Marlin cross bolt safety

[Dan Cash]

I want to remove/deactivate the miserable thing on an 1895 Marlin.  Suggestions?

[gunnut69]

Personally I would never deacticate a safety device for anyone. Doing so incurrs a liability for anything(literally) that happens with that gun, in perpetuity!!! It can be done and Brownells sells(or did anyway) a replacement device that looks like a cafety but will not function. That's so the hole is nicely filled. I will attempt to include a link to a parts blow up of a 444 marlin with the safety. It should help you with whatever you decide to do. Be sure to highlight both lines to get the entire link..


http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/schematics/schemmfg.aspx?schemid=776&m=9&mn=Marlin%c2%ae&model=444+

[Nobade]

I used to hate those things too. I replaced the safety on a couple of my Marlins with the one that looks like a screw, and sits flush with the receiver. Then I started working for a fellow who was shot in the leg at point blank range when he was 15, with a 30-30. It messed him up for life, and he's lucky to be alive at all. Anyhow, if that rifle had had a safety and it was used when the other fellow was trying to jack the rounds out of the magazine he might still have a useful leg now. Small price to pay for a slightly ugly lump on the side of your rifle. Don't like it? Don't apply it, nothing changes. Want to unload the magazine? Apply the safety and go right ahead. Just something to think about.

[gunnut69]

Also the real problem with the safety is the change that was made to the trigger/hammer group to accomodate it. The overtravel is awful!! Removing the safety doesn't fix the trigger action!. There are smiths that will remove the safety and weld/recut the hammer to correct its action. I would not..

[snowtigger]

Hi! New here, but what I've done to my Marlin is; slip the proper size O-ring onto the safety in the "off" position.  This de-activates the safety, but it can be re-activated by simply removing the O-ring.
  The only reason I deactivated it was because I was tired of accidentally engaging the safety and hearing that "click', when it should have gone "BANG"!!

[Keith L]

I look at it like any other gun.  I check the safety prior to shooting.  Not hard at all.  And Gunnut, my marlin has a great trigger even with the safety.  It never had overtravel and a little polish gave it a nice crisp 3 pound break.  I must have gotten lucky.

[gunnut69]

KeithL- You're real lucky.. I've worked on a few and some are absolutely atrocious, but as they say, 'in a field of rocks are diamonds found'. My problem is that in a field of diamonds I'd be lucky enough to pick up the only rock!!

[Dan Cash]

Nobade,
" Anyhow, if that rifle had had a safety and it was used when the other fellow was trying to jack the rounds out of the magazine he might still have a useful leg now. Small price to pay for a slightly ugly lump on the side of your rifle. Don't like it? Don't apply it, nothing changes. Want to unload the magazine? Apply the safety and go right ahead. Just something to think about."

The rifle already has a very satisfactory half cock notch.  The safety is in the hand of the operator.  In your scenario, had the rifle been pointed in a safe direction the negligent discharge would not have shot the other fellow.  Also, why run the ammo through the action?  The cartridges come out through the loading gate quite easily.

Regards,
Dan

[Keith L]

Mine isn't a 336 and that may be the difference.  Mine is a 30AW.  I am told it is a cheapened up version made for Walmart.  I didn't buy it new, but the kid I got it from diid.  Fit and finish is fine, and once I did a minor trigger job it really shoots well.  I haven't shot it for a while, but I Just got it out and checked my memory (entering the CRS years) and as I thought no creep and about 3 pounds.  The targets I stored with it from the last range session were three shots touching at 100 yards with Federal Premium ammo.  I plan to try some of the new Hornady stuff this fall.  But I am going to keep the safety.  I don't think you can have to many safetys.

[gunnut69]

I know why the safety's there but look at it this way, any body who shoots someone while unloading a rifle would most likely forget to apply the safety anyway.. The rifle wasn't at fault, the guy holding the rifle WAS!. It's impossible to engineer stupid out of the rifle's user..

[Nobade]

Yep, you're right. The kid who did that was a moron, and my boss is darn lucky to still be alive and have what leg he does have left. But since we're stuck with those safeties from the factory, maybe somebody will use the things and prevent another one of those incidents. I'm not fond of them, and as I said before I have replaced them in a couple of my Marlins. But they are a fact of life if we buy new made leverguns, and there are much worse things to deal with out there.

[Keith L]

I had a model 94 Winchester with the tang safety, and that had the worst trigger I have ever seen for travel before engaging the sear  I bet it had nearly half inch of take up.  But my Marlin doesn't, and since the safety causes no bad effect that I can see I plan on leaving it alone.  The Model 94 got traded.