So I'm in the market for a lever action .30-30. I've been shopping around a lot. I found a Western Field 740A, which is a rebranded Marlin 336. It was made in late 60s, and it's probably 70-80%. The bore is clean, and the action is smooth. However, I have one concern.
When the hammer is down, the lever doesn't quite want to stay latched up. When the hammer is cocked, it's snaps up tight and stays there.
The shop owner seemed to know only know the bare basics of the gun (I guess we can't expect them to know everything about every model).
So is this is common problem? Is it easy to fix? Does it even matter?
I want to buy the gun. You can't hunt deer with rifles in Ohio, so .30-30 lever guns seem pretty rare. I've had a few folks offer to sell me new Marlins (by Remington), but I'm not interested in the potential problems, and I don't want a new gun anyway. I've had a heck of time finding anything. All that being said, I don't want to spend money on something that's worn out or have serious problems.
When the hammer is down, the lever doesn't quite want to stay latched up. When the hammer is cocked, it's snaps up tight and stays there.
The shop owner seemed to know only know the bare basics of the gun (I guess we can't expect them to know everything about every model).
So is this is common problem? Is it easy to fix? Does it even matter?
I want to buy the gun. You can't hunt deer with rifles in Ohio, so .30-30 lever guns seem pretty rare. I've had a few folks offer to sell me new Marlins (by Remington), but I'm not interested in the potential problems, and I don't want a new gun anyway. I've had a heck of time finding anything. All that being said, I don't want to spend money on something that's worn out or have serious problems.