Got to shoot my 39a for the first time today. It came fitted with a Lyman peep sight that I bore sighted with a laser.
This old gun is incredible, even with my tired old eyes. I can only guess how my son will do with it.
They sure don't make guns like they used to.

"They sure don't make guns like they used to."

Amen to that.

It is a classic for sure, great rifle enjoy!

The Marlin 39A is my favorite .22 I have about ten. .22 in the closet and the 39A is my go to rimfire. I have a Simmons 3x9 mounted on it. I used the factory open sights for years, the scope helps out greatly with my older eyes.

what year was your 39a made ?

I only waited 2 years to answer, guess my eyes aren't the only thing gettin old. It is a c prefix 1946.

Dad bought me one of those back in 1952, when I was in the second grade. Later that year he got a 336sc in 35Rem. He did not know that much about guns but made some great choices.

I haven't been without a Marlin 336 for coon's age and have owned more than a dozen others over the years . The one i sold back in the 60's was a NRA Octangle barrel, sure wish i had kept it. The one i own now is the PRE SAFETY Model. I hate that cross bolt safety they now have on the newer ones. I have Williams Peep Sights on the one i own now and love the balance it has without a scope . Long live the Model 39 .

What ever you do never ever buy a NEW Marlin 39A 22 lever gun. They are pure garbage and befret with problems. They fail to fire about 90% of the time and when they do manage to fire they fail to extract and fail to eject almost 100% of the time. The guns are next to useless

If you have a problem with one of Marlins rifles, I've never heard of them not repairing it at their own expense, if you contact them.
Tim

Taking my "New" bought in 2008 to my dad to shoot. I really love that rifle, and he has always wanted to use one. I have a 39 carbine to shoot so I still have a lever .22. My 39A is an amazing rifle with great wood, great fit, and shoots everything with no problems, and very accurate. If you do run into a problem they are easy to fix. eaglesnester, I will buy yours for $100 off you...let me know. For a next to useless gun that a good deal.

B.S. to this. I bought a new 39a two years ago and have had no trouble with it at all. Nothing! I shoot it at least 5 days a week at targets and/or pests around the house. It gets used more during squirrel season. I have never had a FTF or FTE, ever! The rifle works perfectly with any ammo I feed it. I don't know if you have personal experience with one bad rifle or heard it from someone else but I could not diagree with your statements more. You sound more like a Henry owner than someone who known anything about Marlins'.

I bought a new M39A six months ago and took it to a daylong shoot. I fed 250 rounds through it without a hitch.

I can hear the Banjo's from here..................

Them ain't banjos you're hearing. It's the castanet-like sound of someone's brain rattlin' around in his haid, coupled with the harmonious sound of flappin' lips. ;O)

My 39A is about 5 years old. Found it used in my favorite rural gun shop, in as-new condition for $300 a few years ago. Even got the box'n stuff with it. The ones in the new rack, were around $400 at the time. Shoots like every other M39 I've ever had my hands on: Very well.

Only problem I had, was with some old PMC Predator ammo. Now and then one wouldn't extract. Everything else shoots fine in it and pops right out.

Just got a 39a mountie yesterday. It's lived a rough life, but the bore looks good. Can't wait to shoot it, but I need a new firing pin, and will be putting a williams foolproof on as a rear sight. The gun just feels good in your hands.

Added a 39A made in 1958 yesterday with a Weaver El Paso 2.5x and weaver mounts, cleaned (including a decade or two of dust off the scope lense). First few shots were 1.5" up and 1.5" right, adjusted to zero. Dime size groups at 50y! Slick lever action and crisp trigger!

Have 2 mounties 1966 and 1969. They both shoot and are as trouble free as a gun could be. And they got class.

WOW ... someone got one worse than mine. Mine would fail to fire 2-3 time a magazine full ... with a similar number of fail to ejects (always extracted). CCI Blazer were 100% fail to eject!!

Was hoping it just needed broken in ... NOPE ... condition continued.

Quick trip to Marlin a few months ago, came back in 2-3 weeks, all was fine. Works like its supposed to ... with on problems, but there's only a couple hundred rounds through it in one range trip and no CCI Blazers yet ... but I'm confident it will be fine!!

So I can see it being possible depending on the ammo eagle tried.

Send it back ... to the factory or sell it to me for $101

The new ones may be OK but i will take the older version any day over a new one.

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.