What 39a variant should Marlin make?

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MatthewVanitas

MatthewVanitas

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Random pointless thread, since I doubt Marlin will read this.

What variant of the Marlin 39A do you think Marlin should make? It seems they just make the standard-length round-barrel pistol-grip version these days.

I just picked up a Mountie for $350 at the gunshow, really digging the short barrel length and straight grip.

If it were up to me, I'd like to see Marlin make a straight-grip octagonal-barrel carbine. It it had a 3/4 mag, that would also be groovy. Oh, stainless would rock too.

Anyone have any better ideas?

-MV
 
When I was researching the 39a on the web, I saw lots of people recommending the 16" barrel version (Mountie?) if you could find it. I don't suspect they would lose any money putting that in production again.


As you say, you can only get the one standard version new nowadays, and I like mine a lot, but I can understand people maybe wanting something shorter and lighter as an option.
 
One of the nicer Marlin 39 variants was the 39-D.
This was the pistol-gripped rifle stock and lever on a Mountie carbine barreled action.

Another nice, but surprisingly not popular version was the now rare octagon barreled 39-A rifle and carbine from the 1970's. Marlin used left over octagon barrels from a commemorative series to build a few thousand other-wise standard rifles and carbines.

For some reason these didn't sell then, but are valuable guns now.

Mostly, I'd like to see the Marlin returned to it's roots by dropping the rebounding hammer and cross-bolt safety. Safety-wise it's better, but it detracts from a historical firearm.
They don't put cross-bolt safeties on replica Winchester and Henry lever action rifles (yet), so I see no real need on the Marlin.
 
I think Marlin should make a Model 39 to match the config.
and overall length of the Model 336C: pistol grip buttstock
and Approx 22" barrel to match the 336C .30-30 w. 20" bbl.

But I do like my 39M Mountie (20"). The takedown backpackers
version with light 16" barrel could also be re-introduced as a
companion for the various centerfire Trapper model lever guns.

Saturday down on the mountain, my cousin brought out the 39A
he inherited from his mom's dad: I stoked it full of Federal
bulk pack and fired from a rest at a 1" orange sticker at 25 yds.
18 shots within the sticker, one flier about a 1/4" outside on
the left. Marlin makes good .22s.
 
Marlin had a 39TDS for a while that was made to be taken down for transport, kind of like the AR 7 or papoose. I would like to see this variant be re introduced as well. It was a carbine version.
 
Fella's;

The model 39TDS, Take Down System, was a 16" barrel straight stock gun, with a plastic adapter to help with the takedown/reassembly, and a cordura carrying case.

Any of the model 39's should be takedown as far as my limited knowledge of Marlins goes. However, without the blue plastic thingie, I'm told the bolt can wander & putting it together again can be 'fun'. Possibly as much 'fun' as you can stand to have.

The three English stocked variants of the Marlin 39 series are the Mountie, the TDS, and though not called a 39, the .22 magnum variant catalogued as the 1894M.

900F
 
my AFFORDABLE marlin fantacy 39

i would love to have a 16 1/2" barreled, straight grip stock 39 with a narrow forearm and a large loop lever and a traditional saddle ring.
 
on a semi-unrelated note, my dad just gave me his old Marlin Model 39 tonight.
I am a happy guy. Now I'm just trying to date the thing. :D
 
Minor sidenote: was the Marlin 1897 .22LR some variant of the 39A, or was it a predecessor/competing model?


EDIT: Google is my friend. The Marlin 1897 was the follow-on to the 1891 and 1892 Marlin rimfires, and added the loading system and takedown feature we still have today. Production continued until 1916. In 1922, Marlin brought the rifle back with a pistol-gripped stock as the 39, and the rest is history.

Marlin "1897" rifles were produced in 2000 as a limited model, 24" octagon barrels and straight stock.

At last according to what I've googled.

-MV
 
How interesting to run into this thread tonight.

I'm soon going to buy a Marlin 336. This time I'm going for a .30-30. (First one was a 336 in .35.)

Last night, during a power outage, by candle light, I was handling my CZ452. I noticed that the bolt is indeed slow, and even still a bit tight. I found myself a little dissatisfied by that.

I thought about lever guns, how fast they are, with positive actions.

I thought about the 39A. This morning I went to Marlin's page on 39A to check it out again.

And now, I find this thread.

Hmm.

Well, the thing that stopped me from buying a new 39A before was a 24" barrel. Not interested. Too long for me.

Give me one with a barrel around 18", and I'd be happy.

(If I keep the 452, which IS a tack driver, I'm planning on cutting and crowning the barrel to 18 or 18.5. I'll eventually do the same thing with a 336. Hey, I love my 870P 18" barrel so much, I just want consistency in my long guns.)
 
My first gun in 1963 was a Marlin 39A. I have put a lot of rounds through it over the years. In March of last year, I found a used 20” Mountie for sale. Turns out it was made in ’69. The Mountie had been used very little and probably never cleaned or broken down. It was pretty rough, but it smoothed up very nicely. I am a cowboy shooter shooting straight grip Marlins in .45 Colt and .357 mag. With all the rounds I am putting through them, I now find I am more comfortable with the straight grip Mountie than the pistol grip 39A.
The rear sight on the Mountie was hopeless. I replaced it with a Williams Foolproof receiver sight and replaced the front bead with a XS Systems white outline square post. Much better sight picture for me. The Mountie is more accurate then the old 39A.
I was surprised to see that of the multiple variations on the 39A, the one that survived is the 24" pistol grip version. If I bought a new one, I would prefer a 20" barrel with straight grip.
 
Though I'm not involved in cowboy-action shooting (yet!), I'd like to see a Marlin 39 available in a "cowboy" style: straight, uncheckered stock; a case-hardened finish; a 24" octagon barrel ;a crescent-shaped butt and drilled and tapped for a tang peep as well as a receiver located peep. But I'd still want "non-authenic" sling-swivel studs installed.
 
I'd like to get my hands on a couple more 39Ms. I gave the one I received as a boy to my son a few months ago. I wish I had one to give each of my kids and one for my own.
 
Rob and others in the 16" carbine crowd...

I'd be curious to hear, if you had Marlin's ear, why you'd rather have a 16" rather than, say, an 18".

From my relatively uneducated perspective on ballistics, it seems that an 18" would give the best of both worlds: short and easy to handle, yet long enough to improve longer shots.

I admit I'm speaking from relative (to most of you) ignorance, so I'm asking mainly out of curiousity. I'm definitely not challenging anyone's opinion here, and acknowledge that in the end, it mostly boils down to personal preferences.

Still, it's fun to learn new stuff and discuss all this.

Thanks,

Nem
 
I just got back from shooting my Mountie w/ the 20" barrel.

The 20" feels awfully short on the Mountie. If it were 16", it'd be a really small gun. 20" is just enough to give it some meat, but still keep it handy. The Mountie feels like a totally different gun from the fullsize, nearly as light as my aluminum-framed 20" Ithaca 72 (predecessor to Henry).

Henry has been doing a "Youth" lever-action w/ 16" barrel and shortened stock. That critter must be really tiny. I'd like to mess with one, but even for a small adult like me, that one may be cutting it close.


Not quite sure what's keeping Marlin from doing variants. A few possibilities:

1) They're selling all the 39As they can make anyway

2) The presence of Henry is drawing away the plinker/kid segment of the rimfire lever market

3) Poor sales on their most recent variant? Did the 1897 Cowboy (24", straight-grip, octagon) linger too long on dealers' shelves?


Just musing,

-MV
 
Being the lucky man I am I have three variations of the Model 39:)

The 39TDS is a handy little carbine and it does fit nicely inside a large daypack. Its accurate and fun to shoot. Compared to my Papoose it's heavy though. About two pounds heavier. It's picky about the ammo it likes though.

My 39A Golden Mountie is my favorite. Least finnicky about ammo and just plain fun to carry in the field. To my eyes it is aesthetically perfect.

The longer barreled version was my first 39. Fine shooter with its prefered ammo. Shoots the inexpensive Fedrals into nickle sized groups at 50 yards. Points nicely and I would suspect has sent more critters to heaven than most of my others. Shoots subsonics very quietly.
 
dfariswheel,
Thanks for the help, but that site doesn't cover the time period my rifle was made in. I know for a fact that my grandfather owned that rifle as a young man and he was born in 1919. It was the rifle my father used to take his hunter safety course in the early 60's and he said it was well worn back then.

I think it was made some time in the late-20's to early-30's, but I'm just not sure. The serial on it is S 14245 in case someone happens to have the records in front of them. ;)

Its an actual Model 39, not a 39A.
 
Clean97GTI:

Here's what I've got on your Marlin:
The Model 39 was made from 1922 to 1938.

Rifles with an "S" prefix MAY not be suitable for use with modern high speed ammunition.
My references are not clear on this, simply saying that later rifles that were made for modern .22 ammo have a "HS" prefix.

These pre-war Model 39 rifles are very valuable with values running from AT LEAST $600 in 60% to $1500 in 95%.
Values I've seen are much higher.

The serial number reference apparently doesn't cover rifles made in the 1920's to 30's.
 
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