Using an 1897: info?

[Welllookatthat]

Hi, I'm in the UK, and last posted quite a while ago; Feb 24th., 2004, by the look.

At that time, I wrote about the Model 1897 I've got, which has come down the family to me from my great (...) grandfather who visited America in 1899, and brought this back from California, as a souvenir. Well, I've still got the rifle, and have cleaned and used it a few times (subsonic ammunition).

I am not at all knowledgeable about these (or other guns, although I have an Anschutz target rifle too). How's it best to disassemble the barrel/firing mechanism/stock&action (I undo the screw, pull the hammer back a little, and sort of twist it, is that right?), and put it back into a firing condition? What should I look out for in terms of care/maintenance/loading/firing?

I don't suppose there's an instruction manual, but any help/tips would be great!

[marlinman93]

You can find copies of the early Malin catalogs, which will have info on the care and use of your Marlin. But it's changed very little from the 39a made in recent years, so info on those will apply for takedown and cleaning.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/pdfs/manu ... ion_22.pdf
http://thomannengineering.com/software/ ... sembly.pdf

[Welllookatthat]

Thank you for the information. The "disassembly" document was quite informative (although I do not intend to take mine to pieces!). Som of the parts look slightly different in mine; for instance, the ejector spring is loose, not held with a screw.

A hopefully simple question: What, if anything, prevents damage from dry-firing? This rifle has been around for about 118 years, and I should think it's had a lot of ammunition through it (the bore looks OK...), and may have been dry-fired a fair bit when the magazine empties (I think the capacity is 17 rounds, looking at the tube).

[{RSR}2ndLT]

Don't take it to far apart if you can't get it back together you may be screwed. I'm in that boat at the moment. Since yours is so old there may not be any parts avable if you lose one or brake one so make sure you have a nice big clean work space and be patient.

[marlinman93]

Thank you for the information. The "disassembly" document was quite informative (although I do not intend to take mine to pieces!). Som of the parts look slightly different in mine; for instance, the ejector spring is loose, not held with a screw.

A hopefully simple question: What, if anything, prevents damage from dry-firing? This rifle has been around for about 118 years, and I should think it's had a lot of ammunition through it (the bore looks OK...), and may have been dry-fired a fair bit when the magazine empties (I think the capacity is 17 rounds, looking at the tube).

The ejector and spring are indeed different, and simply sit in a recess. Pretty hard to put a old Marlin lever action together wrong. The only real issue it ensuring you don't leave parts out, or drop that ejector assembly. One note on all Marlin .22 lever actions. Be sure the hammer is in half or full cock when assembling the two halves. The hammer will not clear the halves if fully down.

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Welllookatthat;

First off, I would never, ever dry fire a Model 1897/'97, or any other .22 lever gun. It can and most likely will break the firing pin. If you want to dry fire it, put a fired, empty shell in the chamber so the firing pin as something to hit and stop it from going all the way forward where it might be in a position to break. I bought a full nickel plated Model '97, and when I opened it up, the firing pin (which was nickel plated from the factory) was in two pieces.
If you are going to disassemble your rifle, do not take the magazine tube apart. You will be sorry for sure. Just run a cleaning rod up the tube and swab it out, maybe several times to clear it. The old ammunition was externally lubricated, and the old grease tends to build up inside the tube. Otherwise, the Model 1897/'97 is an easy gun to work on.

[Welllookatthat]

First off, I would never, ever dry fire a Model 1897/'97, or any other .22 lever gun.

Neither would I. My question is, as this is an old gun, and has probably had a large quantity of ammunition through it, and as people are sometimes careless, "what if anything prevents damage from dry-firing?". It seems certain that various people will have gone "plink-plink-plink-plink-click!".

[Welllookatthat]

The ejector and spring are indeed different, and simply sit in a recess. Pretty hard to put a old Marlin lever action together wrong. The only real issue it ensuring you don't leave parts out, or drop that ejector assembly. One note on all Marlin .22 lever actions. Be sure the hammer is in half or full cock when assembling the two halves. The hammer will not clear the halves if fully down.

Thank you. I have already worried about dropping the ejector assembly (the firing pin is also losable...!). I will take the rifle down at half-cock in future - I have been just pulling the hammer back a touch with my thumb (and giving the rifle a gentle thump to separate the parts).

[Welllookatthat]

Another issue comes to mind - sometimes I take this rifle to my (UK) club. They insist, rightly, on the use of breech flags in target rifles, and similar, to show visually that the guns are "safe".

What's the best way of doing this for this Marlin? I have a green square attached to a plastic cable tie that I can poke up the barrel when the lever is pulled, but I am not keen on the arrangement. Can you think of any better arrangement?