Home Forums Lever Action Central Rimfire Levers Marlin 39 a

I found a used Marlin 39A for sale in a pawn shop about a year ago. Probably about 90%. It is an older 39A (1965 I think) with a cheap 4X scope on it. I do have some feeding problems with it. Feeds a little rough and completely jams about every 20-30 rounds or so. It is still my favorite .22 and one of my most accurate. Any suggestions on the feeding?

When you say "it feeds a little rough" are you operating the lever slow or at a fast pace? As for the jams every 20-30 rounds, how are you operating the lever when this happens? It could be something as simple as cleaning the magazine tube, the cartridge cutoff is located at the end of the mag tube. Hope this helps.

Tim

I work the lever fast. When I say operates rough, I often will have to work the lever sever several times to get the shell to go into the chamber. When I say it jams, it will not go into the chamber. It seems to be pointed too high. If I take something small and push the point of the shell down some, it will go in.

Here's my tricked out 39.

That's a sweet 39. Two questions:

1. What are the years that the forearm stock is flush to the receiver as opposed to the ones that bulge?

2. Does the tang sight interfere with the handling of the rifle, lever, and hammer?

Not sure about yrs they made fat vs skinny forearms. This one is from the 70's. Some of the older ones are fat, and I think they're ugly. I would guess '50's or so for fat ones. Maybe someone can chime in with more precise info.

The tang sight is pretty neat and doesn't interfere with the bolt. One needs to hold the thumb along side the tang and not try to wrap it around the grip, as it won't work that way.

DF

Hey thanks for the reply, Dirtfarmer. I agree, I think the fatter forearms are ugly, also. I like smooth sleek lines in a firearm, and other things of course. I want to get a nice 39 A and we're having a big gunshow in Denver next weekend so I'm going to be on the lookout.

I see you've put a Monte Carlo stock on yours. Im partial to the old style crescent buttstocks and had one fitted for my Marlin 1895 Cowboy. I have a picture of it posted on the Marlin Talk thread.

Take good care of that beautiful piece of history!

Glad you liked it. Stock is a Fajan from back when you could get them. Checkering is from my early attempts. I now send checkering projects to Errol Case in MO. Check Case Custom Gunstocks on line. Errol does great work, reasonably.

DF

More photos of the tang sight and trigger stop. I drilled and tapped a hole in the frame, forward of the trigger, using an Allen set screw for a trigger stop. I honed the sear and adjusted the trigger and hammer springs. This 39 has the best trigger at 2# that I've ever seen on a Marlin lever gun. It's as good as my Anschutz, and I know that's hard to believe. It just worked out that way. I installed a higher front sight to accommodate the tang sight and higher stock profile for a more heads up position when shooting. This rifle makes a nice companion to my 45-70, 1895 cowboy, set up much like this one.

DF

Nice 39, Dirtfarmer

Thanks, Claybirds.

That trigger stop really works, and it isn't that hard to do.

DF

You might check to see if your cartridge guide spring is in place and adjusted to guide the cartridge into the chamber. You can look at Brownells schematics to see the part I'm talking about.(top of receiver inside right above the chamber) My opinion is that Marlin should have designed a solid, more precision part for this. That could be a reason for the having to work the lever several tims to get it to feed. HTH.

My 39A is the best 22 I've ever owned. I'll keep it until I die.