The Marlin Jam

I have seem plenty of the 44 mag marlins jam. It's more then an operator's error. I first learned about this with the 44mag back in the 70's. And then I purchased one almost new and it evenually started jamming after a couple hundred rounds. Back then there was a gun dealer I frequented that would not hardly even trade for a used Marlin 44mag because of the jamming issue and having people come back on him.

You would think after a hundred years they could cure the problem. I had one 1895 in 45/70 that gave a little trouble. However, I had a 336 in 30/30 that always worked fine. And that is why I now own Winchester pistol caliber leveractions in 44 mag and 357 mag, instead of Marlins.

I had one problem with a 39M 22 rimfire, failing to feed from the mag tube. I had a gunsmith fix it for me, and had no more problems. I had a 39A purchased new, that got shot, thousands of rounds and never failed, except for a broken firing pin. The 39s usually work, except some would occasionally break a firing pin. I used to keep extras under the butt plate of my 39's, just in case. Fortunately they are very easy to change out.
 
I've got the 1894CB in .357/.38, and the 39A, both work just fine. On the other hand I shot in a CAS match yesterday and two fellows shooting Marlin .44 Mag/Special and 45 Colt had jams so bad they had to borrow rifles to finish.

However - I see a lot of Marlins in pistol calibers at these shoots and, in spite of yesterdays trouble, most of them are reliable. I think it's like buying a new car. No matter what manufacturer you have a chance of getting a lemon. But with the good companies the chance is much less.
 
I know this is an old post, but I've experienced the "Marlin Jam" on the same rifle, more than once. I have an 1894 .357. I bought it new back around 1996. It jammed on me several times, requiring me to disassemble the lever, sometimes in the woods. I shoot my own reloads. It would jam, without shooting at all, just with bullets in the magazine.
Since it was new, the shop where I bought it sent it back to Marlin. Cam back and worked fine, until yesterday (ten years later).
Again, I was shooting reloads, and again, it jammed twice. Fist time I was able to use a small screwdriver to take the pressure off the tube magazine. The second time was unsuccessful and I had to bring the gun home from the Range and remove the Lever since I did not have my gunsmith screwdrivers at the Range.
I searched the net, found the above noted fix, and did it today. I cycled R_P brass through it several times. I also found the Marlin Jam MAY be common with R-P Brass. It jammed on R-P Brass, both times. Maybe when Remington takes over Marlin they'll fix the problem!
Anyway, I have six othe Marlins and never had this problem.
 
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I bought a 1894SS brand new two months ago, LOVE the way the gun looks, cycles nice when your not trying to shoot it, but once you start it will want to jam when you try to extract the bullet and again when you are trying to load the next one, so when you try to take the lever down and again when you almost have the lever back up, I have to rip on it as hard as I can to try and get it to do anything, sometimes you have to take the lever off, at first I thought I was being to gentle, but even racking it as hard as I could I just won't cycle, I put 150 rounds through it and gave up, sold it for what I paid for it and plan on buying a new one as soon as they are available, think I will be calling Marlin on this. You shouldn't have to send a gun back, should be right the first time, were not just talking about a little batch of guns here....
 
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I called Marlin, they didn't seem to care. Told them of the problem, they said they were aware of the problem, asked them if it would be fixed in the new batch being made now and she stated that nothing was changed. She said it was just every once in a while that Marlin has one sent back. Sure is sad all those lever guns being made everyday and there is this small simple problem that they refuse to fix, sure makes me mad!
 
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I wonder why they don't just harden the carrier. If they did, I would think the groove would not develop, nad the "jam" would go away.
 
I have an 1894 in 357/38 caliber. Like someone else said if you treat it gentle it won't eject which makes sense because you want to snap out that spent cartridge and boogie then next round into the bore. Also I am a lefty and I noticed I tend to lean it to the left which doesn't help. Once I got the hang of it no problemo even with the 38 special. I LIKE IT. Feels good and almost no recoil. Great target gun.
 
the marlins my grandfather,father and i hunted with haven't had a jam. marlin model 336CS in .35 rem. all 3 bought back in the late 70's. mine seemed to be the fussy one with only wanting factory loaded ammo. it won't shoot reloads. even from that rifle. my dad and grandads will shoot reloads from each others and mine. i think all 3 have no more than 200 shots through each of them. so maybe the jam if it happens will be later in the future. i am hoping it never happens now that i have heard of it.
 
Yeah, I have six others that have never jammed. I also have a .35 made in 1964. It shoots anything,.... including several of my deer. It's one of those with the gold color trigger, I just wish it had a pistol grip stock.

BTW, I reload my own.

The "jam" is apparently prevalent with straight wall pistol cases, which includes my 1894 in .357 mag.
 
I have a .444 Marlin that I love dearly, but it is an unrequited love with 3 jams in only 50 rounds or less. My local gunsmith has attempted to fix the Marlin jam twice and it looked like we had it solved until I shot it a week ago. 5 rounds were fine, but the 6th jammed as a single feed. I am sending it back to the factory.

I had added 1.5 pounds of lead to the stock to get it up to a 9 pound total weight and its recoil is only that of 20 ga at most. It is a very accurate gun and getting older, it is a great bear protection for the type of recoil I wish to handle at this time. I will relate how the factory send goes. By the sounds of it, Marlin is very responsive. Since this is the perfect caliber and easy to shoot, I am hoping that they will fix the gun this time. Simply replacing the carriage has not solved the dreaded marlin jam in this gun.
 
On my 39 - It was bought used from a shop I havecone to distrust,

which is no longer in business. It is one of only 2 Model 39's I have heard of with this problem, and I believe it was a broken part that the seller was trying to pass off....

I have owned other Marlins going back to the 1950's with NO problems at all, and they are the best choice in a lever gun, IMO.
I have had them in .30-30, .35, and .45-70.

mark
 
I'm in the "soft handling jam" camp, it takes a bit of experience to find the optimum between sure function and slinging your used brass three stations over.
 
I have four and three have been flawless for more than 20 years. However a new 1895 did jam. After about five rounds it would not eject the spent new factory casing. Eventually after working the lever it did. Then about three rounds later it completely jammed after firing the round. The lever was stuck open and the stock separated from the receiver. I sent it back to Marlin and it was returned to me in two weeks - fixed perfectly plus they replaced the stocks with a much nicer grade of walnut. No complaints. Great customer service and I will keep buying Marlins.
 
The problem is when they "jam" they really jam and the gun is "done for" without some serious attention. Yes on a per gun basis it is not a great problem for most but when it happens to you , you are done for the day and until the problem is fixed a few weeks later. It is easy to find complaints of Marlin's jamming but there are a whole lot less than threads about the Marlin than the current production 870 Express. One of a few reasons I like the Henry Rifles over Marlins.
 
I called Marlin today and they will pay to transport my Marlin .444 to the factory for a full evaluation of my gun that has jammed 3 times in 4 shooting sessions. I am thankful that Marlin has this warranty and they didn't have any qualms about evaluating this gun despite the fact that the local gun shop where I have bought several guns thought it looks like it is working fine now after cycling 4 rounds through it. Would you trust your life to this gun with only the assurance of 4 rounds and a large grizzly before you? I will update on how Marlin looks into this dissappointing problem in a gun I really enjoy.
 
336SS New 30-30 Jammed, lever wide open.

Wow I was bumbed out. First day at range 46 rounds used, she jammed. Lucky me i carry a letherman. I took it apart to remove last bullet from mag so I could transport it home legally. Once home I reassembled it. Thought maybe I caused jam when cocking it the range master said empty guns and move away. I did not cleanly cock it and it jammed.
Forward 60 days. 6/16/20011 gun 2 months 1 day old. Have not shot it again yet. Well my brother in law came over and wanted to see it so while cleanly working the lever action to unload her. once again she jammed. That blows ha? Next day called gun shop in Vacaville Cali big one. no help was told by owner i should contact Marlin " we just sell them we don't warranty them". "or I can bring it in and they will see if they can get it back to Marlin. told around 3 week turn around. Looked at Marlins site and found gun dealer that warranties for Marlin in Sac... Cali 2 week or so turn around.
Well my nephew is in law inforcement, he told me to try to lube it and asked did I read my hand book, yes I did.
Not wanting to part with her by mail or any way. I lubed her up and while lubing and wiping I found 1 screw slightly loose. The lubing smoothed her out but she still dropped a bullet ( left in mag ). Then I tighted the screw and what a difference. The bullets pop back out of the mag and cleanly loads her. I am a mechanic of many years. I feel that was the problem and will test her soon. Note when she Jammed the bullet stayed in the mag, did not come out on the carrier!
If you have this problem put a screw driver on the screws first before you send it back. Make sure the screw driver fits the screws so you don't damage them.
Thank you to those of you who talked about the carrier on the forums I read before I worked on my own. You gave me more direction.
 
45lc

Bought two Marlin 45LC (1894 Cowboy model) for SASS competition,one developed the JAM...took two gunsmith "fixes" (welding on material to the carrier ramp)..500 rds later NADA problem....
 
HappyMarlinGuyNow said:
Wow I was bumbed out. First day at range 46 rounds used, she jammed. Lucky me i carry a letherman. I took it apart to remove last bullet from mag so I could transport it home legally. Once home I reassembled it. Thought maybe I caused jam when cocking it the range master said empty guns and move away. I did not cleanly cock it and it jammed.
Forward 60 days. 6/16/20011 gun 2 months 1 day old. Have not shot it again yet. Well my brother in law came over and wanted to see it so while cleanly working the lever action to unload her. once again she jammed. That blows ha? Next day called gun shop in Vacaville Cali big one. no help was told by owner i should contact Marlin " we just sell them we don't warranty them". "or I can bring it in and they will see if they can get it back to Marlin. told around 3 week turn around. Looked at Marlins site and found gun dealer that warranties for Marlin in Sac... Cali 2 week or so turn around.
Well my nephew is in law inforcement, he told me to try to lube it and asked did I read my hand book, yes I did.
Not wanting to part with her by mail or any way. I lubed her up and while lubing and wiping I found 1 screw slightly loose. The lubing smoothed her out but she still dropped a bullet ( left in mag ). Then I tighted the screw and what a difference. The bullets pop back out of the mag and cleanly loads her. I am a mechanic of many years. I feel that was the problem and will test her soon. Note when she Jammed the bullet stayed in the mag, did not come out on the carrier!
If you have this problem put a screw driver on the screws first before you send it back. Make sure the screw driver fits the screws so you don't damage them.
Thank you to those of you who talked about the carrier on the forums I read before I worked on my own. You gave me more direction.
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Thanks for a common sense, useful post. :)

There is such a thing as a Marlin Jam. And 99.99% of guys will never see it. I've put about 2500 rounds through my guide gun and have never had a jam - ever. Little over a thousand rounds through my 336 with nary a hickup - ever.

My guide gun is stainless and it will shoot the screws loose. The loading gate screw can mess things up if it comes loose - but be careful tightening as it is tiny. I've since used Loc-Tite Blue on everything except the lever bolt.

You can get a jam with ammo that is too long - something to remember with handloads. Not usually a problem with the 336, but with the 45-70, you can't go much past a 2.6" COL.

If you go to a M94 then you are doing a stupid. The 336 is a better design.
 
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