Picked up a Marlin Model 62 Levermatic......

[Harry O]

It has been on a pawn shop shelf for several years and the price had finally gotten reasonable (through inflation, not by lowering it). It is in NRA very good condition. Refinishing the stock would probably bring it up to excellent. There are a lot of handling marks on the wood, but the metal is in excellent condition.

I managed to find one box of factory ammo (VERY hard to find) and took it to an indoor range to try it out. The only real problem was the magazine. I tapped the lips a few times until it worked most of the time. I have a couple of new magazines coming from Numrich. Interestingly, I tried to buy Hornady or Speer .30 carbine bullets and every handloading supply house I checked was out.

The 25 yard targets (max at the indoor range) showed promise. The sights are terrible but pretty much all standard lever action sights are poor. I have no doubt that a peep sight will improve things there. Once I have good sights, I will take it to the outdoor range and try it at 50, 75, and 100 yards. I think I am going to put one of the CAS leather wraps on the lower part of the lever for comfort. For some reason, the Levermatics have thinner levers than most other lever actions (I used to have a Model 56 and I seem to remember that the lever was a stamped out of plate -- the Model 62 is wider than that, but still not as wide as my Model 39 and 39M).

I had a couple of failures to extract/eject. I think that the bolt is probably gunked up. I would like to take it apart for a thorough cleaning, but I have only found an exploded view (at Numrich and several other places), not assembly/disassembly instructions. Does anyone have a URL for assembly/disassembly. If not, how about a factory manual you could scan or copy for me.

Any previous owners out there have any suggestions, warnings, or anything else for me.

[2ndovc]

That's the gun that brought me to this site. I was watching one on Auction Arms tht went for more that I was willing to spend but I'd
done a search on them and posted here if anyone had one.

Still haven't connected with a good one for the right price but it's still on my short list.


jb

[Sixgun]

Harry O,
The 30 Carbine is a high intensity cartridge--that combined with a rifle thats probably dirty/corrosive in the chamber made for your extraction problems. Can't be too complicated--just pop off the stock and go to town with a tooth brush and Hoppes #9. Run some hot water in the action to flush it all out.

Nope, never owned one but I did pass on a .256 some years back due to apathy on the cartridge. Shoulda jumped on it as I have since added dies and a box of factory ammo that was given to me.

As its an earlier Marlin, its good to go. Never read anything negative on the Model 62 and I read a lot.-----------------Sixgun

[BenT]

Very interesting gun. I passed on one at a gun show about five years ago because I didn't really know what it was. After researching it I wish I would have picked it up. Two years ago there was one in the local paper in 256 , but I wasn't fast enough dialing the phone. I would start with a good cleaning like Sixgun says and start shooting.

Good luck!

[John in MS]

Harry O:
PM sent.

John

[JerryB]

A great place to find instuctions and photos for dis and reassembly is Stevespages.com. I had a Levermatic in .22 mag years ago.

[Harry O]

> "Can't be too complicated--just pop off the stock and go to town with a tooth brush and Hoppes #9. Run some hot water in the action to flush it all out."

I hadn't thought of that, but I used to clean my sons Marlin Model 60 rifles that way. I tried to disassemble one of them once and spent most of the afternoon chasing springs and other small parts and trying to figure out how they went back together. After that, I just popped the action/barrel out of the stock, sprayed the heck out of it, and let it hang a while until it stopped dripping. Then back in the stock and bolt it back together. Come to think of it, the insides of the Model 62 look a lot like the Model 60 in that there are a lot of small parts and springs. No doubt about it. That is the way to go to clean it -- not complete disassembly.

[otteray]

http://stevespages.com/marlin.html
Be careful removing / reinstalling the trigger plate; it can crack(not metal.) Don't force it!
I take out the trigger group and just hose it off with electronic parts cleaner spray that won't melt or soften up the plastic parts, let dry and lightly relube.
A really fun lever-action with a receiver peep sight!
Without opening the safe and looking, I think I just have a cheap Williams receiver sight on mine and it aims just dandy.

[Harry O]

Update:

I took the stock off the metal and sprayed the insides of the action with Hoppe's a couple of time, then let it drip dry. Then sprayed it with WD-40 and also let it drip dry. It went back together easily and I didn't have any parts left over. It appears to have taken care of any problem with a sluggish extractor/ejector.

The two magazines I got from Numrich were new-old-stock. There was a bit of rust freckling on the surface, but it cleaned off easily with an alcohol patch. Then I put some grease on the mating surfaces and wiped down the rest. The new magazines fit tightly and feed well. I used them as a template to bend the lips of the magazine that came with the gun. It is now feeding well too, so I took it apart and hardened the lips. Hopefully, it will last a while.

I located the only peepsight that is specifically made for this gun (I found that there are a couple more that are listed for the Model 56 and 57. They would probably fit, but I did not want to take a chance.) Then the front sight was changed to get a larger brass bead. Then I added a light sling.

It looks and feels great. I can hardly wait to take it to the range this weekend.

[otteray]

Getting an unique Marlin is fun!
Please share your range results and more about the correct sights.
I cast my own lead for the Marlin Levermatic- saves a ton of dough!
Now, after reading this, I'm going to have to pull mine out of the safe and pop off some tin cans. Yee-Hawww
Ray

[Harry O]

Here is what I dug out of my "Gunsights" books. The Williams 5D-56-989 was made for the Marlin 62 and Winchester 88/100. That is what I put on it. It fits properly and gives a much better sight picture than the stock sights.

Others that "might" work are:
Lyman 66MD for the Marlin 56 & 57 (this would have been my second choice if I had not found the 5D-56-989)
Williams FP-88/100 for the Winchester 88/100
Lyman 66W88 for the Winchester 88/100
Williams WGRS-100 for the Winchester 100 (this would also require a higher front sight IF it works)

I have been looking for a .30 carbine mould, but all the handloading warehouses that I checked (Midway, Grafs, Midsouth, etc) are out at the present time. I am looking for a 2-cavity, round-nose, gas-check mould in the 110-120gr range if anyone has one.

I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I checked about a dozen gunshops, three Cabela's, Midway, and Grafs that were near our travel route. I found three boxes of jacketed .30 carbine bullets -- one in Nebraska, one in Iowa, and one in Missouri. I also found one (and only one) place that had .30 carbine cartridges, but at the price he had on them, I would frame them and hang them on a wall instead of shooting them. Things are still bad out there when it comes to reloading supplies.

[otteray]

Midway says it is available.
I use this mold for my .30 carbines:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=661909
Just use a rounded top punch.
It is just as accurate with my M1 Carbine and Marlin Levermatic as using the bullet pointed is.

[Harry O]

I sorta stayed away from that one because of the pointed nose, however, it obviously must not be a problem if you have been using it. Come to think of it, since I am not using a semi-automatic, I shouldn't worry about the shape of the nose, as long as the OAL is OK. I have a Lyman 311316 that might work, too. I am going to give it a try.

BTW, I took the gun to the range today. A few groups from a rest and playing with the peepsight walked the bullet holes into the center of the target. Then I fired several groups offhand. The gun was accurate (as accurate as I ever am with any gun) with my handloads (Speer plinker, 13.0gr 2400). There were no malfunctions with the magazines except for one magazine that I did not completely lock in place. Not its fault. Sight picture was easy to acquire and hold. I also found out that it works best with a quick flick of the wrist -- probably because it was designed away. The thumb doesn't even leave the stock wrist.

[otteray]

You say it works best with a flick of the wrist, yep.
I'd describe it as playing a castanet, like a Spanish dancer
In any case, not a heck of a lot of hand movement!