Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Marlin barrels made for savage 1944-45

Anyone have insight into this comment in Brophy's Marlin book, “During the 1944-1945 period, Marlin manufactured some sporting rifle barrels for Savage. This helped Savage get back into the sporting rifle business after some years of dedicated war work.”

Had never run across this in discussion here.

Is that all the data that's in the book?

I looked in the Marlin book and that statement is all that is there. My 99 was made March 1945, as date stamped on the wood under the buttplate, so I'm curious about that statement.

A statement with no details about dates, or quantities, or even the models they provided barrels for? Seems a bit minimal.

I do remember JTC once making a statement about some 99 barrels being made at Chicopee Falls before Utica was closed down in 1946, but he didn't expound on it and maybe I'm remembering wrong.

But I don't remember anything about Marlin and 99's in the 40's.

So does that date jive with the mp mark?

I have data on 53 MP marked Savage 99s, low number 284388 and high number of 308782 which would be in the 1926 to early 1928 era. These numbers are much earlier than potential 1944/45 serial numbers. Perhaps we will solve the MP mark someday.
BillR

Sounds interesting though haven't heard or read that before.
Suppose it could be true, but more questions than answers.

260SS,
Is your rifle a 99EG?
What is s.n.?
What is the date stamp you referenced under the butt plate? An actual date? or date code? on wood or metal?
Barrel markings? "JM" anywhere?, caliber? barrel address?

Just pulled the forearm off of an mid-1945 99T (or whatever it is). It has an 8, an R, and last 3 digits of the serial on it on the bottom of the barrel.

I know my lucky EG also from mid-1945 doesn't have a JM stamp either.

The barrels mentioned may not have been for the 99's. They could have been for 22's, those would have been easier to source out and have them work without much fitting. I'll have to look closer at barrel markings on 22's from that time.

Good point Gene.
This could be a previously unexplored rabbit hole. ??

Was Marlin the only firearm maker in the USA not to be swamped with government gun contracts during WW2? I don't think I've ever heard of a WW2 rifle made by Marlin.

Yes, 99EG. #4274xx
Date stamp is an ink stamp: Mar 13 1945, on the wood butt under the buttplate. Other than the standard Savage barrel markings there is a "5" stamped on the bottom of the barrel under the forearm. Possibly 194"5"?
As a defense subcontractor, Savage was required to date stamp or serial number their production. The obvious reason was to be able to quickly identify and remove defective weapons from battle use. As I remember, Savage made, among other items, the wood for Thompson subguns, so ink stamping buttstock wood would have been common, at the time.

Marlin did make barrels for M1 Carbine manufacturers as a subcontractor. I have a National Postal Meter Carbine with a Union Switch and Signal receiver and a Marlin barrel. If a contractor was unable to maintain the volume required by their War Contract, they were required to obtain what parts they needed from a subcontactor.

Did Savage have a Wartime Contract to make a weapon? Possibly Marlin could have made barrels for that weapon?

In the case of your M1 carbine, is the Marlin barrel marked as such? JM? M? other?

Savage made over a million Thompson sub machineguns, a ton of Enfields, and a whole lot of 50 cal machineguns.

The Enfield production was the first to start, and I think they converted the Steven’s plant to it for the duration.

I have a couple rifles shortly after yours, 429,xxx and one of them lettered as shipping in June, 1945. No date stamps on buttstock. I think your stamp might have been done by the buyer right when he got it - that’s just a guess. But I’m sure the date is right.

My 1945 T I checked has an 8 on bottom of barrel, so I don’t think the 5 stamp is the year. Probably the inspector.

The barrel has the word "MARLIN", in capital letters, stamped lengthwise along the top of the barrel. Most contractors roll stamped across the width closer to the muzzle end of the barrel. By the way, not surprisingly, that Carbine is easily the most accurate one that I ever had.

Then, it does make sense that Marlin probably did make barrels so that Savage could fulfill their government contracts. It would be intersting, though, to know what barrels were made for them by Marlin.

That 5 could be an inspector stamp, as you say. Coincidentally, that date is the day that the US declared Iwo Jima conquered, even though mop up continued for 13 days later. Could be a patriotic inspector stamped the date. Like many curiosities, hard to know exactly 75 years later, LOL.