Acorn finds a blind hog
Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
-
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 9120
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
- Location: Sweetwater, TX
Acorn finds a blind hog
I took a chance on this Internet buy -- a curio and relic Marlin Model 36 A-DL in .30-30, D prefix, so 1947. It had a rotting rubber boot on the butt, and the buttplate was oversize, the seller suggesting it had been shortened at some point. And the borescope photos looked kinda grim. Still, my home has been without a .30 WCF for so long that it threatened to become scandalous if widely known. And looking at other plain vanilla Marlin 336s, they are all running well above $1,000 these days -- even Glenfields! So I bit, just received the rifle and logged it into my bound book. The buttplate was indeed too large, but when I looked up the plates for the Model 36, this one was correct -- just a band of horizontal lines in the middle and no Marlin logo. I have already ground it close to size.
The finish on the checkered butt and forend is failing -- chipped and flaking badly -- but underneath there is some lovely figurein the wood and even some fiddleback.
When I put the borelight in the chamber and peered down the bore from the muzzle, I was pleasantly surprised by the clean, crisp Ballard rifling. It's not 100 percent, but darned close to 90 percent upon first examination. There is some freckling on the barrel and receiver and much of the bluing is gone, but no egregious issues -- just wear consistent with a good old New Haven friend carried often and shot little.
I will get it to the range next week. I have a Williams FP receiver sight to mount; this rifle is drilled and tapped on the upper right corner of the left flat, but also drilled and tapped on the tang for a tang sight if preferred.
This is the first Model 36 A-DL with the deluxe checkered stocks that I have owned. Boy does she balance nicely, and talk about that legendary glass-smooth action. The icing is of course, the reassuring "Marlin Safety" engraved on the top of the unmolested receiver.
The finish on the checkered butt and forend is failing -- chipped and flaking badly -- but underneath there is some lovely figurein the wood and even some fiddleback.
When I put the borelight in the chamber and peered down the bore from the muzzle, I was pleasantly surprised by the clean, crisp Ballard rifling. It's not 100 percent, but darned close to 90 percent upon first examination. There is some freckling on the barrel and receiver and much of the bluing is gone, but no egregious issues -- just wear consistent with a good old New Haven friend carried often and shot little.
I will get it to the range next week. I have a Williams FP receiver sight to mount; this rifle is drilled and tapped on the upper right corner of the left flat, but also drilled and tapped on the tang for a tang sight if preferred.
This is the first Model 36 A-DL with the deluxe checkered stocks that I have owned. Boy does she balance nicely, and talk about that legendary glass-smooth action. The icing is of course, the reassuring "Marlin Safety" engraved on the top of the unmolested receiver.
- Griff
- Posting leader...
- Posts: 20877
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
- Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
A light sanding and fresh Tru-Oil would do that furniture wonders. If'n I was a Marlin guy, I'd have bitten on that one also. For some reason, I thought the 36 introduced the round bolt to Marlin.
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
-
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 9120
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
- Location: Sweetwater, TX
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Griff, I intend to give that stock some seriousTLC. I believe it was the next year, 1948, that Marlin went to the round bolt and the 336 receiver series, but apparently still had stock wood, plain buttplates and Model 36-marked barrels to use up. It was an early 336 waffle top with a shot-out barrel marked Model 36 that John Taylor turned into a .25-35 Tomcat for me. That swell levergun now lives at the home of Dave Manson, the retired reamer-maker, in Michigan. Darned nice fella.
- GunnyMack
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 10287
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
- Location: Not where I want to be!
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Looks like she wears some real nice walnut Bill! Proof is in the pudding but I betcha ya got a good one!
One thing people always forget to look at- the crown! How's the crown look?
One thing people always forget to look at- the crown! How's the crown look?
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
-
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 9120
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
- Location: Sweetwater, TX
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Will, the crown is amazing. It looks brand new.
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Looking forward to range reports!
Kind regards,
Tycer
----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.saf.org - https://peakprosperity.com/ - http://www.guntalk.com
Tycer
----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.saf.org - https://peakprosperity.com/ - http://www.guntalk.com
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Great find! Have fun wringing it out and let us know how it shoots.
JBowen
JBowen
- gamekeeper
- Spambot Zapper
- Posts: 17487
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 3:32 pm
- Location: Over the pond unfortunately.
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
Looks like an honest old rifle with lots of use the be had in the field, great find Bill..
Whatever you do always give 100%........... unless you are donating blood.
- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 6507
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
- Location: Oregon
Re: Acorn finds a blind hog
That's a beauty to my eyes Bill! Not sure I'd do much to it, as upgrading the wood much will only make wear on metal parts stand out more. Right now it all is equal, and I'd want to either keep it this way, or do a total restoration. But I'd lean to doing very little to this! Maybe a good cleaning of the wood, and then some Watco Danish dark liquid wax rubbed into the wood, and buffed to a sheen.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/