How To Clean A Marlin No17 12gage

I thought I'd write up a few of these that aren't in the disassembly manuals as they come forth.

The gun depicted here is a Model 30G in 20 gauge I restored for utilise past a grandchild. Sold nether a hardware shop characterization of National Firearms Company circa 1915, it has the new model recoil rubber lock and pinch-block takedown, but retains the simpler forest and forearm styles of the older Models 16 and 1898. The basic mechanism all the same, is sufficiently close to other Marlin Hammer Pumps that this can serve as a general guide for disassembly of Models 1898, sixteen, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 42 and 49.

Avert ordering parts unless you are sure you lot need them, every bit old guns can be so jammed with century-old oil turned to difficult varnish and mixed with concreted powder balance and fragments of paper shell crimps that a detailed cleaning may be all the gun requires. They all benefit from a thorough soaking in Kroil or other thin penetrating fluid to free up frozen screws and pins. Just effort to keep the oil out of the inletting.

Insure the gun is unloaded and the bore is clear. Remove the stock bolt and carefully pull off the buttstock. If yous don't take down the gun beginning yous'll have better command to gently strike the comb and pistol grip of a reluctant stock alternately with the heel of your mitt to prevent the racking that can spit the edges of the inletting. Plus leaving the forearm slide mounted until information technology's time to remove the bolt will aid the safe and function checks you'll perform during disassembly.

My fingers are pointing to the trigger guard screw on the left and the recoil safety lock screw on the right. Loosen the recoil lock screw but don't remove information technology yet.

Remove the tension on the hammer. Loosen its mounting spiral slightly, compress the hammer bound using your fingers and pull it bated from the roller block on the lesser of the hammer. Then remove the hammer screw and pull the screw from the frame, leaving the hammer loosely in place for now.

Remove both trigger guard screws, pull the trigger guard assembly from the bottom of the frame, reinstall the screws in the trigger guard and the stock commodities spiral to go on track of them and set it aside. Pull the loose hammer out the bottom of the frame, remount its screw correctly oriented in its mating pigsty to go on rail of it, and too set information technology bated.

Note the relationships between the carrier on the left, the recoil lock in the centre, the locking bolt atop them, and the safety sear (photograph below) yet mounted in the frame on the right. Pulling the knurled surface of the recoil lock arm to the rear unlocks the locking bolt in a higher place it. Then gently racking the slide arm rearward clicks the commodities out of battery, and moves the carrier downward to choice up the next vanquish until the carrier arm strikes the shaft of the recoil lock screw. This serves as the rearward commodities terminate, which is useful to understand in diagnosing whatsoever later problems.

Remount the hammer without the trigger baby-sit and observe the interface between the safety sear and hammer. The hammer has three notches….the upper notch is engaged by the prophylactic sear until the bolt moves forward and locks into battery, whereby a cam slot milled into the lesser of the commodities engages the cam on the top of the spring-loaded safe sear, disengaging it and allowing the hammer to engage the trigger/sear with the full and one-half cock notches on the lower terminate of the hammer.

The safety sear can be removed now. It has an integral foliage spring beneath it and pressure should be applied on it with a finger to loosen and pull its screw.

The recoil lock is leap loaded past a plunger that interfaces with the trigger baby-sit frame, and a split spring-loaded cam on its upper, within surface that interfaces with a cam slot milled into the carrier.

It functions as an inertia block and must exist free to pivot on its shaft. As the gun is fired the frame recoils and the block tips forward, unlocking the locking arm hook from its mating cutout on the bolt, freeing the commodities to exist clicked out of battery and racked to the rear using the slide handle. If the crush hangs fire (which is rare today simply was mutual a century agone), the inertia block doesn't move and the claw prevents the bolt from beingness racked out of battery without the shooter (hopefully) pausing to think about what happened and wait the required 30 seconds before manually depressing the knurled surface of the locking arm to bike the activity.

Note the hook faces rearward, and the block, cam and carrier/frame mating surfaces are polished for easy movement. The plunger and cam have coil springs and are mounted using pins that facilitate removal for spring replacement and cleaning. When remounting, avoid over tightening the screw.

At the eye within surface of the carrier arm you can run across the cutout for the recoil lock's upper cam. The carrier is removed by dismounting its spiral, lifting the arm and pulling information technology rearward to disengage its positioning slot from the round stud it mates with on the inside link of the locking bolt. Also notation if you cycle the bolt rearward, there is no longer a commodities cease mounted and the carrier mating stud volition undo from the track at the rear of the carrier, yet the carrier volition appear normal. Try this a few times to run across the relationships, as this can cause issues during reassembly.

Now is time to accept down the gun. Grab and squeeze the pinch block and pull the magazine tube frontwards until the left-side detent pivot projects outward to concur it in place. Insure the bolt is in battery and pull the slide arm forrad and out, disengaging it from the locking commodities link and out of the receiver. Note that the tube's mounting screw and its respective bug (locking) screw are now exposed for further disassembly….the bug screw is removed first and can be accessed by grasping the pinch block and sliding the tube forrad slightly. The tube should look like the tiptop photo below.

Loosen the adjusting neckband by backing out its screw and if tight, tapping it with a brass hammer. The collar and barrel threads are left-handed, so turn them to the right to loosen and remove the barrel assembly.

Remove the bolt by clicking it out of battery, pulling it all the manner to the rear, and rotating the bolt's tail to the right laterally and clockwise out of the bolt opening. The gun'due south locking lug is the rear face up of the frame at the commodities opening. If it or its mating surface at the rear of the locking bolt appear to exist dinged up or worn, have the gun to a qualified smith and have the headspace checked before test firing. Hither I've left the safe sear in and so yous tin see the cam that interfaces with a corresponding shaped slot on the lesser of the locking bolt. The vertical slot side by side to information technology is the cutout for the carrier arm. Below the tip of the pointer is a stopped slot that tin can make removing and installing the bolt associates difficult. On the exterior of the locking bolt link there is a corresponding stud (photo beneath) that must be both in the correct position and rotated into that slot for the bolt to fit its runway without jamming.

The bolt assembly as it appears when locked into battery and ready to burn. The locking lug on the frame mates with the entire rear terminate of the locking commodities equally depicted by the pointer. Also note the cutout on the rear of the locking bolt for the recoil safety hook, and the rectangular stud (mentioned in the above paragraph) milled as part of the bolt link above the slide-arm mortise. The stud is in that location to insure the bolt cannot movement in and out of battery except where the frame has a cutout that permits the stud to change its bending. In battery is the only position where the firing pin should project beyond the bolt confront, otherwise the pivot is broken. Check that. Also annotation the shape of the slide arm mortise that forms the major part of the bolt link, and how it interfaces with its corresponding circular stud milled into the end of the slide arm.

The bolt every bit it appears when out of bombardment. Note the rectangular stud on the link is now parallel to the corresponding slot in the frame….the bolt must be out of battery to mountain and dismount from the frame. In this position the firing pin should exist blocked from projecting beyond the bolt face. Cheque that, besides. Before farther disassembly, click the locking bolt in and out of battery a few times to annotation how its leap-loaded grab functions.

Disassemble the bolt by removing the smaller bug screw and screw-slotted pivot on the right side, separating the locking and the breech bolt sections. Note how the jumpsuit firing pin is oriented in the breech bolt, and that the locking bolt and link is a i-slice forging.

The firing pin is removed by driving out its mounting pin at the rear of the breech bolt. One time removed, annotation the mating slot for that pin to facilitate reassembly.

Note the two extractor mounting pins in the breech commodities. The correct-mitt pivot besides simultaneously captures the locking commodities take hold of and its coil spring in a corresponding slot in the take hold of housing.

The safest method to disassemble the extractors for cleaning is to place the breech commodities in a drill press vise or C-clamp to forestall losing parts by sudden release of spring tension. The bolt in the photo is from a Model 31, but the same relationships utilize.

The same Model 31 commodities with the extractors removed and their corresponding mortises cleaned. I don't recommend omitting this task, as mortises that announced clean enough from the outside are often full of grime and fifty-fifty bits of paper shell crimp, and muddied extractors that utilise unequal pressure to the sides of the rim either on the forward or rearward stroke tin crusade a number of malfunctions not otherwise explained.

The ejector is removed by but lifting it out of its corresponding mortise in the frame. Note it has an integral leaf spring on the dorsum and is captured in identify only by the breech commodities riding correctly in its frame slots. It can exist a serious source of jamming if the spring is cleaved or the commodities is forced into place out of track. Some Marlin models have a spiral that holds the rear of the ejector in identify. This is the most vulnerable spring in the gun, because raindrops inbound an open up commodities easily seep into the mortise and rust the jump, eventually causing it to break. Broken or partially broken ejector springs can appear to office normally withal can be the source of a number of unexplained problems, and so like the extractors, don't fail to remove, clean and check information technology thoroughly. Numrich carries new-made replacements, simply are oversize and require fitting.

The cartridge stops also accept leaf springs integral to their rear surfaces, and also crave removal to clean beneath them. Removal is via a fine, top-threaded screw with a shaft on its lower cease that fits into a hole on the opposite side of the cartridge stop mortise in the frame. The spiral is fragile and disassembly requires a jeweler'southward screwdriver. Scrape any crud out from the height of the screwhead and clean the slot using a sharp ice pick before soaking for several days in Kroil or other thin penetrating fluid before attempting to dismantle.

Study the relationships between the stops to prevent confusion upon reassembly. Some Marlin models have a jumpsuit stop, this model has a ii-piece stop.

Final disassembly of the trigger guard assembly for cleaning is straightforward. The trigger-sear bound is held by a spiral accessed after removing the hammer spring, the gun's sear is the tip of the trigger, and the trigger is held in place by a pin through the frame.

Final disassembly of the barrel assembly is too straightforward, hither showing the relationship of the pinch block parts, with the magazine tube leap and follower however in the tube.

The forearm must be removed to dismount the forend slide from the magazine tube. This model has 3 mounting screws in escutcheons held in place by bug screws, later models have a total-length steel tube and the wood captured by a forend cap nut with fine, correct-paw threading. A padded set of large pliers is frequently required to remove these cap nuts, sometimes without success. Be prepared to clean and even refinish around them rather than break the fragile forearms, which are difficult to find or turn replacements on the lathe. If your forearm wood is missing or hopeless, Wenig may have 1 in their CNC stock-milling software and may exist able to make one for you. Model 12/97 replacement forearms are common, tin be had in the xxx-dollar range and may exist an pick, although the tube diameters are slightly different between Winchester and Marlin.

The concluding step is optional, which is to drive off the dovetailed magazine band from correct to left using a brass punch in social club to facilitate cleaning around information technology.

Reassembly Reminders:

The bolt is reinserted out of battery, just must be pressed all the manner forward and clicked into battery for the residue of the reassembly.

The commodities is reinserted link first from the right side of the frame with the rear of the bolt held outboard so the rectangular stud on the link can exist moved forward sufficiently to engage its stopped slot in the frame. At the same fourth dimension, press the ejector into its mortise in the frame and agree it identify with your finger to insure information technology remains in its correct position.

When the pump arm pulls the bolt forward, it should automatically click the commodities into battery.

Reinstall the secondary sear after the bolt, but before the bolt is clicked into battery.

Click the bolt into bombardment by pushing on the front of the locking bolt link earlier installing the carrier. Install the carrier by engaging the front of the carrier slot into the round stud on the inside link of the locking bolt and sliding the carrier forwards until its screw hole aligns with the frame.

When installing the recoil lock, don't tighten the screw until the trigger guard is reinstalled and then tighten information technology but lightly.

The Model 1898 Marlin enjoyed a poor reputation because supposedly an overloaded beat out fired in the original design allowed the bolt to get out the rear of the receiver, striking the shooter. I don't know nigh the original blueprint, but to accomplish that with this gun, information technology would have to (1) burn down out of battery and the (2) forged carrier arm, the (three) recoil lock screw shaft, and the (four) forged locking bolt link would all have to break…a applied impossibility. While the steel in these is softer than in mod-made guns and the barrels are thinner and lighter, if in good condition, properly maintained, and checked by a qualified gunsmith beforehand, I don't hesitate to utilise them with a light nutrition of low-force per unit area loadings and atomic number 82 (never steel) shot. They are certainly equally safe as the fabled Model 12's and Model 97'south of like vintage few accept 2nd thoughts about shooting. Guns of any make I would hesitate shooting without farther evaluation include those with dinged or worn locking lugs, badly pitted bores, short chambers, desperately dented or bulged barrels, twist or Damascus barrels and those made before 1900 and proofed just for blackness powder.

Last is a reminder that these quondam pump guns are all "slam-burn" guns that lack the trigger disconnects nowadays on modernistic guns. Hold the trigger dorsum and the gun fires immediately as the commodities goes into battery. This makes them faster to shoot, but entirely unforgiving nearly lack of trigger subject field. Insure you and your students keep fingers out of trigger guards until ready to shoot. While the older Marlin hammerless pumps accept their condom catches within the trigger guard and are oftentimes called "slam-fire guns with suicide safeties", call up that because they bicycle straight to the full-cock notch, all the hammer guns are "slam-burn down guns with no safeties".

Additional References: http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Marlin98s.htm