The other day I had a jam and I couldn't unjam it in the field. I'd like to understand why, and how to clear it w/o a cleaning rod. After the jam, the gun has worked perfectly.

What happened is that the case didn't eject from the breach. Of course after that I had a secondary mess and had to break it down to clean it up. Luckily the 39 breaks down real easy. Is there an easy way to get the case out. It seems like I need 3 hands and a special tool. Even after clearing all the shells from the magazine, cocking the lever action wouldn't eject the casing.

I should also mention that the gun sat for a week w/o cleaning. No need to leacture me. I know, I know, I should take care of my gun. :-)

Of course the rodents that are digging around my buildings then appeared!! I suppose it's another one of Murphy's laws. I don't deer hunt, but I suspect the storys have been told ... "and then I saw the biggest buck in my life ... and my gun jammed!"

Thanks,
Dave

The other day I had a jam and I couldn't unjam it in the field. I'd like to understand why, and how to clear it w/o a cleaning rod. After the jam, the gun has worked perfectly.

What happened is that the case didn't eject from the breach. Of course after that I had a secondary mess and had to break it down to clean it up. Luckily the 39 breaks down real easy. Is there an easy way to get the case out. It seems like I need 3 hands and a special tool. Even after clearing all the shells from the magazine, cocking the lever action wouldn't eject the casing.

I should also mention that the gun sat for a week w/o cleaning. No need to leacture me. I know, I know, I should take care of my gun. :-)

Of course the rodents that are digging around my buildings then appeared!! I suppose it's another one of Murphy's laws. I don't deer hunt, but I suspect the storys have been told ... "and then I saw the biggest buck in my life ... and my gun jammed!"

Thanks,
Dave

Don't worry about the cleaning. All my .22's go a year between cleanings. No copper build up in a .22 so no need to clean unless you are changing brands of ammo.

You will need to check your ejector. It lays in the reciever on the left side. There is a screw there with a notch in it. This screw is used to hold the ejector back so that a cleaning rod will pass through without catching on the ejector. Be sure that the notch in the screw is in the open position. The notch should align with the groove cut in the reciever that the ejector lays in. If it is turned slightly it might not allow the ejector to move freely. If you want to clean, you just push the ejector back with a small screwdriver, and use another small screwdriver to turn the locking screw. Check to see that it is totally open and not hanging up on the ejector.

As far as an easy way to clear the jam, you did it. You just have to strip it. Let us know if everything looks to be ok and you still have the problem.

Did the case not "eject" from the action or did it not "extract" from the chamber? How old is the rifle?
I ask because I have a newer model 39AS that would not extract empty cases from the chamber. I had to carefully work on the extractor with a small file to get it to grip the rim of the case.

Gismo is dead on about the ejector. But the extractor has to pull the shell from the chamber first.

And I did "click" on a nice buck in the mountains of Virginia about 20 years back. Walked about two miles into the woods from the truck without ever jacking a shell into the chamber :eek: Not on a 39 of course, but a Rem 700 in .308W. Didn't realize ol' Murphy was right there with me on the trek :o

Dave

It's not the ejector. I know about the little screw to hold the ejector down for cleaning. The casing never exited the breach. There is a little spring retainer that I held down, while pushing the cleaning rod in from the muzzle that cleared the jam. The odd thing is that with the gun reassembled, working the lever action did nothing. The casing never left the breach.

Since then I've shot about 20 rounds of the same lot and everything works fine. Now that I think about it, it was a pile of shells that I emptied from a previous shooting and just left in a pile. I suppose dirt or some othe distortion could have caused the jam. I thought only automatics were that senstive.

Thanks for your comments! This is a new gun for me, but I bought it used from a local reputable sporting goods store. It looks to be in premo shape in every way. I'm not sure the year, I suppose I could look up the serial number if that is important. If this problem reoccurs I'd be a little more concerned. Right now it's just a curiosity for me and wondered if it's a common problem.