Picked this one up tonight

[Jeff olson]

1952 39A. Very nice condition. Has a weaver 330 scope. Anyone know when the Ballard rifling ended and micro groove began? Got this for $750. I'm pretty happy.

 

[Riomouse911]

Cool! My Dad has a Golden Mountie 39A, that was the first lever gun I ever shot.

This may help on Marlin rifling types and dates.

https://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm

Let us know how it shoots for you when you get a chance to take it out.

Stay safe.

 

[PapaG]

Jealous here. I've had a dozen in my lifetime and have given most to kids and friends, traded a couple and missed every one. Pretty much done woods roaming and try to console myself that my original 52 is all I need to punch paper. (but the CZ 455 and 10-22 custom are nice)

 

[Howland937]

1952 39A. Very nice condition. Has a weaver 330 scope

I've got nearly that much in one not as nice that's currently broken and non-functional. Does your 330 have crosshair or post reticle? If it's nice and fully functional, that's $200+ right there.

 

[Jeff olson]

I've got nearly that much in one not as nice that's currently broken and non-functional. Does your 330 have crosshair or post reticle? If it's nice and fully functional, that's $200+ right there.

It has the post reticle.

 

[Jeff olson]

I'll admit I'm not as knowledgeable about the 39 as I'd like, but I've never seen a 1 piece offset hammer spur on one. Seen plenty of extensions and slip on offsets, but not a 1 piece.

 

[Howland937]

It has the post reticle.

I'm not an expert, but was trying to find a more period correct scope for my 1946 made 39A....so I did some digging and learning. Pretty sure the post reticle Weaver 330 is the most highly sought after and most expensive. Could possibly bring north of $300 by itself.

 

[chicharrones]

I'll admit I'm not as knowledgeable about the 39 as I'd like, but I've never seen a 1 piece offset hammer spur on one. Seen plenty of extensions and slip on offsets, but not a 1 piece.

From here, it almost looks like it is a welded on gunsmith modification. Not too shabby, either.

 

[chicharrones]

That's a slick rig you have from another place in time, @Jeff olson . Congrats.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Nice...

 

[Howland937]

From here, it almost looks like it is a welded on gunsmith modification. Not too shabby, either.

It's definitely a modification, whether it's added on or just twisted over. The Weaver bases are also an add on. Some purists would cringe, but I wouldn't mind at all. At least it's not wearing a 1" 12-48x85 on a picatinny rail.

 

[Jeff olson]

It's definitely a modification, whether it's added on or just twisted over. The Weaver bases are also an add on. Some purists would cringe, but I wouldn't mind at all. At least it's not wearing a 1" 12-48x85 on a picatinny rail.

The original owner said the rifle was shipped back to marlin and drilled and tapped. Wonder if they did any other mods along with it?

 

[Scooter22]

Very nice. I think they modified the hammer for easier use with the scope.

 

[borrowedtime69]

Holy @#$& ! Thats beautiful! I had a later model but it had feeding issues and I sold it. That's a great find for that price. I love the scope too.

 

[Howland937]

The original owner said the rifle was shipped back to marlin and drilled and tapped. Wonder if they did any other mods along with it?

It's kind of like some of the other stuff I'm sure you've run into. Modifications you're sure aren't original but were done so long ago there's just no way to know if they were factory options/customer request or done by a competent smith.

Yours appears to also be drilled on the left side for receiver mounted sight. Mine is drilled in the same exact spot, but a lot aren't. Could be they left the factory that way. I'm sure the side mounted scope holes aren't factory on mine, but it was a common enough modification that I don't care. Just like your Weaver mounts.

 

[Tentwing]

View attachment 1107600

View attachment 1107512 View attachment 1107516 View attachment 1107512 1952 39A. Very nice condition. Has a weaver 330 scope. Anyone know when the Ballard rifling ended and micro groove began? Got this for $750. I'm pretty happy. View attachment 1107512

Mr. Olsen , Congratulations on you new 39a . I also have a J- prefix 1952 model. It has slowly become my favorite squirrel rifle. Marlin received the patent for the micro-groove process in 1953. However because the had so many pre-produced barrels the microgroove stamped barrels didn’t really show up til 1954. If you run across an L-prefix 1954 with Ballard rifling’s you have yourself a fairly rare find.

Over the years I have found that my Ballard rifled Marlins tend to group better with round nosed lead 22 offerings. For reasons I don’t know the copper plated or copper washed bullets while the still do well tend to have groups that open up ( a bit ). I have also noticed that squared edges bullets like Federal Auto-Match do not cycle as smoothly in my older Marlins, nor does any Winchester offerings. Also stay away from CCI stingers.

My 1951 peanut , 1952, the 1950 ( all Ballard rifling) all three seem to perform group size and cycling wise with Aguila super extra lead nosed sub sonic. That being said the also like CCI, Blazer, RWS subsonic, Fiochi, Norma tac-22 (black box), and Aguila super extra copper washed.

The hammer modification was done most like because someone didn’t like hammer spurs (me either) . As for period correct scopes that will be a little tricky. If you find one that is guaranteed to function correctly then the seller will most likely want top $$ for it. ( I learned that lesson the hard way) Also for that time period Weaver, Bushnell, and Redfield are going to be your easiest to find offerings, and your least expensive.

I hope you have as many great memories with your Ballard Marlin as I have mine, but be warned grandson’s quickly start laying claim to them ……… sorry for rambling hope some of this helps , Tentwing
.

 

[Jeff olson]

It's kind of like some of the other stuff I'm sure you've run into. Modifications you're sure aren't original but were done so long ago there's just no way to know if they were factory options/customer request or done by a competent smith.

Yours appears to also be drilled on the left side for receiver mounted sight. Mine is drilled in the same exact spot, but a lot aren't. Could be they left the factory that way. I'm sure the side mounted scope holes aren't factory on mine, but it was a common enough modification that I don't care. Just like your Weaver mounts.

Completely agree. I still find it peculiar that 99% of the 39s i see that are d&t'd, are in exactly the same place. These 2 are 30 yrs apart.

 

[Howland937]

Completely agree. I still find it peculiar that 99% of the 39s i see that are d&t'd, are in exactly the same place. These 2 are 30 yrs apart.View attachment 1107614

Mine are covered by the scope mount but are also in identical spot as yours, which makes me think it could be a factory option.

 

[.45Coltguy]

That 39A is really clean. nice score!

 

[.45Coltguy]

My 39A is a '57 and it has those same mounting holes on the side for a reciever sight. Also, Micro-Groove barrel.

 

[Frulk]

I'm really liking that hammer offset.

 

[ECVMatt]

That's a winner!

My 39 Mountie is one of my favorite .22's!

 

[GooseGestapo]

The two holes on the left side are factory standard.
They are for mounting a receiver sight.

 

[GooseGestapo]

This is my Model 39D wearing a Williams Sourdough receiver sight. It also has a 1/2” x .050” aperture installed along with a 1/16” front bead.

It’s not as accurate as my CZ452 by a large margin, but exceeds the 10/22 for “fun factor”!

It holds like 21 shorts or CB’s.

The D model had plain walnut stock and a 20”bbl. Sort of a budget mounty with out the square lever. To my knowledge, only sold by Kmart Corporation in 1970’s.
This one had a 3/8” grooved scope base installed and was missing both front and rear sights. I bought it circa 2015 for $175.00 !

 

[Jeff olson]

Had some spare time today to try her out. This old girl is becoming one of my favorites already.