The Marlin 39 Club

[Officers'Wife]

Hi Rollis,

Hope you mend quickly, if it's any help my husband and I planned to go shooting this afternoon but it was raining. And I just found three boxes of ammunition for my great grandfather's 92 Winchester!

Selena

 

[Fast Frank]

Rollis- sorry to hear of your accident. Hope it recovers right.
Sorry you didn't get you targets in before it happened.

Joe Kidd- If you have been following this thread, you probably know that you don't want MY opinion on scopes!

And speaking of scopes...

I tore the whole thing apart (Again) looking for the reason why my rifle wants to shoot six inches to the right.

I found it.

Apparently in my effort to eliminate flex I sorta over torqued the clamp on my front ring.

OK, "sorta" is a bit misleading. I smeared it all out of shape.

The Allen bolt mashed the shoulder in the hole, and the head of the bolt was contacting the rail. This was holding the left side of the mount away from the mount rail and causing the barrel to point off to the right.





I swapped out the rings, turned them around the other way, and torqued them correctly.

maybe NOW I can shoot this contest... Maybe.

 

[Mousegun]

Hey Fast Frank, I too had issues with my 39 when I first got it. I am more of a pistol shooter and didn't know a lot about rifles.

The first thing I did was work the trigger.
Trigger jobber

Then I tried to understand why my shots were not getting in there like I knew I could do so I did some work on my scope mount. I don't remember if mine was the mount that came from Marlin or if I got it with the scope but what I did was hone the base of the mount so that it did not sit in free space like the one in your video showed. It now made positive contact with the barrel and when tightened down, it had no daylight between the far end and the barrel. I got fat scope mounts like yours and tightened everything up snug.

Still the bench results were not what I wanted them to be. It was only then that I found out how important a consistent hold was in accuracy. I can keep the cross hairs steady at 50 yards by resting my elbows on the bench and holding the rifle by hand. When I rested the gun in a chock, the point of impact moved considerably.

Putting 2 and 2 together, I determined a 22 (and maybe all rifles) were very subject to how they were held to keep consistency and POI.

This is not to say that the scope mount didn't help but hold made the difference more than anything in my case.

 

[Fast Frank]

Mousegun, I couldn't agree with you more about how technique affects accuracy.

There were some obvious problems with this rifle that I've been trying to work out.

Hopefully, I've made some progress.

We'll see, won't we? (This rifle has finished dead last in the last two contests)

Are you shooting the shamrock shootout with us? This is a fun shoot, and the main goal is to get out and shoot the 39s. Everybody wins!

 

[CB900F]

Joe;

There are several that will fill the bill for you. As a suggestion, look at the Sightron 3-9X rimfire. I believe that they are on sale these days for around $100.00. I have one, and will say that they are a very decent scope for the money.

900F

 

[AStone]

Rollis, sending my best get well wishes.
Looks like you've got a comfy place there
(except no 39 close by; they've been proven to help healing).

Joe, I recommend taking a look at Leupold's rimfire scopes.
Got a 28 mm rimfire on my 39. Size fits it. Parallax set for short distance. Crisp optics.

 

[Mal H]

Rollis - Wow! Not fun! That's one serious slip up. You must have been
hit by one of those large bursts of high gravity that have been plaguing folks in the north and midwest this year.

Here's hoping you mend quickly and get back on your feet soon.

 

[tubeshooter]

Hope you mend up soon and good-as-new, Rollis.

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

Thanks for all the get wells, Officers Wife Tube Shooter and everybody else. Mal H, that damn gravity gets me every time, Nem. The nurses at OVMC would not have approved of the 39, but it would be nice. I even had to put up all the guns here at the house because this weekend my kid has about 6 or 7 buddies over for his birthday and I don’t want anything left to chance. I wonder if this headache is from the fall or the kids…..? Fast Frank I know were your headache is coming from.

 

[AStone]

Get well card

Rollis, I just reread your post from yesterday more carefully, especially this part:

Slipped and fell on ice, broke ankle, tore ligaments.
03-11-08: Surgery, 1 plate, 6 screws, and a cable to holed it all together.

Man, that's really tough.
I feel for you, dude.

A close friend was involved in an accident several years ago in which a car (accidentally) backed over his leg. He had similar surgery, plate, screws, etc, and was laid up for about the same amount of time.

But look at the bright side: you'll have LOTS of time to read on THR, learning all kinds of cool stuff, and can share your knowledge with posts that you'll have time to write while resting your leg.

(OK, OK, a lining to a cloud, but a silver one nonetheless.)

Nem

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

Nem. Yes I’m doing some caching up on the boards. Later today I think I will be able to get down to the basement, and do some more work in the shop, I’ll get hell from Susie but she will still love me….I hope

 

[Fast Frank]

Well, The rifle still isn't shooting straight.

I'm about to conclude that the Bsquare base is drilled crooked.

I'll have to take it off and measure before I can prove it, but that's what I suspect.

No matter what I do, the rifle wants to hit WAY to the right.

I may revert back to the three ring circus for the shamrock shoot.

 

[rimfirerick]

O.K. all you 39ers what ammo works best, tightest group, consistantly?

 

[Gila Jorge]

I plan on mounting a Leupold 2X on my 39a for running jacks in the Southwest desert...will use either Warne of a picatinny rail as you did..

 

[JustsayMo]

RimfireRick: That is a loaded question ... and I'll guess there are at least a few dozen correct answers. Here's my long and short answers.

Of the four 39's I've been lucky enough to own only one was finicky about ammo, that was the 39 TDS with a 16" barrel. With ammo it liked, Federal Bulk and RWS target it out performed the other three. With ammo it didn't like, anything from Aguila, Remington or CCI it got ugly. No real middle ground with that rifle.

The others seem to be less finicky and will shoot most ammo reasonably well. Aguila SE Subsonic shoots consistently better in my 39's and most of my other non-autoloading rimfires. For the money <$15 a brick last time I checked, it's a good value.

I was skeptical about the Federal Bulk ammo until I tried it. For cheap ammo it isn't bad and it will cycle my auto-loading rimfires. All of my 39's shoot it well and my 24" 39 has put them inside a nickle at 50 yards. With open sights and aging eyes that didn't happen every time but I'd say once or twice per outing I could accomplish it. There are more fliers with this ammo - I'd estimate 2 out of 10 on average. I've never had one fail to fire and I've fired thousands and thousands of them.

RWS target cost me around $30/brick last time I bought it. In rimfires that like it, and my 39's do, it will consistently outperform other ammo. For the slight improvement in group size I don't see much value in it. A Grouse isn't going to notice the 1/4" difference in where it was hit. For a serious competition I would use it.

The category Winners of the last couple of 39 Matches we've had used CCI mini mags (3), Federal GM Match (2), Winchester Wildcat, Federal Champions, Lapua Multi-Match and Remington Bulk...

The short answer is, buy a bunch of ammo and go find out what your's likes.

 

[CB900F]

Rimfirerick;

Only you can answer your question. It is entirely possible that two consecutive serial numbered model 39's will have two entirely different tastes in ammo. Twenty-two rimfires are notoriously picky about what they do, and don't, like to be fed. Lot numbers are important information too, if you're going to be trying to maximize accuracy on a consistent basis.

Buy a whole bunch of .22 ammo. Not only different brands, but different varieties within a brand also. Go to a decent range with a good bench, shoot the targets & make your decision based on what your particular rifle does. What your buddy's gun does means nothing, zip, nada.

That being said, generally speaking, the better ammo will perform better. But, do you want to spend the bucks? I hunt a lot with my .22's. If I can get near match ammo accuracy from a "better" hp box round like the Winchester PowerPoints or CCI Mini-Mags, it's good enough for me at $6.00 per hundred rather than some Euro brand Extra Match at $14.95 for 50. I do tend to avoid the gobs of rounds in a waxed milk carton though. They tend to be A: Dirty. B: Unreliable. C: Inaccurate. And D: Cheap. How important is cheap to you?

900F

 

[rimfirerick]

Thanks CB900F and Justsaymo. I have been a fan of Winchester Super X for a long time but it's getting harder to find now. I thought I would try something else.

 

[Old Rooster]

Model 39

I sure hope I am doing this right this is my first post, they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks so here goes, about 23 years ago I bought a Marlin mod. 39 that is in excellent shape the serial # has a Z and 5 number digits can anyone help with an aprox. age of this gun. I tried the marlin manufacture dates that was in an earlier post to no avail. I sure would appreciate any info you can help with Thank You . I have drawn a blank so far. :banghead:

 

[Fast Frank]

Welcome, Old Rooster...

And thanks for gracing us with your first post!

It looks like Z=1964

 

[andrechuk]

I recently picked up a 1947 39a that was tapped on the left side of the barrel for a scope. I removed the scope and stock rear sight, then installed a Marble tang peep sight, and filled the stock sight dovetail with a blank.

I want to fill the holes where the barrel was tapped for the scope. There are four of them, and as you can see in the photo, I filled two of them, using the two screws I removed from the tang for the Marble's sight (the sight came with new ones). They are headless and sit flush, which looks better than the headed screws from the scope.

Anyone know the size of these screws, so I can order some more to fill in the other two? I was thinking Brownell's, but maybe I should get them from Marlin? There are a couple on the receiver that are a little buggered, so I'd replace them, too, if I could find a source.

Thanks. I like this rifle a lot.

 

[AStone]

Rooster, always great to have first posts in the club house. We're glad you're here.
Hang out, dude. Tell us stories about that 39.

Andre, great to have you here. Those buggered taps may require a smith,
but others more knowledgeable than me will have more suggestions.
Cool tang sight, though. (Not to mention one beautiful stock. )
How does it shoot?

Selena, great to have shooting women in the club.
Please don't be a stranger. (And bring friends!)
That ammo will shoot just as well in a 39,
though all levers are great.

Nem

 

[joe_kidd]

Well, went into the shop today and ordered a Leupold VX-I 2-7x33 for the Marlin I have on backorder. It's gloss black with the standard duplex. Thanks to everyone for the input. Now I'll just have to wait for it to all arrive...

The guy recommended some Millett rings - are these any good, or do I remember someone on here having an issue with them?

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

Andrechuk, that Marble tang sight just reminds me of how ugly the Williams side mounted sight is, I think that it comes off as soon as I can get down to the shop. I’ll put the Nikon 1.5-4x scope back on till I get my pennies saved for the Marble. The Nikon is just wasting away on the deer barrel for my 11-87. Now that I think about it were the hell is my deer barrel for the 11-87…… I’ll post the pictures when it’s done.

 

[DJR]

(Bumping this back to page 1)

O.K. all you 39ers what ammo works best, tightest group, consistantly? rimfirerick

The Heartbreaker challenge gave me an excuse to shoot a bunch of different ammunition through my rifle. Nothing exotic but some of it middle of the pack range stuff. For a ground squirrel shoot I could probably get away with any of it. On paper I was pleased but not real impressed until I got to an old box of Win. Wildcats. I really didn't expect much out of them but the first three shot group was about half the size of whatever I had shot previously. That continued until I had used them up.

I shot the unmagnified side of that match with CCI green tag I think. Might have been Rem. subsonics I'd have to go back and look. Anyway, I have some more Wildcats to try if the wind ever stops but they are from a different lot # so who knows. I'd like to take the time to chronograph everything next time, we'll see.

DJR

 

[AStone]

Anyway, I have some more Wildcats to try ...

DJR, sounds like you'd best hang on to some of those for times that you really need them.