New owner of a old 97 Deluxe with questions

[vintagerifle]

Hello!
I'm in my 50s now, and have never owned a firearm. As a kid I payed with a BB gun and spend many, many of hours in the woods with my Daisy lever action BB gun shooting at trees. My friend at the time had a .22 and I remember being awed by it. My wife has recently expressed an interest in shooting and we decided we would also like gun that looked good stored above the fireplace. After much consideration, I decided on a Marlin 39A. And as I looked at those on armslist and gunbroker, I thought, gee, those older Marlin 39 (without the A) with case hardened receivers are very cool too.
I went to the local gun show recently and found a couple 39A, but wasn't thrilled. One was a 1976, and while it didn't look old enough to be a cool wall hanger. Another was older, but had a scope and was fairly marred.

Then I found a seller who had a couple older Marlins and he was happy to talk to me and explain some of the differences. And he explained about the nice 97 Deluxe on the table.
It wasn't a "like new" rifle, but to my eyes it has a nice patina and looked like it would make an excellent piece of wall art. Appears all original to my eye, including an interestingly shaped metal but plate.. No cracks or chips in the wood. Almost all of the “color” gone from the receiver but nicely patina. No sign of rust. Only the tinyest bit of color left on protected areas of the receiver. Only minor marring on a few screws and a bit of scratching on the receiver. No signs of a scope, or shoulder strap having ever been mounted. Looks like a well used but nicely kept, old gun. And has a very interesting 38xxxx serial number, all the x’s are the same digit! The seller claimed that was common for the Deluxe guns. I bought a couple snap caps so I could try the trigger and had him take it down for me. It was expensive (to me), but I think well priced for what I’ve seen online for these.
I decided I had to have it, and after a bit of negotiation it was mine!









So here are some questions I have:
- From what I've found searching this forum it appears to be genuinely a 100+ year old rifle, any comments on the age?
- What do you experts recommend as a oil / coating for protection during long time storage on the wall above the fireplace. (We live in San Diego and almost never use the fireplace, so it’s a relatively stable and dry environment.) I hear good things about Eezox.
- Wood care: is it safe to just apply gun oil to the wood, or is there some other treatment recommended?
- Is a snap cap really necessary with these old 97? I've heard rumor there is actually clearance between the pin and the end of the barrel without a bullet in the chamber? Seems like a rifle like this might regularly be fired until the magazine was empty...
- Any recommendation on a brand of snap cap that would feed through the tubular magazine? The plastic one I tried had to be fed into the barrel manually.
- Ammo: I’ve been cautioned not to use “high speed” ammo. Wikipedia talks about subsonic, standard, high and hyper velocity. So… nothing stronger than “standard”? Recommendations?

Thanks for your advice!
A happy new old marlin owner.
Carl

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Carl;

Nice old deluxe Model '97 Marlin rifle. I see it has a half octagon barrel, which adds to the collector value. With a 380,000 serial number range, the approximate date of manufacture will be around late 1907, maybe early 1908. There are no records after December of 1906, at about 355,500 numbers.
Please, do not use gun oil on the wood. Wood and oil were not made for each other. There are oil finishes made for wood, but those are finish oil and not gun oil. If you think the wood needs something, use a paste wax only. I, myself do not put anything on the wood. Just wipe it down with a clean cloth. Just about any good gun oil will be okay on the metal surfaces.
If you intend to shoot your Model '97, use only standard velocity or target ammunition. Anything more powerful can crack the breech bolt, if it isn't already. you might have to look around, but in years past, there were .22 caliber "dummy" cartridges that you could use as snap caps. They look like regular .22 cartridges, but have no primer or powder and work like regular .22 cartridges. Brownell's or Midway might be the first place to look.
The "S" style butt plate is original and was used on some later guns, about 1903 or 1904, I believe. There were also two other styles of butt plates used on the Model '97's. A hard rubber butt plate and a steel crescent. The forearm and butt stock are checkered in the factory grade "A" style.
The rear sight is an original Rocky Mountain style rear sight. I cannot see the front sight, so cannot comment on it. Most likely, it is original as well since the rest of the gun appears to be correct.
Overall, you have a very nice collector piece. Enjoy........

[vintagerifle]

Wow, great information Regnier! Thank you very much.
I'll take some more pics tomorrow and post. I really like it, and my wife was really happy with it as well.

I read somewhere that some people wax their guns to protect them for display... does that sound like a better idea than oil for a gun hung on the wall?

Carl

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Carl;

Yes, in fact many museums use wax to preserve the surface of firearms and other things. Several years ago, the Man at Arms magazine ran an article on the type of wax and how to use it.

[vintagerifle]

Any comment on dry firing this rifle? I've heard never to dry fire a rimfire. But I've also heard some are designed with a bit of clearance when there is no round in the chamber? And I would think that a lever action often gets dry fired at the end of the magazine...
Carl

[Road King]

Carl;

Yes, in fact many museums use wax to preserve the surface of firearms and other things. Several years ago, the Man at Arms magazine ran an article on the type of wax and how to use it.

You may want to use a microcrystalline wax, Renaissance and Conservator's Wax are highly recommended . I use these waxes on all my guns that are on display or stored. I use the wax on but metal and wood after the guns have been cleaned of any dirt and grim. The finish will resist fingerprints on occasional handling.

[vintagerifle]

I've posted some detailed photos here:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-B4VRf/
Please let me know if you see anything I should note.
Carl

[Brent]

That is a very nice rifle and one I would love to own and shoot. I'm amazed at how clean it is in the inside - perhaps you had cleaned it before taking photos. In any event, a great rifle.

One thing you might want to do that I do with all old rifles that I buy - look under the buttplate. Almost certainly nothing there. But once in a while...

Take care and use a well fitted screwdriver. Make sure that each screw goes back in the hole that it came from.

[Road King]

Very nice gun and looks like it cleaned up well. Enjoy the great little gun.

[vintagerifle]

What could possibly be under the button plate? A lock of Annie Oakley' hair? Really, is that the worth pulling the button plate? I'm always nervous removing screws from wood.

[vintagerifle]

Ok, so I was intrigued enough to remove the butt plate. As mechanic I had a good screwdriver that fit well and the screw wasn't very tight.
And...
Nothing in there. Sigh, I really was hoping for a lock of Annie's hair.

But while handling the rifle, I did notice something new, there is a "J" stamped visible only with the hammer pulled back. Any particular meaning to that?

Another question. I bought a few aluminum .22 LR dummy rounds to test the mechanism. To my surprise, the ejector cut the lip of round leaving a few aluminum shavings. Is that typical for a lever action ejector?

Carl
(PS, Thank you for all the nice complements. I seem to have made a good find. Beginner's luck. Actually, the rifle came this clean from the seller.)

[Brent]

What could possibly be under the button plate? A lock of Annie Oakley' hair? Really, is that the worth pulling the button plate? I'm always nervous removing screws from wood.

It is to me. And I have found old hunting licenses in such places. Sometimes loads are listed, though more common for double rifles or muzzleloaders. My guns often have spare parts there.

[vintagerifle]

Looking for ammo and it seems a bit hard to find.
I assume I should only use lead round nose standard velocity bullets?
(I've heard copper will wear the bore?)
Will other nose types besides round feed properly?

Obviously with the shortage finding anything local is impossible. Scanning the auction sites I've found some:
CCI 22 LR standard velocity round nose lead with 1070 fps.

Looks like that might work, but I'd love to find some good shorts...

Recommendations?
Carl

[Brent]

I would stick with long rifle cartridges, were I you. They fill the throat and will be more accurate. They will cause no more harm to your rifle than shorts. I use only subsonic ammunition - Eley mostly, and in many different flavors from hollowpoints for squirrel hunting to Tenex for match shooting, and everything in between.

Any nose shape will probably feed fine. And I would not object to copper plated subsonic ammunition of any sort. Remington subsonic hollowpoints are often available (at least in normal times), and they are plated with something that is sort of brass like, as I recall. I would not hesitate to use those either.

[vintagerifle]

Thanks Brent, I ordered the CCI 22 LR Standard I had found.

Any recommendations on cleaning the barrel? Treat it with special care or just use a standard kit?