I have a Marlin 39A lever action rifle in .22LR.
I bought it used in seemingly excellent condition.
Had target iron sights put for NRA Cowboy Lever Action shooting.
Twice now I have had a screw loosening problem.
(The rifle not me. Well, I don't think it's me.)
Symptoms were failures to feed and misfires.
Took it apart, cleaned it out, re-tightened the screws.
The two screws I found loose were the pivot screw for the cartridge lifter
and the pivot screw for the lever.
I figured the loose lifter caused the misfeeds and the loose lever allowed some slop in the bolt against the breech causing misfires.
The first time I couldn't find my Lok-Tite so of course it came loose again.
The second time I had Lok-Tite.
But right after that I had another misfire.
The firing pin dents on the rims just don't look very hard or very deep.
The ammo is Federal Lightning, 40 grains at 1260 fps.
I don't have a hammer spur on the hammer.
And since it's a relatively new rifle with almost no wear showing, I figured the hammer spring should not be a problem.
I'm about ready to take it to the gunsmith.
Anybody out there have any info or suggestions?