Chamber issues with a Model 39A Marlin

G

galamb

CGN frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I recently acquired a 1950's model 39A that was beaten up some over the years - got it for nothing, so figured I would take a look.

The magazine tube had been separated from the lug holding it - straightened that out and got it soldered back in place so that it now functions properly.

Tore it down, cleaned everything up and now have the action working well.

The issue now is, someone really messed with this and when you try to chamber a round, initially it wouldn't even go into the throat - it was just gunked up/closed in and deformed too much (don't know what they did - maybe tried to dig out a stuck case or something.

Cleaned it out as best I could with solvent, brushes etc and got it now that a round will go in but on cycling the action every third or fourth round will kinda drag/get stuck a little (feel the stick/hesitation) and if I cycle it back out there is a noticeable scuff mark on the nose of the bullet.

So question is, can I "safely" chamfer the outside edge of the throat/chamber a little to try and relieve the sharp edge. I'm fairly certain that would alleviate the issue?

Or is this something I should either leave in the safe or get it into a shop to have looked at. The latter is almost a non-starter. Don't want to sink much money into this little rifle.
 
galamb said:
I recently acquired a 1950's model 39A that was beaten up some over the years - got it for nothing, so figured I would take a look.

The magazine tube had been separated from the lug holding it - straightened that out and got it soldered back in place so that it now functions properly.

Tore it down, cleaned everything up and now have the action working well.

The issue now is, someone really messed with this and when you try to chamber a round, initially it wouldn't even go into the throat - it was just gunked up/closed in and deformed too much (don't know what they did - maybe tried to dig out a stuck case or something.

Cleaned it out as best I could with solvent, brushes etc and got it now that a round will go in but on cycling the action every third or fourth round will kinda drag/get stuck a little (feel the stick/hesitation) and if I cycle it back out there is a noticeable scuff mark on the nose of the bullet.

So question is, can I "safely" chamfer the outside edge of the throat/chamber a little to try and relieve the sharp edge. I'm fairly certain that would alleviate the issue?

Or is this something I should either leave in the safe or get it into a shop to have looked at. The latter is almost a non-starter. Don't want to sink much money into this little rifle.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't do that! Buy or borrow a chamber iron. It will swage the chamber back into shape rather than removing any material. Far better option than anything else for this job.
 
something might be a little out of spec with the feed mechanism on the rifle which is causing the bullet to catch the edge of the chamber on the way in. I have several rimfire firearms and they all have sharp edges on the chamber. I would also strongly advise that you do not chamfer this edge as this is what supports the case. you would create a "headspace" problem, which is not a good situation. a rimfire chamber iron is very useful for those firearms which have been dry fired and have peened material from the edge of the barrel into the chamber. identify the problem before you attempt any repairs.
 
Yes, the lever was "sloppy" - a bushing got that tightened up nicely.

After doing some reading on the chamber iron and it's use in fixing up problems caused by repeated dry fires, that sounds very much like the problem (dry fires).

When I chamber a round (not everyone, but often enough) it kinda "holds up" - if I eject the unfired round there is a gouge/rub that leaves a flat spot on one side just between the nose of the bullet and the case.

After marking the round (with a magic marker) just before it's chambered to get some orientation, it does appear that the "rub" is occurring adjacent to the firing pin.

So for the 25 bucks or so for an iron, I will give that a try.

The rifle fires otherwise, ejects fine etc, just want to take care of the deformed bullets and turn her into a fully functional gun.

She is in fairly nice shape for being born in 1956 :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom