sentinel89
Member
Good afternoon,
A friend of mine who's wife wanted his friearms out of the house just sold me a Marlin model 39 .22 S, L and LR for $100. He sold it to me because I am a shooter and a product designer for a local firearms manufacterer, but I am far from a expert on old firearms.
It has an octagon barrel, has a case colored receiver and a takedown screw on the right side of the receiver. The case colors are fading on the right side, but the left side is beautiful. The barrel retains musch of it's original bluing, but has spots of light rust with no pitting. The mag tube is the same. The bore is shiny and rifling is strong. The wood has dings and scratches but no cracks. The screw on the left side of the forend cap is missing. The remaining screw heads aren't buggered up. It does not have a "star" on the tang, which I was told is a symbol of higher quality rifles. Overall, I guess I'd rate it about 60%.
I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. First is date of manufacture - serial number is 16XX. I thought these were made from 1922-1938, but I can't find serial number dates anywhere. Second is value - was this any kind of a bargain? Third is if I clean the rust up with Flitz, will that affect value, or should I just wipe her down with some Kroil? Do you know where I might be able to find an original screw for the forend cap? Lastly, is this only safe with standard velocity ammo?
It's a neat little rifle and a great piece of old world craftsmanship. It will make a nice addition to my collection.
Thanks for your time and have an excellent weekend. Your insight and knowledge is greatly appreciated.
A friend of mine who's wife wanted his friearms out of the house just sold me a Marlin model 39 .22 S, L and LR for $100. He sold it to me because I am a shooter and a product designer for a local firearms manufacterer, but I am far from a expert on old firearms.
It has an octagon barrel, has a case colored receiver and a takedown screw on the right side of the receiver. The case colors are fading on the right side, but the left side is beautiful. The barrel retains musch of it's original bluing, but has spots of light rust with no pitting. The mag tube is the same. The bore is shiny and rifling is strong. The wood has dings and scratches but no cracks. The screw on the left side of the forend cap is missing. The remaining screw heads aren't buggered up. It does not have a "star" on the tang, which I was told is a symbol of higher quality rifles. Overall, I guess I'd rate it about 60%.
I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. First is date of manufacture - serial number is 16XX. I thought these were made from 1922-1938, but I can't find serial number dates anywhere. Second is value - was this any kind of a bargain? Third is if I clean the rust up with Flitz, will that affect value, or should I just wipe her down with some Kroil? Do you know where I might be able to find an original screw for the forend cap? Lastly, is this only safe with standard velocity ammo?
It's a neat little rifle and a great piece of old world craftsmanship. It will make a nice addition to my collection.
Thanks for your time and have an excellent weekend. Your insight and knowledge is greatly appreciated.