[jertex]

I went to the range yesterday afternoon and after the first two rounds, experienced what appears to be the Marlin Jam. This was not unexpected as I was informed of this possibility when I purchased the gun. It was part of an estate sale and a knowledgeable Marlin shooter had warned me of this common problem. The reason I say "appears" to be the Marlin Jam was because I was able to clear the gun without taking anything apart and fired a few more rounds before it happened again & I was again able to clear the jam. I'm also wondering if this may be because of other factors. I took the gun apart last night and there seemed to be an unusual amount of what appears to be brass filings and the gun had not had a deep cleaning and lube job in some time. It appears that the previous owner used a fairly heavy gun grease as well. I've inserted a picture of the carrier with the notch or gouge that is indicative of this problem.

I also noticed that the gun is incredibly difficult to load after the first 3 or 4 rounds. I've read that there could be rust in the magazine tube and that this could also cause jams and other malfunctions so I will take that apart as well and give it a good cleaning and lube.

I welcome any words of wisdom about this from the experienced 1894 shooters. I have read the most informative link I could find on do-it-yourself repair here and I have also learned that a SASS shooter named Gunner Gatlin has a repair to the carrier that forever eliminates the Marlin Jam. I would be thrilled to get feedback.

 

[mazer]

Hi jertex!
Well, it happens, but it can be a very easy fix, check out the "do it yourself gunsmithing" forum and it will walk you through the fixes if necessary. Besides the loading tube, be sure you check that the lever plunger is moving easily as well, you may need to pull it out of the lever (there is a pin you need to knock out) and clean that up as well. Also, how well does your lever close? If it is bent at all where it hits the lower tang when you close it, that can cause it as well.
Let us know what you try, what worked or didn't.
mazer

 

[jertex]

The plunger seems to be moving fine and the lever seems to close perfectly and does not appear to be bent. The gun is apart at the moment but I checked to make sure that the lever looked true prior to purchase just because of something I read, probably on this forum.

Should this post be moved to the gunsmithing section?

 

[rob42049]

jertex:

Go to Gunsmithing and find "Tweaking the 1894 Carrier". I adjusted my carrier nose upwards .018" and it now feeds smooth as glass. Follow the directions. I cold bent mine,heating with a torch worried me,and for a small bend like that,heat is not necessary. Smooth the sharp corner on the lever snail,and smooth the bottom of the carrier(where that groove is) with fine emery cloth, lube it and you should be OK.
Also,you can cut the magazine tube spring so in its relaxed state,4" sticks out past the muzzle. This takes the bind out of the mag tube,and makes loading easier. A brass follower from Beartooth Mercantile is always a good choice. Bend the sharp end of the spring inward with a needlenose pliers,so it goes inside the follower,and doesn't catch on the magazine tube.


Rob

 

[jertex]

jertex:

Go to Gunsmithing and find "Tweaking the 1894 Carrier". I adjusted my carrier nose upwards .018" and it now feeds smooth as glass. Follow the directions. I cold bent mine,heating with a torch worried me,and for a small bend like that,heat is not necessary. Smooth the sharp corner on the lever snail,and smooth the bottom of the carrier(where that groove is) with fine emery cloth, lube it and you should be OK.
Also,you can cut the magazine tube spring so in its relaxed state,4" sticks out past the muzzle. This takes the bind out of the mag tube,and makes loading easier. A brass follower from Beartooth Mercantile is always a good choice. Bend the sharp end of the spring inward with a needlenose pliers,so it goes inside the follower,and doesn't catch on the magazine tube.


Rob

I'm a little nervous adjusting the end of the carrier but I guess worst case is that I buy a new one, if they're easily attainable. I'm a little slow, but if I'm understanding you correctly about the follower, you're suggesting that I replace the oem follower with the brass follower from Beartooth Mercantile?

 

[jertex]

Work done so far to address this problem

Marlin Jam

After detail stripping the receiver I followed the instructions in the repair link and knocked the sharp edge off of the snail cam using a hand file and a dremel tool. I was a little nervous using the dremel but the hand file was getting nowhere fast. I used the dremel on the lowest speed and then use the file to fine tune & smooth the snail cam edge.

The scoring in the carrier didn't seem to be too far gone so I took 600 grit sand paper and sanded the surface to smooth it as much as possible without removing material and then I took Mother's metal polish and used a felt buffing bit in my dremel to polish it to mirror brightness. I'll take it to the range next weekend for field testing but so far, it appears to cycle perfectly.

Slicking

I decided that since I had everything apart I would go ahead and polish as many of surfaces with metal to metal wear as I could by using both 600 grit sand paper or mothers, depending on the surface.

The result is a much improved action, although I could have probably done a little more work on the bolt and hammer. I will fine tune this over time as I get a little more range time in and learn more about the gun.


More magazine work

I decided to do a little more work to improve the ease of loading and took the recommendation of rob42049 and reduced the excess length of the magazine spring to just over 4 inches. I also cleaned & lubed the magazine tube again and am still removing significant rust. It seems like it will never be completely free of rust but I'll probably go through this a few more times. I also soaked a double bore patch with CLP and thoroughly coated the magazine tube. (I plan on ordering a brass follower as well).

The results so far are great in testing in the workshop but the proof will be in the field.

 

[rkcohen]

"Experienced the Dreaded Marlin Jam the first time out with my '82 1894".............doesn't that drive you nuts? and then you find out how to fix it and you're beaming with accomplishment!

look in the stickies and you'll find a goldmine of "how-to" articles...

 

[Baltimoreed]

The first time my second hand, well used .45 lc 1894 cowboy limited had the DMJ it was pre Internet- forums etc, you know, the dark ages. So I replaced the carrier= fixed. The last time it developed the DMJ I was able to go online to find an actual cure. I simply used an end of a coping saw blade, where it's solid before the teeth start, polished the piece of blade and the carrier and jb welded the blade to the carrier where the lever wears. Now there's a piece of hardened steel on the carrier where the lever bumps instead of soft lever metal. I've not had any more issues and this gun is my workhorse. ( my SASS number is 11754 so my 1894s been to a whole lot of matches)