Dreaded Marlin Jam

Gihon · Post by **Gihon** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:54 am

Does anyone know if condition known as "The Marlin Jam" affects all Model 1894 Marlins, including the octagon barreled Cowboy models. I"m deciding between a 24" barreled Marlin Cowboy & a Winchester Legacy, in .45 Colt.
I have both models in .357 magnum and they have run for years now without a hitch, but I've read that the big bores are more problematic in the Marlins. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I hope all are having a great Christmas!!

Dan 444 · Post by **Dan 444** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:03 pm

The only issue that I've had with A Marlin was with a 1980's 1894CL (.32-20). It was "letting in two" (aka The Dreaded Jam). Even though it was over 20 years old, returned it to Marlin & they fixed it for free within two days.

Dan

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:47 pm

Get the Winchester.

It's gotta say something for a company (Marlin) that knows about problems (Marlin Jam, feeds two) to keep producing rifles without attempting to fix the problem. It may not happen that often with the Marlins but it is consisten enough to keep popping up on various forums.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:50 pm

The Marlin can do the "Marlin Jam" but I think it is blown out of proportion. I have only seen one gun do it and a new lifter from Brownells cured the problem and dropped right in. For a pistol round I would rather have a pistol round sized receiver. YMMV

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:58 pm

I agree, The problem is blown WAY out of proportion. I have 5 1984`s and have had not one problem.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:01 pm

I have had 4 Marlin 1894s. Not one of them has had one of those types of jams.
I'd say it's one of those internet things that one occurrence is repeated so many times it looks like a zillion guns do it.

I would suggest you purchase the gun you want and don't give it a second thought. You are worrying about a gun you don't even have yet.

Joe

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:45 pm

Do you mean like this?

Rifle went back twice, for a variety of problems, then they destroyed it because it still wasn't 100% reliable and built me a new one.

Dastook · Post by **Dastook** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:53 pm

I think this problem didn't really surface untill the rifle was being used extensivly for CAS where they can be very abused. Not to mention some rifles with questionable gunsmithing done to slick them up. Given that, it is still blown way out of purportion. I have a 1894 in 45 Colt and never had a problem, and have never witnessed it in that rifle at an event to date.

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:10 pm

I remember back in the 70's, there was a local gunsmith who I delt with that would not hardly trade for a used 44mag Marlin because he had too many people bring them back with complaints about jamming.

I was sorta wanting a 44mag leveraciton a few years later, and I resoned that surley if Marlin had a problem, it must be fixed by now, and purchased a really slick, hardly used 1894 Marlin 44mag at a Tulsa Gunshow around 1990.

It worked for a little while, then I started having jams with it. I finally got disgusted with it, and traded it off. Then about the mid 90's I started doing a little cowboy shooting, and the general opinion of the local cowboy shooters was that the Puma 92 worked pretty good, but the Marlin was a jammer. The Winchester 94's worked pretty good, the 1873 replicas worked good, but the 44 Henry's gave problems.

I used a Winchester pre-safety, angle eject in 44mag and I still own it, because it's always been very reliable, even though it is not as accurate as the Marlin I used to have was.

I later purchased a Winchester 94 in 357 and it works great, but I saw a couple of Puma 92's in .357 mag at a local gunshop and traded my Winchester 94 .357 and some cash for both of them as one was a long barrel and the other a trapper model. Both of the Puma's turned out to be the jammingest pieces of stuff I ever had, and I tried handloads, several different brands of factory loads, nothing worked worth a stuff. I took them back to the dealer and thankgoodness he still had my Winchester .357 so I traded back with him and I have stuck with the 94's ever since.

I still sorta want a Winchester 73 replica, I have shot other people's and I liked them.

Gihon · Post by **Gihon** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:18 pm

Thank you for your responses. As I stated before, I've had a Marlin in
357 mag for a least a dozen years without a single problem.
I have a co-worker that received a little used Marlin in .44 magnum last year for Christmas. He was very excited about his newly aquired rifle and anticipated taking it to the range for some target work. He came to work one day and said that he had finally found time to get to the range, but he was very disappointed that the gun was jamming every few shots. He talked about taking it to a guy he knew that "did some gunsmithing sometimes" so he could fix it. The problem sounded an awful lot like some of the things that I had read on this forum and encouraged him to send it back to Marlin for repair. The rifle was gone for somtime and came back repaired according to Marlin. When he took it out to shoot it started jamming again. He sent it to Marlin a second time this fall and as far as I know it has not jammed the few times he has shot it since.
It is encouraging to know that so many of you have owned more than one without troubles.

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:56 pm

I've owned a variety of 336's, 1894s, and 1895s over the past 35 years, and I have never had the "Marlin Jam" occur even one time, on any gun that I have owned.

Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I do something that I'm not aware of that assists to prevent the occurance.

Drawing on my personal experience, it never happens. Therefore, I have no choice but to surmise that people who complain of these fictional occurances are actually anti-gunners who have infiltrated the forum with the intent to fabricate false and damaging claims against fine and pefectly reliable American made products. Pinkos planting seeds of doubt.

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:14 pm

Not so-- The "Marlin Jam" is a reality and I would bet my Lorcin .380 on it.

(I don't have any of that Lorcin junk) Anyway, on to business: I spend my life around leverguns and I have seen more than a few Marlins with that problem. I have also seen more with no problems. As for personal experience, I can only speak for a pair of CL's in 25-20 and 218 bee. The 25-20 is not 100%.

At cowboy shoots I have probably taken apart a dozen marlins with that jam helping out other shooters. Could be they are working them too fast with handloads that either exceed OAL or are too short on the OAL which could be a factor on jamming. I don't know.

What I do know is that of the hundreds of antique Marlins and Winchesters I have seen being shot along with my personal pair of Colt Lightnings, '92 Winchesters and other oldies have never had that Marlin Jam. I think marlin knows about this but corporate greed keeps the machines rolling.--------------Sixgun

Don McDowell · Post by **Don McDowell** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:35 pm

The Marlin jam may not be that common of an occurance, but I'll guarantee you that when it happens at elk camp (elevation 8700 fasl) and you have to

completely dismantle the gun with what tools you have available,

and miss an afternoon's hunt. It's definetly more than an internet myth that keeps getting repeated.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:46 pm

Perhaps it doesn't happen very often. I suspect it doesn't. But it does happen and Marlin ought to step up and fix it once and for all.

rob · Post by **rob** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:30 pm

The Dreaded Marlin Jam is such a HUGE problem that it's hard to find a 94 Marlin right now...at least here in Texas. You just about can't walk into a gun store and find one on a shelf. They can't order one because the warehouses are bone dry on 94's and back-ordered. I know a few CAS's who fire thousands upon thousands of rounds through them with narry a problem. I know one fine gentleman who most of you would recognize who has had it happen one time and a new lifter fixed it and I'm sure there were thousands of rounds put through it. It's so hard to change one a rank amateur can do it in about 10 minutes and do a thorough detail cleaning while at it. I just don't see this as a problem and I can assure you I will be buying more 94's and as soon as I have the spare change I will be buying a pre safety 94 44 Mag....even if they are going over 450-500 bucks these days.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:52 pm

rob wrote:The Dreaded Marlin Jam is such a HUGE problem that it's hard to find a 94 Marlin right now...at least here in Texas. You just about can't walk into a gun store and find one on a shelf. They can't order one because the warehouses are bone dry on 94's and back-ordered. I know a few CAS's who fire thousands upon thousands of rounds through them with narry a problem. I know one fine gentleman who most of you would recognize who has had it happen one time and a new lifter fixed it and I'm sure there were thousands of rounds put through it. It's so hard to change one a rank amateur can do it in about 10 minutes and do a thorough detail cleaning while at it. I just don't see this as a problem and I can assure you I will be buying more 94's and as soon as I have the spare change I will be buying a pre safety 94 44 Mag....even if they are going over 450-500 bucks these days.

Rob,
Welcome to the forum.

One of the internet's most blown out of proportion problems. I've had 4 1894 Marlins and each has had some bug to work out. But not one of them has had this problem.

Joe

Nate Kiowa Jones · Post by **Nate Kiowa Jones** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 3:21 pm

Modoc ED wrote:Perhaps it doesn't happen very often. I suspect it doesn't. But it does happen and Marlin ought to step up and fix it once and for all.

Ed,
That's going to be hard to do. It rarely happens unless the gun has had thousands of rounds through it working the action really hard and fast I.E. CAS.

CAS or any other timed gun game is like racing cars. I've said this many times. You can take the family sedan to the race track once or twice and run hell out of it, but if you do it on a regular basis, you gona look up and see your crankshaft in the rearview mirror.
Race cars have to be tuned to race, so do guns that are raced. Especially 130 year old designs.

mad mucus · Post by **mad mucus** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 3:38 pm

The ONLY problem I have with my favourite rifle, a 24" Marlin '94 Cowboy .45Colt, is I don't get to shoot it ENOUGH! She's had many a hundred rounds through her, at least 50 at a time, both smokeless and BP without a hitch.

Mucus

John in MS · Post by **John in MS** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 3:48 pm

"One of the internet's most blown out of proportion problems. I've had 4 1894 Marlins and each has had some bug to work out. But not one of them has had this problem. "

Hmmmmmm...
lessee here...
Out of 17 Winchester 94's, 92's and 71's I can think of right offhand, I haven't had any jams or "bugs" with any of them... Looks like I'm on a winning streak!

John

cubrock · Post by **cubrock** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:04 pm

The only time my Marlin 1894s have jammed is when the loading gate screw loosens, which allows two rounds to feed. A screwdriver and some loc-tite has fixed that problem. I suspect a lot of the "Marlin jams" people experience are due to this and not wear on the internals.

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:19 pm

I have always heard that the .357 Marlins have the problem a lot less often then the 44's, but it isn't a myth and you don't have to shoot them 1000s of times either, before it might happen. However, I am sure many have had trouble free service with them. But I have see it happen offen enough to be pretty gunshy of getting another.

I do like lots of Marlin guns, at present I own only two, a 1970 336 in 30/30 and a 1970 model 39M .22 cal. But I have owned several others in the past, with a few I wish I had kept.

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:44 am

I bought my .44mag Marlin from a pawn shop for 200bucks. I could see it was well used and a little abused but other than that know nothing of its history. It started jamming on me within the first 50 rounds. Lever would lock up in the full open position and would require dissassembly for repair. A call to Marlin and a few bucks for a new lifter which dropped right in and it has been perfect ever since. My Marlin .357 cowboy has just been a joy. No problems whatsoever and very accurate.

gumpond · Post by **gumpond** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:40 am

I just replaced the stock on my son's very accurate model 94 in 44 mag. Looks like new except for the boggered lever screw. Screw got damaged when we removed the lever to clear a jamb. We went hunting day before yesterday and when loading up for the evening, I unloaded or attempted to unload the gun and it stacked rounds again. This is an older gun so I don't know how many rounds have been run through it but it is annoying and will be fixed in the near future.
This is still my son's favorite and he has several nice rifles. We will not be trading. He would use it as a single shot before getting rid of it.

Greg

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:56 am

Like I said earlier -- it probably doesn't happen often and many of you have not had any problems even after having fired thousands of rounds throug yours BUT if you are the one guy it happened to, you would be very unhappy.

If it's the lifter that causes the problem by having a groove worn in it, then Marlin perhaps should make the rifles with a hardened lifter.

It must happen because Marling has a name for it -- "feed two".

I've got two Marlins -- both .444s - one made in 1979, the other in 2005. Both are great rifles with no problems. I'm not knocking Marlin just saying they ought to step up and do a permanent fix so that it doesn't keep occuring.

Sharptop · Post by **Sharptop** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:57 pm

I have a newer 1894 which has on occasion ejected two shells at a time when unloading. It has never happened when shooting, though, so it may be that I didn't cycle the action fully and that may have contributed.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:38 pm

If it's the lifter that causes the problem by having a groove worn in it, then Marlin perhaps should make the rifles with a hardened lifter.

I read the articles about the Marlin Jam and looked at the pictures. The sharp edge that creates the problem on the carrier can be gently rounded off before the wear occurs.
When I got my Marlin last year I took it apart and looked at these areas. There was no sign of wear on the carrier, and the sharp edge was not exactly rounded, but it wasn't sharp either. Possibly the factory broke the sharp edge on this one one. Don't know.
But those of you considering the purchase of the 1894s, and are worrying about the Marlin Jam should read the articles on how to cure it. Then before you even shoot your guns apply the cure.
Here's one article about it: http://marauder.homestead.com/files/marlin94fix.html

You can find the above article and a bunch of others here: http://www.leverguns.com/articles/Marli ... mation.htm

Remember, "An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure".

Joe

Dreaded Marlin Jam

Dreaded Marlin Jam

Marlin jamb is real.