish to the walnut, and better character and grain, I don't like the checkering on the '09, it looks and feels like cheap pressed-checkering
8; it has the factory semi-buckhorn irons, after using a peep sight, I like the peep better
9; you have to whack the barrel on a soft surface to get it apart for cleaning, the '80 splits with firm arm pressure, no whacking needed
Basically, I like the older pre-crossbolt/rebound models far better than the newer safety/rebound models, and would not have any regrets trading it back for store credit, the only thing the '09 does better is feed truncated cone cartridges like the Remington CBee, the '09 is unfussy, the '80 occasionally hesitates, but the '80 looks like it hasn't really been fired all that much, so it may either need time to wear in, or a slight adjustment of the cartridge guide spring
I'm willing to work with the '80's idiosyncrasies, it just seems better built to me, comparing the two directly against each other, the '80 wins *every time*, it just feels better put together, and more solid, the '09 just feels....."cheap" (compared directly against the '80 only)
So, I think I've made my decision, I'm going to the toy store with the CZ Trainer *AND* the '09 39A, trade them both towards the Ultra Lux, and put whatever store credit I have left over on a gift card, and keep an eye out for another classic pre-safety/rebound 39A to replace it
