Look in reference Library for Years of Manufacture and info on it.. that is the easiest way ... You have a popular and fantastic 22 rifle .. please shoot and enjoy it thats what it was made for.. Welcome to MO

 

The "W" makes it a 1963, the squirrel would make it a "Glenfield" (Marlin). Good little gun! Hope this helps.

 

The Glenfield squirrel stocks are on 60's not on 39's

AFAIK, there was never a 39 sold under the Glenfield name.

 

The rifle you describe is a 39ADL. In 1960 marlin produced 500 each of 39A and 39A Mounties that were chrome plated with the checkered stocks with the squirrel carver in the stock as the 90[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary model. In 1961 the 39ADL was introduced with the same squirrel and checkering. There were 3,306 made between 1961 and 1963 when it was discontinued. This gun has considerable collector value depending on condition. In nice condition I would think it should bring around $1000.

 

Thanks for the info.



Stubbfarmer- Thanks for the info on the rifle. What you are telling me makes sense based on what I remember when my parents gave me the rifle 48 years ago. I remember my dad saying that it was a "special" version of the Marlin 39A. I think that he said that it was a "deluxe" model. Maybe the 39ADL stands for a deluxe version. It is not chrome plated as some of the ones that you mentioned but it does have the gold trigger and the checkering and carving on the stock. My dad added a nice Leupold scope a couple of years later as another Christmas present. The combo made for a great little plinking gun. When my rilfe was found by my friend who had borrowed it, I was especially happy because of the personal nature of the rifle's history. I had very little money as a kid and this was indeed, a special gift. My parents are both gone now and the rifle's reappearance was something that I thought would never happen. I just got it back yesterday (Dec. 30) and I am still extremely grateful that it is in my possession once more.

Thanks again- whitefish

 

I have a Marlin Golden 39A that just resurfaced after a long absence. I let a friend borrow it 18 years ago and his wife "put it away for him". I thought that it was gone forever.

what's the story of its return? was it found somewhere

 

Moss 1- The return of my Marlin is a somewhat complicated story- but quite interesting. My dad's sister (my aunt Diana) and I were quite close. I stayed with her during the summer when I was young because she lined up a summer job for me - and she had a cottage on a nearby lake. I got to earn some money and I could fish, sell night crawlers and shoot my .22 on the weekends when we would go to "the lake". Later in life I had the opportunity to buy her cottage. My wife also came to love it there so we agreed to buy it, giving my Aunt the opportunity to stay as long as she wished. We would visit when we could and it was still like the cottage was really hers, even though it was legally ours. When my Aunt died her daughter was very angry at my wife and I because she had not been told that we had bought the cottage. She inherited the money that we paid my Aunt but she was still angry that she did not get the cabin. My Aunt didn't want to sell, or give, it to her because she needed the money and didn't trust her own daughter to pay her. The daughter, my cousin, was not a very honest person and couldn't even legally own another residence because of court proceedings against her. Another factor was that she lived in Nevada and the cottage was in Michigan. When she came to clean out my Aunt's belongings she took some of my personal property as well as what had belonged to my Aunt. When I mentioned it to her she became very angry at me a said that I was lying about the contents. I thought that she had taken my rifle as well. My brother-in-law in Colorado told me that she had given him a Marlin 39A and that she had told him that she didn't know where it came from. He later lost it in a house fire. I told him that it belonged to me and that she probably gave it to him out of spite toward me. (I later found out that this was a completely different Marlin 39A. I guess that I am guilty of some erroneous evil thoughts about my cousin. I assumed that it was my rifle that burned in the fire. I have no idea where my cousin acquired the other rifle.)
On Friday (Dec. 30) a friend called me and asked if I was going to be home for a while. He said that he had something to bring out to me but he wouldn't tell me what it was. When he came in the door I saw my old gun case that was hand made in Mexico and very unique. At that time I had no idea that the rifle was inside. When I opened it, I was in shock. My rifle had risen from the grave. My heart did a couple of flips and I was at a loss for words. My friend was sheepishly grinning, half afraid that I was going to tear into him for keeping my Marlin for 18 years. My only thought was of joy- I was overwhelmed. He had borrowed my rifle and I had completely forgotten about it. His wife had "put it away for him". She had slipped it into a small storage area under a stairway. My buddy just retired this year and found the long-lost rifle on one of his cleaning projects.
Stubbfarmer sent me a post and estimated the value at $1000. I guess that you can understand why I would be very unlikely to ever sell this rifle. I did want to know the dollar value out of curiosity but there are other values that go far beyond the cash. My Marlin is one of those cases. This helps me relive the smile on my parents faces and the thrill in my heart when I opened up that special Christmas package 48 years ago.

Now you know "the rest of the story". Thanks for asking- it was a very enjoyable answer.
whitefish

 

Very glad you got it back!

 

Every gun has a story. Not all are as interesting or intriguing as yours. Great story. jack

 

Great story! Glad you got your baby back.
And welcome to the forum!

 

Great story. That's a priceless rifle in my book. Thanks for sharing.


M

 

I do not loan any of my guns, Ever. Too many stories like this one.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I never ask to borrow someone else's gun and I certainly don't loan them.

 

That is a great story! I am glad you got your gun back! Annnnnd I hope your cousin dies of hemorrhoids.

 

You do know about the rule that a story like this requires pictures dont you? Fom

 

That is so wonderful you got your rifle back. That story almost brought tears to my eyes!

 

Hi Guys...new to the forum and read the great story on the return of the Marlin golden 39A-DL!I have the same gun in 98% and bought it new in 1962, fired it a few hundred times, put it in a gun case and have not fired it since. Over the years, oiled it, used the lever and action a few times and put it away each time in the case. It has lasted in my collection of 100 or so guns for all these years as it was also a gift from my dad, the only gift he ever gave me. Now here's the interested part of the story.....I live in Phoenix and changed homes about a year and a half ago and moved to Surprise AZ. And SURPRISE ...I found the original box with the sleeve still over the original box, protecting it for 51 years, 12 house moves and 3 wives and divorces!! All this time I thought something else was in the box so it never got tossed out. When I opened it, it was like going back in time when I was 17 and in HS. Everything inside was like new, the scope box, all papers, hang tags etc. Even the original order, receipt from the distributor in TX, all factory papers that come with the rifle were there complete. Hang tag says $100 Gun was shipped with a 4X scope with gold rings, hammer offset for rt hand shooters and held 25 rounds. Marlin referred to it as the Golden 39-ADL. The beautiful Squirrel is carved (not pressed) into the side of the stock on the right side and is as beautiful as is the walnut wood and checkering. If you can ever find one of these, buy it no matter what the cost as you probably will never find another. Mine has a tooled sling and a Burris Custom 3X-7X scope to finish it off and was a birthday to me from me on my 18th birthday. It is a beautiful setup indeed and hope that some of you also own or will own this same gun. You can't buy this gun or quality today. Now for the value in 2012...I took the gun, box and all to a gun dealer I trusted and he valued the gun at $1300 with original scope and the box and papers at $200 for a total of $1500. Add about $200 extra for Burris scope and mounts and the whole package would go for about $1700. 32nd edition Blue Book shows $900. The trick is to find one. This is probably the only gun I will never sell as it means too much to me.

Best to All...stay safe

Gary

 

If you can ever find one of these, buy it no matter what the cost as you probably will never find another.

Gary

There was one on Gunsamerica last year that was only identified as a 39A with a custom squirrel carving. Metal was only in fair shape and it was missing the rear sight.

Not knowing what it was at the time, I let it go and it sold for $275.:banghead:

 

OK, both of you guys. Great stories! You absolutely MUST post pictures!

 

Great stories. Don't feel bad about your cousin every family has all kinds of issues and folks. My parents didn't have much but some of my siblings still fought over stupid stuff when they were gone. I only wanted one thing and I got it; the US flag that drapped my dad's casket. My dad served in the Navy in WWII. That's all I wanted or cared about. My brother got dad's Remington bolt action 22. I am fine with that as he will take good are of it.

Hey BigJeep, don't you have one of these squirrel stock guns?

 

Marlin Golden 39A- Photos

I realize that this is a little late but I posted some photos of the .22 rifle that I wrote about. You said that I needed to post photos and I just got around to it. I am not great on the technology end of this but I did figure out how to get the photos in. I hope that you enjoy them.

 

That's a neat story and I am glad you got that gorgeous rifle back in your hands..

 

Thanks for the photos as well as the story with a good ending/ You have a treasure there that is much more valuable than any monetary value it would bring. I am a sucker for any gun that has a squirrel. Enjoy and congratulations on a great recovery. The LORD has blessed you well and may he continue to do so. Fom

 

That is an awesome story! Thanks for sharing!!

 

Beautiful gun you should cherish,I have one of the 39a-dl made in 1962,I am not the original owner but it replaced an early 70s 39a that was stolen from my home in 1988.

 

If I hadn't seen two pictures, I would never believed it. What a collectors item.

 

I didn't realize when I first started reading this thread, that it was almost 2 years old. I missed it the first time around. Great story, so glad you shared it and the pictures. The 39ADL is one of the variations I have never came across, hopefully someday I will add one to my collection.

Tim

 

I picked one up last night. Got it off gunbroker last week


I really like the carved stocks and i am always on the lookout for one

 

It is nice to not only to hear such great stories but to also see the gun wearing a scope worthy of what it is mounted on. AC