I have a new 39 that will shoot 5 shot, 50 yard groups around an 1", CCI small game around 1.5", and hyper velocity (any brand) around 2.5.

Is this normal accuracy?

After a few hundred rounds it seems to be getting a little better, it was a 3" gun when new. Normal?

I just thought it might do a little better.

Thanks for the input.

Congratulations on the rifle. The 39A's are nice. I have 4 of them. :o

You may be able to improve your accuracy by simply trying a different brand of ammunition. Most rimfire firearms are pretty selective about which ammunition they shoot the best. If yer lucky, some of the cheap stuff will shoot well for you. ;)

Agree...try as many brands of ammo as you can...even buy some of the super-premium match (and don't ignore a good deal on match just because it has "pistol" in its name). As pointed out, they seem to be very picky eaters and I'd try any ammo of decent quality while searching.

1" at 50yards isn't bad (assuming 5 round groups)

I have probably tried 10 different types/brands. Eley Subsonic hollow points are the best so far. It's almost impressive how poorly the stingers group!

Are individuals, can't really predict what they are going to like. LAst 39 I tried out liked Eley Practice 100 and CCI's Pistol Match quite well, didn't care for stingers at all.

I would clean between brands. have found that some brands of ammo just refust to shoot well until the lube from the previous brand is removed. Most ammo has about the same lubrication, but some of the match ammo still comes with a thicker/softer lube (like RWS and at least some types of Eley). It's when moving from one of the hard/clear lubes to one of the soft/sticky lubes that I've found a problem.

I own a 50's era 39 Mountie that'll shoot good with just about any cheap ammo I feed it. Federal is worse than the remmie green box tho...the Remmie's seem to shoot really good. I'd like to try some expensive ammo in it, but then again, it's a .22.

I have been discussing the consistency of average .22 lr ammunition with another forum member. This morning at daylight the temperature was 19 degrees and this was a good opportunity to test the Federal Premium – grey box - .22 lr ammunition in cold weather. I used the Marlin Model 39 M and shot at 25 yards using just an elbow rest on the bench. I used the Beartooth Bullets prairie dog target and put the bead on his jaw line, using the aperture in the Williams receiver sight. The attachment is a twenty shot group and is pretty typical for this rifle. The light was changing as the targets face north and this was right at sun rise.
The first string of ten shots chronographed 1,189 fps with an E of 68 and SD of 21 fps. The second ten shot string chronographed 1, 1 77 fps with an E of 87 and SD of 27 fps. Both strings had one shot of significantly higher velocity which raised the extreme spread. A cold morning but a fun shoot. The little Marlin is certainly fun to shoot.

I will give it good cleaning and dedicate some range time to each type. I have been shooting 5-6 types in one sitting.

Wanted to add...try shooting with the front bag at the end of the reciever/start of the fore end for at least a few groups. Have had some two-piece stocks that shot thier best that way, so it's worth a test.

I will give it good cleaning and dedicate some range time to each type. I have been shooting 5-6 types in one sitting.

When switching ammo's, it takes approx. 20 rounds to lube the barrel with a different brand bullet lube. You also need that many rounds down a clean barrel before you start to see good results. If this is a new 39AS, the rebounding hammer will also cause accuracy issues. I do away with my rebounding hammers. One guy on another forum used my modification on his 39AS and did before and after tests for accuracy. After doing away with the rebounding hammer, he cut his groups in half. Something to think about, if you have the AS model anyway. All my .22LR rifles all shoot much better dirty than clean. Take one brand, your best so far, and shoot plenty of it to see how it is going to do before giving up.

ribbonstone is right on when mentioning to rest the front of the gun in different places to see where it likes to be shot. Some shoot fine from the forearm, and some like it better when rested on the receiver. That is not a bench gun, so you need to play with it for the best resting point, so you can see what ammo it likes best.