Marlin Model 56

T

TacticalCanuck

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Location
SW Ontario
Hi CGN,

Long story short, I can get my stinkin little mitts on a pretty good condition Marlin Model 56. Having one hell of a time finding out anything about them however. All I know for certain is that they were made through the late 50's to '61 or so. The action is a 'levermatic' which only has a 25 degree swing to it. You don't have to take your hand off the stock.

it is all original and in really good shape considering it's age. The stock has some beautiful tiger stripe markings on it.

Owner says he hasn't shot it in 40 years. I wiped it down, put a little dab of oil on the action, clean it up, ran a patch down the pristine bore (it looks fantastic, rifling is crisp all the way down) slapped a Bushnell XTC DOA on it, zeroed it and proceeded to one hole at 50 yards rested on my bunched up coat.

A couple of concerns however.

1) It jams on the first round about 75% of the time. I figured out that you really need to work that action, good kick back and forward, and then it seems to cycle well. But it still jams on that first round often. Frustrating. But then, its a tack driver in every sense when it does......(not using the original magazine though, he says he has it, and i want to have a go with it)

2) What's it worth? I have seen between 1 and 200 bucks and then I have seen 400 bucks.

I have the original card that was on it, with a cut out mail in form for - MARLIN RAZORS lol :D

All in all it really seems to be a very interesting piece of firearm history, and I am considering it. There is a minor crack just behind the receiver on the stock, but I know I can fix that up and make it almost non-existent.

I will try to get a pic up shortly.
 
I had one for a bit, it was absolutely mint but I recently sold it for about $400. I couldn't believe the accuracy!! like yours, it was a 1 hole wonder. I just couldn't get into the stock though , it was too squared and chunky for me. Not sure about the first round jamming, maybe stiff mag spring?
 
The Model 56 and 57's were made from 1956 to 1963. About 30,000 produced of each. They are accurate but complicated to take apart. Yours may need a good clean. When you take it apart, the housing that guides the bullet into the barrel comes apart into two pieces. It has a molded pin that fits the opposite piece. I noticed another hole, so I took a finishing nail and ground it down to fit and then used the belt sander to cut it down to fit. That seems to align both pieces and makes them fit closer together. Got rid of the 1st bullet not loading into the barrel.

I've owned several of them, great shooters, fun guns. The two I had were minty and sold them for $500-600, can't remember exactly. The one I kept is in a Bishops Custom stock and I love shooting it.

PM Sent
 
I've got one too. Lived in my grandparents basement for who knows how long. The barrel has some surface rust and the stock has water marks. The stock was easy enough to polish up but the rust is another story.

It's also a great shooter.



It's going to drive me nuts until I fix it.

 
The action evolved from a lever action 12ga shotgun design made by Kessler.
.30 Carbine was a chambering. I have a NOS unfinished .30 barrel for one in my hoard of stuff.
 
Ya that is a nice stock! I'm lucky the one I can get has zero rusting or pitting and blue is full. 2 small scratches that you need to look for thats it.


plowboy87 said:
I've got one too. Lived in my grandparents basement for who knows how long. The barrel has some surface rust and the stock has water marks. The stock was easy enough to polish up but the rust is another story.

It's also a great shooter.



It's going to drive me nuts until I fix it.

Click to expand...
 
Great little gun. This was the first gun I ever got. My father gave it to me and my brothers back in the early sixties. Most accurate 22 I have ever fired. Still have it. One unusual thing about this one...it has no serial number. I read about it somewhere and at that time of manufacture serial numbers were not mandatory for 22's. Apparently this changed within a short time and serial numbers were stamped on subseqent models.
The only issue I had was the firing pin. Had to have it replaced way back in the eighties. Even have a letter from Marlin with parts diagram and a page from the original catalogue. I'd never sell this one.




 
They were never serial numbered, unless the export market they were built for demanded it by law.

After GCA68, they, and everything else, .22 or not, all had serials.

Being this rifle ended production before 1968, the ones we see up here, and the USA, none are serial numbered.

Great rifle, have long wanted one!
 
gunrunner100 said:
I have an original mag still in the grease if anyone needs one.
Click to expand...

How much do you want for it? I might be interested.

No serial number here ether. I always thought it was odd but didn't put much thought into it.

If your looking to break it down, clean it and put it back together this is the best guide I have found.

w w w.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=455606
 
Thanks for all the great information folks. I have 3 mags, 2 12 rounds and 1 7. love another 7 round mag the 12 round mags feed like crap.

That rimfire article is the bomb, there is no better info on these guns anywhere else that I could find. Wayne ROCKS!
 
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