Marlin Golden 39 A

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Fella's;

You're imploring the wrong party IMHO. Captain Marlin doesn't command his own ship anymore. The Remington/Cerberus conglom-pirates have seized control. Therefore, I'm suggesting you to take a look at Remington's customer service record & re-evaluate your desires against the chances snowballs surviving in hell. In fact, sift through the last couple of pages of this thread & note the theme that Marlin Q/C seems to be suffering lately. ( Sarcasm button ON ) There may be a connnection. (Button off)

To be fair, my gripe with The Evil Elfs Of Ilion is long-standing and remains virulent as ever. But that's another story.

900F
 
CB900F, never had a serious problem with a Remington rifle. They are generally my first choice for a rifle and usually it is a Model 700 BDL unless I have a special need for synthetic stock or something.

The Marlin 39A is the best lever action 22 rifle made today and in the past. The Winchester 9422 is a very good one too as are the Browning BL-22's. All of these are substantially better than the Henry or a Mossberg in my opinion. But you pay for the "substantially better" as always.

With regard to ammunition, if you want to take the time and make the effort, buy an assortment of different 22LR ammunition and test fire the rifle with each keeping records. With the 4x scope, you are probably limited practically to 50 yds with 25 yd bench shooting being the easiest due to sight picture. But at 25 yds, most of the 22 ammo performs fairly well. If you don't want to mess with test firing, pick up some Federal bulk packs, Federal 510's (50 ct box), and some CCI in both high velocity and standard velocity. Do try some Remington also. But skip the higher priced stuff that is mostly available through the internet stores. As an afterthought, that sounds like an assortment... but for me the assortment is typically a bit broader. If I wanted to buy one or two and stick with them as being the likely better performers in HV, it would be CCI HV and Federal 510s (labeled Champion or Lightning).

Most evaluate a 22 rifle and ammo combo at 50 yds as that is about the distance where you start to see the groups open up a bit. I think the 4x scope or a 2-7x-ish scope is about a perfect match with the typical use of a Marlin 39A and most people's shooting need.
 
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I think the 4x scope or a 2-7x-ish scope is about a perfect match with the typical use of a Marlin 39A and most people's shooting need.
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It really depends in what you set the rifle up to do. I use my 39a for squirrel hunting and casual plinking, so I mounted a Lyman receiver sight and a Williams Firesight up front. That's just about perfect for my uses.
 
22-rimfire;

You miss my point. The Marlin 39 is indeed almost certainly still the best .22 rimfire being made today. However, if the overall quallity has noticably declined amonst recent buyers of new 39's, that's not a good thing. It's indicative of a trend, if allowed to continue, that will either cause the model 39 to not be the best you can get, or to cease production, or both.

Given Remington's past and proven ability to make "interesting" business decisions, don't pooh-pooh the possibility. Do a search for complaints about Remington's somewhat less than stellar customer service in the last ten years, and you'll get more information than you want. Much of that information is right here on THR.

And, I do indeed know all about testing the maximum varieties of .22 ammo in a gun to find out what it likes. Also, as new variety's become available, I'll do it all over again just to see if something will work better in a particular gun.

900F
 
It really depends in what you set the rifle up to do. I use my 39a for squirrel hunting and casual plinking, so I mounted a Lyman receiver sight and a Williams Firesight up front. That's just about perfect for my uses.
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Same here. I'm of the opinion that mounting a scope on this rifle detracts from its intrinsic good handling qualities. Mine has a Williams receiver sight on it and it's one of my favorite squirrel rifles. I'm not against scopes-a couple of my bolt-action .22s have them but even on those rifles I prefer to use the most compact model that is practical.
 
The first gun I got was a new Marlin 39A in 1963. I still have it. I shot it so much that the accuracy fell off and I recently had it rebarreled. Accuracy is back. A little over 4 yrs. ago I found a ’69 vintage 39M. I snapped it up. It is at least as accurate as my old 39A. I expect to pass these to my grandchildren.
 
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I had the extractor break on mine after maybe 30,000 rounds. I have only had it about 25years.It has a few minor stock dings from my kids learning to shoot with it.It shoots as good now as it did then.
 
Just had a guy bring a 39A Golden Mountie by for me to look at. The lever wouldn't budge. When I got it opened up it was so nasty and gummed up that it took a while to get it working. There was some rust in the action and patches of rust on the exterior finish. He said the rifle had been at his camp for several years. I tried to buy it from him but wouldn't sell. Said it was his grandfather's. What a shame to see such a fine gun neglected like that.
 
Great choice

I bought a Henry.17HMR Golden Boy and I'm very disappointed. The lever action quit feeding after only 10 rounds. The trigger drag is terrible, the action is stiff and it misfires about every 10 rounds. Accuracy is terrible compared to my Marlin .22LR Micro Groove Barrel Golden 39-A. At 100 yards I could only get 2 out of 5 shots in a 3" group. With my Marlin I can put them all in a 1" circle. This marlin is about 40 years old and has had well over 1000 rounds thru it and it has never misfired, jammed or anything and the lever action is smooth as glass.
The Henry looks good but don't judge a book by its cover!
 
It's hard to compair a 39 to a golden boy, they are in different price ranges.

If you are not satisfied with your Henry, you should contact them. They have the best customer service in the industry.
 
Welcome to THR and the club, Tundra. Glad you like the 39.

Interesting to hear of quality customer service at Henry.

I wish that Marlin made a .22 mag carbine like they did.
But since they don't i might have to buy a Henry someday.
(Hint, hint, Marlin, just in case you're reading here ...).
 
I really like the way a 39A feels like a full size rifle. I seriously enjoy my still shiney 79 but lust for my Dad's worn 52 with the fatter foregrip. Some don't like the older bigger woodwork but I think it adds to the "real rifle" feel.
 
It's hard to compair a 39 to a golden boy, they are in different price ranges.
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And, of course, "Golden Boys" are made of pot metal, which is guaranteed to give you the lifetime pleasure of shooting dozens of rounds.
 
Never had a Henry, but plenty of people love the ones they have. That's all that matters in my book!
When I was in the market for a 39A a year or so ago, I searched out a pre-safety/rebounding hammer rifle. Found a 1982 model and could not be happier!

IMG_3903.jpg

25 yd ammo testing

IMG_3922.jpg

IMG_3921.jpg

IMG_3920.jpg

IMG_3918.jpg
 
I have a Simons 6.5-20 X 44 on my 39a as use for Silhouette competition at our rifle club.
Try and see how accurate you can be at 40, 60, 77 and 100 meters with your 39a. Or try bench rest at 50 yds at your local club. Shooting squirrels and crows could be fun too with peep sights for those that enjoy that sport.
 
Well I have had 2 model 39's...a 39a and a mountie. Best .22's I have owned/shot! But like an idiot I sold both to fund the next guns that were on my list.:barf: Wish I could have them back. Oh well, guess I can only be young and stupid once......
 
I have an old one, and love it. However, I wish I had the one EAJ posted a picture of as well
 
Well I took my 39 A out for a test drive.:neener:: The gun handled & shot well even my 6 yr. old daughter got her first taste of shooting. Did well with blazer ammo. I will try different ammo next time & try to get pics.:D
 
I have had mine for 58 years now If I could only keep only one firearm from my collection(accumulation) the 39a would be the one.
 
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