Home Forums Lever Action Central Rimfire Levers Golden 39A double feeding

I just brokered a sale to a friend of a Golden 39A. According to the serial number it was made in '74. He just called me this morning and reported that he's having occassional problems with it double feeding. So far he's just taken it competley apart and given it a good cleaning. When we hung up he was out the door to the back 40 to try it again. I'm waiting to hear if that may have fixed. Of course I feel a little bad that it's not working perfectly, but for the price he got it at, he can fiddle with it a little. My question here is, is this something that is common in the 39's and if it is, what's the common cure? I know the 1894 has some issues with some rifles double feeding and the cure is some minor file work on the lever, but this is an entirely different design. So is there any info/suggestions I can pass on to him? CH

First thing I would to is remove, check, and clean the cartridge cutoff parts(24-26 in this diagram). If I remember correctly, part 25 has a slight bend and can be put in upside down, then doesn't work right. But I haven't had one apart for years and my memory is fuzzy.

http://www.tiropratico.com/esplosi/marlin39a.jpg

Bruce

I got an email from my buddy and he'd gotten a new magazine stop for the 39A and in the process of installing it he found what he called a "spacer" behind it that had apparently been put in the wrong way. He reversed it, went ahead and installed the new part cuz he had it and it's working just fine now. I can't help but wonder if he needed the new part at all. So it sounds like your advice is right on the mark. Thanks. CH

I've got a feeding problem with my 39A / Long rifle ammo will jam but not with shorts. If I load just one lr in the tube mag it will feed just fine, if I have more than one in the tube it jams, but shorts will feed just fine. Is this the same problem you experienced?

Replace the cartridge cutoff, little flat spring, only a few bucks at Brownells and about 2 minutes to change out, so easy a cave man can do it.

I had some problems with mine double feeding a couple years ago. It was a cartridge stop problem but in my case it was just gunked up. Removing it, cleaning and reinstalling was all that was required.

As a side note, the most enjoyable hunting I did this year was an outing hunting grouse with that little 39M and its Williams FP peep sight. I know grouse hunting purists would disapprove but grouse in the brush with a .22 is very satisfying.

Thanks for the info, I had just bought the gun used ('78 model) the feeding problem was probably the reason the previous owner got rid of it.