The Marlin 39 Club

[Geno]

I was going to purchase a Leupold 6X with A/O and target turrets. Sale fell through because someone else bought the whole rifle/scope package. Oh well.

My wife bought the local Sunday paper, and I saw that Dunhams had the Mueller APV 4.5-14X40 A/O scopes on sale for $114.00! Wow, what a nice scope! I mounted it up onto the 39A, and test-fired 20 rounds of Aguila Colibri at my 20 yard indoor range. All shots grouped into an extremely small cluster. It is amazing how clear the lens are, at 4.5 and even at 14 power!

Now I need to get to the outdoor range and test her out at 100 yards.

Doc2005

 

[Babydeuce]

Let me in, Let me in......I wanna join the club!!!

My name is Jack, and I am a Marlin 39 addict!

A little history first. The first rifle I ever fired was at 18 years of age, and it was an M16 in USAF basic training. Fast forward 15 years to July of 08, I went to visit my father in Montana. He is the second owner of a 39A mid 50's vintage. It was his father's, which he inherited when my grandfather passed. Still up till this time I had only fired the M16, and a shot gun. My father one day handed me the Marlin, and told me to get rid of the gophers out at the edge of the yard. The 39 with a BSA Sweet 22 scope was a pure dream to fire seated from the front porch, I was in love! My 10 year old son also fired it(his first time shooting) and also just loved it. I tried to get my dad to let me fire the Marlin 444 lever, but that was a big no go.

I have always wanted/admired the lever action guns, Marlin specifically, and that feeling has not gone to the wayside.

I took my wife to the local gun shop 2 weeks ago to buy a 40 cal for CHL. While my wife was handling a Taurus, I spotted a Marlin 39 on the used rack. To my surprise, she was a clean little 39D. I would put her at about 85%. I looked at the price, and about died! They wanted $440! We ended up walking out the door with a Taurus 40 PT140, and a Springfield CD-40 subcompact for me.

Out at the range, my wife decides that she absolutely hates the Taurus and loves the Springfield, so I sold the Taurus, gave her the Springfield and put a healthy down payment on the Marlin 39D. I just could not stop thinking about that beautiful little rifle. She is on layaway, and I will have her next month. I hit every gun shop/Pawn shop in town, and found a 2 39A goldens, but they wanted over $500 for a rusted beat up hulk, I could not believe it.

On a side note, my son loved the Marlin so much that he volunteered to take the hunter safety course so he could have his own. I took him back to the same shop, and he had a heck of time deciding what to get, but finally chose a Marlin 925. We pick it up on Thursday, and off to the range on Sunday....cant wait to get mine!


Sorry about the novel, but I am a long time lurker, just needed to get all this off my chest

Jack

 

[JustsayMo]

Welcome Jack!

I'm guessing this thread has contributed to the demand and subsequent price increases of these wonderful rifles. We're glad you found one. I've personally paid too much for a couple of my Marlins but after shooting and hunting with them I'd probably pay even more and wouldn't sell em for double of what I paid.

Good luck with yours. Post pictures, hunting stories and adventures with us.

 

[Babydeuce]

Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it!

By the book, I overpaid...by what I would call market value, I think I scored. 390 OTD, and that included a softcase.

I will have pics ASAP.

Jack

 

[AStone]

Jack, welcome in.

Not to worry about "novels": we like novels here. Great story. Glad you scored. Look forward to pics and range reports.

Nem

 

[SGW42]

Got my Skinner sight today! Had to put it on right away, it screwed right in no problem.



Looks great. Glad I waited for brass. The sight is more low-profile than it looks in pictures. Can't wait to take it to the range.

 

[yodar]

hey SGW42 re: 39-A stock bulseye

Mine fell out during countless moves. Anybody know how to get a replacement bullseye dot?

A simple letter to marlin?

(I just spent mor'en my dad paid for my #39A when I hadda send it to Marlin to rebarrel it (squib-bullet bulge)

Yodar in Central florida

 

[ShakyJake]

Bullseye

Hi, yodar
A quick call to Marlin parts will usually get one in the mail N/C. Some fitting may be required. I'm in Bradenton are you nearby?
TaKe CaRe
Ted

 

[yodar]

ShakyJake

I am in Winter garden

yodar

 

[SGW42]

Yeah I'd call them up, seems as though they are good at sending small parts like that out free of charge.

 

[Burke]

SGW42,

It looks like your open rear sight is folded down in your pic. Is that a stock open sight?

 

[SGW42]

Yup, stock sight that came on the rifle.

From what I've read here I can leave it on the rifle, folded, and still have a clear line of sight for the aperture sight.

 

[tubeshooter]

Man... that Skinner looks nice on there! I just might have to spring for one.

 

[AStone]

I gotta agree, Tube.

I'm wondering how well it would allow me to draw down on a squirrel at 30 m,
given that my eyes are not as good now as a decade ago.

But somehow, it does look ... more appropriate for a 39 than a scope.

 

[Burke]

I'm trying to decide on a brass or blued Skinner. Any opinions?

 

[SGW42]

I went with the brass because added a little "something" to an otherwise blue and walnut nondescript lever-action. It also matches the trigger and the brass frogs on my sling.

A blued model will blend right in and I bet most would not even notice it at a quick glance. Kinda stealthy.

Depends on what you like.

 

[tubeshooter]

I think I'm going brass, for basically the same reason. I think it will kind of go with the gold trigger and add a touch of snazz to the rifle.


Blued is a can't-miss option also though. If I had a blued trigger model, I think I would go with blued. I'm betting it would blend right in regardless.

 

[philgb]

Hi from England !

Fitted a Walther red dot scope to the 39a this morning and went for a play..
what damn good fun !!!!!

Perfectly acceptable accuracy out to 40 yards...half a dozen shots to zero and then had a walk in the woods... 3 shots... 2 grey squirrels and a Magpie !

 

[Shade00]

I know this won't be a problem for most folks, but dad recently called me to complain about his 30 year old Marlin 39A refusing to eject spent casings. He bought the gun new, and I don't believe he's ever cleaned it. Well, needless to say, there was a serious ring of lead just inside the throat where he'd been shooting a bunch of .22 CB Shorts. The .22 LRs were getting stuck in the throat and the bolt catch simply could not extract the rounds. A good cleaning fixed her up, and she's smooth as ever. One of these day I will find one locally. Still kicking myself for passing that one up at $280... and it's hard to keep myself from buying a Henry as a substitute.....

 

[tubeshooter]

Good point, Shade00. The 39a is often advertised as requiring little to no care to function.


I had a situation where I was getting weak extraction more often than not. This was after about 2200 rounds or so with no cleaning, I'd imagine. Did a clean with special focus on where the lead ring would be, and no problems since.

[EDIT: Hi philgb!]

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

A question: A local emporium has an older model 39, fat forend, in very nice shape with a Williams receiver peep on it. The forend has been "customized" with a white & black polymer diamond inset. I did not get a S/N as that close an inspection would indicate serious interest & therefore limit the possibility of negotiating the price in my favor. Which needs to be done IMHO, because I'm prejudiced in favor of my own wallet ya know.

In any case, the emporium thinks it's worth $400.00, what says the club?

900F

 

[tubeshooter]

$400 seems high at first take, but in today's economy and for the more prized older models in good shape it's probably fair.


Of course you could try to get him down a bit, but you don't have a whole lot of room. I wouldn't be expecting to get the rifle for $325 or anything.

 

[SandyEggo53]

Shade00 & 900F,

I've been looking for a used 39A for a few months (also the new one for about a year), finally found a very clean 1969 Mountie for $350 (picked up this week). Very little wear except the bluing on the hammer, a couple very small blemishes on the receiver, the wood was a little dirty, with a few dents. After cleaning it up, steaming the dents out, rubbing down w/fine steel wool, it pretty much looks like only a few years old, not 40....It's great to see the high quality of the Marlin from my 1969 example, and the new ones that I looked at. No wonder they've been popular for over 100 years. Hope Marlin makes a limited edition of some type in the near future, so I can get one for my son...if not, I'll happily get the current standard model.

Drove out to the range this morning, it was closed, so I'll have to wait one more week to shoot it.

Shade00--I've got 2 Henrys (but balanced out with a bolt Marlin, model 60, and a Mountie 39A) and for the $$, the Henrys are great rifles. Top notch customer service--not only do they answer your email, the OWNER answers your email.

The Henrys are very smooth, very accurate, and beautifully finished. Made in the USA. My basic lever Henry is a blast, and 1/2 the price of a new Marlin.

Henry compared to the Marlin 39A is like a Toyota vs a Lexus--both very good, you get your money's worth either way.

 

[Babydeuce]

Range Report

Took out my newly acquired 39D (I call her Little D) to the range today, and cranked out about 300 rounds. I am proud to report that Little D did not have a single FTF/FTL/FTE. I was very pleased at her performance. I must say that I am bit rusty with iron sites, but she his the target every time all the way out to 75 Yards. I did not get a chance to get any pics, but I will soon.

On a side note, my boy broke in his 925 today and shot very well for his first time out. He does have an issue with the front sight. At 50 yards, it is damn near impossible to see. I even had issues with it. Any recommendations on an improvement piece?

Jack

 

[ralpho1]

Scope for 39 mountie (1954)

Was wondering if there was a consensus on an effective scope for this gun. I have been using an old Bushnell Banner 4x since 1968, and it doesn't seem to do the job as well anymore...not unlike myself some days. I was thinking of something with better eye relief and more light gathering capability, all the while not spending hundreds of dollars. Is that wishfull thinking?