Tell us about your 39. When it was made, how and when you got it, cool scars it wears, or amazing hunts youve been on with it!

Tell us about your 39. When it was made, how and when you got it, cool scars it wears, or amazing hunts youve been on with it!

My brothers and I each found a 39M under the Christmas tree in 1984. By far the best shooting rifle I've ever fired. To date, conservatively, I've levered 100,000 rounds through it and it still shoots like a dream. I just wish they would make the carbine again and a stainless model would be nice as well.

No idea, but I got it as a kid. After a season of trying to shoot steel silhouettes with it (and hitting a few), the first squirrel I ever shot took a bullet in one eye and out the other :D Won't forget that shot for a while!!!!!

No idea, but I got it as a kid. After a season of trying to shoot steel silhouettes with it (and hitting a few), the first squirrel I ever shot took a bullet in one eye and out the other :D Won't forget that shot for a while!!!!!
Mike, does yours have a round or octagon barrel? ... and what is the serial number? You should be able to date it (more or less) from the serial number. The early ones like mine are harder to pinpoint, because Marlin's records for that period are not very precise.

My 39 is just that ... not a 39A, and it has an octagon barrel and color case hardened receiver. Serial number is 22xx and it was made between 1922 and 1926. My search and discovery on its age is in another recent thread in this forum http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=24349 (http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=24349 Most)Most of the case hardening has turned into a plum brown mottling mixed with steel grey patina on the receiver. The blue has faded on much of it and what's left is a plum color. It has some rust pitting on a few spots close to the end of the barrel. That happened while I stored it at my uncle's in Alabama while I worked overseas. Despite a good coating of oil and storing it in a rifle case, that humidity got to it while sitting in a closet for 2 years ... man was I disgusted about that. It belonged to my father, and was the first gun I ever fired. I've used it to shoot squirrels, cottontails, cottonmouths, birds, pesky raccoons and troublesome stray dogs in East Texas. One well placed shot will literally drop a bad dog right in his tracks without him making a sound. My mother's place where I grew up is not far from the Sabine River in East Texas. I currently live in Houston.

Christmas, 1973. 39 Mountie. Still have it - ready for my 7 yr old, when he is.

All I remember is shooting Remington Hi-V by the brick ($4.99?). Can't calculate how many went through it. It is well cared for, except for the blue becoming thin in a few handling spots. Great wood on it and very accurate. Used for plinking mostly. Cans were a bore - unless half filled with water. Bottle caps, etc were more sporting.

It's a round barrel, no safety, and I got it sometime in the 1970s and it appeared to be pretty new then. I'll get around to looking it up one of these days..... 232515xx

I've told this story before, but since you asked (and since I like telling it), here is the story of my 39A.
When I was a kid growing up in the mid to late 1970's, it seemed like there were always catalogs lying around our house. Not the kind you get in the mail nowadays that try to sell you computers, and curtains, but the big old Sears and J. C. Penney type. Back then, most large department type stores sold hunting equipment, to include firearms. There was generally a catalog page devoted to shotguns, one for centerfire rifles, and one just for .22s. At the age of circa 10 years, the firearms that appealed to me most were the rimfires. Most likely because those were the only kind I had really fired ever fired. Near the top of the .22 page there was always a Marlin 39 of one sort or another. I must have spent hours staring at the pictures of those rifles. Daydreaming of vanquishing both villians and beasts with my trusty .22 levergun.
well the years went by. Grade School became a memory, as did Jr. High and High School each in their turn. My enlistment in the Marine Corps flashed by, and the next thing I knew, I was a cop; a fireams instructor no less. Although my interest in firearms never waivered, my profession seemed to demand highly utilitarian guns. Black plastic, ballistic nylon, and kevlar became the focus of my attention. This persisted for about a decade and a half. Then a funny thing happened. I started reading articles about leverguns. There was a strange appeal to the idea of shooting a century old design that might have been used by wild west lawmen, ranchers, hunters and the like. The next thing you know, I own three Marlin leverguns: an 1894CP .357 Mag, a 336CB in 38/55, and a .444. Still, there seemed to be something missing. The 10 year old boy deep inside me knew exactly what it was, a fast handling .22 rimfire. I finally purchased my brand new 39A last March. Nearly 30 years after I first decided I wanted it. Since then, I've put several thousand rounds through it. It is every bit as much fun to shoot as I imagined it would be all those years ago. All together, my levergun battery has helped me re-discover the fun of shooting. Not everything in this modern world needs to be flat black, and plastic. There is absolutely still room for blued steel, and walnut. And, when little boys dreams come true, its just as much fun even 3 decades after they sat daydreaming in front of a catalog.

HRF

My 39A came to me late in life. As a kid, I wanted one but they were always just a tad beyond my budget. As I matured, deer hunting became my passion, so centerfire rifles assumed top priority for me. Gradually, this interest was refined into a fascination for Marlin centerfire leverguns of pre-MicroGroove vintage, and I began accumulating a small collection of them. In the course of searching for centerfires I came across a 1949-vintage 39A. It wasn't a pristine example -- it had the dings and scrapes you'd expect on a well-used rifle, a broken buttplate, was missing a forend tip screw, and had been drilled and tapped for a Marlin factory scope base (which was with the rifle) -- but mechanically it was perfect, and the price was right at $205. I bought it, and have been delighted with it. A thorough cleaning and replacement of the broken buttplate and missing screw have left me with a prime shooter that has the character only time, use, and good care can provide.

I didn't aquire a 39 until I was an adult. Grew up with a Remington 511P which I still have. I've recently added a 39TDS and I'm in search of a Mountie. Absolutely my favorite rimfire long guns and might even be my favorite firearms period.

http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1107333

Bought mine new in about 1978, the first gun I bought when I turned 18 and could buy one myself. It's an M (Mountie) model, with the 20" medium weight barrel. I rasped the forend down even with the receiver and forearm tip, making it very light and sleek feeling. Later I removed the ramp and hand cut a dovetail for the front sight, just for the cleaner looks. Removed the white spacer under the butt plate also. I really need to remove the factory finish on the buttstock, as the years have left it looking pretty shabby. The Caseys True Oil finish on the forend has held up much better. It wears a Lyman No 66 receiver sight, in alloy, but I'd like to find an old steel 66, or better yet, a Lyman No 56 receiver sight for it. My 39 was stolen once, many years ago, but I noticed it in a local gun shop about 6 months later, by it's unique sling, and the trimmed forend. The trail led back to the thief, and I was able to get my rifle back.

Can't begin to think of how many rounds have been thru it, easily more than 50K, perhaps double that. Once, when out with friends, they were shooting clays with shotguns. I half joking, said, I'll back you up, or go for the big piece with the .22. To everybodies surprise, (including mine!) I DID hit the big piece after he broke the bird.

Many cottontails, jacks, and squirrels later, it shoots great, still making meat now and then. Took it up in the Beartooth Mts a few weeks ago and shot some grouse with it, and my Malamute pointers/retreivers helped see, and retreive from the creek, a couple of birds. I use short hollow points for this, since one of the dogs is a bit gunshy. CB loads have taken a fair pile of squirrels too, for the same reason. One of the cabins I lived in had a mouse problem, and the 39 accounted for about 20 some mice, sevveral packrats, and a couple rattlesnakes around the place, most of the mice were inside, most of the snakes outside, tho 1 came in. The CB loads don't damage the floor too bad, mostly killing the mice cleanly and imbedding in the floor or wall leaving a small hole. when camping in the tipi, I killed many mice and chipmunks. I'd wake up upon hearing them pattering across the canvass floor, and I'd quietly pick up the 39 laying beside the bed, and a flashlight, pointing at the sound. I'd turn the light on and have about 1 or 2 seconds to shoot before they took off. The 39 would be easy enough to get on target, and I rarely lost a mouse or chipmunk. CB loads are perfect for this too. Once, I ran out of CB's, and shot a mouse in the tipi with a LR hollow point......not a good idea. It is NOT a clean mouse load.

I had an old style canvas takedown case made for mine, and it lives in the truck most of the time. Nice to always have it around handy.

I've had trouble keeping a scope zeroed on my gun with the factory mount. Only 2 screws. I'm going to have a 3rd hole D&T'ed to make it more secure. Would be nice to shoot it scoped again some. The 1.5x-4x Leupold would be a good scope for it.

Some great stories guys. Sounds like some great Marlins as well. Perhaps we could get some pictures.


I don't have anything special like the rest of you fellas. I just have a 2001 39a wearing a Williams FP39-TM . It was my first rifle. I have a always preferred old style or just plain old firearms, and learned to shoot on a 1930's vintage Stevens that my great grandfather used to shoot rats and the like. I collect old military rifles, from Nippon T99 to SKSs, but none get the attention that my marlin gets.

I got the Marlin on my 16th birthday from my father and the only firearm that was ever given to me. It was his dream gun as a kid, but he never had one. I initially would have preffered an SMLE, but my appreciation of that 39a ballooned to the point that it is my most treasured posession. I probably shoot at least 600 rounds each time I take it out. With an aperture sight and a spinner target, you can really burn up the lead. I don't use it really from a rest, so all I know that I can keep them all inside 2 inches at around 30 yards or so offhand. That's good enough for me. Add that to the beautiful handling of the rifle and natural pointability, you have a winner.

I tell you what, I hear all the time how bad modern marlins are compared to the older ones, but I couldn't be happier than with my 2001. Three years later, I still can't justify another .22 rifle. The 39a is just that good.

Just picked up my new 39a Golden the week of Thanksgiving. Paid $402 (including tax) out the door. Shouldered one previously at a different retailer and fell in love with it. Wally World had the best prices in my area so I special ordered one due to out of stock in the store. Saved $40 over Bass Pro and $70 over a gun shop price. I have been wanting a .22 for awhile and agonized over which one to settle on. Since I already love the look, feel, fit and finish of my Marlin 336 I went for the 39a. It was more than I wanted to spend for a lil .22 but I figured, spend a few bucks more and get a quality product that I can enjoy and pass down to my grandkids. I read somewhere on the net: "Why does the 39a cost as much as a centerfire rifle?" "Because they are made just as well." In the case of the 39a, that ain't no lie!

OPDRifleman, I'm starting to feel the same way you do about lever rifles. Don't know if it was watching Chuck Conners on tv in "The Rifleman" or John Wayne and all the other cowboys in the movies but there certainly is an attraction to a lever rifle. When I bought my 336w this year and shot it, I gave my son my 700 Custom Deluxe Remington in 7mm mag. I loved that rifle and still do but I love the Marlin more. With the new Hornady ammo we can get out there with a punch as good as most bolt actions. The next rifle I buy will most likely be in the 1895 Big Bore line. Another plus about lever guns, they all look the same rifle to the wife. :D :D :D

Bought my first 39 around 3 months ago from a friend who needed to do a clear out and said would I be interested? Is the pope..........?

Marlin 39A Mountie model circa 1956. Shorter round barrel version, straight stock and lever and in I would say 90% condition once I cleaned up the wood and re-oiled.

Fitted with a Lyman 66A receiver sight when I bought it for the grand total of $150 and came with a scope rail. Rail was not fitted and it looks if I will need to drill and tap to do so, so it may not be factory?

Lovely little rifle and with a smoother action than my .45 '99 1894 Cowboy. Just need to flick the lever right to kick out the spent cases. Do it wrong and they hang up the action.

Barrel band seems unusual though as all the other I have seen have an end cap on the end of the front furniture and no band?

Took it's first rabbit last night with CCI sub's it will take a lot more before it moves on to it's next owner - years from now :)

http://members.lycos.co.uk/pjboomer/Photos/IMG_0086.JPG

Marlin 39A (bottom), Marlin 1894 Cowboy (Top)

My 39's range from an original 1920's 39, a 1939 vintage 39a, a 1940 39a, and a 1957 39a Mountie. All are in super condition, with the 1939 and 1940 models in near new condition. All shoot way better than I do, and I enjoy shooting them all.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/marlinguy/60ddb865.jpg

I got my M39 (Serial# 4191) from my grandfather who bought it new in the 20's. Beautiful rifle. Its a real tack driver. nice heavy octagon barrel,great balance. id estimate 10,000 rounds thru it. 98 % blue on the barrel, reciever has turned a grey.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5407/marlin39a12cn.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=marlin39a12cn.jpg)

This is mine that I bought new about 3 years ago. It's a really good shooter and never gets left behind when my wife and I go shooting out in the desert. billt.