Marlin 39A ?????

[SWANEEDB]

Well, was at a friends home yesterday, he had 2 39's in his collection, now he has only one, a Mountie, we came home with the 39A, Mfg in 1950, is the 3rd model 1st variation, Ballard rifling, after getting the dust and old lube cleaned off it just sparkled at me, put this rifle in the 85/90 percent range, most likely had not been used in 30/40 years, finally got one after all these years looking for another, had a couple in my early years but they just got away from me like a lot of other toys. Hard to wait for the weather to warm up so we can warm it up. I'm still drooling.

[sparky45]

Yeah, I want one of those as well. Great little shooter as I recall.

[Artful]

Love mine - and it's adult sized
- try lots of ammo brands it can be persnickety about ammo choices

[texassako]

Mine is one of those guns I would never get rid of. It isn't an oldie, but is pre safety from the mid '80s. Maybe I got lucky with it shooting most brands well, even the Thunderbolts I am cleaning out of the closet teaching my wife how to shoot.

[roysha]

Good for you. You will never be sorry. Regardless what people may say about some of the newer lever brands available, nothing beats the Marlin 39 family of 22s. Nothing!

Back in 1965 shortly after the wife and I were married a friend of mine had a Mountie with a ringed barrel which shot as though it didn't know it was ringed. Anyway, our recreation at the time was to go out to an old farmers dump east of town in the drylands and shoot stuff till nearly dark then shoot rats. My wife shot my buddy's little rifle a couple time, then turned to me and said "I really like that rifle". Guess who got what for Christmas that year. She still has it. It used to make me so **** mad when we would shoot together some years later after I had acquired a 40X Sporter with a Leupold 3-9AO and a Canjar single set trigger because she would invariably out shoot me. I'm starting to steam just thinking about it. Oh well.

[Artful]

Mine is one of those guns I would never get rid of. It isn't an oldie, but is pre safety from the mid '80s. Maybe I got lucky with it shooting most brands well, even the Thunderbolts I am cleaning out of the closet teaching my wife how to shoot.

Oh, mine shots lots of stuff pretty good - but when I found what it wanted to eat
- zowwie - bug holes. And shooting the heads off weeds/wild flowers

[Bayou52]

My Goldin Mountie is one of my real gems. It was given to me by a deceased friend which, of course, makes it even more special.

It has never jammed, misfired or malfunctioned in any way. A very well made piece. I especially like the carbine length barrel. It will eat any food fed to it, and then look for more.........

It's hard to improve on some things. And when you have one of those things, you know it............

Bayou52

[richhodg66]

"Good for you. You will never be sorry. Regardless what people may say about some of the newer lever brands available, nothing beats the Marlin 39 family of 22s. Nothing!"

Yep. Not a better one made. I finally got a good one before the .22 shortage started, wish I could shoot it more. Wonderful little rifles.

[georgerkahn]

Noted on another Internet site is cited that Annie Oaklie used this Marlin levergun!

"As a side note, during her long career with the Wild West, one of Oakley’s more popular shooting demonstrations while performing with Cody’s Wild West was hitting a dime tossed ninety feet away. She generally used a .22 rifle for this one. Often she reportedly used a Marlin lever action Model 39 .22 caliber rifle similar to the close-up photo below right. This photo is courtesy of www.adamsguns.com".
http://tripsintohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/annieoakley1897MarlinSport-300x200.jpg

[sandman228]

about 20 yrs or so ago I bought a 39a with a 4 digit serial number from an older guy who owned/ran a gun shop out of his basement for about 150$ if I remember right . it was a great gun ,a little beat up but nothing drastic, no scope it wasn't even drilled and tapped ,still a great shooter .like a dumba$$ I left it go ,out of all the guns ive bought ,sold ,and traded over the years I regret letting that 1 go the most .ive got a nice henry 22 lever gun now that the wife and kids got me for Christmas about 15 yrs ago but I miss my old marlin .

[TheCelt]

When my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child 34 years ago I went straight to the gunshop in Alexandria, LA. I told the man behind the counter I needed a .22 for my son and the Marlin M39A is what he produced. I think I paid $124 for it NITB (which was a LOT of money then). I taught my Son and Daughter to shoot with it and it remains a treasured rifle in our safe. It is the finest .22 rifle I have ever fired.

[Artful]

When my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child 34 years ago I went straight to the gunshop in Alexandria, LA. I told the man behind the counter I needed a .22 for my son and the Marlin M39A is what he produced.

I like a Dad with priorities - Good Job ! :bigsmyl2:

[rockrat]

My little brother, when his sons were born, he went out and bought them a 39A, to be saved for their 16th birthday. He was impressed with my 39A (it ate everything and shot it well. Best group you could cover a dime @150yds wwSX) that he decided that is what he would get them.

[NoZombies]

I'm a fan of the 39A. I picked one up that needed a few internal parts a few years ago, and after replacing the parts very nearly sold it before shooting it. After shooting it, I was glad I hadn't sold it!

Mine's a 70's vintage, and enjoys almost everything equally.

[Uncle R.]

Marlin 39A?
<
Don't have one.
Wish I did.
Some day...
<
Uncle R.

[VA Jim]

Let my 39 Mountie go about 20 years ago and regretted it ever since. Bought a new 39a with the rebounding hammer and never could warm up to it, so let it go. Then I found a 39 Mountie at a decent price last year and jumped on it. Don't think I'll make the mistake of letting this one go!

[John Allen]

The 39 is my favorite 22. I have numerous 22 like most of us but I always grab my marlin when I go out.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Noted on another Internet site is cited that Annie Oaklie used this Marlin levergun!

"As a side note, during her long career with the Wild West, one of Oakley’s more popular shooting demonstrations while performing with Cody’s Wild West was hitting a dime tossed ninety feet away. She generally used a .22 rifle for this one. Often she reportedly used a Marlin lever action Model 39 .22 caliber rifle similar to the close-up photo below right. This photo is courtesy of
www.adamsguns.com".
http://tripsintohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/annieoakley1897MarlinSport-300x200.jpg

Annie Oakley undoubtedly preferred Marlins, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she owned a 39. But it wasn't the rifle with which she accomplished her most celebrated shooting feats, and she didn't use one in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.ithth

Marlin rimfire model numbers bear an inconsistent relationship totechnical development. The 91, for example, remained a 91 despite the change,in 1892, from a side loading-gate to the tube-loading, which was a very important step in the days when the .22LR case was uncrimped to the bullet. But the model 1892resulted (not in 1892 but in 1896)from a far less significant change. The 91’s trigger safety lie the Winchester 94's, prevented firing until the lever was fully raised. It could never besafer than the sear engagement, which might wear. It also gave a slightly inferior trigger pull. So it was replaced, with a change of name to the 93, by a projection from the firing-pin, which was held to the rear by the lever until theaction was fully locked. I believe I remember hearing that Annie Oakley stuck to her 91 when the 92 was available, and she undoubtedly knew what she was doing.

The1897, in 1897, adapted the removablesideplate to give a takedown action with a longitudinally split receiver. Productionof Marlin sporting firearms ceased in 1915, when the company was taken over bya consortium of businessmen, as Marlin-Rockwell, for war work.When it became obvious that the U.S. would enter the war, the company becamethe Marlin-Rockwell Corporation. Withthe end of hostilities only a small number of Marlin-Rockwell 97 rifleswere assembled from pre-war parts, and now bear a premium with collectors. On atransfer of ownership in 1922, to the Marlin Firearms Corporation, the 1897resurfaced as the 39. Annie Oakley was 62 and the same year she was badly injured in a car accident. She continued to set records, wearing a steel brace, but they weren't her great years
One change in the 39 may affect users of early Marlin rimfires. Until the earlythirties, no harm resulted from a rather large cutout behind the lockingprojection on the bolt. But with the introduction of high velocity cartridges,the bolt sometimes cracked. This problem was eliminated in 1932, by a reductionin the amount of metal removed. So only a 39A, or a 39 with the serial prefixHS, should be used with high velocity ammunition.

This picture is my small home town in Scotland, where Buffalo Bill did two performances in one day in 1904. You can see the window of an apartment I still own. My grandfather saw it, and when my age was in single figures he told me he was very disappointed that Annie Oakley wasn't there. She had parted company with the show about three years earlier, probably due to injuries sustained in a train wreck.


131362

[michaelcj]

1946 39A here… folding leaf and tang mounted Marble's….Keeper!
Mike

[Remiel]

Well, was at a friends home yesterday, he had 2 39's in his collection, now he has only one, a Mountie, we came home with the 39A, Mfg in 1950, is the 3rd model 1st variation, Ballard rifling, after getting the dust and old lube cleaned off it just sparkled at me, put this rifle in the 85/90 percent range, most likely had not been used in 30/40 years, finally got one after all these years looking for another, had a couple in my early years but they just got away from me like a lot of other toys. Hard to wait for the weather to warm up so we can warm it up. I'm still drooling.
got mine a few years ago. made in '63 and has the optional peep sight. love it. it shoots about anything

[Hanshi]

I've only had one M39 and it's the one I still have, 39A. I bought it in the early 1960s. The finest leaver .22 ever made, IMHO.

[Petrol & Powder]

First gun I ever shot was a very early model Marlin 39 Mountie. I was recently reunited with that particular gun and it will stay with me.

I've owned a bunch of .22 rimfire rifles over the years and a lot of them were fun but mediocre. That Marlin is far from mediocre. Marlin made one of the all time great American .22 rifles and they are a joy to shoot.

[rollmyown]

I had a late model JM marked one. It was close to new when I bought it. I suspect the reason the original owner moved it on is that with ammo it liked it would feed fire and eject about 2 shots out of five, with ammo it didn't like it would do the right thing one in five shots. A gunsmith made it much more reliable (but not completely) with about $150. It looked nice but after such a woeful show of reliability I didn't bond with it and moved it on. I have seen an early 80's one recently and was very tempted to buy it. The quality was clearly much much better back in the day.

[historicfirearms]

I love my early 50's 39a. Still looking for a receiver peep sight for it. The regular rifle sights are getting harder for me to shoot as I get older.

[CASTER OF LEAD]

Love mine - and it's adult sized
- try lots of ammo brands it can be persnickety about ammo choices
I agree 100% with this statement, My 39A loves CCI mini-mags/or CCI stingers, certain Federal Types will also shoot well out of it. I have killed ALOT of squirrels,not to mention Raccoons, & various other animals. I LOVE MINE.

[flint45]

Ihave one I baught sometime in the 1980's it is agreat little rifle. It's a real rat and skunk killer!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have had two 39A Marlins. I paid a little over 50 bucks for the first one. That was in the late 1950s. I let my brother have that one. I bought another in the 1970s for $125. I still have it. I had a chance many years ago to buy one with a 20 inch octagon barrel. They made them in the 1960s as some kind of commemorative. The man wanted $90 for it. I was tempted but that stupid gold plated medallion turned me off. Wish I could redo that chance.

[Larry in MT]

Hope you enjoy it.

My first NEW firearm was a 39A rifle. Got it in 1957. I still have the rifle and the hang tag --- $69.00. No telling how many Gophers and Jack Rabbits it has accounted for.

[Baja_Traveler]

There's a reason the 39a is the number one rifle used in levergun silhouette. I'm very fortunate that dad gave me one for my 13th birthday in 1974.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I thought you 39A admirers might like to see mine with the peep sight I found at a guns how many years ago. The sight is a Lyman and it is much better looking than the Model 57 they make now. I don't know when or how long they made this sight. I have seen one other but I did see one on this site some time ago.

[Jim2]

see one at the Thursday-nite gun auction a couple of times a year. Last one went for $350, was pretty clean older rifle.

Jim

[Budzilla 19]

In one of my better decisions, I put down the princely sum of $398.99 for one of the best looking Marlin 39 A's I have ever seen! The wood was outstanding, had a gold trigger and it came with scope mounts, scope and and a safety? BTW, this was 1998. My better half had a fit, but I still have it to this day! Can't put the squirrels and rabbits in a Pile and see over them that I have harvested with this wonderful,full size, .22 caliber lever action gun! Never failed to function with any ammo I fed it. Just my.02 cents. Good shooting to all.

[butch2570]

I have had two 39A Marlins. I paid a little over 50 bucks for the first one. That was in the late 1950s. I let my brother have that one. I bought another in the 1970s for $125. I still have it. I had a chance many years ago to buy one with a 20 inch octagon barrel. They made them in the 1960s as some kind of commemorative. The man wanted $90 for it. I was tempted but that stupid gold plated medallion turned me off. Wish I could redo that chance. I think that may have been the 1970 39 Century, commemorating 100 yrs, medallion, butt plate, trigger ( gold plated maybe) ,bolster at the forearm tip and an oval on the butt stock were brass or brass plated. My dad bought one put it away before I was born, but no one remembered where the box went. Not getting rid of it anyways, very fun little rifle.

[Hawks Feather]

I lost a 39-A in 1971 and since there were none available anywhere I bought a Mountie as a replacement. While I liked it, it wasn't the same. About 12 years ago one came into the gun shop where I helped and it went home to my gun safe. I have to admit that while it has been cleaned, it has never been shot by me.

[ko41]

The 39A is a timeless classic.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/ko41/Marlin/MarlinRifles39centltd_zpsadabaed4.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/ko41/Marlin/MarlinRifles39ArtII_zps5efb3f19.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/ko41/Marlin/Marlin39a1967_zpscf1f41f8.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/ko41/Marlin/Marlin39d39tds39a_zps1e777303.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/ko41/Marlin/39Apresentation.jpg

KO

[Clark]

I have wanted a Marlin 39A since I was 12, and I am 64 now.
None if my heirs need money.
What am I waiting for?

[RonT]

I got my 39 M for Christmas in 1957 IIRC, have the sales slips from when my father bought it on installments. Son number two has it now. When I came home with game the first question was " how many shots?", that thinking sorta' stuck with me.
Cheers,
R

[sailsguy]

I like my 39D. When I see them in local gun shops and auctions lately, all 39 models are getting a very high premium. Wish I could find another under the prevailing current prices.

[jrap]

I've been wanting one of those for quite a while. I almost bought one a few years ago but it got away from me

[MangKanor]

145713145716145717
Sharing my humble 39a

[Bullfrog]

I have been wanting to find one for my little girl. I still search for them but have not seen one is quite a while.