Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

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BoneDigger
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Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by BoneDigger »

I have a brand new Marlin 39A that I took to the range for the first time today. I fired maybe 50 rounds total in sighting it in. Out of that 50 rounds, I had maybe 8-10 rounds that did not fire. There was a striker mark on the rim, but the rounds did not fire.

I was shooting, I think, Winchester rounds (it's raining outside and I don't feel like going to the truck to get the box...). It's the one WalMart sells that has a big 333 on the box.

Is this likely just bad ammo (it's new) or should I be worried?

Todd
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by jnyork »

First thing is to swap ammo, .22's can be pretty finicky. Did you take your rifle apart yet and clean out all the factory preservative and other mung? Especially the bolt and firing pin?
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Blaine »

My guess (and it's only a guess) is to take out the bolt and firing pin and clean and lightly re-lube spareingly.....I think it's gummy. If not, you may need to send it back.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by jdad »

The main spring, on the new rifles, is pretty heavy so you may have some gunk in firing pin channel. You should not find any firing problems, with any manufacturers ammo. You can have extraction problems, with match ammo because of the rim thickness.

If you clean the bolt & change ammo and the problem persists, then call Marlin. Your rifle has a 5 year warranty. Let them make it right.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by edwardyoung »

Make sure the takedown screw is tight.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by sureshot »

Misfires are a pretty common problem with the newer 39a models with rebounding hammers.
The rebounding mechanism is putting too much rearward force on the hammer too soon and causing a light hammer strike.
The mainspring is connected to the hammer by a forked piece. The top of the fork pushes the hammer forward, while the bottom of the fork pushes the hammer backward at a certain point.
The cure that worked for me was to shorten the bottom fork about 3/32"-1/8" so that it starts pushing back on the hammer later. That fixed the misfires completely. The only thing is that now the hammer doesn't rebound all the way to half-cock, and has to be put there manually. No big deal to me.
If you pull the buttstock off you will see the problem. Almost all the guys who shoot newer 39a's with rebounding hammers around here have had the same problem. Hope this helps,

Steve
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by salvo »

The new 39A's have a rebounding hammer, it is usually the cause of light primer strikes.
Sure you can find the fix over at rimfirecentral, probably just removing material from the pivot point on the main spring guide.
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Rusty
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Rusty »

As an aside the last time I bought Winchester .22's was the last time. Out of a box of 50 I bought at the range I had 8 or 9 failures to fire.
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draperjojo
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by draperjojo »

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pokey
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by pokey »

i'm with rusty. 22s just are duds sometimes no matter what
gun you put them in. not that you should not make the mods
on that rebounding hammer, you should. that thing was a
bad idea , anything you can do to make it work better do it.
just remember you may get ftf no matter what.


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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Rusty »

Maybe this would explain something....

PRODUCT WARNING AND RECALL NOTICE: WINCHESTER® WILDCAT® 22 & WINCHESTER® XPERT® 22


http://www.winchester.com/news/newsview ... toryid=195

PRODUCT WARNING AND RECALL NOTICE: WINCHESTER® 22 Long Rifle RIMFIRE AMMUNITION

http://www.winchester.com/news/newsview ... toryid=210
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BoneDigger
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by BoneDigger »

Thanks for all of the help! Based on what I have read over at rimfirecentral.com, it appears that this is a common problem with the newer Model 39s. There appear to be two relatively easy fixes for this. One is to add a washer under the spring, and the other is a little more detailed. I am going to add the washer first and see what happens.

As far as ammo goes... I used to have a CZ452 American, which I sold to buy the Marlin (I love lever guns!). I used part of this box with the CZ and never had a misfire with it. I am definately now leaning towards it being a problem with the gun. Let's see what the washer fix does. I'll report back whan I know more.

Todd
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by El Chivo »

mine has had its share of misfires but I think it's usually the ammo.

However the firing pin needs to move freely within the bolt, I keep it oiled.

One friend swears that his only works if the firing pin is back all the way; so he tips the muzzle up before each shot so the firing pin will slide backwards.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by BoneDigger »

El Chivo wrote:mine has had its share of misfires but I think it's usually the ammo.

However the firing pin needs to move freely within the bolt, I keep it oiled.

One friend swears that his only works if the firing pin is back all the way; so he tips the muzzle up before each shot so the firing pin will slide backwards.

I would hate to think that would be necessary given that this .22 cost me over $500! I'll try these fixes, and if they don't work, I'll ask Marlin to fix it.

Todd
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by GabbyHaze »

My Marlin 39A is also having misfire problems. It leaves a mark on the shell but doesn't fire it. I know it's not the ammo because it happens with different brands. If I work the lever and then pull the trigger and it doesn't fire i can recock the hammer and it will fire? I've also put some of the misfiring shells in my revolver and my wife's Browning BL22 and they fired fine.
I just got this gun a couple months ago and keep it very clean. So I called Marlin today and they are sending me a prepaid shipping lable and they are going to fix the problem.................I hope.


JT
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J Miller
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by J Miller »

The problem is not the ammo. It's the rebounding hammer action.

Been there and done that with Winchester's version. Clean the gun thoroughly and if the misfires continues send it back to Marlin for repair. If it does it again when you get it back, return it to them and demand a refund.

The rebounding hammer design is an abomination that is wrought with problems. It should have never seen the light of day.

Joe
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by GabbyHaze »

J Miller wrote:The problem is not the ammo. It's the rebounding hammer action.

Been there and done that with Winchester's version. Clean the gun thoroughly and if the misfires continues send it back to Marlin for repair. If it does it again when you get it back, return it to them and demand a refund.

The rebounding hammer design is an abomination that is wrought with problems. It should have never seen the light of day.

Joe

I have a 5 year warrenty on it, so if they don't fix it right I'll keep sending it back. If I have to send it back more than 3 times I will ask for a refund. 8) It's to bad because I love the gun.

JT
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by AJMD429 »

Sounds like someone with the savvy to create a legally-insulated entity (i.e. shadow corporation that bankrupts and vanishes after the first lawsuit) could make a bunch of money selling aftermarket 'non-rebounding kits'... :idea:
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Fiddler »

These horror stories concerning the "new improved" Marlin 39AS on gun forums all over the Net are breaking my heart!
A thousand curses on the educated idiot at Marlin who came up with the idea of changing this classic, perfect firearm! :x
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Lastmohecken »

yep, they have ruined a lot of grand old gun designs by adding this stupid safety stuff.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Rusty »

Thank the lawyers.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by J Miller »

Rusty wrote:Thank the lawyers.
For what .......

Joe
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Hobie »

J Miller wrote:
Rusty wrote:Thank the lawyers.
For what .......

Joe
For the "safeties"...
Sincerely,

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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by J Miller »

Hobie, I knew what he meant. I was being sarcastic. Or trying to anyway.

What gets me is the hypocrisy of these rebounding hammers and add on safeties.
Marlin put cross bolt safeties on all their lever guns.
Winchester put safeties only on the center fires.

Marlin put rebounding hammers only on the rim fires.
Winchester put rebounding hammers only on the center fires.

If they were such a really great idea, wouldn't they have put them on all their respective guns?

Makes no sense to me.

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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by J Miller »

BoneDigger wrote:I have a brand new Marlin 39A that I took to the range for the first time today. I fired maybe 50 rounds total in sighting it in. Out of that 50 rounds, I had maybe 8-10 rounds that did not fire. There was a striker mark on the rim, but the rounds did not fire.

I was shooting, I think, Winchester rounds (it's raining outside and I don't feel like going to the truck to get the box...). It's the one WalMart sells that has a big 333 on the box.

Is this likely just bad ammo (it's new) or should I be worried?

Todd
Todd,
Here is something to think about. If you are mechanically able to take the rifle apart and put it back together without leaving any tracks try this:
Take it apart and polish everything in the action; hammer, main spring strut and all four prongs that work on the hammer, and anything else that contacts anything in the hammer and trigger area. Don't alter it, just remove any burrs, sharp edges and polish it.
Disassemble the bolt and make sure there is no burrs or sharp edges on the firing pin or it's channel as well.

Then reassemble it, lightly lube and give it a try. Doing this has fixed the misfires on a number of Winchesters with rebounding hammers. If that don't fix it, then send it back to Marlin. (That's why I said not to leave any tracks)

Joe
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by gundownunder »

The rebound hammer springs are causing headaches on a lot of 39As sent to Oz.
Also, I don't know if they've fixes the out of shape extractor hooks yet, but if not its worth replacing that as well before it starts to leave the empty brass in the chamber most of the time.
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by 3t- »

Well stuff! I was heading out to Cabelas today to pick up a new 39a for my daughter ( that way my son can take the Henry Golden Boy for his own someday) but this info is a bit disconcerting. Guess I'll just pick up a second Golden Boy and they can each have a Henry. Probably could correct any defects in the Marlin but I just don't want the potential headache.
regards


3T
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by donw »

here's how i modified mine. i also took off a couple of thousandths of the firing pin length using fine emory on a flat surface.

it still ejects perfectly and so far no misfires after testing it with ten 'blanks' and one live fire.

make CERTAIN to use the manual cross-bar safety once mod is accomplished!

i got the instructions from rimfirecentral.com



UNMODIFIED strut:
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MODIFIED strut:
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Re: Marlin 39A, some issues. Should I be worried?

Post by Grizzly Adams »

It's not your rifle. :)

I buy and shoot about 6-700 rounds per week of 22 LR. I buy Winchester only when NOTHING else is available! Remington is not much better. Both has lots of "duds." Federal in the bulk box of 550 is the most consistent and reliable.
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