Marlin “Jam”

[rjathon]

I see where people are replacing their carrier with a new one to fix the Marlin Jam.

Is this a permanent fix or will it get notched again?

Thanks

[Shawlerbrook]

My gunsmith built up the grooved carrier and then hard chromed it. I also read where the fix was made with some hardened metal like part of a hacksaw blade. It may notch again but probably not in my lifetime.

[GregLaROCHE]

Is that a problem with all Marlins?

[Skipper]

Fixing the Marlin Jam

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/marlinjam.htm

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I think it is confined to the 1894's. I haven't run into the jam in 336, 444, or 1895 and I have a bunch of them.

[missionary5155]

Probably an issue with the steel Marlin had the lifters made of.

[rjathon]

Fixing the Marlin Jam

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/marlinjam.htm

Thank you very much for the article.

It says “The Cure for New Guns:
With new guns (less than 50 cycles) you can generally get away with just putting a radius on the forward edge of the lever cam.“. I assume that replacing the carrier puts you into the new gun category but it will occur again unless you put a radius on the lever cam as described. Does anyone have before and after pictures and know the best way to accomplish this?

Thanks

[farmbif]

I had an 1894 that had jam problem, would have to disassemble to get shell out. turned out to be problem with mag tube coming loose

[Shawlerbrook]

Mostlylever is correct it is common in the 1894. There is some good stickies on the subject over on marlinowners.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Typically it is on 1894's that got cycled alot. 1895's generally don't get cycled as much but they work exactly the same way as the 1894's do, so just radiusing the point on the snail cam on the lever will prevent it from ever happening.

This is a simple fix and unless your carrier is severely worn just putting a radius on the cam will prevent the "Dreaded Marlin Jam."

The guns most susceptible to this problem are Cowboy Guns that are cycled many thousands of times.

Randy

[smkummer]

I have a waffle top 336 35 Remington that I carefully bent the carrier to fix the jam.

[Petander]

My first 1895 developed The Jam.

It got cycled a million times,being the first rifle I started to cast for. Clear notches in the carrier. But those years I sometimes fired 1 k rounds a week, practising timed "moose practical", moving target etc. I have pics when I cast 1k bullets in one day,open fire,single Lee mold.

I now have an SBL that I took care of when new,rounding the knife edge. So far so good , two years 1500 rds.

[Gtek]

And that's why I put a good grease right there!

[Baltimoreed]

Jbwelded a short piece of coping saw blade to my lifter 20 years ago when mine acted up. Popped out the pin on the end of the saw blade and used that end [no teeth], polished it up and its still going strong. I had replaced the original lifter once before when the riveted pin fell out. My ‘94 was my only cas rifle for most of my competitive years and saw a lot of action. Now that I shoot for fun I have a bunch of long guns to play with though if I really want to go fast the Marlin is what I shoot.

[Prairie Cowboy]

As a long time Marlin lever gun owner and user, I have had a few Marlins apart in my time. I always felt that while the Marlin lever gun was a classier and stronger rifle than the Winchester 1894, that the carrier was it's one weakness, compared to the Winchester.
The JM carrier was made of a very soft steel it seemed, and prone to wear, especially in the area of the carrier cam.
However, I noticed that on the new production 1894 rifles that the carrier seems harder and more carefully shaped and made, and that the spring-loaded carrier cam has been replaced with a simpler spring-loaded pin.
All in all it seems more reliable.

[JSnover]

I had an 1894 that had jam problem, would have to disassemble to get shell out. turned out to be problem with mag tube coming loose

The same thing happened to me. I noticed the tube was loose and the old lifter appeared good-as-new but the new and improved lifter had already been bought so I swapped it out anyway.

[Gofaaast]

Once I identified the problem part was the carrier I had to choose which fix method to use. It’s a late 336 JM 35 Rem. with less than a 100 rounds through it. I traced an outline of the end of the carrier on the bench that needed bent up .08 with the carrier lip hooked on the edge of the bench for a zero. I was going to use the heat and bend method. I noticed the pipe jaw side of my vise had a lot of options so a rotated it 180 and it was my lucky day. The carrier fit the jaws perfectly so I could bend it without applying heat (mild steel). Vice is a 5” harbor freight multipurpose I don’t have bolted to a bench that is used for small jobs like this. I ended up bending it .09 and it feeds flawlessly now.

[Pirate69]

The same thing happened to me. I noticed the tube was loose and the old lifter appeared good-as-new but the new and improved lifter had already been bought so I swapped it out anyway.

Addressed in a post above, I am getting a jam where only 1/3 of the round comes out of the tube before it jams. Was that your problem?

[quail4jake]

Could someone possibly post photos of the problematic area of the carrier? I have not had a problem yet with my 1995 JM carbine but anticipate that since I shoot alot. IIRC...in reading some narrative by L.L. Hepburn at the time of the side ejection development (1888) he cited the very delicate camming mechanism to lift the carrier quickly on the return stroke of the lever (which is the most essential part of side ejection) and seemed to imply that the metallurgy had to be spot on in order to prevent early wear of the cam and spring. I wonder if some of that Hepburn wisdom was lost when Marlin was just going through the motions without concern that their rifles were now mediocre products of a tired company beat down by labor unions and hyper regulatory northeast states statutes. My apologies for the political truth telling, the subject was Marlin carrier cams, right?

[Ruts]

Addressed in a post above, I am getting a jam where only 1/3 of the round comes out of the tube before it jams. Was that your problem?

I had that problem, the round was coming out too slow and the carrier would start moving up before the round was all the way on, jamming up the action. The cure was cleaning the mag tube, spring and follower