Ruger/Marlin vs Henry

[Oldbrass]

Owning an original JM Marlin 30-30 I can only hope Ruger brings back the quality (some new Remlins are quite nice) This may become the biggest arms race since the cold war ! I hope we see the 39A again .. anyway nothing is better for the consumer than competition. Just bought a Henry all weather 357 but I'm holding off anything else til I see what Ruglin comes out with..LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN LEVER..

[Rifletom]

"LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN LEVER"! Ain't that the truth! It will interesting to see what Ruger has in store.
Was looking pretty hard at another Pietta in .45 Colt with 7.5" barrel, but, just don't need another "same" caliber eating my loading components. Kinda laying low on shooting except some .22lr and shotgun. Have scads of that.

[GunnyGene]

"LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN LEVER"! Ain't that the truth! It will interesting to see what Ruger has in store.
Was looking pretty hard at another Pietta in .45 Colt with 7.5" barrel, but, just don't need another "same" caliber eating my loading components. Kinda laying low on shooting except some .22lr and shotgun. Have scads of that.

Speaking of ammo, Winchester announced they now have full control of the Lake City plant.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/winch ... ion-plant/

Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) announced that effective today, its ammunition division, Olin Winchester, LLC (“Winchester”), assumed full management and operational control of the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri. The U.S. Army selected Winchester to operate and manage the Lake City Plant in September 2019. The contract has an initial term of seven years and may be extended by the U.S. Army for up to three additional years. Winchester is now the world’s largest small arms ammunition manufacturer.

[fortyshooter]

Well the Customer Service of a Ruger/Marlin mix will be great!

[If1Hitu]

I wouldn't mind a new 39A myself Oldbrass!

[JEBar]

it will be interesting to see if Ruger produces and markets lever action rifles as companions for their various revolver lines

[BigAl52]

Gonna be pretty hard to build guns if the ammo thing doesnt ever get a chance to return

[North Country Gal]

Whatever Ruger does, it won't happen anytime, soon. Ruger production has been hit hard by the pandemic thing. They are way behind on the production of their own guns.

As for the 39A, I'd say very iffy. The 39A was the Marlin model that gave Remington the most trouble to produce because of all the hand fitting needed with that split takedown receiver. If you've ever taken the receiver on a 39 and split it for takedown purposes, you'll notice that one half is stamped with the last digits of the serial number on the other one. The two parts have to be careful mated. You don't just grab two pieces and send it down the line. Definitely not a design that lends itself to modern gun production techniques. It's basically why Remington gave up and sent the 39 to their Custom Shop to be made with an insane price tag. Hey, love my Ruger's, but hand fitting is not their thing. Even their Red Label shotgun was designed to minimize hand fitting and they still discontinued it.

On the other hand, the Marlin 336 is a much more modern and simple design, one that lends itself to mass production. I suspect Ruger could even go investment cast on that frame. I think a Ruger version of the 336 is more doable.

[cooperhawk]

that was the take down version of the 39A. I have one I purchased back in the mid 70s that is not a take down and would be easy to produce.
BTW, a nice little rifle and I really like it. I also have a Winchester 9422 which is a beauty, and a Henry Golden Boy 22 which is really high quality.
Hard to chose between them.
The 39A is still a sought after .22.
A friend of mine just purchased a 39A in .22 Magnum for $150.00 in pristine condition.

[North Country Gal]

Cooperhawk, the two piece receiver feature I was describing was standard on every Marlin 39 dating all the way back to it's predecessors, the Model 1891 and 1897 and was a feature included in the original patent. It was never an optional feature. It's been included with every version of the 39, since. You can see this feature with its associated thumbscrew with a coin slot on the right side of the receiver. If Ruger made a 39 without this feature, then, it would not be a 39, since this feature has always been present in the 39 since the beginning as part of that original patent. Note that a lot of 39 owners have never bothered to separate the receiver into two pieces, as it can sometimes be very tight.

My 39A from 1948. (I added the tang sight, but the tang in that vintage was factory drilled and tapped for this kind of peep)


Most rimfire rifles from that late 1800s to early 1900s had a similar takedown feature out of necessity, by the way. The lubricants used on 22 ammo of that period was a wax that would melt when the gun got hot and gum up the action. Being able to take the gun down for cleaning was considered an almost essential feature. When technology later replaced those early bullet lubricants with a non-melting lubricant, the take down feature was no longer a necessity, but it hung on in those models that survive to this day, such as the Browning SA-22, and vintage Winchester pumps and autos.

Even when Winchester brought out the 9422 in the 70s, they kept this feature, but the takedown screw is on the left side. Again, a lot of 9422 owners have never bothered to use this feature, but it is there and was one of the reasons the 9422 was also an expensive 22 lever gun.


Note that Marlin did offer a TDS version of the Marlin 39, catalogued in the late 80s to mid 90s, some of which had a TDS prefix serial number. It had the same slotted thumbscrew, two-piece receiver as all 39s, but what made it a TDS was not that two-piece receiver, but rather the short 16.25" barrel and slimmer forearm for packing purposes. Even came with its own fitted case.

The 39 action is too short to cycle the 22 magnum cartridge. The longer 22 mag round will never feed through the action. Marlin did, however, make the longer action 1894 in a 22 mag as the 1894M, made in the late 80s to mid 90s. These are very hard to find, though, and one in good shape brings a lot of money. These are standard 1894s, though, so no two piece receiver as with a 39. If your buddy got one of these in mint condition for that price, he hit a home run

Also, Marlin did make other lever action 22s and 22 mags in their Levermatic 56 and 57 series in the 50s though 60s. My first ever 22 rifle, in fact, was a Marlin 56 in 22 LR. The levermatics, though, were nowhere near the same gun as the 39 or 1894s in terms of design or build quality. They were more a lever gun version of the Marlin Model 60, though they did have walnut stocks with the traditional Marlin bullseye.

[cooperhawk]

Well, it takes a big big man to admit he was wrong, and to a female at that. Carol would chuckle, (if I were to tell her, which I will not),
but North Country Gal, you are correct.
I haven't had my .22s out in quite a while so I just did, and guess what, the 39A is a take down. Also my 9422 is a take down but someone in the past tried to and scratched the finish down to bare metal. Only flaw on an otherwise perfect rifle.
I also have a Marlin 1892 .32 Long Colt that isn't a take down, but has a side plate that comes off for cleaning. According to the serial # it was made somewhere around 1910 and is in pretty nice condition. I of course have to hand load for it, but it's fun to shoot. Like a great big .22 Short. Standing behind the shooter you can even see the bullet in flight. Then when that big lead bullet hits, splat! I've had it for over fifty years, and no, it isn't for sale.

[cooperhawk]

The Marlins are nice but the fit and finish on the Henry and Winchester are better.
I also have quite a few Rugers and like them a lot so I hope Ruger makes Marlin famous again.
They have the knowledge.
I have two of the Ruger Red Label shotguns that I shoot trap and skeet with and like them a lot, especially for the price.
I as well have two Winchester Model 12 shotguns. One field grade and one trap grade. Pretty old guns. One was my Father's.

[North Country Gal]

I appreciate that very much, cooperhawk. Thank-you. I was really trying to elaborate on what I posted earlier in the thread, then thought about it, later, and was worried I may have offended, so was planing to delete it. Again, thank-you.

Those old Marlins made prior to WWII were actually considered higher grade lever guns than the Winchesters of their era. This I didn't know that until talking to a renowned Winchester collector who lives in our area. He actually retired on the profit he made selling his huge collection of Winchesters he accumulated over his lifetime. His favorite 22 lever gun and one he still shoots is his Marlin 39A, of course.

I've had several Model 12s of varying vintages, but they just didn't fit me with my short arms because I had to reach too far to work the pump. Beautiful guns, though. Always did better with the Ithaca 37 and the 870 as far as fit.

I drooled and lusted after that original Red Label 20 gauge when it first came out, but could never fit it in the budget. I got to shoot one years, later, that a shooting friend let me try and loved it. His was a first year gun. Very sad when Ruger dropped that one and now those early blued 20s with the red pad and fixed chokes are hard to find.

Yes, I do hope Ruger can do their part to keep Marlins going, all the more so because Ruger is an American company. Just seems right.

[Vaquero]

I also have a Marlin 1892 .32 Long Colt that isn't a take down, but has a side plate that comes off for cleaning. According to the serial # it was made somewhere around 1910 and is in pretty nice condition. I of course have to hand load for it, but it's fun to shoot. Like a great big .22 Short. Standing behind the shooter you can even see the bullet in flight. Then when that big lead bullet hits, splat! I've had it for over fifty years, and no, it isn't for sale.

Hey Coop, I also have one of those, and yes it's a hoot to shoot.
I believe mine is from 1899,

RP