The Marlin 39 Club

[eastbank]

does any one have the little bullseye that marlin put in their butt stock? mine is missing, if you would like to sell me one please pm me. my marlin 39m was made in 1967 has a AC prefix, it has the white spacer, factory swieves and a saddle ring. eastbank.

 

[JustsayMo]

Brownells usually carries them.

 

[stubbfarmer]

There is a how to do article in the Marlin section of Rimfire Central on replacing the bullseye. Also I have read that Marlin will send you a new one for free if you call them.

 

[Bucksnort101]

Hello, I'm new here and figured this would be the best place to post me questions on the Marlin 39 series rifle.
Currently I am shooting a Henry .22 for small game and plinking and would like to purchase a Marlin 39 model rifle. Wondering what I should look for at local gun shows and on-line gun sales. Rifle will be used for everything from small gam hunting, target shooting, plinking. Do not really like the look of the new production models and like the though of a gun with some charactor and history behind it.
Are there any years or types I should be keeping an eye open for? Models to stear away from, etc.. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[JustsayMo]

Bucksnort101: Welcome to THR and the 39 Club.

You are pretty safe with the model 39. Some of the more recent rebounding hammer versions have had some failure to fire issues that are generally easy to correct if you are mechanically inclined.

There are a multitude of variations of the model 39. The most common and least expensive is the pistol gripped 24" barrel version. Variations include straight stocks, barrel lengths 16, 20 & 24, round and octagonal barrels, Fluted, checkered and plain stocks; slim, fat and checkered fore-stocks, even crescent buttplates... to name a few.

The Henrys I've seen are decent rifles. Dr Twigs did very well with his Henry in our Levergun matches. Where I think the 39 is superior is the quality and robustness in comparison. The 39s also hold their value very well.

Pretty hard to go wrong with a 39. The toughest part is usually finding one. For many, myself included the biggest regret is not buying one sooner.

 

[dfariswheel]

In general, any Marlin made prior to WWII is going to be a high dollar collectible.

Any Marlin 39 series made between 1946 and the mid-1980's is good to go. The more recent models with the checkered wood, rebounding hammer and cross-bolt safety are also good shooters, but offend the lever action gods who don't like changes to the design.

Best advice is to just shop for one and pay attention to condition and watch out for alterations or "Billy Bob" gunsmithing. If you see one that looks good, it usually is.

Things like slightly dented up stocks, thinning blue and a spot or so of external rust won't affect shooting. As long as its in good mechanical shape and the bore is good, you'll have a shooter.

 

[Bucksnort101]

Thanks for the input. I kinda like a rifle with a few dings and nicks and such, give a gun some character. Don't really care for the checkered furniture on the newer rifles, but if I don't find a used rifle to my liking may have to go that route.
The search begins

 

[Bucksnort101]

History of Marlin 39 Rifle?

OK, now that I've decided to look for a Marlin 39, are there any books, articles, web sites, etc.. that I can read up on different models, S/N dating, history and the like for the 39?

 

[teetertotter]

I am of the opinion to buy new as don't have to worry about past care of the firearm. I prefer starting with new as am not a collector of sorts and will be assured of consistant accuracy after found the right ammo it likes. Like buying a car and if used, how was it cared for? If you decide on used, I'd have my bore light and knocking it apart to inspect. Good luck with your new purchase!
Accuracy will surely improve with a 2lb trigger too!

 

[CB900F]

Teetertotter;

I'll respectfully disagree. Model 39's have always sold at a premium compared to the general .22 market. Most folks who bought one recognized the quality that they paid for & therefore took care of their guns. That's not to say that used & abused model 39's don't exist, but they do tend to be both rare & obvious. Buying a 40's, 50's, 60's, model 39 is almost always a revalation to a new owner when they compare the workmanship to current production damn near anything. And boy do they shoot.

900F

 

[dfariswheel]

Here's a site to date Marlin's:

http://armscollectors.com/sn/marlinlookup.php

Here's some history:

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

 

[Retired in 2001]

Marlin missing Bullseye

I gave Marlin a call they sent two out real quick

 

[humble]

mountie

ihave a nice mountie for sale for someone in the club phone me at 828 632 9896 thanks jerry:

 

[jjbooth]

hello i tried to go to the sight for mfg dates at armscolector.com and did not have any sucsess im looking for the date on a 336 with the first two #'s of 25. when i submitted the # it would just take me to the top of the page,are there anyother sites or books?
any info would be appreciated.
thank you

 

[dougw47]

Sign me up...

I like the Marlin 39!

 

[vaupet]

Problems for European Marlin fans

I want to install a Lyman FP sight on to both my 39 and my 336, but I can't find a dealer in western Europe who carries them as stock :banghead:

Sending them over from the states, according to my gunsmith would take between 3 and 6 months as he states that a export licence for weapon parts needs to be issued by the US government.

Clearly, not se"nding 2 Lyman peep-sights over to a customer in Belgium must be of vital importance to the homeland security

Annyone got some tips?

frustrated greetings,

Peter

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I was trying out my 39A with Skinner peep sites today. I've had her almost 30 years. I'm not quite settled in with the Skinner because out of the blue I could not get the empty cases to eject. Everything worked fine with unfired rounds. I tried Federal target grade, CCI Minmags, and Stingers. Unless I was very slow with the lever I could not eject an empty.

Ok, took it apart and opened the extractor up. Extracting and ejecting ok now but the Stingers won't feed if I cycle the lever at a reasonable speed. Stingers were all I had left in my pocket at that point so I'm not sure about the other brands. A kind of disappointing day which is a real rarity with this rifle. She's real clean but must be due for tune-up.

Anyhow, out of the rounds I did fire ( at 40 yards) the Federal Target Grade was a scary tight group, The Minimags and Stinger patterns opened up but by then I was getting pretty frustrated and unfocused.

 

[1bigguy]

I'm new around here and just wanted to say hello after reading through all 102 pages of the thread. I don't own a 39 yet but that will change shortly. Thanks for the hours of truly interesting reading.

Scott

 

[Halwg]

Here is a better picture of my 39A and it's a 1975 model. I think I mistakenly posted it was a 1974 model and the first pics was very dark and didn't show off the wood.

 

[1bigguy]

Man is that ever some nice wood Halwg. How long have you owned it?

I just bought my first 39a. Actually two from the same guy, a Mountie and a standard version. Can't wait to get my hands on them.

Scott

 

[1bigguy]

Anyone have any good suggestions on manuals or DVD's that go through taking these guns completely a part and putting them back together?

 

[tubeshooter]

You shouldn't have to break it all the way down... but there are owner's manuals on the Marlin site if you're interested and I'm pretty sure they have exploded diagrams.

 

[1bigguy]

I just found what I was looking for Tubeshooter. Its a armorers course on the 39 by AGI. I think the guys name that put the DVD together is Bob Dunlap. I know I don't have to take it all the way down but for some reason I find it very interesting pulling my guns a part and figuring out how all the parts work together and what there functions are. Since this design has made it all these years without change it should be especially interesting.

Scott

 

[MP-44]

Just joined the club today. "F" serial # (1949).

It needs a scope mount and the elevation slide for the rear sight.

What is involved with mounting a scope on the older 39A?

 

[dfariswheel]

The older 39's weren't set up for a scope.
On those models, Marlin would sometimes custom drill the left side of the barrel for a barrel mount.

These days, the best option is to have the receiver drilled and tapped, but that reduces the value, and you want to make sure the person doing it really knows what they're doing.