I never heard of the "Marlin Jam" until I started reading online shooting forums.

Last Saturday I experienced it first hand. Fired a round and couldn't work the lever to eject the brass. Locked up and I can't get it to budge. Supposedly this only happens after "1000s of rounds." My gun was bought used but shows no evidence of much use. I've fired less than 50 rounds in 7-8 years. Also, the "jam" is supposed to be more common in pistol calibers and mine is a 30-30.

I have read about the "fix" and I am not skilled at disassembling a lever action rifle. Local gunsmith has approximate 8 week turnaround on any repair work not to mention the cost.

I really only keep the rifle because it is pre-safety circa 1987 18.5 inch barrel and my son wants me to keep it.

What is your experience with the jam? If the gun has one jam will it be prone to future jammimg? Have you done your own repairs? Did you modify/repair a part or replace with new?

Any advice or suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

Ralph, I've got 2 of the 1894's in 44 & 357mag & I've been fortunate to have never experienced it.. There's a ton of info over on Marlinowners about the cause & do-it-yourself fixes that walk you step by step through the process.. Might try searching over there if you need a quick answer..

The screw on the bottom got loose. If you are in stephenville take it to Allen at pigeon road gun range. He will fix it right there

+1 On Pigeon Road, but I like to go during the week. They are usually very busy on Saturday.

Pigeon road is normally a beat down on Saturday, but worth the wait... I also try to go during the week.

Havn't had this jame exactly... we had one where the lever went to far and we had to jiggle and wiggle everything for a few mins to get it all going back together.

Thanks for the responses. I've searched the net and read a number of posts and watched several videos. The screws are all tight. I'm afraid Stephenville is a little too far from Tyler but I appreciate the recommendation.

From everything I have read and seen it looks like the carrier has to be modified or a new one put in and mods done to it before replacement!

Thanks again.

It was the carrier on my 1894. You can fix the original but I chose to replace it. The new part is relatively cheap and takes about an hour if you don't have a clue what you're doing. YouTube is your friend. It was well worth the fix in my book. Out of 5 1894s two of the .357s had this problem. Never saw it with the 44 mags or any of my 1895s or 336s.

Had a similar situation with my 1895. The screw near the loading gate worked loose and caused the jam. Locked up tighter than a drum.

It was a few years back so I don't remember exactly how I fixed it, but I know I didn't disassemble anything. I cleared it in the field. I probably only had a multi tool with me.