Marlin .44 mag feed problems

Geezerbiker · August 29, 2014, 08:03 AM

A friend of mine has a Marlin .44 mag lever action that if you put more than one round in the mag, it jams. The local gunsmith said this was a noted problem in the early Marlin .44 mag and there is no fix for it. Supposedly the problem was that Marlin was in a hurry to release a rifle in this caliber and poorly converted their .30-30 to .44 mag and the .44 mag is too short to function. Any chance the smith is not full of bull on this?

We've talked about trading it for one of my guns but only if I can get it fixed. If the .44 mag is really too short for this rifle, could it be converted to .445 super mag?

Tony

hanleyfan · August 29, 2014, 11:22 AM

the new marlin 1894 44 mag. I bought had the same problem, after paying 560.00 for a new marlin that would not cycle a round was quite frustrating, so much for the famous Marlin quality that everyone proclaims. There is a fix for it, just do a google search for the Marlin jam and there are many threads on it, It took me about a hour to fix mine.

Geezerbiker · August 30, 2014, 09:35 PM

Thanx, I'll look into that. I would have assumed the gunsmith would have done the same, guess not...

Tony

g.willikers · August 31, 2014, 08:10 AM

Is the first round being loaded directly into the chamber and the second one coming from the mag?
If the problem occurs only when loaded from the mag, it could also be the ammo.
Sometimes these firearms are sensitive to the overall cartridge length, mostly if it's too long.

**4V50 Gary** · August 31, 2014, 08:35 AM

The nose of the cartridge that is on the carrier should stop the bullet in the magazine from exiting the magazine. As the lever is closed, the bottom of the carrier is supposed to prevent the bullet in the magazine from exiting.

OK, it's not. Can you be more descriptive of the jam.

Salmoneye · August 31, 2014, 03:28 PM

Quote:

A friend of mine has a Marlin .44 mag lever action that if you put more than one round in the mag, it jams. The local gunsmith said this was a noted problem in the early Marlin .44 mag and there is no fix for it. Supposedly the problem was that Marlin was in a hurry to release a rifle in this caliber and poorly converted their .30-30 to .44 mag and the .44 mag is too short to function. Any chance the smith is not full of bull on this?

We've talked about trading it for one of my guns but only if I can get it fixed. If the .44 mag is really too short for this rifle, could it be converted to .445 super mag?

If by this you mean that your friend has a 336 in .44 Mag (round internal bolt), then I suggest taking this question to Marlin Owners forum...

I have not heard of the .44 mags based on the 336 having this issue...

If you are talking about a Marlin 1894 (square bolt), as noted, it is called the 'Marlin Jam'...

Marlin called it 'feeding two'...

Here's one page on the fix...There are many more out there:

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/marlin94fix.html

natman · September 1, 2014, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Any chance the smith is not full of bull on this?

Nope. The 336 is the wrong size for a cartridge the size of a 44 mag and the 336/44s are infamous for feeding problems. Because of this, Marlin didn't make very many, so they are now collector's items and everybody wants one.

IIRC the equally famous "Marlin Jam" is a problem with Marlin 1894s and is not applicable to the 336.

Snyper · September 17, 2014, 05:27 AM

About three quarters of the time when a Marlin jams, it's a loose action screw

g.willikers · September 17, 2014, 11:20 AM

Almost forgot.
On the 1894 model, problems can arise if the screw on the outside of the receiver that holds the loading spring door to the loading port closed and tight gets loose and lets the door droop inward.
The drooping spring and door can block rounds from coming out of the mag tube.

HiBC · September 18, 2014, 03:02 PM

There is a popular Keith type 245 or so,+ or- bullet,I think it is a Lyman,that has just a touch too long of an ogive for many of the lever actions,Marlin 1894 included.Unfortunately,if you load to crimp ring length,they do not work.

Its been a lot of years since I had the problem,but seems like pulling the front cap off the mag tube ,removing spring,follower,and cartridges was part of clearing it.

Good news is,choose the right bullet,problem solved.
(If that is the root cause in your situation)

mete · September 18, 2014, 06:50 PM

Loose door ? yes. Excessive cartridge/bullet length ? yes .

FrankenMauser · September 18, 2014, 11:50 PM

336s chambered in .44 Mag are notoriously unreliable and prone to feeding issues. The 'smith is not full of bull, if it's a 336.

As for "Marlin Jams"....
The 'classic' Marlin Jam is a cartridge on the carrier, being fed into the chamber, while another cartridge has been released and is under the carrier. This results in total lockup of the rifle, inability to extract the upper round, inability to move the lower round, and requires disassembly to clear. This type of jam is exceedingly uncommon in post-1960 Marlins, since they went to redesigned carriers. (But it is encountered in the original .44 Mag 336s.)

The most common jam that is often also referred to as a 'Marlin Jam' is what Marlin calls "letting in two". You get a cartridge on the carrier, and the case head of another cartridge sticking out of the magazine far enough to interfere with the carrier. This is most commonly caused by an improperly fitted carrier, the wrong carrier, improper length ammunition, a bent carrier, a worn out finger lever, and/or a worn out carrier (the cam surface on the underside). However, it is occasionally caused by the wrong magazine spring and/or plunger, combined with a slightly worn or improperly fitted carrier.
This type of jam usually results in total lockup of the action, but it can be cleared if you can push the second cartridge back into the magazine, through the loading gate. (Difficult, but possible with a pocket knife or screw driver.) It's best to disassemble the rifle to clear the jam.

But..... Snyper speaks the truth:

Quote:

About three quarters of the time when a Marlin jams, it's a loose action screw

Loose loading gate screws are the #1 cause of feeding and cycling issues in 336s and 1894s.

tjmga · November 5, 2014, 05:28 PM

A few weeks ago I picked up a Marlin marked 336-44 mag. I had read that there have been feeding problems with some of these guns. I walked around the show for awhile thinking, H*** I'm an engineer I can figure this out. The dealer was kind enough to offer me a 1 year guarantee and a fair price. I also picked up some PPU ammo. Since I reload for all my guns I ordered some Lee Dies and a box of Nosler 240 gr. HP bullets once I arrived home. Well the PPU bullets would not feed well. The problem I was having was the bullet was not always moving from the mag onto the carrier correctly. When my dies arrived I loaded 10 "blanks" to the book specs to use to test without risk of the bullet firing. I tried feeding these with the same results. After numerous tear downs, cleanings, de-burrings' and watching the operation I was becoming frustrated, maybe I was over confident. Sometimes their would appear to be an improvement but never 100%. I would not take this gun hunting like this.
After looking at the blank bullets I noticed the lead tip was really getting beat up. Could it be that the COAL was simply too long? SAMMI says the max. is 2.610" and my manuals show most 240 gr. loads have a COAL of 2.600". I bumped my blanks to 2.580" and gun fed like my 3030's. I ran 10 rounds through the gun 10 times with no feeding issues.
I then loaded some bullets in increments from 22.0 gr. to 24.0 gr. I was concerned that the .020" shorter COAL may up the pressure from the manual safe loads. At the range I fired 10 rounds of each increment with no feeding issues. The gun will now see some woods time.
The purpose of this long winded report is if you are having a similar problem maybe this will help. Looking back I have heard that Marlins have short receiver space and maybe during the transition from 336 to 336-44 a little was lost.

tj

Dixie Gunsmithing · November 5, 2014, 11:54 PM

tjmga,

Without actually looking at it, I could see a problem with a cartridge that is a shade too long. The carrier also acts as a shell stop, but if the bullet is sticking out at the front, the end of it could catch on the magazine opening as it is fed up by the carrier, thus you could see a nick on the bullet. One could try taking a little off the back end of the carrier, where the rim stops, to allow the cartridge to come back enough that the tip of the bullet will clear. The trick is making sure that the cartridge on the carrier, will hold the cartridge in the magazine back, so that the carrier can raise, which then holds the one in the magazine in, as the one on the carrier is pushed up and into the barrel.

Also, if the cartridge is sticking in the magazine, then not only can the action screw cause it, as mentioned above, but the front of the carrier might not be going low enough to allow the rim of the cartridge to come on top of it, which would mean re-shaping it so that it would. Here, the round cradle's front, that the cartridge meets, would need to be slightly beveled down, so the cartridge rim would clear it. As FrankenMauser said, it's all in the carrier design.

August 31, 2014, 08:10 AM	#4
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Is the first round being loaded directly into the chamber and the second one coming from the mag? If the problem occurs only when loaded from the mag, it could also be the ammo. Sometimes these firearms are sensitive to the overall cartridge length, mostly if it's too long. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

August 31, 2014, 08:35 AM	#5
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,831	The nose of the cartridge that is on the carrier should stop the bullet in the magazine from exiting the magazine. As the lever is closed, the bottom of the carrier is supposed to prevent the bullet in the magazine from exiting. OK, it's not. Can you be more descriptive of the jam. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

September 17, 2014, 05:27 AM	#8
Snyper Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2013 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 3,047	About three quarters of the time when a Marlin jams, it's a loose action screw __________________ One shot, one kill

September 17, 2014, 11:20 AM	#9
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Almost forgot. On the 1894 model, problems can arise if the screw on the outside of the receiver that holds the loading spring door to the loading port closed and tight gets loose and lets the door droop inward. The drooping spring and door can block rounds from coming out of the mag tube. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

September 18, 2014, 06:50 PM	#11
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Loose door ? yes. Excessive cartridge/bullet length ? yes . __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

August 29, 2014, 08:03 AM	#1
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	Marlin .44 mag feed problems A friend of mine has a Marlin .44 mag lever action that if you put more than one round in the mag, it jams. The local gunsmith said this was a noted problem in the early Marlin .44 mag and there is no fix for it. Supposedly the problem was that Marlin was in a hurry to release a rifle in this caliber and poorly converted their .30-30 to .44 mag and the .44 mag is too short to function. Any chance the smith is not full of bull on this? We've talked about trading it for one of my guns but only if I can get it fixed. If the .44 mag is really too short for this rifle, could it be converted to .445 super mag? Tony

August 29, 2014, 11:22 AM	#2
hanleyfan Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Posts: 32	the new marlin 1894 44 mag. I bought had the same problem, after paying 560.00 for a new marlin that would not cycle a round was quite frustrating, so much for the famous Marlin quality that everyone proclaims. There is a fix for it, just do a google search for the Marlin jam and there are many threads on it, It took me about a hour to fix mine.

August 30, 2014, 09:35 PM	#3
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	Thanx, I'll look into that. I would have assumed the gunsmith would have done the same, guess not... Tony

September 18, 2014, 03:02 PM	#10
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,283	There is a popular Keith type 245 or so,+ or- bullet,I think it is a Lyman,that has just a touch too long of an ogive for many of the lever actions,Marlin 1894 included.Unfortunately,if you load to crimp ring length,they do not work. Its been a lot of years since I had the problem,but seems like pulling the front cap off the mag tube ,removing spring,follower,and cartridges was part of clearing it. Good news is,choose the right bullet,problem solved. (If that is the root cause in your situation)

November 5, 2014, 05:28 PM	#13
tjmga Member Join Date: May 19, 2013 Posts: 22	A few weeks ago I picked up a Marlin marked 336-44 mag. I had read that there have been feeding problems with some of these guns. I walked around the show for awhile thinking, H*** I'm an engineer I can figure this out. The dealer was kind enough to offer me a 1 year guarantee and a fair price. I also picked up some PPU ammo. Since I reload for all my guns I ordered some Lee Dies and a box of Nosler 240 gr. HP bullets once I arrived home. Well the PPU bullets would not feed well. The problem I was having was the bullet was not always moving from the mag onto the carrier correctly. When my dies arrived I loaded 10 "blanks" to the book specs to use to test without risk of the bullet firing. I tried feeding these with the same results. After numerous tear downs, cleanings, de-burrings' and watching the operation I was becoming frustrated, maybe I was over confident. Sometimes their would appear to be an improvement but never 100%. I would not take this gun hunting like this. After looking at the blank bullets I noticed the lead tip was really getting beat up. Could it be that the COAL was simply too long? SAMMI says the max. is 2.610" and my manuals show most 240 gr. loads have a COAL of 2.600". I bumped my blanks to 2.580" and gun fed like my 3030's. I ran 10 rounds through the gun 10 times with no feeding issues. I then loaded some bullets in increments from 22.0 gr. to 24.0 gr. I was concerned that the .020" shorter COAL may up the pressure from the manual safe loads. At the range I fired 10 rounds of each increment with no feeding issues. The gun will now see some woods time. The purpose of this long winded report is if you are having a similar problem maybe this will help. Looking back I have heard that Marlins have short receiver space and maybe during the transition from 336 to 336-44 a little was lost. tj

November 5, 2014, 11:54 PM	#14
Dixie Gunsmithing Moderator Emeritus Join Date: April 27, 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,923	tjmga, Without actually looking at it, I could see a problem with a cartridge that is a shade too long. The carrier also acts as a shell stop, but if the bullet is sticking out at the front, the end of it could catch on the magazine opening as it is fed up by the carrier, thus you could see a nick on the bullet. One could try taking a little off the back end of the carrier, where the rim stops, to allow the cartridge to come back enough that the tip of the bullet will clear. The trick is making sure that the cartridge on the carrier, will hold the cartridge in the magazine back, so that the carrier can raise, which then holds the one in the magazine in, as the one on the carrier is pushed up and into the barrel. Also, if the cartridge is sticking in the magazine, then not only can the action screw cause it, as mentioned above, but the front of the carrier might not be going low enough to allow the rim of the cartridge to come on top of it, which would mean re-shaping it so that it would. Here, the round cradle's front, that the cartridge meets, would need to be slightly beveled down, so the cartridge rim would clear it. As FrankenMauser said, it's all in the carrier design.

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