need help with an old 35 marlin

I have an older 35 marlin from 1964 .I bought it 5 years or so ago from a guy hard up around Christmas time and its shot and performed well . lately its been jamming up on me though , when I fire a round and work the action it jams in the fully open position . it only does this when there's multiple rounds on the feed tube ,it will stick fully open if I smack the lever a few times it frees up but don't always wanna lift the next round up into the chamber ,ive got to work it a few times to pick up the next round . it only does this with multiple rounds in the feed tube .so in other words if I only load 1 in the tube it performs as it should . ive tried it with my 200 gr lead bullet reloads , 180 gr speer jsp reloads and even with empty cases and its the same results every time .anyone have any ideas? if its an easy fix I would rather take care of it myself . there's not much in the way of gunsmiths in this area we have 1 who thinks everything he touches is worth its weight in gold (at least that's what his prices reflect) ,we have another who sends most of his work away for others to fix ,and we have a third who isn't very reliable .so if I can fix it myself I would rather do so .

Have you tried tightening all of the action screws?

Those 336's break down pretty easily. I'd take it apart and clean / oil / lube / reassemble and see how it functions. Any worn parts should be observable in the process.

Try loading your reloads with the bullet seated in or out a bit more. The over all length of the cartridge should make the difference.

The 336 Marlin relies on the cartridge just fed onto the carrier and it's length to keep the next one in the magazine tube held back just far enough so that the carrier can come back up,,cam that next one in the tube back out of the way (slight bevel on the front edge of the carrier for that) and then lift the cartridge on the carrier up and into position for the bolt to feed it into the chamber.

(The mag follower, or the head of the next round in the mag tube,,is a detent of sort. That keeps the carrier itself held in the lower position. Either must just barely exit the frame and touch the carrier front end to hold it there under spring tension from the mag spring)

If the cartridge on the carrier is too short in overall length,,then that next one in line in the tube is pushed back by the mag spring and ends up part way onto the carrier and part way still in the mag tube. The lever can't be closed then as the carrier is jammed.
If the jammed cartridge from the tube is just crossed over onto the carrier by a tiny amt, sometimes slapping the lever will be enough to knock the cartridge back into the magazine with the help of the bevel in the front of the carrier and the action can be closed.
But the action should operate smoothly of course and w/o the need to batter the lever to get it to close.
If the cartridge is too long,,the bullet hangs over into the mag tube instead of clearing the tube. Then the carrier can't move to lift it upwards.

(A magazine follower that is worn and skips by the shallow shoulder inside the frame can cause the same thing of jamming the action open but on an unloaded rifle. The follower skips back and ends up partially onto the carrier and still partially in the mag tube and the action is stuck in the open position.)

Try some cases with the bullet seated in or out a little more and see it it doesn't solve the problem.
Doesn't cost anything to experiment a little and you don't have to take anything apart. If it doesn't solve the problem you can then investigate further and start disassembling things. Try easy stuff first.

Make up a few 'dummy rounds' for this so you're not feeding live ammo thru the gun in your basement shop.

There is all kinds of information on Marlin malfunctions and the cause on the Marlin Owner's forum.

You have "Marlin Jam #1" which occurs when the carrier doesn't pop up soon enough to block off the chasing cartridge from getting slightly onto the carrier with the feeding cartridge. At one time I had pictures of the "fix" I'd done by JB-welding a thin piece of metal onto the critical place on the carrier so it lifted a bit quicker. Unfortunately I used "photobucket" and those pictures seem to be gone forever. Steve of "Steve's Gunz" says he heats the carrier at this same critical point and bends it up just a scosh to fix the Jam#1.

I think if you take it apart and study a bit you'll see where to add metal or bend up on the carrier.

My '74 model 336 30-30 started doing the very same thing. After a little fiddling, I found that all it was , was the loading gate screw was too loose. I snugged it up and "bingo", no more jams. I think it was why I got it for a cheaper than usual price......the former owner started having trouble and dumped it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reivertom

the loading gate screw was too loose. I snugged it up and "bingo", no more jams.

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+1

FWIW, I've ran into 4 different Marlin 336's with the same problem, the loading gate interfers with the lifter and/or cartridge feeding because it isn't tight against the inside of the RH receiver sidewall.

Two just needed the loading gate screw tightened, the other two loading gates had lost their spring tension (they're really just springs), that I just bought new loading gates ($12) for from Numrich.


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Hearing about a loose loading gate screw takes me back a few years. A lady brought a loaded, action open, action jammed Marlin 30-30 to the shop for correction. She and her husband had been in a spat. He had tossed furniture around the house, then made threats to hurt her. He grabbed the rifle and claimed he was going to shoot her. He pulled the lever down - and the action froze. He could not get the lever to recover so he tossed the rifle across the room and stormed out of the house. She spoke with an attorney about a divorce and restraining order, then brought the rifle to us. We found the gate screw was loose, and this was what saved her life. We made the correction and, at the lady's request, prepared a written summary about the cause and cure of the jam for her lawyer. The lady paid for the correction and took the rifle and summary with her. We never heard from her again. This is the one time when a loose screw prevented a tragedy rather than cause one.

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It sounds like the husband sure had a screw loose........... :p

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Start with the gate screw. If that doesn't work, the next to try is the lever. It is cheaper than the carrier or the rocker on the carrier. I've never had to bend a carrier as the first 2 have always fixed the issue. If you have another 336 in the house, try swapping parts before buying...

Well I checked the loading gate screw and it was tight but I found 3 other screws loose so I tightened them up loaded the mag tube full multiple times with 2 different types of ammo and the old girl runs like clock work now.so I decided to check my other 336 and found a screw loose on it too thanks for the help

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thin Man

Hearing about a loose loading gate screw takes me back a few years. A lady brought a loaded, action open, action jammed Marlin 30-30 to the shop for correction. She and her husband had been in a spat. He had tossed furniture around the house, then made threats to hurt her. He grabbed the rifle and claimed he was going to shoot her. He pulled the lever down - and the action froze. He could not get the lever to recover so he tossed the rifle across the room and stormed out of the house. She spoke with an attorney about a divorce and restraining order, then brought the rifle to us. We found the gate screw was loose, and this was what saved her life. We made the correction and, at the lady's request, prepared a written summary about the cause and cure of the jam for her lawyer. The lady paid for the correction and took the rifle and summary with her. We never heard from her again. This is the one time when a loose screw prevented a tragedy rather than cause one.

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Lucky for her it didn't function as a "dear" rifle.