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My Marlin 39M project


AV8R317

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Just got my first 39. It’s a 1982 JM original golden 39M micro groove. Got it for $600. It’s in rough shape cosmetically, lots of pitting on the barrel and receiver, few small dents to the wood furniture here and there, and could use a refinish. However the bore is nice and shiny, rifling looks good, and the action feels smooth, although I think with some fine grit sandpaper I can make it better. I bought it because I like projects, and I’ve been looking for a good 39 for a while now. Want to restore it for a weekend shooter. I’m thinking that most of the pits can be dealt with by careful use of a drawfile and sandpaper. Don’t mind leaving a few pits here and there, as I think it adds character. Then again, my OCD may dictate otherwise. I plan to finish with mark lees rust blue. I’m a little less comfortable with the wood aspect, but I figure between the existing posts on the subject, y’all’s advice, and a willingness to put in the work I’ll do just fine. I’d appreciate any suggestions for things to look at, parts to inspect and/or replace, methods for refinishing both the metal and wood, and any other comments y’all have. 

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Sir 

 

   given what I see in the pics 

 

  I would suggest Dura Fill , followed up with Blue DuraCoat 

 

  the pitting looks to be pretty deep , and in places where I do not think it can  be removed , with out a lot of waves in the metal 

 

  Good luck , with the project 

 

  Chickasaw Bill 

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If the outside of the barrel is severely corroded, so will the inside be.  M39 barrels were not chrome lined.   Several take-off barrels are shown at Ebay, and that's the only path to victory.  This is particularly concerning as the most severe corrosion is at the muzzle of the barrel -- the part that most affects accuracy.  With regard to the receiver, be sure to do all the work with the receiver assembled.  The edges of the joint between the two receiver halves will be easily rounded off it you work on it disassembled.   Here's one example of barrel offerings at Ebay:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/195636335017?hash=item2d8cd591a9:g:4cMAAOSwiJdkAsGi

 

Good luck with your project.

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1 hour ago, August West, SASS #45079 said:

If the outside of the barrel is severely corroded, so will the inside be.  M39 barrels were not chrome lined.   Several take-off barrels are shown at Ebay, and that's the only path to victory.  This is particularly concerning as the most severe corrosion is at the muzzle of the barrel -- the part that most affects accuracy.  With regard to the receiver, be sure to do all the work with the receiver assembled.  The edges of the joint between the two receiver halves will be easily rounded off it you work on it disassembled.   Here's one example of barrel offerings at Ebay:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/195636335017?hash=item2d8cd591a9:g:4cMAAOSwiJdkAsGi

 

Good luck with your project.


To my eye, the bore looks to be shiny, and the rifling sharp and well defined. This is just from what I can see with a flashlight looking through both the chamber and muzzle end. I test fired it at the range today and got what I consider to be satisfactory results. I am by no means a great shooter, and I probably didn’t do it justice. Here are my results at 45 yards, standing. (bottom left was 25 yards). Does this look to be about right for a fairly skilled shooter?

 

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"Rode hard and put away wet" is what I thought when I saw your pictures.

 

Glad it shoots good.

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A good Mountie should (from a benchrest) shoot a 1" group at 25 yards, or smaller, in the hands of a qualified marksman.  But 22 rifle accuracy depends a lot on the ammo matching what the rifle wants to shoot.  So, try several different brands.  Especially including Federal 711B standard velocity target ammunition, which for lots of my 22s gives premium accuracy. 

 

"Restoring" that gun will mean a trip to a professional restoration shop.  Set aside $500 or so for that route.  

 

If the function of the gun is fine, I'd swallow some pride and just shoot it as is.  As mentioned above, your filing and sanding on it will make things worse, because of the depth of the pits.  To make those pits disappear will need them to be filled with weld steel and then carefully brought back to original shape - not a job for a first timer or without a ton of tools.   I've cleaned up maybe 20 old guns, and never tried working on one that deeply pitted.   And doing a whole gun with any cold blue is about 100% guaranteed to give a disappointing, thin, shallow, mottled result that rubs off easily.

 

Stock refinishing is easy compared to the metal.   Not that pics of the stock indicate major problems there.  Again, I'd leave the wood alone, too, and just shoot it.  But if you do want to freshen the wood, DO NOT SAND off the old finish.  Instead, chemically strip old finish and use only VERY fine sandpaper to dewhisker before re-oiling.   Tru-Oil linseed oil based gun finish will get you a finish that is very durable and easily touched up. 

 

good luck, GJ

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1 hour ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

A good Mountie should (from a benchrest) shoot a 1" group at 25 yards, or smaller, in the hands of a qualified marksman.  But 22 rifle accuracy depends a lot on the ammo matching what the rifle wants to shoot.  So, try several different brands.  Especially including Federal 711B standard velocity target ammunition, which for lots of my 22s gives premium accuracy. 

 

"Restoring" that gun will mean a trip to a professional restoration shop.  Set aside $500 or so for that route.  

 

If the function of the gun is fine, I'd swallow some pride and just shoot it as is.  As mentioned above, your filing and sanding on it will make things worse, because of the depth of the pits.  To make those pits disappear will need them to be filled with weld steel and then carefully brought back to original shape - not a job for a first timer or without a ton of tools.   I've cleaned up maybe 20 old guns, and never tried working on one that deeply pitted.   And doing a whole gun with any cold blue is about 100% guaranteed to give a disappointing, thin, shallow, mottled result that rubs off easily.

 

Stock refinishing is easy compared to the metal.   Not that pics of the stock indicate major problems there.  Again, I'd leave the wood alone, too, and just shoot it.  But if you do want to freshen the wood, DO NOT SAND off the old finish.  Instead, chemically strip old finish and use only VERY fine sandpaper to dewhisker before re-oiling.   Tru-Oil linseed oil based gun finish will get you a finish that is very durable and easily touched up. 

 

good luck, GJ


I’m not altogether disagreeing with you, and you make some valid points, however, I would like to mention a few things. I said rust bluing, not cold blue. Rust bluing is supposedly one of the most durable treatments you can do. As far as cold bluing goes I completely agree. As far as taking it to a shop, I was planning on doing the work myself. I have done the slides and barrels on a couple cheap pistols that turned out very well, and am confident that I could replicate my work on this gun. I plan on bringing the entire surface of the barrel down, not just trying to file the pits, so waviness shouldn’t be an issue. Swallowing my pride is sound advice. The only problem is I can’t resist trying to fix things, and it hurts me to see such a fine firearm in such poor shape. I will have to shoot from a bench to see if it is me (as I suspect) or the gun that is to blame for the groupings. However, I am already satisfied with what I got, as I only intend to use it as a weekend range gun. I do not intend to sell it, so keeping any of the value by not working on it is no concern to me. Thank you very much for your input sir, and I will for sure be doing some thinking and more research before I attempt anything. 

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That deeply pitted magazine tube will give you the most immediate problems as you try to fix and shoot it.  Depth of that pitting looks like it will compromise the strength of the tube, and I'd estimate you will not be able to bring down the surface to good level metal.  And unfortunately, parts for a Marlin 39M are in VERY short supply, Ruger has not decided to make new Marlin 39s, and they have recently announced they are not supplying any parts or work on any pre-Ruger made Marlins of any model.  

 

If you had volunteered your previous experience with some reworking of pistols, then suggestions could have been more focused on what would suit your skill level. 

 

Good luck with your work.  Make it meet the needs for what you want to do with it. 

 

GJ

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Since the gun actually works, I'd be hesitant to do anything to it.   It may look beat up and ugly but that gives it some character.

 

That being said, I had an 1898 Krag that had some pretty nasty pitting where the stock meets the metal, and while everything functioned as it was, it was starting to get some rust in areas where you don't want to have rust.

So I had the thing reblued by a local gunsmith.   He took care not to obliterate any markings, and the pits are still there.   But now it is still shootable and will not degrade any further.   If you do anything, that's the route I would take.   I think that all that pitting with a good bluing would look pretty interesting.

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15 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

A good Mountie should (from a benchrest) shoot a 1" group at 25 yards, or smaller, in the hands of a qualified marksman.  But 22 rifle accuracy depends a lot on the ammo matching what the rifle wants to shoot.  So, try several different brands.  Especially including Federal 711B standard velocity target ammunition, which for lots of my 22s gives premium accuracy. 

 

"Restoring" that gun will mean a trip to a professional restoration shop.  Set aside $500 or so for that route.  

 

If the function of the gun is fine, I'd swallow some pride and just shoot it as is.  As mentioned above, your filing and sanding on it will make things worse, because of the depth of the pits.  To make those pits disappear will need them to be filled with weld steel and then carefully brought back to original shape - not a job for a first timer or without a ton of tools.   I've cleaned up maybe 20 old guns, and never tried working on one that deeply pitted.   And doing a whole gun with any cold blue is about 100% guaranteed to give a disappointing, thin, shallow, mottled result that rubs off easily.

 

Stock refinishing is easy compared to the metal.   Not that pics of the stock indicate major problems there.  Again, I'd leave the wood alone, too, and just shoot it.  But if you do want to freshen the wood, DO NOT SAND off the old finish.  Instead, chemically strip old finish and use only VERY fine sandpaper to dewhisker before re-oiling.   Tru-Oil linseed oil based gun finish will get you a finish that is very durable and easily touched up. 

 

good luck, GJ

+1 on the Federal 711s. They are the most accurate in all my .22s as well.

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15 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

That deeply pitted magazine tube will give you the most immediate problems as you try to fix and shoot it.  Depth of that pitting looks like it will compromise the strength of the tube, and I'd estimate you will not be able to bring down the surface to good level metal.  And unfortunately, parts for a Marlin 39M are in VERY short supply, Ruger has not decided to make new Marlin 39s, and they have recently announced they are not supplying any parts or work on any pre-Ruger made Marlins of any model.  

 

If you had volunteered your previous experience with some reworking of pistols, then suggestions could have been more focused on what would suit your skill level. 

 

Good luck with your work.  Make it meet the needs for what you want to do with it. 

 

GJ


My apologies, I should have mentioned my previous experience beforehand. And I agree in regards to the mag tube, which is why I will most likely be leaving it alone and/or possibly keeping an eye out for a new one if I get so lucky. If you have any suggestions on places I could watch out for one I’d appreciate the info. As far as the rest, I’m more concerned with doing the barrel and the receiver, because even if I can’t get it all, I figure it will at least look a lot better. And I think that refinishing the stock will at most help to accentuate the wood a little better. Thanks for the input!

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9 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Since the gun actually works, I'd be hesitant to do anything to it.   It may look beat up and ugly but that gives it some character.

 

That being said, I had an 1898 Krag that had some pretty nasty pitting where the stock meets the metal, and while everything functioned as it was, it was starting to get some rust in areas where you don't want to have rust.

So I had the thing reblued by a local gunsmith.   He took care not to obliterate any markings, and the pits are still there.   But now it is still shootable and will not degrade any further.   If you do anything, that's the route I would take.   I think that all that pitting with a good bluing would look pretty interesting.


I think everyone’s opinion on what constitutes “character” tends to vary. For me, I actually prefer a gun that has good honest wear to it. Minor wear to the bluing, scuffs, rub marks, light patina, etc. all adds to the charm of the gun in my opinion. However, unless in the case of a ding or scratch that has a story behind it, things like pitting, excessive rust, dents, and dings all scream neglected and abused by someone who did not appreciate what they had or didn’t know any better. The gentleman I bought it from told me that it actually was treated and re-blued, so the pitting is inert. However, it is excessive to a point that to me, is beyond acceptable, so I will most likely refinish and reblue it. 

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5 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

+1 on the Federal 711s. They are the most accurate in all my .22s as well.


I will have to give them a try! But in my case, I probably improve my shooting first!

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4 hours ago, AV8R317 said:


I think everyone’s opinion on what constitutes “character” tends to vary. For me, I actually prefer a gun that has good honest wear to it. Minor wear to the bluing, scuffs, rub marks, light patina, etc. all adds to the charm of the gun in my opinion. However, unless in the case of a ding or scratch that has a story behind it, things like pitting, excessive rust, dents, and dings all scream neglected and abused by someone who did not appreciate what they had or didn’t know any better. The gentleman I bought it from told me that it actually was treated and re-blued, so the pitting is inert. However, it is excessive to a point that to me, is beyond acceptable, so I will most likely refinish and reblue it. 

  Fair enough, especially since it's not already the original finish.

IF, and I don't know, IF that pitting can be "filled in" somehow, and the gun made to look like new, that IS a viable course of action to take.   But I'd make a wild guess and say it's expensive to do that.

BUT, if you can afford it, really wanna do it, and think it will enhance your appreciation of ownership, then by all means, go for it.

I have a horribly refinished Colt that I often consider restoring, but just don't wanna spend the money.  :)

 

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13 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

  Fair enough, especially since it's not already the original finish.

IF, and I don't know, IF that pitting can be "filled in" somehow, and the gun made to look like new, that IS a viable course of action to take.   But I'd make a wild guess and say it's expensive to do that.

BUT, if you can afford it, really wanna do it, and think it will enhance your appreciation of ownership, then by all means, go for it.

I have a horribly refinished Colt that I often consider restoring, but just don't wanna spend the money.  :)

 


Well that’s where me being a mechanic comes in. Not only does it give me enough confidence to try it myself, I literally have no other option since I don’t make enough to pay someone to do it for me lol! Jokes aside, I have done a few cheap pistols that had some minor pitting to them with a draw file, some sandpaper, and Mark Lee’s rust bluing solution and they turned out very well. It is a slow meticulous process, but one that I rather enjoy, and almost find therapeutic. Here’s some pics of one of the pistols I did that had rust and pitting on the slide. Don’t have a before pic unfortunately. 

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Fuel tank located in the center section of the top wing had a leak so we had to replace it. The kicker is, the person that built it installed the dang thing wrong so we had to essentially rip the wing open to get the tank out as opposed to just lifting it out. Been a hell of a job. We’re reinstalling the top wing today, nine months later. 

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