Gun Report

Marlin Original Golden 39A Lever Action .22 LR

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We knocked this grade down because we wouldn’t buy the Marlin for smaller shooters. However, this gun did shoot the best with two of our test ammos, so if you mentally upgrade it to a B for that reason, we wouldn’t be offended.

Marlin Original Golden 39A Lever Action .22 LR

Gun Details

Manufacturer
Model Name
Model Number
Home Defense
Hunting
Recreational
Price
Caliber/Gauge
Caliber Plus Cartridge
Capacity
Weight Unloaded
Warranty
Length of Pull
Action Type
Barrel Finish
Trigger Pull Weight

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The arrow points to the Marlin’s crossbolt safety, a feature the other two guns lacked (though they had half-cock safeties on their hammers). Also, you can see the hammer extension, a piece which screws onto the hammer, allowing the shooter the control the hammer even when a scope is mounted. At the top of the gun is the back end of a Weaver mount screwed onto the top of the receiver. This allowed fast and easy scope mounting, a real advantage the Marlin held over the Henry, which had no provision for mounting a scope. The BL-22 had receiver grooves.

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Firearms Prices

Gun Tests has been independently reviewing firearms since 1989. This website contains many older reviews. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns' prices at the time of the original review