Marlin 39A extraction problems

[jnyork]

I have a Marlin 39A, 'N' model, condition is excellent. I have fired it quite a bit over the last few years in Lever Action Silhouette matches, never a problem.

Now, fired cases want to stick in the chamber. After the rifle has had a thorough cleaning, including removing any sign of a carbon ring, I can fire it maybe 12-14 times before the sticking begins. After that, average is every other shot. I am using SK Standard Plus, but have tried other ammo to no avail. The extractor is sharp and has a good amount of spring to it. There is no sign of a divot on the chamber edge from dry firing. There are no bulges or scratches on the extracted cases. Close examination with a borescope reveals no defects in the chamber.

Anyone got any ideas?

[H.Plummer]

Sorry to say that I can't help you out with your extraction issue, but as a new 39A owner, I hope you will post anything you find out about it. Good luck!

[edgehit]

Examine the extractor hook to see where the wear is located. Could be you’ve lost the point’s ability to grip the rim, which ultimately is what extraction boils down to.

Take the rifle apart and drop a live round in the chamber to see how much of the SK rim is exposed to the extractor hook.

Have you tried another brand of ammunition to see if the extraction is the same?

[TheBugFather]

Change to another brand from SK, your problems should go away.

Try Eley or CCI or another brand to test.

I have found that SK's rim diameter is just the slightest bit smaller and has caused some extraction issues in a few of my guns/rifles.

It will give you extra time to figure out what is going on, look into replacing your extractor.

Many other 39A's digest SK with no or little problems, including mine.

Dennis

[JohnHenry]

I started having this same problem with my 39A this summer. I changed the extractor, but that did not solve the problem. Normally, I use SK Biathalon ammo. I have some Norma Tac-22 and tried it. No extraction problems at all with that ammo. I think, like a previous poster, the SK rim is slightly rounded and not as sharp as the Norma.

My gunsmith is checking the rifle to see if the chamber is worn. This could be the problem as I've shot this rifle continuously since 2010. It has many thousands of rounds through it. I'll report what the gunsmith finds.

Jim Luke

[PAndy]

I shot a fair amount of Eley Force through my 39A this spring. A week or two before nationals, I started having extraction troubles. I switched from Eley to SK ammo, and have not stuck a single case since. Go figure.

[jnyork]

I took it apart again and very vigorously scrubbed the chamber with a bore brush and some Hoppes. Blew the entire action out with GunScrubber, got every tiny bit of mung out. Lubed with BreakFree. Took it out thIs morning and ran 25 rounds of AutoMatch through it without a hiccup. Hopefully it's fixed now. I am suspicious that the lube on the SK I was using might have been the culprit.

Edit, later:

Well, I took it to the Lever Action Silhouette match this morning, fired 60 more shots for a total of 85 rounds of AutoMatch. # 70 stuck in the chamber but was easily popped out with the tiny screwdriver I very cleverly brought along for the purpose. Rest of them extracted normally.

I think I am going to continue to pay close attention to cleaning the chamber as well as the action in general, continue with the AutoMatch and see what happens.

[mmolberg]

If your 39 has been dry fired at all, there may be a very small nick at the chamber where the rim sits. I have seen this dry fire nick hold onto brass. A quick twist with a chamber iron will help with this.

[JohnHenry]

My gunsmith just worked on my 39A with the extraction problem. He polished the chamber, and it will now extract SK ammo without any problems.

[TheBugFather]

These are all good things to know.

this has worked for me with sticky chambers:

Amazon
Brush Research 08305 Rifle Chamber Flex-Hone, Silicon Carbide, 800 Grit, For 0.17" Colt/0.22 Magnum (Pack of 1)

Also, as the other poster had said, check for a tiny scratch along the top of the brass as you bring it out of the chamber.

that would be the firing pin ding.


Dennis Ostler

[edgehit]

I watched the flex hone video and I got the impression you could easily lose what little throat a micro groove barrel has. The rifling is only 1/1000” deep.

[JohnHenry]

As I posted awhile back, I had extraction problems with my 39A. I had my gunsmith polish the chamber and that worked for a brief time. Then the problem came back again.

I read the article referenced in the smallbore section about bore cleaning. I used the Bore Tex carbon cleaner following the article's directions.
I wetted a patch and inserted on the cleaning rod a little past the chamber and left it overnight. The cleaner is a clear liquid, but the next day when I took it out the patch was a bright blue color. Then I scrubbed the bore with the carbon cleaner until it was clean. The result of this is the carbon ring was removed in the cleaning process.

Now the rifle chambers and extracts with no issues. So the problem all along was the carbon ring build up in the barrel just ahead of the chamber.

If you are having extraction problems, try the carbon cleaner from Bore Tex. It works.

Jim Luke

[TheBugFather]

Thanks Jim for reading my post on Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover, I thought the article was very useful and have since bought some myself.

I didn't think that it would be related to extraction issues, but thank you for figuring this out for us all.

When I see you this coming Saturday, we can talk more about a similar problem I had with a Marlin 1892 22lr lever action.

Dennis Ostler

[jnyork]

Well, I ran over 400 rounds of Automatch through it at local matches, never stuttered at all even with never cleaning it during the process. I think I found for sure that I just had a dirty, carboned up chamber. I cleaned it yesterday thoroughly with a bore brush and some Hoppes, borescope showed it bright and shiney. Problem whipped now.

[JohnHenry]

JnYork, happy the carbon cleaner worked for you like it did for me. I was really surprised at the effectiveness of this cleaner.