stiff action on a Marlin Golden 39a

[Guest 70below]

I recently bought a used Marlin Original Golden 39a like I used to have when I was a kid. Its in great shape and doesn't appear to have too much use. The action seems much stiffer than the one I had as a kid. Anybody know the secret (besides shooting a dozen bricks of ammo through it) to smoothing up the action on it? It seems to open fine but about 2/3 the way through the levers stroke it gets really stiff. Thanks!

[Westwindmike]

Maybe a good clean and lube would help. May have not been cleaned in years.

Congrats on finding a really great rifle.

[Guest 70below]

Yeah, I've had it apart and cleaned it thoroughly.....I cleaned it like it was my first born as soon as I got it home. I'm thinking maybe a tad of gun grease here or there as opposed to a standard oil might smooth it a bit...I was thinking about ordering some Miltec-1 as I've heard good things about it. I'm thinking that it just may not have seen much use and so still has a bit of roughness, maybe there are a couple spots that i might do some light polishing?

Edited December 21, 2008 by 70below
poor spelling

[TripleDigitRide]

Yeah, I've had it apart and cleaned it thoroughly.....I cleaned it like it was my first born as soon as I got it home. I'm thinking maybe a tad of gun grease here or there as opposed to a standard oil might smooth it a bit...I was thinking about ordering some Miltec-1 as I've heard good things about it. I'm thinking that it just may not have seen much use and so still has a bit of roughness, maybe there are a couple spots that i might do some light polishing?

I'm a big fan of Militec-1. Just remember, it's heat activated.

In the short term, just to loosen things up, I'm not sure it'll be the answer to your problem.

[Guest 70below]

I just pulled it apart again and made sure I didn't miss anything, wiped it all down and put a dab of lithium grease in a couple spots and it seems quite a bit smoother. Also, I think I may have had the take down screwed in a bit too tightly, I notice I can make it worse by cranking down on it with my fingers or letting up on it a bit. It seems considerably more comfortable to cycle now.

[JeffsSig]

I recently bought a used Marlin Original Golden 39a like I used to have when I was a kid. Its in great shape and doesn't appear to have too much use. The action seems much stiffer than the one I had as a kid. Anybody know the secret (besides shooting a dozen bricks of ammo through it) to smoothing up the action on it? It seems to open fine but about 2/3 the way through the levers stroke it gets really stiff. Thanks!

Your getting OLDER now and maybe weaker?

[Guest 70below]

Lol....could be.....getting soft in my old age I guess....

[Guest gcrookston]

These are my favorite 22 rifles and I've owned several dozen over the years (though I confess the newest one was never beyond the mid 1960's).

There is a center knurled take down screw. Unscrew it, break the rifle apart, exposing the clockworks. Give it a good cleaning, reassemble using light oil and grease (grease on the bolt and lever pivot pin with Tetra's or Slick 50), lightly oil the rest with such as BFCLP. Hand tighten the screw -- not too tight, just hand-tight. You should be good to go for the next 40 or 50 years.

Other than removing the bolt for thorough cleaning, further disassembly should not be required.

Edited December 22, 2008 by gcrookston

[Guest gcrookston]

I just pulled it apart again and made sure I didn't miss anything, wiped it all down and put a dab of lithium grease in a couple spots and it seems quite a bit smoother. Also, I think I may have had the take down screwed in a bit too tightly, I notice I can make it worse by cranking down on it with my fingers or letting up on it a bit. It seems considerably more comfortable to cycle now.

Just read this after posting the above. Ya, that's that ticket. I bought one of these (a model 39 made in 1921), that was sold "as is", as it couldn't be levered. It couldn't be levered because the gun was full of axle grease that had solidified and someone had taken pliers to the assembly screw to tighten it. I picked up an un-buggered screw from gunpartscorp.