Marlin 39A

[Hanshi]

Great find! I bought a Golden 39A back in the early 1960 and still have it and it's been used a lot on tin cans and squirrels. No way it could be pried out of my grasp; it's here to stay. I mounted a nice Lyman receiver sight on it and that's all it needs.

[Cheeto303]

I purchased a Golden 39A back in 1987 while at Ft. Riley,Ks. This rifle was made in 1969 and sported a vintage Redfield 4X scope which it still has. Fantastic combo. It stays in the ready rack for fending off possums,raccoons,putty cats and other vermin going after the chickens. It has dropped coydogs and other large stray dogs going after the goats and put countless limbchickens and bunnies in the pot. I will never part with this rifle. It is buy far my favorite .22.

[RJM52]

That was a GREAT BUY!!! Even with a little rust rarely does a Mountie go for under $500...

My first rifle was also a 39A Golden 24" with pistol grip stock. Was a birthday or Christmas present in 1966 I believe... Sold in 1970 when I went to college..

Since then I have had two more 24" guns, four Mounties, a couple of octagon commemoratives and four Carbines. Having owned or shot about every 39 other than a D my favorite is the 20" barreled Carbine that were made for a few years back in the 1960s...

The one I kept must have been a presentation gun...it has AAAA walnut, some engraving on the receiver and a BRIGHT high polish blue. Story I got from the gun shop was that the gun was found in a house that was being cleaned out three years after the owner had died. As no one wanted it the grandson brought it to the shop to be sold...

One of the best .22s ever made...

Bob

[popper]

I'd take the MG TC any day over a 39A.

[rockrat]

If I had to sell all my 22 rifles except one, my 39A would still be in the safe.

[Scorpion8]

I've owned three of these over the years--stupidly let them get away for one reason or another. ...

Great score. Every once in awhile we all do that with guns and then regret letting them go. Glad you got another!

[fiberoptik]

My 39a is my favorite as well. Really do wish I hadn’t have sold my Nylon 66 for formula and diapers.


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[therealhitman]

Great find and fantastic price for these days! I sold my Mountie a while back when it seemed they were plentiful and reasonable. Figured I'd find one with a better stock and more blueing left and grab it. Still looking

[Walks]

I bought a new 39D back in H.S.,1970-1. Dragged it all through the Canyons on the East side of the San Fernando Valley. Would ride up after school with my Little Brother & a couple of friends. Just riding our bikes up Van Nuys Blvd, 3 O'clock in the afternoon.

We shot ground squirrels, Cottontails and an occasion dove or quail. Out of season.
The stock got beat to hell, blueing worn off.
Always meant to refinish the stock. Just haven't got around to it yet.
All the .22's I've owned, it's still my favorite. Has had a WILLIAMS FP on it for 30yrs. It's about time for these old eyes to scope it. Shame, It's so light and handy as it is.

[S.B.]

I've never saw a Marlin 39A Mountie(I payed $600 for mine several years back) or long rifle I didn't like, nice catch, have fun with this.
Steve

[Patrick L]

You know, when I was a teenager my older cousin had a 39M and I wanted one too. The LGS owner talked me out of it. He said they were superb guns and he could certainly get me one, but at a cost of around $175 (around 1981-82 or so.). So, for about $110 IIRC I got the deluxe 10/22 Sporter, an extra clip, sling, and a bunch of ammo. I don't regret the 10/22, and I still have it, but I do regret not ever getting a Marlin 39, especially when you see the crazy prices they get today. Its definitely on my short list of ones to look out for.

[roysha]

Shortly after we were married in 1964 the wife and I became acquainted with a fellow who would become a close, life long friend. He was the cause for my addiction the S&W 44 Magnums but that is another story. Because we were too broke to do much else, our usual Sunday afternoon entertainment was to go out to a farmers dump in the dryland east of town and shoot odds and ends of stuff with .22s till the rats came out towards evening. Then the fun began.

At the time the 10-22 was brand new, I had purchased the first one of two that had been delivered to Draper Drug in Loveland. We took turns shooting it since it was the only .22 I had. I had sold my WIN 74 shorts only, (one of an untold number of bad moves I have made) to finance the 10-22. The wife mostly shot because she knew how much I liked to shoot and her interest was mainly just hanging out with me.

One Sunday we took our new found friend out with us. He had a Mountie that had a ringed barrel about 12" from the chamber. Even with that ring, the Mountie would outshoot the 10-22. After the wife shot it the first time, she turn to me and said, "I really like that rifle" WOO HOO! I was working for less than $2.00 hr. but I went Draper Drug and put one on layaway. Took me something like four months to pay off the $72.00, if I recall correctly, but it was totally worth it. That was her Christmas present in 1965. She still has it and it is still in excellent+ condition even after 1000s of rounds through it.

Just a side note: Quite some years later I obtained a REM 40X Sporter to which I added a Canjar SS trigger, Buehler base and rings and a 3x9AO Leupold. This rifle was incredibly accurate with WIN PISTOL MATCH ammo, now LONG discontinued. I had made a set of silhouette swinging targets to the .22 scale. She would regularly outshoot me with her Mountie. I would become so frustrated that the harder I tried the worse I shot. Sometime you can't even buy a win. Oh well. The 40X is long gone but, as I stated above, the Mountie is still with us.

[Mumblypeg]

I have owned 7 or 8 Marlin 39A's in one style or the other. I have two Century models, one is new in the box with shipping sleeve. I recently gave a Mountie to a close friend of mine (He is worth it). I have paid as little as $100 and as much as $600 plus for certain ones. At present I have (I think?) 4. My every day gun is a used Century model. They all shoot very well. Now, about the prices... lets put this into perspective…. I can make more money... they don't make those any more. I don't regret a penny I spent on a 39A...

[S.B.]

Good thread, good guns, good stories, here.
Reminds me of what hard times I've went through and the good times I've had with Marlins. wouldn't change a thing?
Thanks, guys and gals.
Steve

[uscra112]

The best 22 lever-action ever made. Bar none. I had a little straight grip mountie in the early 80s and the only reason I sold it was because I almost doubled my money on it.

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AMEN! I have my Dad's, a carbine length pistol grip style, scoped. Still near mint; it's as accurate as some of my "target" rifles when using hunting ammo. No amount of money will ever pry it loose, it being a family heirloom.

Added: OK, I'll brag a little. Just a few years ago I looked out the kitchen door and saw two chucks about 10-12 feet apart, down by the chicken-shed, about 80 yards. The Marlin was handy and loaded with MiniMags, so I crept out the door, laid the crosshair on the first one, and bang! But the brag is that I got the second one just as fast as I could work the action, like a right-left on ducks. Both upper torso hits, both shots taken offhand, neither one moved a whisker.

[Traffer]

I saw one for a similar price recently but can't even afford that! Maybe someday. Just for future reference, How does a Browning lever 22 compare to the Marlin? They are usually a bit cheaper and easier to find around here.

[wildwilly]

I bought my first Marlin 39 Carbine when I was in high school back in '63....mail ordered from Kleins in Chicago for 'round $60 (the good old days). I was forced to relinquish that and all my other firearms when I enlisted in the Marines. My folks were not comfortable with firearms in the house.
Many years later I offered to buy back that Marlin from my cousin, but it had been passed on to his son. I discovered that Marlin only offered the 39 Carbine for a couple years, which explained why I couldn't find one at any gun shops or the L.A. Gun Show. In desperation, I placed a WTB in Auction Arms. I got one response.....$600 for near mint condition. This was twenty years ago. It's as accurate as my first one. I still rarely see one on the auction sites.

[If1Hitu]

Great find! I bought a Golden 39A back in the early 1960 and still have it and it's been used a lot on tin cans and squirrels. No way it could be pried out of my grasp; it's here to stay. I mounted a nice Lyman receiver sight on it and that's all it needs.

I don't blame you,i'd keep it too. Still looks great after 58 years.

[rintinglen]

I saw one for a similar price recently but can't even afford that! Maybe someday. Just for future reference, How does a Browning lever 22 compare to the Marlin? They are usually a bit cheaper and easier to find around here.

In my limited experience, the Browning is slightly more reliable, but the Marlin is more accurate. But truth to tell, they are pretty much equal. I bought the Marlin for it's 24 inch barrel back when I was shooting 22 LR silhouette, but I could have been happy with the Browning.

[S.B.]

I recently got notice Henry is selling direct to hunter safety instructor for $242 may place an order and try them out? Sorry to say I've never owned a Henry lever .22. Owned several Marlins and had a son try the Winchester lever .22 and it was a very nice rifle but, with Marlin/Remington gone not a lot of choices left?
Times, they are a changin' not for the better IMHO.
Steve