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junkwrencher wrote:I normally don't reply, just read.But this is one I have to speak up on.One brother replied to the dreaded Marlin jam as being internet created or something to that effect and I would have agreed until I saw it myself.A friend of mine told me of a .44 Marlin he had that jammed and jammed and he finally beat it over a tree breaking the stock.I asked him if he still had it and he said it has been laying in the yard for months in the rain, dew, etc.I asked to buy it from him and said could have it.It was badly rusted, missing the barrel band,mag. tube and of course the stock, front sight and some hardware, the forearm finish was peeling.I ordered the missing parts, reblued it, loaded it and it jammed!I did not know what to do, so I did a "google" and found this site and how to correct the problem.I've owned 3 Winchester 94's, 1 336 Marlin,1 39 Marlin, 1 Iver Johnson[pre-Henry]22. And the only to ever jam was the 1894 Marlin.It has a kazillion rounds ran through it and after replacing the carrier/timing part, there are no more problems.
junkwrencher,
There is the clue, a kazillion rounds through it. That sounds like a case of normal wear and tear to me. When you replaced the carrier did you radius the lever a the contact point?
At any rate, the "dreaded Marlin jam" does not happen to all 1894s but it is something that use and abuse (cowboy action shooting) exacerbates.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
Not meaning to offend or stirr stink or mis-quote.My appologies sir:Point meaning the internet propagated "jam" article helped me help a rifle otherwise would have been trashed or worse yet taken to a gunsmith[humor].Any mechanical instrument out of tune, unmaintained,worn out etc. will eventually fail.In 1894 I don't think Marlin realized this rifle would someday cycle 20,000 rounds of ammo!Now, lets run 20,000 rounds of .308 thru a modern BLR, someone may have, how do they hold up?Yes Mr. J. Miller the lever was radiused.
I started this post and am now going through all my past posts. What a great bunch of replies to this one!
Some of you guys have a lot more experience with lever action guns than I do but I've had a few.
I too had a firing pin break with a Marlin 39. I don't dry fire so I believe, as someone mentioned, this can be a problem with this gun. Let me add, I've bought two more model 39's after this first one so that tells you what I think of this gun. None better but I expect the Winchester 94/22 is as good. Had one of those too and will be getting another in 22 mag rim fire. I've done far more shooting with my first Marlin 39 than any other gun. 4 shots in a running rabbit. I was getting good.
Bought a new Winchester model 64 in the 70s' and it had excessive headspace from the get-go. Don't think that batch of 64s equaled the originals.
I tend to think that the Browning model 71--in part due to it's tapered bottle neck cartridge--is probably as reliable as any gun I've ever had. Lovely gun. Carbine, like that short,handy barrel.
I too had problems with a Marlin model 94 chambered for the 357 magnum. I sold it but know it could have been made very reliable.
I lean toward Winchester but like Marlin lever guns very much. Had a model 1895 chambered for 45-70. Great gun.
Good to hear the good things about the Browning BLR. Plan to get one.
I have been shooting a 9422 since my 18th birthday (i'm 51 this year) in Australian hot and dusty conditions the rifle has never malfunctioned. Although I keep it clean.
I thought it was a question about - reliable - not breaking.
If you were 600 miles north of nowhere, and had a good feeding reliably operating rifle, but your only source of repair parts was a junked car, and your tools were a file and hacksaw, what rifle would you prefer?
For example, about 1957, my 39A firing pin broke. I made a new one from a steel fence post using a hacksaw and file. It is still working.
Only major trouble I've ever had with a levergun was light primer strikes on a rebound hammer type Win-94. One of the gentlemen on this forum furnished a half-cock hammer/lower tang assembly and that put an end to that. I also have a Marlin 1894SS .44 Mag which has never failed to feed anything and has never jammed or malfunctioned in any way.
1. best my BB94 375 bought it NIB dropped alot of deer and its been 100% not one problem.best ever I have ever owned.(win not a usra)
2. worst marlin 1894 44 mag MG it took alot of tinkering to get it just to feed....anything.
.***
it took alot of tinkering to get it just to feed....anything.