Well, I suppose this has been beat to death by now, but since I just picked one up I wonder what the failure mode is with these old shotguns? I've got the letter from Marlin that says don't shoot 'em, the collective net wisdom that seems to say don't shoot 'em and the SAS's recent banning of them in competition. But nobody (that I can find) talks about how they fail. Do they kaboom like a glock on leaded bullets or something less dramatic? Is there any documented reports of injuries from shooters who took a chance?
I'd really like to shoot this old gun, but guess that's out of the question.
PS I had found an old reference to the 49 from an old post (2003) that said people liked to store their hunting licenses under the buttplate. I removed the buttplate and an old OHIO license fell out!
Model 49
Moderators: Regnier (gunrunner), JohnK, Sure-Shot
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Jim Susemihl
- Beginner
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 6:23 pm
- Location: Three Rivers, Mi
There are several failures that can occur. The firsst is the safety sear which is supposed to keep the hammer from falling when the gun is not locked up in battery. The second can be the firing pin being able to be pushed to fire position if the gun is not in battery. The third can be that the gun can be opened without having to use the unlock button by the trigger guard. There are safety devices built into the guns that should prevent these things from happening so that the gun cannot be fired out of battery. If you shoulder the gun and think of where the bolt would end up if it were to be blown out of the gun, you will see why the concern exists.
These shotguns have a stronger action than the Model 97 Winchester but the W company has not published any letters saying not to shoot them. Marlin did to keep the lawyers of their back sides. If a person is going to shoot one of these shotguns, you need to become very familiar with hte action and all of its workings. You also must make sure that all of the safety devices work as they should. I also only shoot light target loads such as Winchester AA low noise and low recoil loads. No need overstressing a nice old lady.
A fellow by the name of Rusty Marlin has put out some very good info about how to go about checking all of the safety devices and checking all of the action parts. If you are interested someone here can tell you the web sight or if you want I could FAX or mail you a copy.
I have several old pumps and I shoot some of them. I would say NEVER shoot one without completely disassembling it and inspecting all parts and then put it together and make sure everything works as it should. I've had good luck getting most of mie to work properly. I did have one that I did not inspect fire out of battery one time. Lucky for me it was a low power load and I had a very good grip so no damage was done and no one was hurt. I can attest that you NEVER want this to happen to you. I learned my lesson and will never make the same mistake no matter what kind of gun I shoot. Any used gun I buy will be taken apart, inspected, and reassembled and function checked.
I hope this helps.
Regards.
Jim
These shotguns have a stronger action than the Model 97 Winchester but the W company has not published any letters saying not to shoot them. Marlin did to keep the lawyers of their back sides. If a person is going to shoot one of these shotguns, you need to become very familiar with hte action and all of its workings. You also must make sure that all of the safety devices work as they should. I also only shoot light target loads such as Winchester AA low noise and low recoil loads. No need overstressing a nice old lady.
A fellow by the name of Rusty Marlin has put out some very good info about how to go about checking all of the safety devices and checking all of the action parts. If you are interested someone here can tell you the web sight or if you want I could FAX or mail you a copy.
I have several old pumps and I shoot some of them. I would say NEVER shoot one without completely disassembling it and inspecting all parts and then put it together and make sure everything works as it should. I've had good luck getting most of mie to work properly. I did have one that I did not inspect fire out of battery one time. Lucky for me it was a low power load and I had a very good grip so no damage was done and no one was hurt. I can attest that you NEVER want this to happen to you. I learned my lesson and will never make the same mistake no matter what kind of gun I shoot. Any used gun I buy will be taken apart, inspected, and reassembled and function checked.
I hope this helps.
Regards.
Jim
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Four-Eyed Buck
- Marksman 1st Class
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2003 9:38 pm
- Location: Canton, Ohio
http://www.marauder.homestead.com
Once there, click on the Cowboy Action Shooting Stuff link and then "Irons". The paper is there.
Rusty is an engineer by trade and worked for Ruger for awhile. At one point he was the N.H. state CAS champion as well. This paper is a must for maintaining the old girls............Buck
Once there, click on the Cowboy Action Shooting Stuff link and then "Irons". The paper is there.
Rusty is an engineer by trade and worked for Ruger for awhile. At one point he was the N.H. state CAS champion as well. This paper is a must for maintaining the old girls............Buck
If Marlin made SA revolvers, I'd be shooting those, too!!!
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Jim Susemihl
- Beginner
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 6:23 pm
- Location: Three Rivers, Mi
Thanks all. I found and dl'd the excellent paper from Rusty. For starters, Betsy passed all the tests with flying colors. I'd still like to attempt the disassembly and check everything out before I trust her. I just can't see myself hunting rabbit this fall in a full-face motorcycle helmet.
This Model 49 has a Herter's "polychoke" installed. I'm not really a collector, but wonder what that does to the value of the gun?
Thanks again,
Dave
This Model 49 has a Herter's "polychoke" installed. I'm not really a collector, but wonder what that does to the value of the gun?
Thanks again,
Dave
