The test gun we borrowed from the Guns.com Vault turned out to be an earlier variation, dating to around 1949-1950 based on its serial number. Its 24-inch round barrel predates the micro-groove rifling phenomenon. The uncheckered walnut stocks retain a lovely patina for the rifle’s age, a richness that no synthetic can bear. There’s a hooded front sight and elevation-adjustable rear and no sign of ever having been scoped. The buttplate is simple plastic, but it does wear Marlin’s recognizable bullseye buttstock inset.
The tubular-fed 39A, like its predecessors, can be filled with .22-caliber shorts, longs, or long rifles, holding 26, 21, and 19 rounds respectively, with one in the chamber.
We ran several different rounds through the now over 70-year-old rifle. It never missed a beat. The 39A continues to run like a dream, just as expected. Even in its “newer” 39A form, these rimfires still feel like – and have already become – a modern masterpiece.
FIND YOUR CLASSIC MARLIN .22 HERE