Nice Bore! Tight Action! Man is it ugly!!!!

[Remmy4477]

Went to a gun show today and this old marlin came home with me.

Model 1893 made 1896 in 38-55. I think it's a first model?? Has not been messed with mechanically! Very nice bore and a tight action. Woods fairly nice. Receiver is pitted in spots as is the lever. Mag tube is badly pitted on one side but solid. Barrel looks like a poor attempt at browning? Looks red in the light (ick) and all the lettering is faint.

Should be a good shooter! Probably give her a good scrubbing and a generic blue job??

Price was very right! Been wanting a 38-55 to play with.

Probably going with BP loads in this one116999117000117000117000116998

[TXGunNut]

I like the scrubbing idea, then assess. Some folks would say you might as well refinish it since someone else has already tried. Looks like it has had reasonably good care most of it's life, still has plenty of life left in it. If she shoots good I'd consider refinishing the metal, refinishing the wood and quite possibly a new mag tube.
I enjoy shooting BP in my 38-55, she hasn't seen a smokeless round yet.

[MtGun44]

0000 steel wool with G96 gun oil will produce a pleasing and fairly stable
"old patina" which IMO is more in keeping with the age of that gun than a
new blue job.

Your gun, so do what you want, but I prefer an old gun to look like a nice old
gun with that normal reddish brown patina that most develop, not a tarted up o
ld gun.

Bill

[OverMax]

Pretty lucky there to find a 38-55. Y'all gott'a love them old square bolt's. Nice winter time project rifle for sure. Thanks for sharing Remmy4477

[Remmy4477]

Thanks for the input. I like it. Fits right in with my old win 94. Interesting The gentleman I bought the rifle from also gave me 20 rounds of live ammo. Lead boolit (i pulled one) Mic's at .375, whats the normal dia for a levergun in 38-55? Also it looks like the brass was formed from 30-30 acording to the head stamp.

[Mumblypeg]

Just clean it and shoot it... it's got caricature. :-)

[nagantguy]

From the description I thought you'd just met my ex wife! Real nice rifle, my daughter and me had a blast this year restoring an old abused 94 thuddy thuddy now in a few weeks she will deer hunt with it!! It also was sound but ugly.

[Gtek]

Please do us and yourself a favor with that unknown loading with converted brass. (ALL UNKNOWN AMMO IS/ARE COMPONENTS) Pull down all for your safety, reload with known powder and charge. As far as normal diameter, that vintage weapon could be there, yonder, or in between. Slugging, pound cast, fired case, etc. measure of YOUR rifle is needed. I am in the 0000 club or a chemical browning detail. Very nice old bang stick you have found there, enjoy.

[LtFrankDrebbin]

Another voter here to just clean and use. I can't see the sense in "mutton dressed as lamb" let it be what it is. One very sweet old rifle that deserves to be used with pride!

[bgmkithaca]

I will agree with someone attempting to brown the barrel and mag. That copper color is caused by rubbing the application of browning agent excessively instead of letting it set and work slowly.

[Dan Cash]

Danger! Will Robinson!!! Rifle unsafe and likely to spread rust and uglyness to other guns. Send it to me ASAP for proper disposal.

All kidding aside, your rifle is a fine piece and I would not worry about looks. It will change even more if you will use it. If the barrel is not marked "Special Smokless," I would be reticent to fire smokeless loads in it, even light smokeless. 42 to 50 grains of 3 FG under a 260 or so grain bullet will slay anything that needs slaying with a .38-55. Determine your bore and throat dimensions as my first year production 1893 has a pretty good sized hole in it; bullet is .382 I think. It shoots very well.

[bigted]

called a 38 cause it will be at least .380 inch if i don't miss my guess.

my old '93' is a very sexy rifle and with the liner in the barrel [very carroded when it came home to me] i have not done a thing except to put a modern full buckhorn rear and a blade front sights on it. very fun to shoot and smooth to work in the action ... mine has the best trigger i have ever had on any lever gun in my life. the 26 inch barrel is a treat and looks like all that for sure.

mine is a "Saftey" model and the round barrel has "smokeless steel" on the side. is yours this new? ... ah i see 1896 so yours should be the smokeless steel as well. slug your barrel to find out what the groove diameter is but the best indicator will be your fired cases ... whatever they measure out to will be your best diameter of lead boolits to use in her.

be fun to ear how she shoots and what accuracy you can coax outta it. congrats ... i bet that your gonna use the Marlin much more then the Winchester ... but that would be a hint to begin an argument ... and i never would promote such behaviour ... :coffee:

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Personally if she shoots well and I had the money I would professionally restore her.

[DeanWinchester]

I wouldn't touch it till I shot it a bit. If it shoots fair enough, I might do a slather on home blue. Now, IF she were to turn out to be a real tack driver, that warrants sending to a pro and getting a good reblue done. THat's just me though.

[nekshot]

I kinda envy you on that one!

[MaLar]

Looks Beutifulll to me! I'll adopt it.

[Remmy4477]

Well by Sunday morning I had that red stuff all over the house. Stuff was like chalk.

So I took her all apart, cleaned and oiled the action, used 0000 wool on the barrel, most of the red stuff came right off. Did the same with the mag tube now that stuff just fell off the tube with a few light passes. Did a quick cold blue on the tube and put her back together.
Sorry guys that red stuff was driving me nuts, touch the tube or barrel and your hands and fingers would be red.

I like the way it turned out, just going to leave her as is and should, hopefully, have some components to put some rounds through her in a couple of weeks.

Here's a pic next to her rival of the day. Man they look sweet together! Now I just need to find me a 92 Winchester in 44-40!

117122

[Teddo]

I have a earley 93 and it mics out at 377 but as in all the old stuff each rifle is unique to its self.

Have seen and used minute blue over a rust blue barrel and was very surprised how much it duplicated the platina of a used old gun, at least better than a poor rust blue job by its self....Teddo

[Artful]

Nice Find - totally Jealous - can't wait to hear how it shoots [smilie=w:

[Rifle 57]

That's a great find and it will fix up just fine. I would love to have one like that.

[John Allen]

They are good looking guns. I find myself always looking at early levers and single shots.

[Airborne Falcon]

Just clean it and shoot it... it's got caricature. :-)

I lol'd.

http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20100512/awesome_caricatures_41.jpg

[Bullshop Junior]

Looks like a work gun to me.

[Butler Ford]

In my not-so-humble-opinion, without a doubt the best cartridge ever for cast bullets! Nice find!

[GP100man]

The ole gal has aged nicely , enjoy !!!

Another vote for cleaning it & leave it as is.

Wish it could talk !!!

GP

[barkerwc4362]

I have a restored 1893 with a B prefix serial number. Receiver was made about 1904. It was a butchered 30-30 when I bought it. I found a 26" light round 38-55 barrel from about 1906 at what was then Numerich's. Recased and blued, plus a custom shotgun buttplate stock with original Marlin pattern checkering. Beautiful rifle, but doesn't like hot loads. I have killed two large South Alabama feral boars with it. They are wonderful rifles and have more character than the later 336s.

Bill

[oldred]

I just can't look at an old rifle like that and not wonder where it's been and what it has seen and done! I have just not been fortunate enough to get my hands on one but if I did I probably would not let go.

[Remmy4477]

Well I was finally able to take her out and see what she'd do.

Load was CCI LR mag primers, 40grns 2Fg, poly wad and a Lee .379-250 Boolit cast of soft lead. Bore slugged at .380.
Honestly I'm not a paper puncher, I'd rather shoot rocks across a ridge or cans and milk jugs, ect.

We set some cans out at about 20 to 30 yards, I killed most of them with the first shot! So she is a good shooter! Real happy with her!!!

Locally they have a levergun silhouette match once a month. I was going to get my old 30-30 loaded up for it (yes they allow the 30-30). But now I'm thinking I'll use the 38-55 and have the 30-30 as a back-up.

Yes if this old gal could talk! WOW!!!

[DougGuy]

Time to take Bambi and that old rifle and introduce them via airmail! :bigsmyl2:

[John Taylor]

My Father picked up a 93 back in the 50s for fixing a guys car. Story was that it was found in an old miners shack and the barrel was bent do to the roof collapsing on it. The finder sent the rifle to Marlin and had a new barrel installed. It had been a 25-36 and the new barrel was a 30-30 carbine. It has three notches behind the lever, claim jumpers?. I found a 25-36 barrel that was shot out and rebored it to 38-55 and put a new rifle mag tube on. Got a new forearm but never got around to getting the nose cap. Someday I might find time to complete the job. The 93 is a nice old rifle.

[TXGunNut]

I just can't look at an old rifle like that and not wonder where it's been and what it has seen and done! I have just not been fortunate enough to get my hands on one but if I did I probably would not let go.

Couldn't agree more. Have a few rifles that are around the century mark and each time I handle them I think about the previous "custodians". Picking up an old rifle is like shaking hands with history.