Old Marlin Shotgun

[hoosier4guns]

I picked this up back in the winter because no one else wanted it. LGS had it on the rack at $200 for a long time. The owner needed to make room so he asked me if I would be interested as he knows I am kinda fond of the older stuff. I told him not at that price so he let it go for $100. It's a Model 19-N 12ga full choke. It's in really nice shape but it will remain unfired as long it is in my possession. The action is very similar to the Winchester Model 97...has a very low serial number. I was told it was made back in the early 1900's and wouldn't recommend firing it. Tell me what you folks think of this old Marlin..all original finish. Regards Rich.

 

[s&wchad]

Wow! You got a great deal on a classic Marlin and it appears to be in fabulous condition. I would have snapped it up in a heartbeat at the asking price. A+

 

[Maddog 521]

Great shotgun you got there. Why won't you shoot it?

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Marlin pump shotguns are prohibited (as in banned) from SASS cowboy usage. The action will fire without being locked up. In the heat of competition that has happened with from poor to nasty results. It is probably safe to hunt with, just like the last hundred years.

Ivan

 

[BearBio]

I've read that any of the old Marlin hammered pumps are unsafe as they can unlock when fired and the bolt come back and hit the shooter. Might have been in Flaydermans (?).

 

[Hang-Fire Hank]

A MARLIN SG STORY

Hoosier:

Back in 1990, I found a Marlin 24G slide action 12ga. in a Scottsdale, AZ gun shop (Mandela's) with the butt stock crudely painted solid WHITE! It was in a free-standing rack on the show room floor (i.e. only low value, junk guns there). Figured it was painted barnyard White & used in a theatrical play (you know, a shotgun wedding). I bought it for $217, according to my records.

Took it home & stripped the ungodly paint off. Holy Mackerel, what should my eyes behold? The paint had covered up Extra Fancy wood with beautiful figuring! Wish I had kept some photos. I lovingly hand-rubbed some tung oil into it. "A thing of beauty & a joy forever"!

Well, not forever. I sold it in 2006 for $375. Why? I found out there was a scare/rumor that the bolt could fly straight back when fired right into the shooter's puss causing serious harm.

I mention it to you, 'cause I think the 24 was the successor to the Model 19 that you have. You said you wouldn't fire it & I'd suggest you DEFINITELY make up your mind not to!

Very nice Marlin SG you have!

Hank M.

 

[2152hq]

I had a Mod 19 Marlin when I was in my teens. Somebody gave it to my father and he gave it to me, his gun-nut son to tinker with.
It was the Model with the push slide release up next to the bolt on the right side, but someone has seen fit to remove that and weld it over. I didn't know any thing about them,,no internet or books about them to look anything up.
I got it to work, kind of. I loaded and shot BP shells for it. It worked just fine when shot. But to open the gun w/o the slide release there, you just had to pull a lot harder on the pump handle! Little did I know that the removed part(s) were a hang fire safety mechanism!
Still have all my fingers.
Later in life I worked at Marlin and the hammer pumps were like the black plague. They had a bunch of them in the 'cage',,a locked up fenced in area in the upper loft of guns that were kabooms and other oh-ohoos that had occurred in customers hands.
Not pretty sights!
The dizzying number of models can be attributed to MArlins desire to assign a new Model number to the same shotgun just for a different gauge. They did the same thing for the hammerless pump guns too.

There were lots of changes to the hammer pumps, but they never strayed far from the basic design in their lock-up which isn't all that great IMO.
The hammerless pump shotguns use a more conventional design of locking the bolt into the roof of the recvr.
The hammer guns depend on a locking bolt pinned to the breech bolt itself on the bottom to drop or pivot at the back end and engage the frame.
The Marlin hammer shotguns are one of the very few guns I will not put myself behind the trigger and shoot.
The hammerless designs I do.

 

[Drm50]

When I was a kid I had a Marlin 19, that I hunted with for awhile.
Didn't know any better back then. Lucky I never had any problems with it blowing open. I have had several of the old
Marlin pumps since, hammer and Hammerless. Never had a hammer gun in the shape of the OPs. Never bothered to look into
the cause. Is this a engineering flaw, or caused by wear or poorly
maintained gun? The only 2 pumps I have seen blown open was
a 3" 870, it came back and wrecked action bars and forced the
forend over front of action. The other was a Moss 500, which did
about the same thing. There are a lot of turn of the century
shotguns that should no be shot with modern Ammo. I shudder
to think of some of the old shotguns I shot as a kid. I was smart
enough not to fire smokeless in twist barrels, but that is about all

 

[patrickd]

When I was a kid I had a Marlin 19, that I hunted with for awhile.
Didn't know any better back then. Lucky I never had any problems with it blowing open. I have had several of the old
Marlin pumps since, hammer and Hammerless. Never had a hammer gun in the shape of the OPs. Never bothered to look into
the cause. Is this a engineering flaw, or caused by wear or poorly
maintained gun? The only 2 pumps I have seen blown open was
a 3" 870, it came back and wrecked action bars and forced the
forend over front of action. The other was a Moss 500, which did
about the same thing. There are a lot of turn of the century
shotguns that should no be shot with modern Ammo. I shudder
to think of some of the old shotguns I shot as a kid. I was smart
enough not to fire smokeless in twist barrels, but that is about all

I had an 870 that the action would open when fired. Turned out to be caused from varnish from old gun oil was preventing complete lockup when cocked. A total tear down with a thorough cleaning solved the problem.

 

[Drm50]

I had an 870 that the action would open when fired. Turned out to be caused from varnish from old gun oil was preventing complete lockup when cocked. A total tear down with a thorough cleaning solved the problem.

That was the problem with the 870, which resulted from poor
upkeep by owner. I never did figure out the Moss 500 problem.
Gun was exceptionally clean. The 870 survived with new parts.
Guy junked the Moss 500.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Remember the song? "those were the days my friend..."

 

[patrickd]

That was the problem with the 870, which resulted from poor
upkeep by owner. I never did figure out the Moss 500 problem.
Gun was exceptionally clean. The 870 survived with new parts.
Guy junked the Moss 500.

Mine was in storage for 4 yrs while I was overseas. When I got back all I did was give it a casual cleaning and it sat in the closet another year before I ever fired it. Hoppes oil will turn to varnish over a 5 yr period inside a gun.

 

[DWalt]

My very first shotgun was one of those Marlins. Bought it from a friend of my father's for $25, including a box of 12 Ga shells. I shot it a LOT. I took a lot of ducks with it, to say nothing of rabbits and squirrels. I guess I am lucky, because I never had any out-of-battery firings, and never heard of anyone who did. I strongly suspect that if indeed that ever did happen, it was due to breakage of something in the mechanism, and not in the design.

One problem with it I did experience was freezing. Out in the duck blind in the river bottoms on a sleety cold day, water would get into the action and freeze it up. It would be locked up solid. I remember I carried a 1-lb coffee can with sand in it, and would put kerosene in it. Sort of a portable fireplace. Lit it to keep my hands warm, would have to use it to thaw the action out when it froze up. Put the lid on afterwards to smother the fire.

Regarding the Marlin action, it is NOTHING like the Winchester 97. Not a great gun, but at the time, I thought it was. I sold it sometime in the early 1970s, as I had moved on to other shotguns.