Marlin "JAM"!!!

[EMC45]

I was out the other day hunting with a new to me 1894 44Mag Marlin and was racking rounds through the action to check feeding. (ok I wasn't really hunting I was more scouting around and was checking out my rifle). Well as a result of me short stroking and the shell latch screw being loose it jammed. I mean JAMMED! So I used a long key on my ring and I popped the shell back in after some fooling with it and it worked perfect. Got home and realized the screw was quite loose. Tightened it down. Well I took the 336 out last night and While unloading it in the truck it bound up in the same fashion!!! I know I was short stroking it because of the tight confines of the truck cab. I had to actually take this one APART! Bolt came out lever handle came out, mag cap and spring. It finally got freed after taking everything apart. I have never had this happen to me. EVER. I have had the 336 for over 10 years now and have shot it a bunch! I think a good bit of this is operator error? Both times I suspect I was short stroking it. Both times it jammed. I love the Marlin platform, they are both accurate and solid. I did read all the threads about this in the search function too. That's what schooled me on what to do.

[WHITETAIL]

45 Thanks a lot.
I have a old 336 in a 35 Rem.
And a new CowBoy in 45-70.
I will now be more awear of the Jam.:redneck:

[Tn_River_Ratt]

Had a similar thing happen in my 1895 in 450 Marlin happen to me. Had to take it apart to clear it.

Ratt

[WyrTwister]

Marlin Jam is specific to the hand gun calibers and is due to internal wear .

Not if you jam it playing with it .

Or for the 336 , 444 , .45-70 , .308 , .35 , .338 or .450 .

God bless
Wyr

[longbow]

There are more than one reason 1894's can jam:

- rounds exceeding recommended OAL
- boolit design/nose shape
- screws coming loose
- "letting two through"

I have experienced all!

My 1894 used to jam regularly when I used the Lyman 429421 seated to the crimp groove. It is noted in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook that it is overlength for OAL. Apparently some guns don't seem to care ~ especially if you read Glenn Fyxell's articles. Mine did however.

I tried seating to the front driving band which helped but did not solve the problem.

Next, the loose screw issue became a problem. I had read about Marlins shaking loose but had not had any trouble (I guess the screws in mine were backing out slowly). I got a 6 cavity H&G 503 and decided to try to get the gun to feed them better (same OAL issue as 429421). I decided to modify the cartridge stop to allow longer OAL but jamming actually got worse!

While taking the carrier in and out for modification I noticed several unrelated screws were not tight so decided to completely disassemble the gun. Well, just about every screw was loose. I was told this is common and to use Loctite Blue on all of them so I reassembled with Loctite and modified cartridge stop.

That helped more but still didn't give 100% feeding with the H&G 503 ~ not bad but they still jammed.

The last issue was nose design and the SWC shoulder. For some reason, the H&G 503 would occasionally jam on the meplat yet TC or RNFP designs with even bigger meplats don't jam at all. I modified the top of the carrier to better center the nose of the boolit with the chamber mouth. Again, it helped but did not completey solve jamming on the meplat with SWC's.

Also, nothing I tried stopped occasional jamming on the shoulder at the chamber mouth.

Jamming on the shoulder and meplat just take jacking the lever again to solve so annoying but not a big deal.

"Letting two through". Apparently this is common with wear when carrier timing goes bad ~ check the Marlin owner's site. I experienced this due to looseness. Normal shooting, crank the lever and jammed with two rounds trying to feed! In my case, it was looseness thowing things off not wear.

Kind of a wordy explanation but then I have experienced lots of jamming! I do like the gun but I have certainly had it apart many times. I think the worst is behind me adn my recommendation is to check for loose screws and Loctite if needed, and check OAL and boolit design if you are having jamming issues.

FWIW

Longbow

[ReloaderFred]

Most of the jamming with Marlins that I've seen have been due to using a bullet that doesn't lend itself well to feeding through the action, such as SWC designs. I limit almost all my Marlin shooting to RNFP bullets and they feed smoothly.

Another cause is short stroking, which doesn't allow the next round to fully exist the magazine before it's picked up by the carrier. A new shooter did this to my 1894C at the last match that I use in competition and we had to disassemble the rifle to clear it.

Another common problem is over all cartridge length. For the 1894C, in .357 Magnum, the loaded rounds must be at least 1.480" to reliably feed. I put a couple thousand rounds a year through my 1894C in Cowboy Action Shooting, as does my wife through her's. As long as you load for the rifle, and cycle the action vigorously, they will feed fine.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[WyrTwister]

I also have found SWC's to be problematic . I do not really blame this on the guns . I do not think SWC's had been invented when lever guns were designed ?

I suspect all the hand gun ammo was RN or RNFP , back then ?

I solved this with a .357 and a .44 Mag by ordering RN Lee 6 cavity molds .

The RNFP Lee .45 LC mold is also good to go , as is the 230 RN grain mold , intended for .45 ACP .

As long as I keep OAL with in specs . Same for my .45-70 bullets .

And , yes , it makes sense to keep the screws tightened . And do not short stroke the lever .

God bless
Wyr

[kelbro]

The Lee 265gr RNFP feeds well in mine. The Lee 310gr RNFP feeds OK, occasionally hangs up. I have not been able to get SWCs to feed worth a flip.

[EMC45]

Ran some 429421 dummies through it the other day and it did great. Ran them slow and fast. They fed fine either way. I loaded some @ 22gr. 2400 and will see what they will do. I also tightened all the screws in that sucker!

[Firebricker]

My Marlin 94 in .357 jammed when I first got. It was a loose screw on the loading gate the second time it came loose I degreased and used blue loctite. No problems at all now. It feeds good even with SWC's gotta love them Marlin lever gun's. FB

[awaveritt]

My new 1894c (357) has not "jammed" but it does occasionally "hang up" requiring the double hitch of the lever to get it going in straight. Curiously enough, it does not seem to be related to boolit shape. It feeds SWC, RN, and RNFP in 357 magnum but does not like 38 Special length cartridges. Even the RNFP's are hanging up in 38. What's up with that?

[Rodfac]

I've got a Marlin 336 in .44 Mag, built in '64 that feeds the old Lyman/Thompson #429125 GC bullet just fine. That bullet, if you're not familiar, has a band just in front of the crimping groove. I've crimped ahead of that band, and also used the designated crimping groove and it feeds well either way. I lube that bullet with Lee Liquid Alox and have always wondered if that little bit of lube on the nose and fwd band facilitated feeding.

Regards, Rodfac