The Marlin 39 Club

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That'll work fine, the Williams base won't interfere.

A more elegant, (and cheaper) option is to simply buy a shorter front sight.
This will make the rifle shoot HIGHER and you can lower the rear sight down closer to the receiver.

The Skinner front sight looks nice, and you can cut it down.
The process is to adjust the rear sight down closer to the receiver, but leave a little lee-way.
Then file the new front sight down until it gets close to centering the target.
Once it's where you want it, clean up the sight to make sure the top is square and even, cold blue the filed area, then use the rear sight to do the final targeting.
 
Well I am in. Here is a picture of my daughters shooting for the first time. We are shooting my dad's 39A that he gave me and it was the first rifle I ever shot. This picture was taken a year ago when the girls were 3 and 5 years old and were already going dove and coyote hunting with me every chance I gave them.

I know we should have had eye and ear protection but were were shooting Colibris out of the rifle and there is no report that can harm their ears (I think).

What a joy to teach my girls on the same special rifle that I learned to shoot with.
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mchgnmike

Don't ever misplace that picture! Years from now you will treasure it, I promise. I wouldn't trade the photos of my two sons for anything. They are now 23 and 20 years old. Grown men, but their Daddy and Mama still think of them as babies. Norman Rockwell couldn't have made a better picture than you've got there.
 
Thanks, dfariswheel. I've actually tried the shortest front sight I could find, but I could look into that again.


I have to agree that what I described above wouldn't be very elegant... but I don't think I would mind, at least not much. If it was too ugly I would go ahead and remove the Williams base, I guess.
 
Looks like to me with MchgnMike's arrival at the club, we got three new member (two younger, admittedly, but just think of them as Annie Oakley's in the making ...)

Great photo, dude. Welcome.

D'wheel, I hope you're teaching a Gunsmith 101 class somewhere. Just a basic class on how to troubleshoot, modify, maintain {insert gun models here}. If not, you should be. You've got so much knowledge to offer ... thanks for sharing it here.

Sometimes, when I think of the collective amount of information about 39s hovering around this club, I shiver a bit (in a good way) and see a potential encyclopedia, a 39wiki, of sorts. Kinda like this one, but ... um, 25 - 30X more complete ...

Nem
 
tubeshooter:
Unless you bought the rifle new, you might want to check the front sight ramp.
These are sometimes changed by a previous owners for some reason.
In any event, you can also buy lower or higher ramps to help targeting.

mchgnmike:
THAT's what it's all about.
Most Dad's are out on the golf course or in some bar with their buddies.
Guess who's kids will have the best memories of the Old Man, and will think of him every time they pick up that Marlin?

Nematocyst-870:
I'm a retired Master watchmaker/gunsmith.
Now I pass on the knowledge here.

Yesterday, I took my restored 1950 Model 39-A to my buddies new backyard shooting range.
This is the first time I've shot it at 50 yards, and my eyes are now bad enough, I can't focus on the front sight.

I did well, but quickly fell apart with blurry eyes.
However, after getting sighted in at 50 yards, off the sand bags and before the eye problems got to me, I managed a 3 shot group that I covered with a dime.

Not bad for an old rifle that saw a lot of kids using it over the years.
 
I'm a retired Master watchmaker/gunsmith.
Now I pass on the knowledge here.
Click to expand...
I thought so. You just seem to have more knowledge about these issues than a regular guy who just studies on his own.

And, I'll hasten to add again: those of us in this club and on THR in general always appreciate your input. Thank you.

And congrats on getting the 1950 39A up and running. That must feel great.

Nem
 
Thanks again, dfariswheel. I bought the rifle new back in October and besides the Williams everything is stock. A lower ramp is an option I hadn't considered, I will explore that.


Also, I echo the sentiment that Nem gave above regarding your input on THR. Thanks for all your insight both in this club and throughout the board.
 
Thanks for the positive words on the girls.
My dad loves telling friends about his grand-daughters and that they go hunting with me. He really loves when they ask how many years till they start shooting? He laughs and tells them they have already started, a year ago.

People today cannot accept that guns and kids can be a good thing. I just have to keep reminding them.

I love shooting that rifle. I shoot turtles on the tanks, I shoot dragon flies, marshmallos floating down the river, rocks that I toss in the air, golf balls across the quary, and brass and shells left over from other guns.

I remember sitting on the bank of the Brazos river shooting marshmallows and ritz crackers. My buddy and I shot 3/4 of a full .30 caliber ammo can in an afternoon. That is mykind of shooting.
 
mchgnmike:

Beautiful Picture. It says so much more about you as a man than just that you like to shoot. Thank you for sharing.
 
About as close as I've ever come to shooting things floating down the river is shooting writing spiders in the middle of their web from about 30 feet away. I hate those things! I guess if you've been shooting since you were knee-high to a grasshopper, shooting moving targets is second nature. My father, God rest his soul, would not allow my brother nor I to shoot anything, even a BB gun when we were growing up. I can do pretty good as long as the target is sitting still. If it is moving I need a shotgun to hit it, and then I'm not really all that good. Any pointers on how to get better with a moving target and a .22?
 
Yes, soot a lot and do not shoot at target too far away to the point you get discouraged. Also when throwing stuff in the air to shoot geography and back ground needs to be considered. I shoot in a gravel pit that has a hill/mountain background.

I try to shoot the target just as or just after it hits the apex of the throw. That is when the target's movement is consistant and it's slowest. Start with a large coffee can and toss it up about 6'-10' in the air. Since it is so big you can actually hit it and hear it hit. After you start hitting it multiple times per throw you can move to a smaller can and keep shooting smaller targets as you get better. This is how Ed McGivern shows you how to do it with revolver in his book "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting". This book is must read.

I use the sights but I have shot the gun so much it is natural. When I shoot rimfire it is a slow day when I only shoot a brick. Nothing can help to shoot arial targets more than just trigger time and plinking.
 
Some of my best days were spend shoot gars in a Mississippi River diversion channel.

These are huge ditch-like channels or rivers that are used to divert Mississippi River flood waters to other rivers.
These are as big a a normal river.

Gars are the Gar Fish also known as an "Alligator Gar". They're nasty looking things with a long toothed bill like a salt water saw fish.
The record size was 279 pounds, but most are around 3 feet or so.

There was a big decommissioned old bridge over this particular channel and me a my best bud spent summer days on the bridge shooting gars as they came up to the surface.

THIS was a real sport, since the gars don't stay up long and are the same nasty brown/green color the water is.
You had to shoot fast before they sounded again.

I used a Ruger 10/22, but my buddy had a Marlin 39-A he'd bought as his first gun, and he was deadly with it.
Where I tended to fire 2 or 3 shot bursts, he was quick enough to nail them with single shots.
He always used Outer's Graphite grease on the action.
After all these years of use and the supposed "honing action" of the graphite grease, his Marlin seems to operate itself it's so smooth.
 
Interesting to read tales of plinking from days past. Thanks to all for sharing those. More please.

I've got a few tales, also, but I'll offer those another day.

For now, a question:

He always used Outer's Graphite grease on the action.
After all these years of use and the supposed "honing action" of the graphite grease, his Marlin seems to operate itself it's so smooth.
Click to expand...
D'wheel (and others), would you offer a few words on the best way to apply that graphite grease? I'm assuming an ultra-thin coat applied extremely judiciously, but are there any parts of the action that should be avoided, or that need a bit extra? Any other tips about it to improve the action without gumming things up would be appreciated.

I've already started looking for a supply. So far, I'm finding references to Outer's Graphite Grease, but no suppliers that are selling it by that name right now. Instead, I'm finding things like "GUNSLICK® LUBRICANT Vern Dale's original graphite-based lubricant still the best for keeping firearms working slick." Probably pretty much the same, but ...

I'm going to look around town for some.

N~
 
The actual name of the stuff is "Gunslick Graphite Grease".
It comes in a tiny silver tube, or at least used to.

The instructions said to rub some on then wipe off the excess.

My buddy just applied a little and left it there.
He lubed the front face of the hammer, the entire bolt, except for the outside, the hammer notches and the tip of the trigger, the top of the lever where it contacts the bolt, and the "triangle" area of the bolt which operates the cartridge stop.
In other words, anywhere there's metal rubbing on metal.

This "honing" action doesn't happen quickly, it takes lots of use, but the Marlin gets smoother as you use it, grease or no grease.
 
MCHGNMIKE,

Fantastic pic!

I am really envious. I have been in the sandbox all this year and have really been missing spending time with my little one.

I have full intentions of taking my daughter out and doing the same thing as shown in the photo. Cherish your time with them. Being away is miserable and makes me appreciate every hour I can spend with my little girl.

Again, Great Pic
 
39a Blues

Well the new extractor is in, and it appears to be working well, after I, came back from the shop, I, went in to the back yard and, ran about a dozen rounds of Remington throw it. Nice not having to take a cleaning rod and, knock out the fired case. As soon as I go to Wally World I’ll try some of the Federal that my rifle started to have the trouble with. I would go to the range today but for some reason my mom would like to see me, so yet another week without going to the range. That’s ok I, only have two AR’s that need there scope sighted and, a Glock 17 that hasn’t been shot yet.
 
NIB 39a With Scratches - Is there a quality issue with new Marlins?

Hi, I am new to THR and it was the posts regarding the 39 that got me here.

I have always wanted a lever action .22 since I was a kid and the time never seemed right to spend the money. Until now, that is.

I have priced ordering a new one locally and the local gun shops are looking to get about $450 to order one. I have been keeping an eye out on the auction forums for a good used one and have not come across one in good condition that makes buying used....sight unseen....worth the risk.

I live about 30 miles from a national outdoor retailer and was surprised to find they had two in stock, both NIB. OK so they wanted $10 more for theirs than the local gun stores will order one for, but I could take one home and that prompted me to take a ride to their store.

The guncounter salesman brought both boxes out from the back and I watched as he broke the initial inventory seal on one of the boxes so I suspect neither rifle had received much handling, if any.

I was disappointed to find minor handling scratches/nicks on the top of both receivers and one had beautiful wood, but the finish on the wood was blotched in several places. I picked the best one (non-blotched wood) and handed them my money. I was even more disappointed to find three to four scratches running down the length of the bottom of the barrel, from the front of forearm to about an inch from the muzzle when I was cleaning the gun after returning home with it. All of these scratches were through the bluing so it went right back to the store.

They were very helpful and pulled the other 39a out of the back and guess what; it had the same type of scratches on its barrel when we looked at it closely in good light. They gave me my money back and kept their 39a.

I had a similar experinece with another national sporting goods chain...didn't buy a rifle there though...where I inspected four different rifles (two Rugers and two Brownings) and all of the rifles had either scratches or blemishes in the bluing.

When I had my first experience, I chalked it up to them perhaps buying 'seconds' and decided I would not bother shopping there anymore, but when it happened with another national store, it gave me reason to reconsider my judgement.

Does anyone have a similar experience or am I the only one?

Is there a market for 'seconds' in the firearms industry where damaged goods are sold at a discount and left up to the retailer to determine whether to mark them as 'seconds' or is it considered standard practice to sell firearms as new even when they are far from perfect? I know I would be haggling with someone trying to sell a used firearm with these types of blemishes and don't feel I should bear the brunt of devaluation when the blemishes are the result of someone else's mishandling. Caveat Emptor clearly applies.

Are my standards too high to expect a 'perfect' rifle when it takes $450-$500 to take one of these .22s home or has the term new in box changed to include some very apparent handling scratches?

Thanks to all for considering my situation and for your comments.
 
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Heres what I did today about 100 yards out with a reddot on my 39a
 

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