MarlinSpares.com

Marlin Rifles are great bits of kit, however as with a lot of rifles, they can seem a bit rough at first. One of the best things you can do with a new rifle is to shoot it! Continual cycling of the action will allow the parts to move, and wear in. This will remove and burs left from manufacturing and smooth up all the parts. After a few thousand rounds you’ll really notice the different.

The standard trigger on Marlin Lever Action rifles is ok, but not brilliant. We highly recommend the Ranger Point Precision trigger. This simple drop in trigger kit removes the annoying trigger flop, and gives a light, crisp trigger.

Wild West Guns also produce a “Bear Proof Ejector” which is an EDM cut one-piece ejector  giving reliable ejection with even the heaviest hunting loads.

Ranger Point Precision make a self cleaning follower for the magazine tube, which is more robust than the standard plastic ones (which can become brittle over time).

Marlin Lever Action Rifles can also be improved by adding Wolff Reduced Power Springs. This simple kit comes with a new hammer spring (mainspring) and finger lever plunger spring, both of which are reduced power. By fitting these springs you will reduce the force needed to open, cycle, and close the lever, thus making the rifle smoother to use.

Single Piece Firing Pins also prove popular with people looking to improve the function of their rifles. Standard 1894 lever action rifles have a two piece firing pin. The idea behind this is that the firing pin is unaligned (split) until the action is completely closed, so if the hammer was to drop with the action partially open, it could not fire a round. The downside of this is that when closing the lever, extra force is required to push against the spring, and align the pins. This split pin design is a safety feature of the rifles, however many competition shooters feel this is redundant, and so install a single piece pin to smooth up their action. 

To make loading easier, Ranger Point Precision manufacture a Flyweight Loading Spring. This is much lighter than the standard spring. Please note – with these springs it’s not possible to “stage” a round with the rim hanging out, however with these you don’t need to for speedy loading.

Re-profiling the Hammer can also make a large difference to how slick the action is on a marlin. When opening the action, the bolt rides over the hammer to re-cock it. As they come out the factory, the bolt pushes the hammer down further than required, overcompressing the main spring. To lighten the action, the hammer can be ground down so the bolt doesn’t push it down as far. WARNING – be careful taking too much off the hammer as this can cause malfunctions. This modification is only to be done by experienced shooters. See picture below for an example of a re-profiled hammer on top of a standard one. 

(Always work on the hammer, never the bolt)