Marlin Golden 39 and jamming

[Readyrod]

Can anyone tell me if the Marlin Golden 39 suffers from the dreaded Marlin jam?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I don't know what a classic Marlin jam would be but my 39, after many hundreds of rounds without cleaning would reward too fast a working of the action with stopping the bolt on the forward movement. Blasting most any lube in and working the action at a reasonable rate dealt with it till proper cleaning.

I even have an ooold octagonal barrel that flops about worse than a 1911 and it's immune to full-stop jamming.

 

[hang fire]

All Marlin products (and especially so for the lever guns) have suffered quality control problems since the company was purchased by Remington.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I recall a jam with 22 shorts that was caused by short stroking the lever but never a "dreaded Marlin jam".

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The 39 is a very old design and takes a lot of machining. I had one that I bought for my son and it was nothing but trouble. The screws had to be adjusted just right for it to function. I have not seen this problem or any others with the Winchester 94/22 or the Henry.

No "marlin jams" for the 39. They are quite different.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I guess it's time one of the uninitiated asked: What's "the dreaded Marlin jam"?

I have two 39s, a 60 and a couple of bolt .22s and as yet am luckily unaware of this phenomena.

 

[Readyrod]

This:
http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Marlin94Fix.html

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I see, thanks Rod.

 

[tubeshooter]

I always thought the dreaded "Marlin Jam" was a centerfire-only thing, and mostly with the 1894s.
At least that's the impression I got.


There are people here who know for sure. Hope they chime in.

 

[dfariswheel]

The "Marlin Jam" as liked above is a center fire problem, not a rim fire.

You may occasionally see a Model 39 series jam but it's almost always a problem with a fouled action or hesitant operator error.

 

[jeepnik]

Two things come to mind. One, is it cleaned and lubed correctly. .22's are notoriously dirty. Second, what type of ammo. If it's happening with .22 lr, it might just be that the COL is a tad bit longer on the brand you're using. Try a few different brands. .22's are also notoriously picky about ammo. Any two coming off the assembly line might prefer two entirely different brands/power levels/bullet designs.

 

[22-rimfire]

You may occasionally see a Model 39 series jam but it's almost always a problem with a fouled action or hesitant operator error.

Yep.

 

[Tedzilla]

I've used a 39 continuously since I was 12, I'm now 61. My father used the same rifle from the time he was 12 before me. I've fired thousands of rounds through it and never had a jam like described in the link posted.
Around 20 years ago I picked up another vintage 1930s 39, no problems with it either.
It's a shame Marlin couldn't scale up the 39 action for it's centerfire rifles.

 

[Readyrod]

Great folks. Thanks for the input. I really like the looks of the 39. I'll put it on my list.