A couple questions about my first levergun

[Saddle Tramp]

Howdy Gents,

I recently picked-up my first levergun ever, it's a Marlin 1895 LTD III (got it new in box).
Being new to the wonderful world of leverguns, I'm not sure if the following is normal: I cycled some new rounds through the action, and noticed that the more times they were cycled through, the more scrapes, scratches, and dents, the casings accrued.
Also, every once and a while, when closing the bolt, the round will sometimes not feed properly, and get stuck...this would cause a pretty serious dent in the case. Is this the Marlin Jam???
Lastly, after the bolt pushes the hammer to the rear and it locks, on the up-stroke of the lever, the notch (cut in the breech bolt) that houses the after-most firing pin, scrapes, metal to metal, along the top of the hammer...this metal to metal scraping has totally removed the blueing on the hammer along the areas where the friction is made... Is this a common occurrence?... Is there anything you can recommend..maybe levergun tuning?

All recommendations are welcome,

Thank you.

[AJMD429]

The bolt and hammer wear is normal, but one of the ways to smooth the Marlin action is to reshape and polish those surfaces (shooting a few thousand rounds does the same thing). You have to leave enough metal to be assured the hammer will stay cocked, though. NKJ's DVD shows how to do this.

The round not chambering easily/fully may be the stiff extractor or the lip of the extractor not quite perfect. Again, the DVD helps. The normal extractor usually works best when the action is handled non-slowly.

The scratched-case thing is common, but polishing the front edge of the loading gate helps. I had an AR-15 magazine that practically cut through the brass due to a sharp feed lip on a magazine.

The "Marlin Jam" is something I think only seen in the 1894's, and pretty rare, unless the guns have seen thousands of rounds fired.

The only 'jam' I've found easy to get is the worked-the-action-too-slowly one, which is especially easy to get if you have the gun muzzle (safely) pointed up in the air or the action tilted funny. They just work better when you lever firm & fast...

[Chas.]

For the scratches, you can also remove the loading gate/spring and thin it a bit by grinding. That will lessen the pressure on the rounds as they are loaded.

[Borregos]

Scratches and nicks are normal, however dents are not.
Things do get slicker with use and there is good advice in the above replies.

[86er]

What ammo were you using?

[Old Savage]

The hammer wear is normal, I put a little lube of some sort on the hammer and the underside of the bolt. Cases so get scratched but I wouldn't be too aggressive about altering the rifle until you know what you are doing. Dents ? - how hard are you cycling this rifle? Clearly you should bring the rifle over so I can look this over . Those are beautiful rifles.

[Saddle Tramp]

Thank you Gentlemen for the replies, I'll keep in mind to action the rifle nice and fast and put plenty of rounds through her!
I'm starting with the Hornady Lever Revolution rounds, but I just placed an order from Cast Performance for some WLNGC 405 grainers...thinking of pushing them at around 1800fps. and reloading some plinking loads as well.
Thanks again gents.

By the way, are there any recommendations in respect to breaking-in or seasoning the barrel, or should I just start shootin??

Best wishes,

E.

[Saddle Tramp]

Howdy Old Savage,

Well sir, I'd most definitely like to bring the rifle in! What part of Southern California are you located?...I attend California Maritime- Academy up in the north, but I'll be spending a few days in North San Diego county during the last days of Feb.

I can be reached at: eugarte AT csum dot edu or e_vgarte AT yahoo dot com.

Thanks,

Esteban.

"A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical…It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison on January 30, 1787.

“And what country can preserve its liberties, if the rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.”
Thomas Jefferson, letter to William S. Smith on November 13, 1787.

[Tycer]

Welcome Esteban!

Change your email addresses pronto sir. There are bots on the web trolling for email addresses.

Change the @ to AT and the . to DOT with a couple of spaces and you are good to go, those nasty spammers and hackers will leave you alone.

[Griff]

Esteban, and Welcome to The Forum.

What Tycer said. (but to clarify, just change your post... you can leave your actual email addys the same)

As OS sez, a little lube on those mating surfaces will keep things rollin' smoothly. A little crocus cloth is all I'd use for deburrin' some of those sharp edges.

As for the jamming of the case against the chamber mouth... that can be a timing issue or simply a matter of bulllet shape vs overall length.

[Saddle Tramp]

Thank you Gents for all the tips!

Esteban.

"A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical…It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison on January 30, 1787.

“And what country can preserve its liberties, if the rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.”
Thomas Jefferson, letter to William S. Smith on November 13, 1787.

[claybob86]

Welcome aboard, Esteban!

How about a picture of your new Marlin? Here's how to post here:

http://onesticky.levergunscommunity.org ... sting.html