A local shop has a 12 gauge Marlin Model 90 over/under. Price seems pretty reasonable at $279 with some room for downward movement.

Its not the most elegant thing but it seems well made. I think it is an early one - no gap between the barrels, no letter prefix in the SN, fore end is held on with two screws, and double triggers. The front bead has gone missing. The stock in very plain and uncheckered.

Thoughts?

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

Use the money to buy an 870 or Mossberg. The older Marlin may be a knock around gun but what happens when it breaks? Regards, Ed

Sound advice for sure, but I have 870s and Mossbergs already. I don't have an O/U and this sturdy American-made old warrior is half the price of the current crop of imports.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

I have a 20 ga. Model 90 that belonged to my Granddad. Nice wood with checkering, double trigger and no ejectors. He used it for years and I've used it for years more. I have Benellis, Berettas, etc., but when I want to relive the "old days", that's the one that comes out to play. Great old shotgun!

Solid no frills shotgun, in it's way an American classic. The main thing to check is the strikers. It doesn't have hammers. Sometimes the sear striker connection is worn or damaged that can be dangerous. Not a bad deal. Mark

The early 90's had the forend held on with a simple over-center spring (J Spring).
The earliest of those have the forend iron NOT extending to the action/frame flat when viewed from the side.

Then the iron was redesigned and it was extended so it was level with and made an unbroken line with the side of the frame.
Both these used the J-Spring attachment. The latter was used to the early 50's.

Then the finger operated pull down latch was used to lock the forend onto the bbls after that and till the end of production,about 1962/63.

Side ribs on the bbls until about the same time as the switchover to the manual forend latch,,early 1950's.
No ribs from there on out on regular production,just the separating block at the muzzle.
Double trigger guns were discontinued about '57. But remaining inventory got sold sometimes a few years later. The Single trigger came about a couple years prior to the twin trigger model being dropped.

The 'SkeetKing' Model is one of the rare ones that accumulators look for. 12,16,20 & 410. better grade wood, engraving, ect. Supposedly bbls adjusted for best Skeet patterning. It's a pre-War offering only IIRC, just a couple years.

The Combination rifle/shotgun M90's getsome attention too. These were also pre-War guns. Even a few O/U rifles made in small calibers.
Smaller dia strikers and steel firing pin bushings in the frame on factory made rifle caliber guns.

The frame is iron on these,,plenty strong for the gauges and small rifle cartridges it was made in.
It will turn a brown/red/purple color if reblued w/a hot salt bluing however and you see a lot of them that have been aftermarket reblued.
Rustblue was the original finish from the looks of them. The bbls definetly rust blued as they are soft soldered together

IIRC, the stocks were checkered on regular production guns starting just after WW2.
The pre-War guns were uncheckered,plain and marked either Marlin or Ranger.
Ranger marked guns were for sales through Sears who actually pitched the idea of the O/U to Marlin in the first place and kicked in a considerable amt to start the project.

Post-WW2 guns for Sears were to be marked JC Higgins.
No 'Marlin' marked guns were supposed to be sold through Sears, just their proprietary brand,,this was Sear's idea. But after WW2, Sears wanted and got Marlin to mark their guns with the Marlin name also.

Striker fired as mentioned,,the entire sear, striker, mainsprings, sear springs assembly is removed and installed as a unit. I think they called it a searbox that held all the parts together.
Makes for handy work, but you must compress the strikers w/a clamp before taking the unit out or putting it back in.
Don't try it w/o doing that! There's nice square opposing edges to clamp and compress everything but when working with springs, eye safety is a must. They can get away on you.

Check the safety for proper operation. Some can be fired with the gun on Safe. Some you can get the safety to move from Safe to Fire by repeatedly pulling the trigger,,kind of tapping on it with your trigger finger.

You won't know if the double trigger gun 'doubles' due to a worn sear or striker sear edge till you shoot it. Sometimes bouncing the UNLOADED but cocked gun on it's butt w/the safety off will display a worn sear by having it fire. Careful not to break the original butt plate if it's still on there.
You can check for yet side step the unpleasent doubling effect in live fire by placing a live round in one chamber and an empty in the other (I don't like to dry fire guns).
Fire the one live round and simply see if the second bbl is still cocked and will 'fire' the empty,,or if it has doubled and fired along with the first bbl.
The Single Trigger is a mechanical one and works off the guns recoil. A counter weight is supposed to block it from doubling, but that can fail too. Single triggers can just be a real problem no matter the brand.

When I worked at Marlin, they told customers that we didn't have any more parts to repair these after about 1971 and simply returned the guns to their owner.
In fact we had shipping crates full of them including bbl sets in any gauge and even rifle and combination bbl sets. All had been packed up at the NewHaven plant and taken to and stored in the new (at that time) North Haven factory. That got to be the line given to customers about most any of the older guns,,No Parts Available.
Last I knew the parts were all sold to Numrich,,and that was in the late 80's or perhaps early 90's.

I had a single trigger Model 90 years ago that I picked up used. It didn't look like it had been used much and didn't appear to be monkeyed with in any way but it doubled more often than not. Contacted Marlin and got the "no parts" story. Later I was told that the double trigger version is more desirable because of this problem.

Here's my experience so far ;

Not long ago, I picked up a Sears branded Ranger 103-10, which is a rebranded Marlin mod 90. I don't have the exact year, but it was made shortly before WWII and features nice checkered Walnut, 2 and 3/4" chambers and full/mod chokes. Lead trigger activates lower (mod) bbl and rear trigger activates top (full) barrel.


I measured out 40yrds at my tactical compound (folks house in the hills :supergrin: ) and used a couple loads spanning the extreme range of 12ga ammo.
I wanted to pattern the gun using trap loads, hoping to glean some idea of the choking difference and where the bbls were regulated. I used Fed low brass no. 7&1/2 trap loads.
Then, I moved in to 25yrds and tried the gun with Estate OO buckshot.

( continued)
The gun worked very well, recoil was light with trap ammo and decently stout with the buckshot. Triggers are crisp, but a little stiff...probably about right for a bird gun, heavy for a trap gun.
I was pleased to see patterns were usable and barrels appear to be regulated just on top of the bead.
I marked the 'X' on the exact spot I held the bead on the 40yrd targets.
Top barrel


Bottom bbl, a little more sparse with the Mod choke


No expert, but those seem like pretty useable patterns, though certainly there were a few holes a pigeon could get through. I'm sure some ammo will pattern better than others, but if anything it's pretty tight for trap shooting , I think.

The buckshot was done at 25yrds



The nine .32 cal pellets really helped illustrate the difference in choking, but regulation here was really good again.




Fun times, I forgot how fun running the shotguns can be.

I weaseled 'em down and brought it home.



Its a nice solid gun. 30" barrels, which are probably choked Full and Fuller.



Plenty of blue wear. I'll probably just cold blue it. I understand it doesn't take hot blue well due to an iron receiver and some soft soldering.

A friend is sending me a bead:



Double triggers are kind of cool on an over/under:



Nothing fancy here:



Still has the Marlin bullseye:



No rib, but some snazzy wavy lines:



I figure for the half the price of the cheapest import, this old American blaster will have a good home with me.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

It's still a good looking working class shotgun, not too bad to shoot either.

Holy Smoke, that's a WAFFLETOP!!!

For those who know Marlins, specific years used that design...
others years tend to be smooth or d/t'd for scopes...
so you probably have a 1950-1954 model...
although someone should be able to narrow that down a bit with the barrel stamp
or the first two numbers of the serial (as in 45xxxx or whatever)

I've got a 1952 Marlin 336RC with the waffletop feature,
its a very enjoyable shooter!


Oh, doesn't one have to use a certain loading/ammo type with the older shotguns??

__________________
Marlin & Calico Specialist

Waffle top here, too. My understanding is the 20ga versions are worth considerable cheese to collectors.

Just found this discussion about Marlin model 90's. I own 16 Model 90's and thought I might offer some additional information about these great guns. Below is a photo of showing 10 of them. My favorite upland bird gun is the a 16 ga. with 26" barrels shown 4th from the left. 26" barrels were typically choked IC/Mod while 28" barrels were typically choked Mod/full. Marlin also sold the 12 ga. with 30 inch barrels choked Mod/full. 16 ga and 20 ga Model 90's were made on the same down-sized frame.

Sears held the original patent and contracted Marlin to manufacture the gun in 12, 16 and 20 gauge starting in 1937. Sears sold the gun as the Ranger 103.xx and Marlin sold it as the Model 90 . After WWII Sears model 90's were sold as the JC Higgins 103.xx. Marlin introduced the .410 and .22/.410 combo in 1939. They also offered the combos in .22 Hornet/.410 and .218 Bee/.410. There are no records remaining to indicate how many were made but .410s and the combos are very rare . As mentioned above, Marlin also sold an upgraded model 90 Skeetking by special order in 1939 and 1940. Also very rare.

Checkering was an extra cost option prior to WWII. After WWII all model 90's had a letter prefix in the serial number to indicate the year made. The guns had a solid rib between the barrels prior to 1949. After 1949 they were open between the barrels. The lever forearm was introduced in 1951. Marlin introduced the single trigger model 90 in 1954.


Here are some photos of my special order 16 ga. Model 90 Skeetking (also 3rd from the left above). The engraving on this gun is very similar (some of the patterns are identical) but more elaborate than on a "standard" Skeetking. Chokes were adjusted at the factory to give the best pattern at 20 yards (bottom barrel) and 30 yards (top barrel. This one has a non-selective single trigger but most were DT's.

The first two photos below are of my very early 12 ga. Ranger 103.1 that has a first generation forearm and a top lever attached to the frame with a flat head screw. Interestingly, that early Ranger 103-1, probably made in late 1936 or early 1937, has a plain barrel without the "waffle top" pattern.

The third photo is my 12 ga. Model 90 with the flying duck scene stamped on the frame (probably made in 1937 or 1938). It has the 2nd generation forearm and the waffle top pattern on the barrel.

Marlin stamped a bird dog scene on the frame of some model 90's in 1939 and 1940. A member of the Marlin Firearms Collectors Association told me that the bird dog scene was illustrated in the 1939 and 1940 Marlin catalogs but was not shown in the 1941 catalog.

Brophy devoted 8 pages to the Model 90 in his book, Marlin Firearms, A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them, published by Stackpole Books in 1989. In it, he has a picture of a model 90 with the flying duck scene

Nice gun, I would grab it in a heartbeat for money you are
talking. I have owned several, gently used, never had any
trouble with any of them. This is a true gun, not to be confused
with Mossberg pump things. Keep care of it, if you get tired
of it you can make a little on it.

Thank You BarkeyVA for the excellent post. I have my fathers Model90 in 16 ga. S/N 5490. It was sent to Herters in the early 60's and got a vent rib w/gold bead. I had it gone over and hand rubbed.You can just make out the dog on rec. Wow, that was a long time ago. Thanks!!!

I bid on a 90 combo a few years ago. It was under the Sears
Ranger label. I could be wrong but I think it was a 25/20 over
410. I got off at $650, think it went for $1100. It was cherry!

The last .22/.410 combo I saw for sale some time ago went for $1,900 and it was not in that good of shape. Two guys on Gunbroker were bidding against each other on a .22 Hornet/.410 that eventually sold for $3500!

WOW! What a GREAT thread! I have two of them. My favorite (and most used firearm) is my 1940-41 Ranger 103 (S/N: 8145) in 16GA. She's a helluva shooter. I like to drive to the Camp Pendleton Trap Range at lunch (3-minute drive from the office) and shoot 4-5 rounds of trap.

I presume she's 1940-41 by the Ranger 103 designation and the serial number as well as the wood and checkering pattern.

She'll soon be off to Dougs Gunsmithing in Minnesota for tightening of the "bite". Apparently Doug Braker will weld material onto the hinge pin and the barrel's forend lug and re-fit the action.

My other is a 12GA that was made in the early 50s and is a Marlin marked gun. Haven't shot her much, as she's waiting on new striker springs. Wolff makes a pack of coil springs to fit to old shotguns.

The Model 90 and her variations are wonderful 'trunnion' guns and will give a lifetime of use.

My 16GA is the apple of my eye. She has had some use and has years and years left in her. The rust blue is about 85% on the receiver and about 90% on the barrels. The barrels ring true. I had the wood re-done about 3 years ago. Still left a few dings, but made couple chip/gouge repairs and oiled the wood. Perfect. She's a killer at the Trap Range.

Wonderful thread guys! Thanks for sharing!

Auburn4, I'd love to see some pictures of your dad's 16ga. Model 90.

My Dad, who died in 2013 at age 95 bought a used 12 ga. Model 90DT O/U for me in 1957 when I was 14. (G-serial number made in 1950. He paid $37.50 for it!). Dad cut off the stock to fit my smaller frame, and when I grew bigger he did a nice job adding a piece back that he cut from another old stock. The wood grain doesn’t match, and the finish on the frame has mostly worn off, but in addition to being a gift from my dad, there is just something about how it feels and shoots that makes it special. I killed my first pheasant with it in 1957 while hunting with my dad, and for more than 50 years it had remained my favorite upland hunting gun until I bought a 16 ga. Model 90DT a few years ago. I bagged 3 pheasants with it on a hunting trip to Kansas last year while shooting some old Federal paper shells that dad had reloaded with 1-1/2 oz of #5 shot in the early 1960's.

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BarkeyVA I will get my son to take pictures/post.I got many of squirrel. Thanks for bringing back fond memories. Rollie

What a great thread! I continue to be amazed at the things I learn by being on this forum.

I have a 16 gauge with a serial no. beginning with "K".
It has the finger latch and checkering on the forend only.
Pachmayr recoil pad. Double triggers. Open barrels except for the
end piece.

Anyone know when mine was likely made?
From info on this thread I figure before 1957 and possibly 1951.
Was the Pachmayr pad an aftermarket add on or original?

All,

Here's a recent picture of me with my Ranger 103 (Model 90) 16GA at the Camp Pendleton Trap Range.

I really enjoy shooting it. The chokes were measured and they (by today's standards) are Extra Full (top) and Full (bottom). With my 7/8 ounce reloads, she breaks the clays just a good as a 12GA.

I had a Limbsaver pad mounted on her several years ago. When her action is at Doug's Gunsmithing getting tightened, I'll have one of the Connecticut Shotgun pads mounted to her.

As you may be able to see, she's in decent overall shape. I usually FLITZ her rust blue once every year to brighten them. The stock was professionally re-done about three years ago and looks good, but not TOO good and blends nicely with the worn edges of the receiver.

Thanks for all of the pictures and info in the thread. One of the best threads I've been honored to be a part of.

K-serial number indicates your gun was made in 1953. Some Model 90s made in 1940 and 1941 have A and B serial numbers respectively. No records so there is no way to know if all Model 90's made in those two years prior to WWII have letter serial numbers.

Model 90's were not made during the war, but all Model 90's made after the war have a letter serial number to indicate the year made. c-1945, C-1946, D-1947, E-1948, F-1949, G-1950, H-1951, J-1952, K-1953, etc. Marlin did not use I, O or Q.

The Pachmayr recoil pad is aftermarket. A 1954 Marlin Catalog shows the Model 90DT without a recoil pad and the Model 90ST with a recoil pad which would have had the Marlin name on the pad.

The finger latch forearm was introduced in 1951. Open barrels in 1949.

I was amazed to find this thread about Marlin Model 90's on the S&W web site! I found it by accident while searching for information about Marlin Model 90 Skeetkings.

The 16ga. Society web site is my favorite, although I routinely check Marlin Firearm Owners Association and Marlin Owners web sites, as well as Doublegunshop, and Shotgun World.

Hello!

I just inherited a Ranger 103-1 tonight and I have to say this thread has been very helpful! I'd like to know more about my granddads gun. From what I can tell, it's a fairly basic model, no frills.

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This was some great reading, until reading this I would have never taken the time to look at a model 90 now I will if I get lucky to find one

Check out my previous posts in this thread about my Ranger 103-1. I'd like to see more pictures of yours, including the style of forearm, top lever, side of the frame, etc.

Let us know how it shoots.

Here's the gun in all its glory.

The 1st generation forearm, top lever attached to the frame with a visible screw and no waffle-pattern rib stamped on the top barrel all indicate it is a very early (late 1936/1937) Model 90. No way to know for sure since no serial number records exist for those guns.

Any idea when your family member may have acquired it?

Hey Everybody,

Last week, I was wandering through the Cabela's in Dundee, MI when I found a beauty of a Ranger O&U Model 103-10. She was covered in grease and in need of a little TLC. So, of course I paid way too much for her and brought her home.
I e-mailed the customer service folks at Marlin and just heard back this evening. According to their records, she was built in 1958.
I've been cleaning her up, trying to get the grease and nastiness out of her. I am hoping to start waxing the stock this weekend. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.
Does anybody have a digital copy of the Marlin Model 90 manual or any literature? I would love to have some more info on her.

The folks at Marlin gave you incorrect information. Your gun was made by Marlin and sold by Sears using the Ranger trade name prior to WWII between 1937 and 1941. After WWII, Sears used the JC Higgins trade name. Marlin stopped production of the double trigger Model 90DT in 1957 (P-serial number).

Model 90ST's (single trigger) were sold until 1963, and a Model 90ST made in 1958 would have an "R" prefix in front of the serial number. Also, the Model 90ST made in 1958 would be open between the barrels. Yours is closed between the barrels.

Your Ranger 103-10, a 16 ga. Model 90DT, has the "R" stamped on top of the serial number. The "R" stands for Ranger.

Brophy's book, Marlin Firearms, A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them published by Stackpole Books in 1989 devotes 8 pages to the Model 90.

Google Numrich (egun parts) for a schematic of the Model 90.

I am curious to know more about your Ranger model 90. Barrel length? (26" barrels were typically choked IC/mod while 28" barrels were typically choked Mod/full.) Checkered stock? (extra cost option) Bird dog scene stamped on the frame? (Some model 90's made in 1939 and '40 had it)

Please post pictures of your "new" Model 90

Hey Everybody,
Thanks to BarkeyVA for the real scoop on my "new" shotgun. I had read all the posts on this thread and thought that Marlin had made a mistake with their manufacture date of 1958.
I've got a few pictures for you. I had to find an old digital camera to use, since I am a member of the "Flip Phone Brotherhood". I could not get a good picture of the serial number or the make/model, but maybe I can borrow the kids' iPhones some day and get some better pictures.
Ranger 103-10.jpg
Here she is after a little bit of cleaning. There is still an accumulation of grease in the receiver that I'm working on getting out.
Waffle_Top.jpg
She is a "Waffle Top" with a 28" barrel. I took off the fore-end looking for any choke markings but I didn't find anything. I guess she's Mod/Full.
Forestock.jpg
Speaking of the fore-end, here she is. Nice checkering that is still pretty intact.
Checkering.jpg
The grip has some nice checkering too.
Receiver.jpg
The receiver is plain and the bluing is pretty intact. There is some wear in the bluing around the selector switch, but it's very minor.
All in all, I am very happy with her so far. This is my first O/U shotgun. I didn't grow up in a hunting family, and my first exposure to firearms was under the kind tutelage of the drill instructors at U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center Cape May, NJ. After that, I learned about small-game hunting from the men and women with whom I served.
For the last twenty years, I had been content with squirrel and rabbit hunting. Last fall, I went on my first pheasant hunt and I had the time of my life! One of my co-workers with whom we were hunting had a beautiful O/U Beretta 20 gauge and I really admired how quickly he shouldered and drew a bead with it.
I turned forty years old last month, and my wife organized another pheasant hunt for me. It was after this hunt that I decided to find an old O/U shotgun to buy myself as a birthday gift. I'm so glad that I found this Ranger and I can't wait to create hunting memories with it for me and my boys.

John

Nice looking gun. I think you will be happy with it. I have several Model 90's and the 16 ga DT's are my favorites.

As for thinking you paid too much for it, does it really matter? If you like the way it shoots, after several years enjoying it you will care less what you paid for it.

Also, I suspect everyone reading your post would appreciate having a wife who takes the initiative to organize a pheasant hunt for her husband.

Have you shot double trigger guns? If not, be sure to get in plenty of practice before you hunt with it. One of the neat features of DT's is you have the option of shooting the back trigger (Full choke) first if necessary.

Some how I missed this one the first time around. I know it is a dated post.

2152, very nice write up. Thank you for sharing.

Duane.

Interesting history by someone who worked for Marlin. To clarify some of his comments, Marlin went to open barrels in 1949. The lever release forearm was introduced in 1951.

The Marlin 90 ST (single trigger) introduced in late 1953-early 1954 has a mechanical trigger and it does not require the gun's recoil to fire the second barrel. I have two Model 90ST's and know it is not necessary to fire the bottom barrel for the top barrel to fire.

BarkeyVA,

This is my first experience with a double trigger. I am supposed to head to the range next Friday with a co-worker to shoot some skeet and see how she handles.
Yes, I am pretty lucky to have a wife willing to organize a pheasant hunt. It was my 40th birthday and she surprised me with a nice Saturday hunt at Dunn Creek ranch in Laingsburg, MI. There were four of us on that snowy Saturday morning, and we had a great time. There was a lodge in which to warm up before the hunt, and the guides had lunch ready for us after the hunt while they cleaned the birds. If anybody is looking for a great pheasant hunt in Michigan, I highly recommend Dunn Creek.
John_40th Pheasant Hunt.jpg
Dunn Creek Outfitters - Mid Michigan's #1 Upland Bird Hunting Destination

John,
The key is to practice enough so that you can move your trigger finger from the front trigger to the back trigger without thinking about it, and not to get discouraged if it takes a while to get the hang of it.

I pull the trigger with my finger tip (between the end of my index finger and first joint). This may also help keeping the back of the trigger guard from banging your middle finger if you have small hands.

Over the years I have also developed a habit of sliding my right hand back on the grip slightly to facilitate moving my finger tip from the front trigger to the back trigger.

Please let us know how you do with your "new" model 90.

Barry

Thanks for pointing out my error.
I wrote :"...The Single Trigger is a mechanical one and works off the guns recoil.
A counter weight is supposed to block it from doubling,..."
Well I certainly contradicted myself there in the first sentence and confused everthing!

It is indeed a 'mechanical' trigger and thus does not need the guns recoil to activate it to switch to the opposing sear.
The guns recoil does move the inertia counterweight (anti-doubling device) to avoid that nasty event.

You'll find the latter device in most any single trigger two bbl gun no matter how they're stacked and no matter if the trigger is selective or not.
Some work better than others of course.

FWIW, if the gun (double trigger only) does not have an auto-safe bar in it, or the small auto safe bar has been removed,,then you can lower the strikers and relax the mainsprings by placing the safety OFF, hold the triggers to the rear,,and then gently close the gun shut.
The strikers will lower to the fired position as the bbls close.

Yes, I discovered that the strikers can be lowered by holding the triggers to the rear when closing the barrels a couple of years ago.

Regarding the "inertia block" that keeps the ST's from doubling, see this series of posts on DoublegunShop (link below) showing three of my Model 90ST's. One pre-WWII ST does not have inertia block, so I wonder if it is an aftermarket conversion. The engraved "Skeetking" made in 1939 or 1940 has one but it is a different shape and located in a different position than the Post-1954 version (also shown). I don't know if it came from the factory or is also an aftermarket conversion. Marlin Model 90 Single Triggers - The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com

Inherited a Ranger 103-12 and while hunting about 30yrs ago the top lever spring broke. Its been in my safe along time. I found this link and whoever said Numrich bought the parts was right because I just ordered a replacement spring. Now I just have to figure out how to install it. Anyone have any experience with this they can share. It's been in my family for 3 generations and I would like to pass it on to my son in working order

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Hello Everybody,

I enjoyed last season with my "new" Ranger 103-10, but as I put it away for the summer, I realized that she was looking a little old and beat up.
Since she doesn't have any sentimental value to me, I decided to try my hand at re-finishing the stock. I started by using Citristrip stripping gel to remove the finish. I then steamed the stock to remove most of the dents as well as get out most of the wood stain. Next came some light sanding, and then re-staining with walnut wood stain. I am hoping to start applying Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil tomorrow. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I will post pictures when I am done.

John