Cowgirl Corner: vintage Marlin 39A

[North Country Gal]

Beautiful collection, there, bandit. Have also owned some beautiful Ms, Mounties and even a 39 Carbine, but my favorite is still that long barreled 39A, mostly because I prefer shooting offhand and the 39A suits me better for that work than any of the carbine versions. In fact, in all my many years of shooting rimfire rifles, I have never found a rimfire rifle I like better for its balance and feel for offhand work than the 39A. It really is unique in that respect.

[bandit1250]

NCG, I don't think it makes any difference what you have in your hands when shooting off hand. You are a fantastic off hand shooter and would clean my clock at off hand target shooting. I do O.K. on game off hand most of the time with my rifles. I think I am better off hand with the faster lock time of my bolt guns and better triggers than lever guns with the long hammer fall and slow lock time. I need to practice more off hand this year but I am a bench shooter with my CZ and Remington bolt rifles.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, bandit. I shoot offhand more than from any other position, by far, and do it on a regular basis, thanks, in part, to my air gun shooting. Whether offhand with a rifle or handgun, just takes a lot of practice and I do have both the time and the opportunity for it. I do understand, though, that so many shooters simply do not have that luxury or even the interest to shoot offhand, so, as always, I encourage everyone to shoot the way that suits them. My love of offhand shooting might make me a bit different than most, but in no way better. Thanks for the nice comments, though. I do appreciate them.

[Bish1309]

There is some other Marlins out there that don't have the "Mountie" name on the barrel but are still like the Mountie. These were after the Mountie name had been dropped from the Marlin. It pays to check for the other models if you want a short barrel Marlin with a straight grip stock. I had a couple early models marked Mountie and they were just average shooters. The longer barrel 39A's have shot better for me and not just open or peep sights they were better shooters scoped than a scoped Mountie. So the longer sight radius was not the reason they were better. The early Marlins with the Ballard 6 groove barrels before about '53-'54 shoot better for me than the over rated Micro-groove. Others to look for are:
Top to bottom. 39 Century Limited octagon barrel made in 1970 for 100 years of Marlin
Next two are 39M models one is 1980 and 1982.
Bottom is the 39 TDS 16 1/4" barrel and came with the carry pouch to transport it in two parts.
The best Marlins in my opinion are '53 and back with the Ballard barrel like NCG's '46. They were the cream of the crop in workmanship and accuracy. NCG's is a very nice example from the '40's.

Like, like, like, like!!!!

[Ziggidy]

very nice.

[ace73]

Nice display!!

[Danwin22]

Bandit, that's a nice group of straight stock Marlin .22 levers.

I always get a kick out of guys wanting to know which lever is the best. I have a Winchester 9422 but also have respect for the Marlins and the Browning BL-22. I would be proud to have all three.

I also have Henry and Uberti levers but they are not all steel like the classic models listed above. The new generation of levers may be smoother and shoot just as well but I just appreciate to older guns.

[bandit1250]

[quote="Danwin22"]Bandit, that's a nice group of straight stock Marlin .22 levers.

Thanks Danwin22. I just about have my wife talked in to taking the red dot off her M and going with a compact scope to make the rifle look a little better. She shoots the red dot very well and is not ready to take it off. I may just get a smaller more compact red dot sight for it. I will admit it is a lot of fun with the red dot sight and how fast it is to get on target with it.

[North Country Gal]

Yeah, can't blame anyone for putting a red dot on a lever gun after I tried one. They really make shooting a lever gun so easy and fun. I tend to be traditional on most of our guns and stay with iron, but I can see using a red dot on some levers, but not on others. For instance, last time out with the '46 39A in this thread, Bill was having trouble seeing the front sight again a black bullseye. No way will I change anything on that gun, of course. On some of the newer, more modern styled lever guns or if you're the type who isn't too concerned with tradition, I think a red dot is a great way to go.

[Danwin22]

Never used a red dot. Can you see as fine as a cross hair scope?

Can I sight an aspirin at 25 yds ?

Notice I didn't say hit an aspirin, just see it.

[tractortad]

Marlin just changed their website and it looks like the 39a is no longer on it - I wonder if they are going to stop making them?

[North Country Gal]

Hard to say. Remington has been on and off, agin, on the 39A and the 1894s, ever since they acquired Marlin. The 39A is basically a scaled down 1894. Both require a fair amount of fitting, compared to the 336 series. As a result, the 39A/1894 have been the ones that have given Remington the biggest headaches to get right. Saw a new 1894 44 mag current production Remington at our LGS, this week. Wasn't too bad on the fit and finish, but the trigger was horrible.

Hit a gunshow, this weekend. Saw a couple of JM 1894s and a couple of beat up JM 39As and all were priced way high. If you can find any JM 1894 or 39A, now, for $500 you are stealing it.

[bandit1250]

Marlin just changed their website and it looks like the 39a is no longer on it - I wonder if they are going to stop making them?

I really have my doubt that Remington will bring back the 39A. I think they would be priced higher than most folks would be willing to pay and the damage has been done for their building rifles that are trouble free. At a price point that could be 3X or more the price of Henry I know I would go for a Henry Frontier or small game carbine. My wife and I have been offered crazy prices for some of our Marlin 39A guns but we would feel like we were parting with a friend now we have had them for a while. The bad things out there about the problems with the Remington made Marlins has really sent the prices higher on the older ones. Would I trade a 39A for a Henry? No. Would I pay enough for a Remlin 39A that would buy three Henry's and take the chance on a maybe getting lemon 39A? No!

[North Country Gal]

I suspect you are right, bandit. Just a matter of time with a company like Remington that has such a corporate, make a profit or drop it mentality, but even traditional gun makers like Ruger have been discontinuing their high end, traditional guns for some time. Makes it all the more impressive to see Henry going the other direction and actually adding more traditional models. Have been especially impressed with the way Henry has been working with young people to introduce them to lever guns. Hate to think us old cowgirl and cowboy shooters as being the last of our kind.

[Danwin22]

I think Movies and TV have a lot to do with the guns being sold.

Born in 1939, I saw my share of Cowboy movies in the 40's through the 60's and my dream guns were a single action (we called them pistols then) and a lever action Winchester.

Now it's all about rapid firing semi-automatic rifles that look like an AR15 and handguns that mimic the 1911.

When I see a war movie where the stars are burning through ammo I can't help but wonder where their never-ending supply of ammo comes from.

We may just be the last cowboy gun fans. I'm going to try to use mine as much as possible because the next generations may not give a flip about my faithful Winchester 9422 or 30-30 Trapper