Marlin model 81DL

[smoked turkey]

Just wondering how I did on an even up trade today. I traded a 10-22 with black synthetic stock for a very nice Marlin model 81 DL .22 bolt action rifle. The walnut stock is close to 100% condition. Those old stocks sure are nice. I don't care much for the little BSA 3X7 "22" scope mounted on it, but I have to say it is clear as a bell and the rig shoots great. I haven't tried anything but the .22 mini mag short HP in it. The owner said it didn't like long rifle ammo. I am not sure what he meant by that remark. It is supposed to be set up for short, long and long rifle. We'll see how it does in a few days when time permits. I see it is drilled for a peep sight. That would be real nice if I could find one. I don't often trade and was just wonderin what everyone thought. Thanks.

[starmac]

I don't know anything about the model 81, but I have an old marlin 25 that I like.
I would say if you like it better than the 1022 that you did good.
I have a 1022 too, I'm not sure I would give up one for the other either way. They are both fun.
I don't remember the last time I even seen shorts for sale or longs either for that matter.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

My 81 Dl shoots Wolf match LR into one rough round hole at 50 yards with thefactory peep. It dates from 1948. Suggest you clean the barrel carefully, test about 5 or 6 kinds of soft lubed LR and enjoy. Clean between kinds, then shoot ten of the next trial ammo to relube before going for group.

BvT

[dbldblu]

I just took delivery of an 81DL today. Sounds like yours is in a little better shape than mine, but mine has the peep sight. I gave $65. It is not feeding well but I gave it a cleaning and lubrication and hope that fixes it.

[Jim Sheldon]

I just took delivery of an 81DL today. Sounds like yours is in a little better shape than mine, but mine has the peep sight. I gave $65. It is not feeding well but I gave it a cleaning and lubrication and hope that fixes it.

I got mine a few months ago. The factory peep was buggered up pretty badly, so I replaced it with a Williams (fit the factory holes perfectly) and I refinished the stock.

If you find you need parts, check Numrich (www.gunpartscorp.com) as they have some of them in stock.

Mine feeds shorts, longs and long rifles interchangeably and perfectly. Doggone tube will hold 25 shorts and out of that long barrel, the Remington CB shorts are very quiet - you can actually hear the firing pin hit the primer.

Mine was made prior to WW2 as it has the semi beavertail fore end and it isn't grooved or drilled & tapped for a scope.

Jim

[smoked turkey]

Many thanks for the replies. I am anxious to try LR ammo in it. I would really like to have the peep sight rather than the 22 scope that is currently mounted on it. However, I did get some good groups using the 22 mini mag which are the size of 22 shorts but quite a bit more power. I will do some checking with Numrich to see what they have.
dbldblu you out did me by a lot on your purchase. The story of my life.
I think I am going to have fun shooting this old Marlin. Speaking of old, I have wanted an old model 39 for a long time. Maybe some day.

[smoked turkey]

Well I finally have gotten around to shooting the 81 with Long Rifle ammo. The accuracy was good as I suspected it would be. The problem with this particular rifle is in feeding a round from the magazine into the chamber. The round is lifted up at a steep angle such that the bullet is at the 12 o'clock position just above the chamber. I press down on the nose of the round while moving the bolt forward until it engages the chamber in order to get it to feed. I gently bent the forward carrier lips so as to give some more holding power to the cartridge and that helped lower the angle some but before going further with this bending thing I wanted to see if anyone else has experience with this sort of problem and a possible solution. Thanks all.

[gnoahhh]

Can't help you with the feeding problem, but I will concur with all of the comments regarding these rifles.

I got mine 45 years ago, from my Dad who got it new right after the war. It is just silly accurate with anything I put through it, and in all this time I've never had a failure to feed.

Good luck finding a rear peep sight for it. It's indigenous to the Marlin 81. Lyman may have made a replacement sight for it along the way, but of that I'm not certain. Also, if you do find a sight, do not lose the screw-in aperture. It too is indigenous to that sight only (weird thread size). If you do lose it, Apertures-n-more (google them) sells a replacement for just a couple of bucks.

P.S. Apertures-n-more is a website that anybody who fools with receiver sights should visit. They'll make you a new aperture to fit any sight, with whatever diameter hole you want, for about $10-12. Great guys to deal with.

[OBXPilgrim]

well, here's what you are looking for.

And no, my $50 (in 1990) Model 80DL is not for sale - or the sight).

The first photo shows the metal feed lip - mine feeds fine, just wondered if yours is shaped like it.

I've only ever seen one other for sale, in worse shape, for more than I paid for the rifle - with no aperature.

I lost my aperature..once, after letting my neices and nephews shot at targets prone. We took the sight out & it fell out of my pocket. One of my neices found it in the grass - better than a 4 leaf clover.

[dbldblu]

I shot mine for the first time today. After trying several brands of ammo, I found that it really likes CCI Std Vel; it put 5 of those into one ragged hole at 30 yards. Mine was not feeding well at first. I found the chamber had a burr where the firing pin strikes, probably from dry firing. Make sure the cartridge lift mechanism is centered in the cutout and that it lifts easily all the way up. I tweeked mine just a touch to get it centered. Then, it would not feed CCI CB longs and Rem C_Bee's but, as soon as I tried regular 22 LR it fed fine. It will not feed shorts (I don't care).

[gnoahhh]

Another amusing aside regarding my 81DL is around the time my Dad gave it to me, he bumped the front sight and knocked off the brass bead. We used it as-is for many, many years (I found that a dab of White-Out over the black worked sort of ok). Then, a couple of years ago I hit upon a use for my old wedding band. I cut small pieces of gold out of it and soldered them onto a couple of front sights that were missing their beads, inlcuding the Marlin. I then shaped them into about 3/32" diameter with jeweler's files. Voila! real gold bead front sights that won't tarnish. I wish the ex could have seen me doing it!

[elk hunter]

My 81DL was traded off in the 60's when it got to where it wouldn't feed. About ten years ago a friend brought his 81 to me and asked me to look at it as it wouldn't feed. As I recall I had to build up the cartridge lifter as it was worn. After that it worked fine. Makes me wish I hadn't traded off mine as my dad bought it for me. Good shooting rifles. I have the barreled receiver for one somewhere in my stuff. I'm going to use the barrel to make up a Chickopee singleshot for one of the grand kids.

[smoked turkey]

I have been out of town and away from my computer for a few days. That is why I am delayed in getting back to the last few posts. OBXPrilgim yes that peep is what I need and no I don't think the lifter in mine is exactly like yours. It doesn't have a solid base below the shell. It has the two ears that hold the shell (that is what I slightly bent), and it has a narrow steel follower that sits between the ears. Mine still lifts the nose of the shell too much or is at too much of an angle to the chamber. It hits at 12 o'clock just above the chamber when the bolt is pulled back. Elk Hunter I will look at the lifter and see what can be done to build it up. This is a good shooter and one I want to fix up for squirrel hunting. Hopefully just a little tweeking and find a good peep somewhere and I'll be in business. Thanks for the help.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Hello Smoked Turkey.

It is quite likely that you have some cleaning rod damage on the tops, width, or angle of your cartridge lifter feed lips. Check for burrs and actual bending/twisting and correct. Check also at rimfire central.com in the Marlin part in case someone has reported the problem and their fix. When I got the use of Dad's 81DL in the early fifties, a strong cleaning rod caution was part of the instructions and I have been very careful. Mine feeds everything from shorts on up, interchangeably or mixed. I think the DL designation means that the rifle came with the peep sight with two apertures and the rear barrel sight slot filled with a blank. Mine has an original silver bead 1/16th front sight.

Oh, Also take note that the rear sight picture shown by OBX Pilgrim shows one aperture fitted for shooting, and one fitted as the adjustment tenstion screw. Different sized holes, one tiny, one larger. The third hole is of course, no aperture being used which gives you that ghost ring effect.

BvT.

[gnoahhh]

On the rare occasions that I feel the need to run a rod down the bore of mine, I pull the stock and dismantle the lifter to get a clear shot at it.

Is the rifle pictured an 80DL, clip fed? Looks like the top of a detachable magazine behind the chamber. Or it's just my eyes.

[smoked turkey]

Thanks for those insights on the peep sight (sort of pun intended) BvT. Thats very interesting. I had no idea about the different apertures. I will know more what to look for. It is interesting on your comment because the fella I traded with to get the 81DL said it had no rear sight and so he had just purchased one at a local show the day before we made the deal. I do know him and he just purchased the rifle and it was not him that took off the original peep sight. Thanks also gnoahhh. I can also see that the cleaning rod can damage the feed lips on the lifter. I thought I should disable the spring that holds it up when cleaning because it would be very easy to bend those lifter feed lips. I'll look closely at that. Thanks all. If any one has a lead on the correct peep sight I'd appreciate a PM on it.

[OBXPilgrim]

Oh, Also take note that the rear sight picture shown by OBX Pilgrim shows one aperture fitted for shooting, and one fitted as the adjustment tenstion screw. Different sized holes, one tiny, one larger. The third hole is of course, no aperture being used which gives you that ghost ring effect.

BvT.

Well, I guess that looks pretty close to being a seperate aperture, but it's not. Just a knurled nut that locks down the elevation cam plate sitting on the threaded stud.

Yes it's a clip fed. The 80DL was clip fed, the 81DL was tube fed.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Well, I guess that looks pretty close to being a seperate aperture, but it's not. Just a knurled nut that locks down the elevation cam plate sitting on the threaded stud.

Yes it's a clip fed. The 80DL was clip fed, the 81DL was tube fed.

I do not know if your 80 DL has the threads we are talking about the same. My 81 DL is all original and your solid screw sight retainer is another aperture on mine. There may have been some model differences. BvT

[Papa Jack]

I'm just catching up reading some of these posts on the RF forum here....This is exciting as I haven't shot my old RF's in quite some time...
I have a old Marlin 81DL ( tube feed ) that belonged to my wife's Father. It was in pretty bad condition, just sat in the back of a closet for many years. It had a lot of surface rust and the bluing was almost gone.
I refinished the blond pallet wood stock, and cleaned the steel with 4-0 steel wool. I did this 20 years ago and still have not fired the rifle, it just sits in the safe...
I guess I'm going to have to load up the truck and head to the woods for a day of plinking..... You guys are inspiring me !! LOL "PJ"

[gnoahhh]

I'm just catching up reading some of these posts on the RF forum here....This is exciting as I haven't shot my old RF's in quite some time...
I have a old Marlin 81DL ( tube feed ) that belonged to my wife's Father. It was in pretty bad condition, just sat in the back of a closet for many years. It had a lot of surface rust and the bluing was almost gone.
I refinished the blond pallet wood stock, and cleaned the steel with 4-0 steel wool. I did this 20 years ago and still have not fired the rifle, it just sits in the safe...
I guess I'm going to have to load up the truck and head to the woods for a day of plinking..... You guys are inspiring me !! LOL "PJ"

Oh good Lord, give the old girl some air!!

I think the 80/81DLs are one of the best kept secrets in the world of vintage .22 rifles. I know the word is out amongst the squirrel population. When my 81DL enters the woods the place goes quiet and Ol' Bushytail starts writing his last will and testament!