Lever action feeding problem...can somebody help me diagnose?

mr00jimbo

mr00jimbo

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I have a Marlin 1894 Cowboy in 357/38. I purchased it used on the EE and it's a beautiful rifle. Anyway, I have yet to fire it but I bought some .38 snap caps for function testing. I cycled them through and one of them completely locked up the action in the open position. I put a flashlight through the ejection port to see that nothing was on the carrier...the snap cap was still inside the magazine, and the carrier was in the down position unable to lift up. I used a small flathead to push the snap cap in a little bit and it freed up the action. I went crazy trying to replicate this jam. Then I showed the gun to my girlfriend and how to cycle it, and she ran into the same problem.

When I work the action slowly, it sometimes hangs up and I have to pull the lever back to eject the round halfway, but when I work it briskly it doesn't do that.
I put the snap caps through again to see if I could replicate the jam. I put 6 in, and after 2, I was cycling the action and nothing was coming out of the gun. Confused, I looked and no rounds were on the carrier. I could see that the snap cap was in the magazine...only it was pressed about 1/2" into the tube and was not at the end of the tube waiting to feed. I pushed it with my screwdriver again and it popped onto the carrier.

I seem to have intermittent issues feeding the rounds from the magazine tube onto the carrier. Either they protrude too far and jam the carrier down, or the spring binds and the rounds go too far into the mag tube.

Any ideas of what could be causing it and how to solve it? Weak mag spring?
 
hmm, I can't directly help you on it, but I am also interested in a 38/357 lever.
As much research that I have done, I learned that those particular rifles between certain dates are horrible for fit and function. There are websites with a wealth of info on what to file and polish if you are feeling adventurous. (on my cell atm, sorry don't have links). or have a Smith look at it.
if you are not the adventurous type, for the right selling price, I may take the chance if you are interested. I'm local to you.
 
Hi Emmer,
Thank you for the reply. :)

It's a JM marked Marlin from before the quality control fiasco. It's a beautiful rifle, I just want to get this little problem diagnosed. I don't plan on selling it now, but if I do decide to I shall let you know for sure. :)
I wonder if this has something to do with me feeding it .38 snap caps?

Check out the new 1892 rifles, they're a hell of a blast.
 
I heard that they cycle 357 better than 38 . Also levers can be finnicky , take it and shoot it and make sure you work the lever with authority, they like that. Keep us posted.
 
It did freeze up once when cycling snap caps briskly but happens pretty infrequently. It seems that the snap cap is either sticking out from the magazine too much (on occasion) or going too far in. I'm wondering if it's a problem with the mag spring binding or the length of the snap cap.
 
Lever guns often have feeding difficulties with shorter cartridges. (IE: 38 special vs .357 magnum, .44 special vs .44 mag.) Also, sharp shoulder boolits like Keith Type can cause hang ups on the chamber mouth.

Full length brass and round nose, or round nose flat points work best in short action lever guns.:)
 
There is lots of good info on the Marlin lever if you do a google search. I have the same gun as you and same vintage. Bought it unfired off EE also. I had some weird inconsistent feeding issues. I took it apart and did some smoothing. That helped a LOT for me. Also, I recommend you check for a line that developes in the lifter. If you do too much "levering" with it before checking this out, you may just make a worse mess of it. Finally, I was able to obtain some 357 snap caps that have a nice round nose, that are very good for a lever action, not the flat style that are good for revolvers. Feel free to PM me if you want more details. Otherwise good luck and have fun with it. Mine is smmooooth as silk now!
 
NVShooter said:
There is lots of good info on the Marlin lever if you do a google search. I have the same gun as you and same vintage. Bought it unfired off EE also. I had some weird inconsistent feeding issues. I took it apart and did some smoothing. That helped a LOT for me. Also, I recommend you check for a line that developes in the lifter. If you do too much "levering" with it before checking this out, you may just make a worse mess of it. Finally, I was able to obtain some 357 snap caps that have a nice round nose, that are very good for a lever action, not the flat style that are good for revolvers. Feel free to PM me if you want more details. Otherwise good luck and have fun with it. Mine is smmooooth as silk now!
Click to expand...

How do I check the lifter? Does the gun have to be disassembled to see the line? Also, would a new lifter installed to replace the old one, plus the radius put on the snail cam of the lever?
 
mr00jimbo said:
How do I check the lifter? Does the gun have to be disassembled to see the line? Also, would a new lifter installed to replace the old one, plus the radius put on the snail cam of the lever?
Click to expand...

Similar procedure as cleaning...you have to remove the lever to remove the bolt for cleaning. Start there. If you can't find the remainder of the instructions (minor disassembly) on-line, PM me and I can e-mail them to you. I caught mine in time so didn't have to replace the lifter, just smoothed it out where the line was forming. Also "yes" on putting a more rounded radius on the cam of the lever.
 
Take the gun apart and check where the mag tube connects with the receiver. Check for burrs and other machining issues. Remove the loading gate and polish the inner side until super smooth. Quite a lot of interruptions from the mag are the result of a burr on the inner loading gate slowing or stopping the rounds. Go to Marlin Owners they have all the info you need to get that 94 running like it should. All are do it your self remedies without having to send the rifle away for repair.

Darryl
 
The problem of not feeding out of the mag tube will definitely be from an abnormality in the tube...either it has been crimped at the end or has a dent in it to hamper smooth travel of the shells/follower. I usually fix this with an expander plug (sized to fit the original mag ID) of some sort pushed/hammered into the tube so there is no obstruction left.

The second problem of feeding .38 into a Marlin is easily overcome if you hand load. If OAL is corrected they will feed both semi-wadcutters and round nose flat point equally as well. I have done extensive trials on them and have found that every 94 Marlin I've ever tried will feed a .38 round that has a OAL of 1.515". Any other length will require all sorts of double clutching/assorted contortions to get them to feed. To have a OAL of 1.515 you will have to seat the bullets so that the crimp is half way between the first grease groove and the crimp groove (it doesn't effect accuracy or performance adversely). I've done 10's of thousands of rounds this way for the wife's Marlins. I've timed her many times with both her guns at under 6 seconds for ten shots with .38 rounds. They and every other Marlin I've tried them in they eat them like candy.

if you don't hand load I would suggest only .357 mag will be your huckleberry.
 
I had a Marlin in 357/38 special . It fed 357's perfectly , but didn't like to feed 38's very well . In the end I just loaded reduced loads in 357 cases and never had a problem after that . I'm sure there is a mechanical fix , but I'm kinda lazy lol .
 
Just google "marlin jam"
I had an older Marlin 1894 in 44 mag that jammed relentlessly. Seemed like nothing I could do would fix it. Traded it off for a Ruger single six and lived happily ever after.
 
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