Wet Dog
11-23-2005, 04:31 PM
My resisitance to Marlin lever actions is pretty low so when I bump into one and I have some money, I usually buy it. This was the case with my latest aquisition, a Marlin 39TDS.
I was impressed by this little carbine imediately. I have a Marlin Papoose that is an excellent backpack breakdown carbine but the quality of the 39TDS exceeds that of the Papoose. It weighs more than a pound more but so far I've found the 39TDS to be more accurate, especially with the factory open sights. I haven't scoped the TDS to see what it is capable of, yet.
The 39TDS had been abused. The previous owner hauled this one around in his rig and didn't ever clean or oil it. He put it away wet and used it under harsh conditions. It still looks pretty good. http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1107333 but has it's share of character.
At the range I've been very impressed. It shoots the wally world Fedral ammo well. At 25 yards with open sights and middle aged eyes 4 of five shots can be covered with a dime. Sometimes I manage 5 out of 5 but I find my 40+ year old eyes tire a lot quicker than they used too.
I've tried the CCI CB longs and they too have shot quite well inside fo 25 yards. This is my only rimfire that shoots this ammo well enough to use in the field. They are noticiabley quieter but not as quiet as in my 39A with the 24" barrel.
CCI mini Mags, so far haven't grouped consistently. Noticably louder and "group" about 1" higher at 25 yards than the Fedral ammo.
Aquila SE subsonic is another ammo that shoots well in the 39TDS (and in most of my other rimifires too).
Aquila SSS shoots high and right but doesnt group well enough that I would consider hunting with it.
My 39TDS has the crossbolt safety, NO halfcock like my 1894C 357 has. Every time I've had it out I squeeze the trigger at least once onto the crossbolt safety. Most of my other Marlins don't have it so it's challenging to get used too.
I have also experienced some failure to fire issues. About 2 in 100 shots has required a second hammer strike regardless of the ammo used. I wonder if the cross bolt safety design is more apt to that. My 39A doesnt have the CBS and I don't recall ever having a failure in that rifle.
There are a few things I still need for it like the screws that fill the holes in the top of the receiver and one in the Ejector housing.
The S# is TDS02XXX. Can anyone tell me what it's vintage is?
I was impressed by this little carbine imediately. I have a Marlin Papoose that is an excellent backpack breakdown carbine but the quality of the 39TDS exceeds that of the Papoose. It weighs more than a pound more but so far I've found the 39TDS to be more accurate, especially with the factory open sights. I haven't scoped the TDS to see what it is capable of, yet.
The 39TDS had been abused. The previous owner hauled this one around in his rig and didn't ever clean or oil it. He put it away wet and used it under harsh conditions. It still looks pretty good. http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1107333 but has it's share of character.
At the range I've been very impressed. It shoots the wally world Fedral ammo well. At 25 yards with open sights and middle aged eyes 4 of five shots can be covered with a dime. Sometimes I manage 5 out of 5 but I find my 40+ year old eyes tire a lot quicker than they used too.
I've tried the CCI CB longs and they too have shot quite well inside fo 25 yards. This is my only rimfire that shoots this ammo well enough to use in the field. They are noticiabley quieter but not as quiet as in my 39A with the 24" barrel.
CCI mini Mags, so far haven't grouped consistently. Noticably louder and "group" about 1" higher at 25 yards than the Fedral ammo.
Aquila SE subsonic is another ammo that shoots well in the 39TDS (and in most of my other rimifires too).
Aquila SSS shoots high and right but doesnt group well enough that I would consider hunting with it.
My 39TDS has the crossbolt safety, NO halfcock like my 1894C 357 has. Every time I've had it out I squeeze the trigger at least once onto the crossbolt safety. Most of my other Marlins don't have it so it's challenging to get used too.
I have also experienced some failure to fire issues. About 2 in 100 shots has required a second hammer strike regardless of the ammo used. I wonder if the cross bolt safety design is more apt to that. My 39A doesnt have the CBS and I don't recall ever having a failure in that rifle.
There are a few things I still need for it like the screws that fill the holes in the top of the receiver and one in the Ejector housing.
The S# is TDS02XXX. Can anyone tell me what it's vintage is?