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marlin lever action 1891? questions

4335 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  AnomDeGuerre
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this old marlin was my father's stepfather's gun until it broke, we figure that occurred around 1935 or 36 as it was replaced with a winchester model 69 that we believe he bought new.

anyways, i'm not exactly sure what it is... i think it's a model 1891 with a caliber of .32 rimfire. i calipered the end of the barrel but it varies depending how far the calipers are inserted. hoping someone here can enlighten me as to what exactly it is.

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I suggest you call or email Steve at this link with pictures of what you have. He is the foremost expert on old Winchesters, Marlins, and the newer Rossi. What you have is a family heirloom that deserves to be fixed by someone that knows what he is doing.
https://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=contact_us&zenid=k463amgafj186hbfk5p3o871l7
twobit... thanks for the information on steve.

i guess i should clarify that 'broken' means just one piece (as near as i can tell) in the action. the action does function once or twice if the broken part is placed in there just right. i've included a picture of the broken piece which i believe to be the carrier rocker. other than that the gun appears to just need a darn good cleaning. i know the .32 rimfire is nigh impossible to find so i plan on getting (or making) the centerfire firing pin for it.

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thanks hossfly. they have a great selection of parts there. the carrier rocker is out of stock at numrich but i did find one at wisners.

i ran the serial and it was manufactured in 1893. i was tinkering with it this morning and found out by inspecting the firing pin that it's actually a .22. happy day! at least ammo won't be hard to come by or expensive. i figure i probably don't want to shoot hyper velocity rounds through this gun?

i've been searching the web for a decent teardown walk through and have come up empty. i'm not scared to take something apart and put it back together, but i'm not sure of any caveats of this gun that i might need to be aware of and don't want to make more work for myself than necessary. :)
I've got the same rifle in .22 that I've been wanting to bring back to firing condition. Had it for a few years now, thought the octagon barrel was cool, and, I was offered this rifle for 20 bucks, I'll buy any complete firearm that... Let us all know how you make out on restoring yours. I will be especially interested in the parts source, or the gunsmith you choose.
munch... will do, it might be awhile before i get around to it... ice fishing season is here :)

beth... thanks! i surely will.
just a quick update on where i am at with this gun. there's a winchester model 1893 shotgun that needs a good cleaning too. i can't hardly wait to shoot some black powder shells through that!

the marlin 1891 is fully disassembled and is getting a good cleaning and fresh oiling to stop any further corrosion. i plugged the barrel (with a wooden golf tee), filled it with pb blaster and let it sit for a week before i ran a cleaning brush down it. what was a dark hole now has some shine back to it. there is some minor pitting but i expected that. it's in the middle of a second barrel fill and soak now.

some parts are missing; extractor, ejector and the spring for the tube magazine.
i discovered that besides the carrier rocker, the cartridge stop is also broken.
$50 to $70 for parts, some tlc and elbow grease and i should have a shooter by spring.
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