Just Purchased My first Lever Action Rifle..Help!

[MrV]

Got my Marlin L.A. 1894C S.S. yesterday chamber in 357 / 38 and decided to pratice loading and unloading prior to taking it to the range. Loaded it with American Eagle .38 Special FMJ, when I went to chamber & eject the cartridge the lever locked in the full open position and will not move. I can not tell you how upset and embarrased I am.
Can anyone tell me how I can rectify this issue and is the rifle fussy with what ammo you feed it? Help

[O.S.O.K.]

Remove the lever screw and back-out the bolt - this will give you room to get at the jam. Check the loading cover screw to make sure its tight - if its loose, it can cause that...

Others will be along shortly to help some more.

[J Miller]

Got my Marlin L.A. 1894C S.S. yesterday chamber in 357 / 38 and decided to pratice loading and unloading prior to taking it to the range. Loaded it with American Eagle .38 Special FMJ, when I went to chamber & eject the cartridge the lever locked in the full open position and will not move. I can not tell you how upset and embarrased I am.
Can anyone tell me how I can rectify this issue and is the rifle fussy with what ammo you feed it? Help

MrV,

I had the same thing happen to my Marlin 1894 Cowboy at the range. I short stroked the lever at the bench. It locked up with the lever down and nothing I could do would free it.

Like O.S.O.K. said, take out the lever screw and remove the lever to free up the jam. But if you loaded the magazine too you'll need to make sure you get any ammo out of it first. You'll have to remove the magazine plug screw and plug; capture it as the spring will launch it. Remove the spring, follower and ammo. Make sure there's nothing in the receiver as well.

Once the lever is out, pull the bolt and clean the interior of the rifle. On the back side of the carrier where it's hard if not impossible to see is the carrier rocker. It is this part that can get out of sequence with the lever when you short stroke it and that is what causes jams you have.
Make sure the rocker is lubricated and reassemble the rifle. It's easy to do, just make sure the ejector is put back in before you push the bolt in.

Joe

[MrV]

Thanks for the info, I will try anything to fix this problem!

[MrV]

Got my Marlin L.A. 1894C S.S. yesterday chamber in 357 / 38 and decided to pratice loading and unloading prior to taking it to the range. Loaded it with American Eagle .38 Special FMJ, when I went to chamber & eject the cartridge the lever locked in the full open position and will not move. I can not tell you how upset and embarrased I am.
Can anyone tell me how I can rectify this issue and is the rifle fussy with what ammo you feed it? Help

MrV,

I had the same thing happen to my Marlin 1894 Cowboy at the range. I short stroked the lever at the bench. It locked up with the lever down and nothing I could do would free it.

Like O.S.O.K. said, take out the lever screw and remove the lever to free up the jam. But if you loaded the magazine too you'll need to make sure you get any ammo out of it first. You'll have to remove the magazine plug screw and plug; capture it as the spring will launch it. Remove the spring, follower and ammo. Make sure there's nothing in the receiver as well.

Once the lever is out, pull the bolt and clean the interior of the rifle. On the back side of the carrier where it's hard if not impossible to see is the carrier rocker. It is this part that can get out of sequence with the lever when you short stroke it and that is what causes jams you have.
Make sure the rocker is lubricated and reassemble the rifle. It's easy to do, just make sure the ejector is put back in before you push the bolt in.

Joe

Joe
Really appreciate the info. And I think you are correct that I short stroked it. The first I need to do is run out an buy a good set of screwdrivers before I start. Is the rifle fussy with the brand of ammo you run thru it? And have you ever fire .38 cal instead of .357 in it?
Again Thanks,
Angelo

[Ysabel Kid]

Not a good way to start with a levergun. I hope this doesn't tarnish your impression of these wonderful rifles!!!

[J Miller]

<snip>
Joe
Really appreciate the info. And I think you are correct that I short stroked it. The first I need to do is run out an buy a good set of screwdrivers before I start. Is the rifle fussy with the brand of ammo you run thru it? And have you ever fire .38 cal instead of .357 in it?
Again Thanks,
Angelo

Angelo,
The current 1894 Cowboy I have is chambered for .45 Colt. It is not fussy at all. It will feed anything I can stuff in it as long as the overall length is not too long.
The 1894CS I had was a .357 and it was a bit fussy about SWC bullets. Certain ones just wouldn't feed at all, while others would if you jiggled the lever while closing the action. Jacketed bullets and RNFP, RN or TC lead or plated bullets fed fine.
I fired both 38s and .357s from the one I had. It didn't matter as long as the bullet shape was agreeable. But and that's the issue, each rifle is a law unto itself. Mine was a tiny bit fickle, yours might not be, and the next one might a stinker.

And yes a good set of hollow ground gunsmith screw drivers will save you a lot of grief. I have an old Chapman set and want to update it to a better more complete set. I'd recommend getting the most complete set you can afford right off the bat.

Joe

[MrV]

Not a good way to start with a levergun. I hope this doesn't tarnish your impression of these wonderful rifles!!!

As I said a little upset & embarrased, but I have wanted a lever gun for years so if this a hump I need to get over to own one it will be worth it

[MrV]

<snip>
Joe
Really appreciate the info. And I think you are correct that I short stroked it. The first I need to do is run out an buy a good set of screwdrivers before I start. Is the rifle fussy with the brand of ammo you run thru it? And have you ever fire .38 cal instead of .357 in it?
Again Thanks,
Angelo

Angelo,
The current 1894 Cowboy I have is chambered for .45 Colt. It is not fussy at all. It will feed anything I can stuff in it as long as the overall length is not too long.
The 1894CS I had was a .357 and it was a bit fussy about SWC bullets. Certain ones just wouldn't feed at all, while others would if you jiggled the lever while closing the action. Jacketed bullets and RNFP, RN or TC lead or plated bullets fed fine.
I fired both 38s and .357s from the one I had. It didn't matter as long as the bullet shape was agreeable. But and that's the issue, each rifle is a law unto itself. Mine was a tiny bit fickle, yours might not be, and the next one might a stinker.

And yes a good set of hollow ground gunsmith screw drivers will save you a lot of grief. I have an old Chapman set and want to update it to a better more complete set. I'd recommend getting the most complete set you can afford right off the bat.

Joe

Joe
Really, thanks I feel a whole lot better talking to you and O.S.O.K. & Ysabel Kid for the help and encouragement. I will keep you posted on how it goes.
Angelo

[Pisgah]

I'd bet short-stroking is the #1 cause of problems for folks new to leverguns. Over the years, I've encountered several folks who complained of some problem related to feeding, and in every case the rifles worked perfectly, and especially so, it has seemed, with Marlins. Each one of those folks was a bit alarmed at how "hard" I was being on the action by working it briskly -- until they saw their rifles working perfectly. I usually tell folks to think about the abruptness and force of a semiauto action, and try to duplicate that with the lever. You can't, of course, but you'll be using the action the way it was designed.

[AJMD429]

I usually tell folks to think about the abruptness and force of a semiauto action, and try to duplicate that with the lever. You can't, of course, but you'll be using the action the way it was designed.

I've never had a 'jam' that wasn't caused by ME - either:

• a) short-stroking the gun
  b) working it way too slowly
  c) holding it pointed skywards or sideways or something silly

But maybe a dozen 'jams' in 50,000 levergun rounds over a lifetime isn't bad - none of my other guns aside from maybe breakopens could match that!

Angelo - DEFINITELY don't get turned off on leverguns due to this - most of us had that issue at first, just like most competent and confident bike riders fell a few times the first day or two.

ALSO - although it doesn't really affect the 'jamming' much (other than a smooth action is easier to work quickly and smoothly), there ARE some 'smoothing' things you can do which will make your gun feel more smooth and perhaps function more perfectly (NKJ's DVD has more info, and there are some posts here you'll find if you look under 'tuning' or other such words - maybe someone will post a link or two). Even just shooting a thousand rounds sure does slicken things up...

[gundownunder]

Like everyone else said, short stroking will do it. Sometimes it will jamb up solid if the extractor leaves the empty case in the chamber and you shove the next one up behind it, but you will definitely see it if you do that. I did that a few times when I had a bit of a problem with a dodgy extractor.
Every rifle appears to be an individual, whether your rifle will feed 38s or a particular bullet profile or anything else is strictly up to your rifle. Mine will feed 38s, SWCs or anything else I shove in there, she'd probably feed a cup full of rocks if I tried it. Having said that I tried 38s once, but don't use them normally because of the chamber scrubbing that is required afterward to get 357s back in there.

[JReed]

MrV sounds like these gents have you on the right path. I just want to add welcome to the fire grab some coffee and enjoy. Oh by the way these darn lever rifles are addicting.

[Glenn]

MrV,
The only ammo you want to avoid in the Marlin 38/357 is flush seated or button nose wadcutter loads. They are too short and will jam you up good! If you have some you just have to shoot in it, put just one round thru the loading gate, cycle it in and fire it. Or you can stick one more thru the loading gate AFTER you cycle the first into the chamber. There can only be ONE in the lower part of the action at a time - none in the magazine tube!
Glenn

[MrV]

Wanted to say THANKS to everyone for all the help, encouragement and info regarding the jam. Almost everyday I sign in to see what was posted that day and when I sign out I have either had a good laugh from a joke posted or great info on Lever Guns or guns in general, ammo, politics and anything else folks have on their mind. It's a great forum Thanks
Angelo

OH.... YES Lever Guns are ADDICTIVE

[stretch]

Welcome to the forum!

Short-stroking the action is not limited to
lever actions. The late Col. Jeff Cooper
cautioned against this same malady with
bolt guns - especially when hunting dangerous
game. He advocated working the bolt forcefully.
To quote: "Show it no mercy!" The same advice
is true for levers - FORWARD AND BACK !!
(not forward and ...bac.... )

Let us know how you like the rifle - I'm considering
one of them myself!

-Stretch

[Leverdude]

If everythings right even flush wadcutters shouldn't jam you up, might not like going into the chamber but in a Marlin empty cases should feed from the tube. If they wont then theres a timing issue. Mine'll feed anything smoothly except those wadcutters. Once you get the bugs worked out you'll have a sweet little gun.