Marlin 336 difficulties

[Colin G]

New to the forum. Been shooting on a small level for years mostly .22 and clays...anywho very recently bought a new Marlin 336w, its my first lever action. When i go to load the ammuntion (30-30win) the rounds have a tendency to jam the loading door partially (in the pic below) making loading rounds very difficult and sometimes jamming the action. Several times the round has slipped completly behind the door requiring a field strip to free the round. What the heck am i doing wrong...rifle has less than 20 rounds through it. It seems loading shouldn't be this difficult

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69977&stc=1&d=1304542019

A pic of where the round is supposed to sit in the magazine would be helpful.

Forgive me noobness :p

[hunter52]

you should push the cartridge in far enough to get past the cartridge stop,which holds the cartridge til the lifter drops down to release it

[MLeake]

Is this happening during loading, or shooting/reloading?

Reason I ask is my then 13yo cousin did this to my then 336 about three times - each time by short-stroking the lever.

So that is something you might be doing wrong.

[kirbythegunsmith]

The Marlin 336 has no cartridge stop inside the frame.
The exact issue causing the problem may not be found without direct exam.
Your tries at field-strip to alleviate a jammed shell may not be sufficient to prevent recurrence, but it is good that you were able to free the mechanism of the stuck cartridge.

Bent, burred, and mis-fit parts are the most common issues that I find that are not due to gunk or dirt i.e. contamination.
Sometimes the bends, burrs, and misfitting come from an amateur trying to self administer a cure with a well-placed screwdriver or boot heel.

I once wrote an article about a mis-treated 336 that had just those cures applied to a gun with perennial function problems.
The owner kept putting up with the balky stroking etc. until he got two shells jammed inside, and then he finally decided he could use the help of a pro.

I believe that there may be some mechanical problem in a gun that double-feeds by short-stroking of the action, if that is what actually occurred, since the letting in of a second shell is not supposed to be actuated prior to the complete closure of the bolt- which means when the lever is at the end of the return stroke. Anything less would leave the first shell on the carrier to be pushed back into the magazine by the closing bolt.

Kirby

[mister2]

Lemme see if I'm even understanding this right. You're trying to load the magazine, not chamber a round, right?

So maybe the issue is you're not pushing the rounds far enough past the carrier? If so....

For some new guns/owners, the loading gate has a tendency to skin the thumb, giving rise to techniques that use the tip of the next round to push the previous one in far enough, and so forth. Just have an extra round to push the last one in.

Some others just use a stick. A lighter loading gate spring and sandpaper may be the best solution.

Check this out: http://levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15914

[g.willikers]

This may be too obvious and you've already looked, but is the screw that holds the loading gate/spring tight?
A loose one, allowing the gate to kind of sag, can cause jams, like this.
Just a thought.

[kirbythegunsmith]

Dr. G, you are in the ballpark, at least.
The gate does not have to sag, but can be out of position, as well.
A loose, bent, or stripped loading gate screw (or defective hole) can inhibit proper operation. A bent or mis-fitted loading gate cover contains another batch of possibilities.

---------------------------
These designs have no separate spring for the cover like on the old Colt Lightning pump rifles (for example), since the cover screw is holding the end of the extended tab of the cover that acts as the spring.

If the cartridge is inserted far enough for the cover to slip behind the case head, the shell is sufficiently positioned. No extra insertion distance is required for normal function.
At that point, the shell is blocked from rearward travel by the gate cover on the one side, and the lower beveled section of the lever tip on the other. If a shell slips past (as mentioned by the O.P.), then something is amiss in the scheme of things.

A sharp edge is a possible and unfortunate consequence and oversight by the factory, if present along the cover front lip edge.
A sharp edge is not a reason for failure to function, but is bound to cause consternation and may have a subconscious effect on loading: a loader's flinch- as it were.
Just remember that the shell does not have to go in more than necessary to just clear the front edge of the cover.
You are not trying to insert the shell way past the port cover, OK?

Kirby

[Don P]

Just another fine Marlin with very, very poor quality control. Search this forum for Marlins with problems