Ugh, today was not a good day. I recently bought a used Marlin 1894 Carbine .44 magnum. The serial number indicates it's from 1975. I bought it from a gun shop in Gray, Maine, and the rifle is without any sort of documentation or manual.

I've fired pistols before, but most of what I know about guns is theoretical in nature and I haven't fired all that many. Obviously, I am no gunsmith.

Anyways, I decided to sight in the gun with some .44 Smith and Wesson Special 200 gr GDHPs (Blazer brand). This is at a range in Connecticut and it was pretty cold. I had just field cleaned the gun (it was pretty dirty) but the action still seemed a bit stiff. The tube mag was very finicky and only wanted to hold 6 rounds (i've no idea if that's even the correct number) but it seemed to fire ok at first. However, after about 15 rounds one of the bullets failed to feed correctly and the gun jammed fast with the action wide open, the tube full, and a live .44 sp jammed partially in the tube mag. I unscrewed the tube cap and took the spring out (which was slightly bent at the downrange end, I've no idea if that's of any consequence) but the rounds refused to slide out of the tube and i was forced to bring the gun home in this somewhat precarious state.

I got the forearm, tube mag, and butt off but the rouge round seems to be stuck fast and the lever has almost no play (though the carrier moves a little).

I'd started to loosen several screws but decided against that method as the main spring is under a lot of tension and makes disassembly difficult and dangerous.

Again, I've no experience with lever rifles and i have no manual. I don't even know what most of the screws do.

I just need to get this thing unjammed without blowing my arm off.

I've ordered a manual from Marlin but I've leaving to go back to Maine this weekend and I'd really like to not have to travel with the gun jammed like this, it's a bit unnerving.

Any help would be appreciated. How do I unjam it, and how do I stop it from happening again?

I realized similar questions have been answered here before, But most are toward prevention as opposed to the actual un-jamming method.

Here are some pictures so you can see what's going on. I can't budge the bullet at all, the aluminum case may be partially crushed. I guess I should only use copper-jacketed, round nose, brass cased bullets in this gun?

Help!

Vorzer@aol.com

http://img83.exs.cx/img83/5755/jam55rd.th.jpg (http://img83.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img83&image=jam55rd.jpg)
http://img1.imageshack.us/thumbnail.png (http://img90.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img90&image=jam40ed.jpg)
http://img90.exs.cx/img90/5046/jam31gg.th.jpg (http://img90.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img90&image=jam31gg.jpg)
http://img90.exs.cx/img90/6484/jam22xu.th.jpg (http://img90.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img90&image=jam22xu.jpg)
http://img90.exs.cx/img90/9398/jam19jx.th.jpg (http://img90.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img90&image=jam19jx.jpg)

Loading gate just doesn't look right..looks like the round is jammed by the gate beeing stuck somewhat down and a bit to the rear.

Were it me, would use some probes to try to get that gate to return to it's original spot. Not a matter oc f closing the action...leave that open...but of reaching in with skewers, chop-sticks, or whatever and attmepting to get that spring loaded gate to let go of that round.

By the way, is that a CCI Blazer round? You may need to be neanderthal with the bullet, pulling it out of the case with visegrips to render the gun safe. Then throw the bullet and powder away, and spray a little WD40 in the case to kill the primer. It appears that the bullet needs to go back out the direction it came from. Don't try it with a loaded round, though. As I recall, if you take out the screw that the lever pivots on, you can remove the lever, and then pull the bolt out past the hammer. Watch out for the extractor, which will fall out of the action without the bolt to hold it in place. Don't worry, it reassembles exactly the same way. when you're ready to reassemble, let us know, and we'll talk you through it. First, get that loaded rould disabled, and be very careful about doing it.

Hmm, I'll poke at the loading gate some more, but the gate does have some play to it and does not appear to be what's holding the round in.

I can flex the gate inward for a few millimeters until it contacts the rim of the stuck cartridge, and then it obviously can't move in any further. The gate is on top of the round if you look closely at the photos.

Thanks, though.

Hmm, again I'm not really up-to-date on my terminology so I'm not sure what you mean by "CCI". It's just a Blazer brand 200 grain .44 special, aluminum case, copper jacketed hollow point.

So I guess you're saying to carefully pop the bullet out of its casing to render the gun harmless enough to fiddle with? I had that thought earlier today but wasn't sure it was a very bright idea. I mean, what if a grain of powder is wedged between the round and the case and it sparks when i pop it off?

Arrggh... :P

I didn't pay $325 for this kind of frustration... do I have a bum rifle, or is this the "Dreaded Marlin Jam" I've heard whisperings about? Or should I not use aluminum cased ammo?

What is the optimal ammo to use, anyway? 240 grain .44 mag, round nose, copper jacket, brass case?

I guess I'd better return those semiwadcutters before they jam something terrible...

Here's a parts diagram. http://www.gunuts.com/images/42.gif
http://www.gunuts.com/view.php?view=details&model_id=42&type=2

Assembled cross-section view.
http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=1802

Disassembly instructions.
http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=2168

Usually a loose loading gate jams the carrier, but it's not jamming it if you can wiggle it. It does look like something is jamming the carrier, though. Get the lever and bolt out, and if nothing loosens up, take off the trgger guard plate. You've have to remove the hammer spring first, then the big screw on the left side of the action, the big screw at the bottom front (they've got the same sized heads, but are of different lengths) and the lower of the two big screws at the right rear. Then you should see whats jamming the carrier.

Bye
Jack

Thanks, y'all. I'll make this quick because I'm running out the door, but my father removed the lever fulcrum screw and worked the lever out backwards, and the jammed round slid right out; it was a little tricky with tension on the main spring though. Which is just as well, because I wasn't too keen on trying to find a gunsmith on New Year's Eve.

Hopefully I'll have time to head to the range tomorrow and put some round nosed .44 mags through it and hope it doesn't jam anymore.

Does anyone think that the aluminum cased hollow points might have been the cause?

Marlin specifically states not to use Blazer aluminum cased ammo in my 1894C manual.

"WARNING: Aluminum cased ammunition may cause malfunctions."

"WARNING: Do not use Blazer brand ammunition in this rifle. The design is not compatible with the Marlin feeding system, and may result in live rounds inadvertently remaining in the magazine."

Yep, mine for the 1894SS says the same thing. Not to use (Blazer) aluminum-cased ammo. I believe it is bacause they can get jammed in the chamber, which is much worse.

Mine did the same thing a few weeks ago with Federal Ammo. The loading gate screw was loose and caused a jam.. You must remove the loading gate to get that round out.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I just bought a box of Winchester Semijacketed brass cased .44 mags. I would've liked to have gotten FMJ, but it was all Sports Authority had at the moment. Plus I just bought a magnum-rated pendulum target, and we all know what happens when FMJs hit a swinging chunk of iron.

Can you say "ricochet city" ? :rolleyes:

I'll give the Marlin a good scrubbing tonight and hope I fare better at the range tomorrow. I'll return the unfired box of Blazers ASAP, as well as the cast lead semiwadcutters I have up in Maine. I haven't tried any of those yet, but I just read somewhere not to use cast lead in Micro-Groove barrels because they leave a rather narsty residue in the rifling.

Heh, and I would've known this a long time ago if I actually had the manual...

*hovers over mailbox* hurry up **** you!

You're at Cast-in-Microgroove Central.

Read the FAQ on lead bullets in Micro-groove barrels before you return those SWC bullets. Go about 2/3 down the page.
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/faq/index.htm

Bye
Jack

I have no doubt that the Blazer ammo caused the jam. CCI is the manufacturer of the Blazer, by the way. I've never heard much good about it unless it's used in revolvers. Then, the only good thing about it is that it's cheap.

While most folks were getting drunk off their arses this New Year's Eve, I took the "bah, humbug" route as per usual and worked into the wee hours of the morning with a toothbrush, toothpicks, and gallons of cleaner and scrubbed my Marlin inside and out until I ran out of energy at 3:30 am (I had started at 6:00 pm).

Overkill? Probably, but what a world of difference! Not a speck of fouling remained, and I even cleaned and lubed the tube mag. Now it actually feeds properly and graciously accepts ten rounds instead of stubbornly stopping at six.

Other than the forearm falling off (!) due to some stripped screws (the previous owner was obviously a f***tard), shooting at the range today went beautifully. I went through a box of fifty Winchester semijacketed mags without a hint of fouling, and of course, no jams.

However, now I have to repair that forearm. The loose inner n-shapped bracket that the two horizontal screws go into is stripped out, and so are the screws. Every five or six rounds the screws like to simply eject sideways from the recoil shock as the forearm starts to drop, which would be quite hilarious if it wasn't so annoying.

Any recommendations on good parts sites for Marlins? There's plenty of parts sites out there but they tend to only stock the most common items and they're usually grossly overpriced.

On that same unfortunate note, the loading gate screw is stripped beyond removal. The loading gate is working OK as of now, but I'll want to fix that eventually. Guess I'll have to call a smithy on that one, I don't know if I can get a damaged screw remover that small. :(

Brownell's has Marlin parts.