The Marlin 39 Club

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MAJOR BUMMER Joe!

I'd be might tempted to hunt down a used copy. Around here if you can find one for $300 in reasonable shape you can always get your money back easy. The two I've parted with brought a nice little net gain which was the main reason for letting em go at all.
 
More Fun with a 39!

I got the chance play with my 39A Mountie this weekend at a Rimfire Cowboy Silhouette match. Course of Fire: 40 round match, fired offhand, 10 shots each at steel Chickens, Pigs, Turkeys, and Rams at 40, 50, 75, and 100 meters respectively (half-size silhouettes).

I only managed to knock down half of em but enjoyed it so much I plan to go back next month and do it again. I think the winner knocked down 34 using a tang sighted 39. Not bad considering the last half of the match was shot in a gusting left quartering wind that at the 75 yard turkeys required aiming at the tail to catch the front half of the breast.

I used the same sight setting for the Chickens, Pigs and Turkeys but the 100 yard Rams required another notch up on the elevator ramp.

There was a Pistol Caliber match too so I entered that using my Marlin 1894 in 45 colt. They would have allowed me to use my 39 though... The only ammo I had for it was loaded for my Ruger Vaqueros. It's a 270 grain Keith style SWC that gets around 900 fps in the Rugers and my best guess is right around 1150 in the Marlin. It cycles fine through my 1894 despite t being 0.060 over length which is one of the things I like about this rifle - it eats everything without complaint.

I got off to a good start nailing 8 of the 40 yard chickens and the same with the 50 yard pigs. A low hit would literally flip the chickens four feet in the air and eight feet back. I struggled with the Turkeys only managing four of em and on my first rack of Rams I missed every one. for the second rack I loaded up the five home cast 255 grain RNFP's I had with me and managed to toppled three of the five. My guess is the RNFP few a little better in the wind than the Keith style SWC when shot from my rifle.
 
Brand new Model 39A...

Hello folks, new member with a question here...

I have just purchased a brand new Model 39A which is presently sitting at the gun shop waiting for the paperwork to be processed. This will be my first rimfire lever gun, my other rimfire rifle is a Winchester 52 and I have several rimfire pistols and am paranoid about dry firing a rimfire gun on an empty chamber.

SO my question is, what happens if you loose track of the number of shots fired and unexpectedly pull the trigger on an empty chamber after the last shell has been ejected? Does the modern 39A have some measure or function to prevent you from driving the firing pin into the chamber when it is empty? I know about the inspection hole to see the end of the plunger or a cartridge if it is present, but what happens when in the excitement of shooting if you lose track and fail to look at the inspection port?

I ask this thinking about the semi-automatic pistols that will lock the slide back after the last round has been ejected. From what I see of the info on the Model 39A, there does not seem to be any such device or function or am I missing something in my readng? Many years ago I had a Savage leveraction deer rifle in .32 rem, very simple and in that instance, if accidently fired on a empty chamber, it was no big issue being a centerfire gun and no harm was done.

Thanks in advance for your attention, Mitch & Shadow...

P.S. Shadow is an extremely precocious 18 month old female Black Labrador that ocupies herself with keeping me entertained full time...
 
"unexpectedly pull the trigger on an empty chamber"

I don't know about the new ones, but I've been doing that to my Mountie (a lot more than I'd like to admit) since '63.

John
 
Gun show downtown Birmingham this Sat - Sun (May 17 - 18). I'm motivated to find another Marlin .22 - you guys are driving me nuts!

While I don't expect to find any guns for a dollar, we'll report back first of next week.

Meanwhile, this week's fatality list:
Mon May 12: 2 confirmed chipmunk kills
Tues May 13: 2 confirmed 'munk kills
Wed May 14: 1 confirmed kill. And I missed another; he got away clean while I levered in the next round. Durn!
 
ShadowChaser:

The Marlin 39 has a positive firing pin stop.
Unless worn or broken the firing pin cannot touch the rear of the barrel.
MOST more modern .22 firearms do have positive stop designs, and the Marlin was ahead of it's time.
 
Feeling lucky 'munk?

Shadow, those of us who shoot our 39's have all probably dropped the hammer on an empty chamber after running it dry many times. I haven't noticed any damage and I've done it hundreds of times.

"Was that 19 shots or only 18? Feeling lucky 'munk?"

I believe that is a direct Sadlsor quote who probably has enough 'munk pelts to his credit that PETA has listed him as their public enemy number one. :p

FWIW when I dry fire practice I use empty cases- mine will cycle them and it gives me some peace of mind.
 
I may have mentioned I'd post a picture... now I have 2 Marlin's. I did find the Model 60 I was looking for, at the very first table I saw at the gun show. Here it is standing next to his older brother... (brother in arms?)
296751230_SLaVP-L.jpg

A couple of other pix on my smugmug account.
I added a little commentary in the captions under each photo.
This Model 60 was tagged at $149 as-is, but I asked whether there was room to negotiate. Came down to $115 out the door, so I chose this one over a $79 beater on another table, with no scope. As .22 shorts are not recommended, I haven't shot any .22 LR in it yet, so it's not been fired or tested by me. The other Model 60 was rough, rough, rough. Talked the beater down down to $50, but I decided I needed something to shoot, and not just a project gun. It was missing 2 screws under the trigger assembly, and the remaining screws looked like they had all been removed with a chisel. I might have paid $20 for that one, but it would be weeks before I could repair it to shoot.
 
Sadlsor you're driving down the prices of Marlins! :p;):neener:

Don't worry folks, I've done my part to keep the prices high by paying ransoms for a couple of mine... :what:

Next time I'll drive and pay admission but you have to negotiate for me.
 
Well, it's like this, you see... it's a mottled effect implemented by a custom stock-maker craftsman, you may have heard of him. Bartholomew "Eagle-Eye Blackjack" Jones, of Mesa, Arizona. It was expensive, and took 14 days to create in 1976. It IS unusual looking, isn't it?
295159420_pem5Q-M.jpg
No, not really. When I was in the Navy, our SSN was dispatched for 2 weeks for some exercise or another, while one of my shipmates remained behind for training. He went out drinking one night, got totally shirt-faced, came back to the barracks and promptly passed out in the shower. His great big behind (and it was BIG) completely covered the drain, so the whole barracks floor was flooded. We came back after our run to about 4 inches of standing water. I had left the 39M standing in a corner of my closet, in a fabric gun sleeve.

The stock is not warped or swollen (miracle), but water-stained. I would refinish it, except that now that I've gotten motivated to do it, I'm shooting it daily. I'm torn. If I take it down to make it pretty again, that means 3 to 4 chipmunks live another day to dig holes in my yard and just generally pi$$ me off by being alive. (Actually, once I get the Model 60 sighted in, I can put it in service while I remedy the apparent stock psoriasis on the 39M.)

You can click on Marlin Model 60 or Marlin 39M in the "Other Galleries" on my smugmug photo pages.
 
Unbelievable!

I bought a 1974 Marlin Original Golden 39M as my first rifle, in 1976. For all these intervening years, and even hanging around here a few weeks, I thought I had a 39A, that just looked different than the pistol-gripped, curved-lever version. I'm embarassed, but also excited, to realize I have a somewhat-highly-sought Mountie. (OH! That's what the -M is for?! D-oh! :oops: )

I've Googled for an hour, but there is precious little *definitive* explanation. But from what I've gathered from other forums, sort of by osmosis, is mine IS a Mountie. Straight stock, straight lever, shorter 20-inch barrel, gold trigger.

Wikipedia, while far from the inarguable last word, states, "Additionally "mountie" versions have been produced at various points in the rifle's life which featured a shorter 20" barrel and a straight stock. These rifles have been alternately called Model 39M or 1897 Mountie." Even Marlin's official site does not specifically match the -M designation to the Mountie variation.

I must express my appreciation for y'all not having roasted me over a red-hot muzzle for my ignorance.
 
Sadlsor, decrypting Marlin's designations is a high art. I have two Marlin 39AMounties that for a while I thought they were 39M's...:confused:

Your telling of the Navy story is classic! You just can't make that stuff up. It's almost worth leaving the stock the way it is just so you can tell the story to the next guy who asks.

That's what I like best about this thread; where else can you shoot the "shirt" with a bunch of great guys and hear about how a fat guy nearly drown a Marlin 39?

More proof that Mark Twain was right when he said; "The difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to make sense."

Thanks for the laugh! :D
 
JustSayMo relates:
I have two Marlin 39AMounties that for a while I thought they were 39M's...
Click to expand...

Hey, Mo - don't confuse me with the facts; my mind's made up! :p
It's GOT to be a Mountie!
If for no other reason, than now I have a REAL reason to go find a REAL 39A.

(Oh, yeah... chalk up 2 more chipmunks who the Mountie has sent to that great oak tree in the sky today.)

(Cross-posted to marlin-collectors forum.)
 
Gotta agree with Mo, Sadlsor: great story. Thanks for explaining the stock mystery. I can understand your decision: if it ain't broke, but is ugly, do you fix it? (Knowing me, and given that the rest of the gun is so beautiful, I'd fix it, but that's just me being a perfectionist.)

And with much respect to you and your animal preferences, I guess I'm happy that I don't own property and thus, have no yard. I love chipmunks.

My favorite camping spot in the world (currently) - about three hours from here on the edge of the desert - has a very healthy population of them. I can sit for hours and watch the wind blow and the chipmunks forage. Unless I was going to eat one (and I'd have to be really hungry), I couldn't shoot one.

Of course, that's just me, too: I don't believe in shooting anything I'm not going to eat.

If others do, I have no problem with it, but it's just not in me. Probably because I'm a biologist, and just love living stuff. Life is such an amazing phenomenon.

Of course, if I'm hungry, or just want some squirrel stew, I'm glad I've got my 39 to help satiate the desire. After all, as a biologist, I know that life can't exist without death (of other life forms for food). ;)

Nem
 
Your screen name clued me to your bio-connection.
I'm not overly sensitive, but fact is I don't kill for killing's sake, but there are four large holes in the backyard that I simply cannot fill. For long. Tunnels are always re-appearing, and the holes are wide and deep enough a small elephant could break a leg. Kid you not. I don't think concrete is the best solution.
Yesterday I shot a raccoon and a rabbit out back, and another rabbit today. Since I knew I wasn't going to eat them, I used mini-DV for the shots. Shoulda used a tripod, tho. It's really, really quiet... moreso than the Colibri Aguila's!
Chipmunks are kind of like the nuclear reactors, I suppose. They're good, and we may need them, but... just not in MY backyard.
 
Sadlsor, to make matters even more confusing, they made mounties with 24" barrels too. I'd LOVE to find one of those! It would be awesome for the offhand rimfire silhouette matches and look mighty cool too. Of course unless I had you along with me I'd pay WAY too much for it...
 
39D

Where do i find the serial number on a 39D?
What is the going value of a 39D? It is missing two spots of blueing on the magazine tube but everything else is clean and in good condition.
 
Case help?

Hi everyone! This is a first post, thanks for being here. Is there a backpack style takedown case available for a Mountie? Does anyone have a recommendation for a proper sling for the same Mountie?

Back in '67, as a senior in High School I used my after school job at a combination gun/lock shop in Virginia Minnesota to buy a new Mountie. I think I sold it to keep a 1962 Chevy II running and moved on... Last winter I found a '67 Mountie in great shape on GB. It came a few days later, and I've really enjoyed having one back in my cabinet.

Thanks for all your help.

Pete
75 Norton Roadster
 
Roadster;

You may be thinking of the case for the TDS. The TDS was a mini-variant of the Mountie theme. It came with case and a blue plastic device that was supposed to help hold the internals in place when it was taken down. TDS stood for "Take Down System".

The little booger had a 16.5" barrel and a shorter LOP buttstock & was significantly shorter than the standard Mountie. It shared the English style stock & lever of the Mountie. One of them goes about 32.5" long assembled & weighs about 5.25 lbs. Unassembled, they'll fit into a large pack.

That's the only model 39 I can think of that actually had a factory supplied case. Other models, ie Papoose, have cases but no other 39's.

900F
 
Zeek, I don't know about the -D serial number. The usual places of course, include behind the hammer (on my -M), on the frame beneath the cocking lever, or in some cases on the steel tang going into the buttstock, only visible upon removal of the stock.

If you don't get an answer here soon, consider looking on http://www.marlinowners.com/

As an aside, and not to hijack the thread, I find it interesting to see the screen names and other references to motorbikes on THR. Always been amused (and included) those who enjoy firearms and 2 wheelers. Is it that combustion / bang factor which brings us together? Dunno... :)
 
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