The Marlin 39 Club

[molesworth]

I've never seen a bent receiver tang, but it's at least possible if the thing was used as a club or someone fell on it. Likely, it'll be the upper tang that bent, since the lower is pretty thick

What to do is a problem, and you want to be very careful since you can easily make things much worst.

First idea is to send the rifle in to Marlin and let them repair it. They're the experts and I'm sure they've seen this before.

Second choice is a GOOD local gunsmith who knows his stuff.

Probably one or the other would use a milling machine to "drill" the screw head off. I wouldn't try this with any drill press since most of them aren't accurate enough to get most of the screw and not the tang.
If the hole isn't perfectly centered the machinist can "bump" the bit over slightly.
Hopefully, with the head off the screw can be extracted if it isn't bent too badly.
If it is, the shank can be milled down until it can be extracted.

If you insist on trying it yourself, buy a Brownell's Magna-tip screw driver bit.
I'd use a .270-5, .270-6, or .270-7, depending on the screw slot.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=417/Product/MAGNA_TIP_SUPER_SETS_trade_

First, put a drop of Kroil or another good penetrating fluid on the end of the screw. As it soaks in apply a little more.
This will lubricate the threads.

Use the fitted Magna-tip bit to unscrew the screw until it starts to get tight. Stop and apply another drop of lube and give it a minute.
Screw the screw back IN.
Then unscrew until it gets tight again, then back in.
Each time you screw it out, try to turn it JUST a little farther.
Hopefully this will allow the screw to "iron" itself out.

If it doesn't seem to get any easier... STOP. Take it to a pro who can get it out without damaging the tang threads.

When/if you get it out, use a soft copper or lead hammer to gently tap the tang back in shape.
Note that the tang may snap right off if you hammer it too hard or too close to the front.
Marlin would probably induction heat the tang to straighten it, but you can't since that would damage the receiver.

Worse case, you may have to sacrifice the stock to get the screw out.
In this case, you'd cut the stock off and away from the tangs and screw. With the wood gone you could cut the screw in half and unscrew the bottom half.

Again, my first stop would be Marlin.

Thank you very much for the great advice and information. I can't send the rifle to Marlin, as I live far away in a small town in New Zealand. I will, however order a set of Magna-tips and enlist the help of very capable, old-school, Birmingham-trained gunsmith I have recently met, to whom I will give a printed copy of your instructions. This rifle is definitely worth getting right. Again, many thanks.

 

[AStone]

... as I live far away in a small town in New Zealand.

A club member in NZ?!

Wow. We're global now.
Not just international,
but dual hemispheres.
We have arrived.

This rifle is definitely worth getting right.

You can say that again.

Annie would be proud.

 

[dfariswheel]

molesworth

I forgot to discuss the fact that you have a 1920's Marlin.

First, in working the bent tang problem, take note that the receiver in those days was color case hardened.
This means the receiver and tang will have a very thin "skin" or "crust" of glass hard metal and will be fairly soft steel underneath.

Second, the 20's Marlin Model 39 was not made for use with modern high speed .22 ammo unless the serial number starts with "HS".
Use only standard velocity ammunition or the bolt may break.

Here's some good info on the Marlin .22's:

http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/marlin_LARF_rifles.htm

If you need parts:
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

 

[johnmcl]

Hi all,

I had a rare Friday afternoon off. I seized the moment and launched for the range with my early 60's Model 39A.

I had installed a Skinner peep sight that I wanted to get set for 50 yards. Here's the results. You can see the first five near the quarter. One turn of the peep sight in the up direction yielded the results for the next 10.

The ammo is CCI Mini-Mags, High Velocity. I used a Caldwell Rock front rest and a Protektor leather rear rest. The weather was perfect at 85 degrees, no wind, and clear skies.

The target is a B8-C. The target was totally obscured by the front sight bead, which made the military 'Popsicle' sight pattern mandatory. That's where the target rests on top of the front sight bead, rather than a center-of-mass pattern.

So what did I learn? I learned that from a bench that a Skinner peep sight at 50 yards provides scope-like accuracy with stable ammunition and good form. I confirmed yet again how well CCI Mini-Mags shoot out of the 39A platform. They are not match accurate, but the are accurate enough, and most importantly reasonably consistent. Those are all qualities that are fine for our Model 39s.

I also learned how much I missed shooting these wonderful old guns.



Let's get shooting, boys....

 

[flusher]

House storage of 39A

Is there a problem if the gun is stored in the Marlin carton and wiped with silicon once a month?

 

[dfariswheel]

Better to wipe with a rust preventing lubricant like CLP Breakfree.

While cardboard does absorb moisture from the air, companies store guns in the carton for months with no problem.
Just use something like CLP and inspect often.

 

[whiteboy]

Try getting a gun storage bag. They should be around $10 and I believe are made specifically for storing guns to prevent rust with a treated plastic of some sort.

 

[woodchucker]

Hello, I felt compelled to check in and thank Nematocyst and everyone else for making this club what it is and for steering me in the right direction on the decision to get a 39a.
Lots of good information and nice people here.
Found two in stock at a small shop, drove two hundred miles and came home with it in time to go to the property in the Eastern Washington wilderness for the weekend. Put a few rounds through in the limited "fun" time between porch roof repairs, tractor implement setup and storms every fifteen minutes. This thing has perhaps the biggest grin factor of anything I own, and can say unequivocally that it is a keeper. With that I would like to ask permission to join the 39a club if you good folks will have me.

 

[ckckck]

removing rear factory sights?

I just bought a used 39a, and it is already my very favorite gun. It isn't just used, really, it is beat up. And I want to clean it up. Because I love it. There's some rust... But I can't get the rear sight off. I have tapped it. I have applied WD40...and then tapped it harder. It won't budge, and I don't want to do something stupid that will leave marks. Is there an accepted and safe way to do this? Many thanks for any ideas or hints! --CKC

 

[WhoShotNiceGuyEddie]

I also just bought a used 39a for about $250 with a N serial number, so it was made in 1956 based on this http://www.marlin-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2288. I gave it a really good cleaning, and the internals are working great, but the bluing is in pretty bad shape and the finish on the stock isn't too great. I was thinking about getting a self-bluing kit and re-bluing it, and also re-finishing the stock. Is this a bad Idea in concerns to the value of the gun? Would a poor looking Original blue be worth more in the long run than a good looking re-blue? Thanks

 

[yodar]

rust Marlin 39A

I encountered a RUSTED SHUT Ruger Security Six stored under a fellow's water bed !!!

Seven drops of KROIL (Midway or Brownells or Graf & Son) -on on each screw and joint and I waited 24 Hours.

It was FREE the following morning after a few taps with a Rawhide and it was discovered to be LOADED of course !

KROIL KREEPS! it even gets UNDER metal fouling in rifle barrels.permitting easier cleaning after a day or so's rest. A pint small can will last you a lifetime since you use it 1 drop at a time. DO NOT store it on it's side, it will indeed KREEP right out'a the can!

yodar

 

[JustsayMo]

WoodChucker - welcome aboard! Glad to have another local on our team too. If'n you happen to be in the Tonasket area on the second Saturday of May through Oct, join us with your 39 for a major grin fest tipping over steel critter shaped targets. It ain't easy, especially at first but if you manage one more than you did the previous month you're doing great. WAY fun.

Whoshot...- I've refinished a couple of Marlin Stocks - the results were excellent. You wouldn't be risking much of your investment ($250 = good deal on a shoot-able 39). One of the things I like about Marlin 39's and 336's is they made bunches of them and they affordable. Unless you get a limited or rare version, you probably don't hurt the value at all.

I even refinished my 39 Century "Limited" (only made about 38,000 of them in 1970... = fairly common but adds $200-300 to the "value") - It looks WAY better than when I got it and compared to the original finish...

 

[woodchucker]

JustsayMo, thanks for the warm welcome and the kind offer. I'd like to try the steel critter shoot, sounds challenging and lots of fun. Our property is about twenty miles east of Omak, so not too far away. Sounds like a great way to spend a saturday.

 

[JustsayMo]

Woodchucker, great 39 shootin' area, especially in September when Grouse season opens. Got an outpost of my own out that way.

 

[WhoShotNiceGuyEddie]

Mo, Thanks for the advice. It is definitely an awesome gun to shoot, my favorite for sure. I saw it in a pawn shop and couldn't pass up the $250 tag. He even knocked it down to $240 (before background check and tax) for me.

 

[johnmcl]

Mo,

What's the refinish process? I love the color in the wood.

 

[JustsayMo]

John, good to see you levering more ammo into that 39 of yours. Scope like accuracy with the peeps is going to make the iron sight class mighty tough next time we have a match.

The 39 Century Limited arrived in pretty rough shape so I had no reservations about sanding the stock. Below that ugly finish was some pretty nice wood. I sealed it with some Zissners (sp) and then used a satin wipe on poly, sanding between coats. Looks good enough I even toyed with the idea of doing it to more of my Marlins. I've had it out in the rain a few times and it seems to hold up as well if not better than the original finishes.

 

[icedruid]

I ordered a Williams receiver site for the new 39A and mounted it earlier this week. Ran out to the desert today to sight it in. I'm really pleased with this new sight. It certainly helps my aging eyes wring out more of what this gun is capable of.

I used the opportunity to run several types of ammo through the gun to see what it likes. Today I ran Aguila, Winchester, Federal, CCI, and Remington Golden Bullet bulk ammo in the gun. Over 300 rounds down range today and I only had 3 hiccups. Two FTFs and one FTE. I recocked the hammer on both of the two FTF's and both went "bang" on the 2nd attempt. It took two additional cycles of the action to grab the empty on the FTE but on the third attempt the case extracted like it was supposed to and out it came.

So far, the only ammo the gun DOESN'T like is Aguila. All 3 of the "issues" were with Aguila ammo. Shooting this ammo in my 10-22s produces WAY more FTFs and FTEs. (At least one FTF or FTE out of every 10 round mag.) I won't be buying any more Aguila ammo!!!

I did discover one MAJOR issue with the 39A today. As JustSayMo pointed out in an earlier post it has a VORACIOUS appetite. Seems like every time I empty it it begs for more. What's a guy to do??? I gotta keep the gun happy so I keep loading it. In the two weeks that I've had this rifle I've put over 600 rounds down range. At this rate, I'm going to have to start buying 22 ammo in case lots.

This gun is definitely a keeper!!

 

[JustsayMo]

Icedruid, thanks for the excellent range report. Days like that are the best! I hope you pile up a whole bunch more of em.

 

[whiteboy]

Dumb question but how exactly do I go about adjusting the front sight? It seems to shoot a little bit to the right and I want to fix that.

 

[vaupet]

gently tap it at the dovetail, with some wood or other stuf as protection of the blueing.

you shoot right, you want to go left, so you have to tap to the right, 1 mm is about 2 inch at 25 meters I think

greetings

peter

 

[JustsayMo]

how exactly do I go about adjusting the front sight? It seems to shoot a little bit to the right and I want to fix that.

Rarely do I make adjustments on the front sight but if I need to I do it as vaupet described. I drift the sight within the dovetail with a dowel, brass punch or a steel punch padded with tape. The rear sight is usually easier to adjust and typically has a wider range of adjustment.

 

[whiteboy]

Ah thought so. I bought some brass punches so I'll try padding the end with tape or something to not scratch up the bluing. Just wanted to make sure there was no screw I had to loosen or anything before I tapped. Thanks guys.

 

[whiteboy]

Alright I'm having problems getting the tiny little magazine tube band pin in. I've tried to use my punches to put it in but it's not wanting to go in correctly and actually ended up scratching the hell out of my magazine tube. What's the trick to this nonsense? Which way is the pin supposed to go in?

 

[dfariswheel]

Pin can go in from either side.
The trick is to make sure the tiny notch in the magazine tube is properly aligned with the hole in the ferrule.

DO NOT start beating on it. This will distort the magazine tube.
You just have to work with it.

If you have everything properly aligned the pin should go in without too much effort.
Note that the pin may have a slight bend in it to keep it from vibrating out.