16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 28 Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Watkins Glen NY

Hello,
Today I visited my local gun shop today and on the rack was a Marlin Model 90 16 GA.
The price was $350. I would say maybe 70% condition. Thats the high end of book. I have always wanted an o/u, and a 16 GA was my first gun. (A bolt action of some sort). Anyway, I thought that was a little high, until I did my homework here. The barrels are Full and Modified.
So anyway, as soon as I read up on them, I rushed back up and purchased the gun. There is pretty much no blueing underneath the action. Other than that the gun is in great shape.
I plan on using it for back yard trap, and hunting. I have been shooting trap with a single shot 20 GA Stevens with rifle sights.
I have now spent a couple hours on this forum, and would like to thank you all for the great advise.
One question I would like to ask is why is the book so low on this gun, when all the sales seem so high? Another is how much kick am I going to get compared to a 12 and 20 GA?
Thanks in advance,
Keith

Welcome to the party, seneca. Pull up a chair and enjoy. Very Happy

Just wait until Charles Hammock get hold of you! He might want to change his handle to "ol marlin 90 man"

ash

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

That old gun has been carried many a mile on who knows how many hunting trips---if it could only talk Cool

The girl still has plenty of shooting life left Very Happy

Joined: 28 Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Location: Watkins Glen NY

Thanks for the warm welcome,
Keith

Welcome Seneca:

Now that you have a GREAT GUN never let it part from your site.

I think you will come to love the ole thing , also if you want to get the blueing back in order you can Rust Blue it , WITH YOU DOING IT !

We can help you along the way if you would like to get that done.

Regards Charles

Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Louisville, KY

Welcome, Seneca!

Congrats on the Marlin 90, and I think you got an excellent deal on a 16ga. I have the 16 and a 12, my brother just got 2 of the 90's in a 12ga, so we lay claim to the most model 90's in Kentucky. Frightening thought... hillbillies with O/U guns. We shot 2 of the 12ga at clays on Saturday and they performed great. Very pleased with our new toys. When I get them together I'll do a group photo. Many thanks to Charles, Weagle, Woodcock, and others for the great info and guidance.

I'm a rookie, but will take a shot at some of your questions. The book value I would not worry about; my impression is that costs are rising on these models but many good deals such as yours are out there. Also, these guns are built like a tank so it would be hard to find one with lots of problems. One of my brother's 12ga was $250, and I can't think of a better gun for that price.

As for recoil, I find a medium slip-on Limbsaver helps a lot for clays. You may not want it for the field depending on your shooting style. The 12ga is at least 1.5 pounds heavier but I cannot speak to comparison with the 16ga since I haven't done apples to apples at the range with them yet. Also, my only loads for 16ga so far are #6, and I shot #7.5 with the 12ga. For the 12ga this weekend I had some low-recoil 7/8 loads and some 1 1/8, both in #7.5... could not really tell any difference in felt recoil.

If you have seen the other excellent topics on this forum, you may have noticed the nice photo from Weagle of the m90 action. Thanks to Weagle and Charles, I can successfully tear these down completely and clean them, and if I can do it anyone can. I'm pretty sure that 2 of the 3 I've cleaned up had never had the rear stock off. It's something you may want to do every couple of years depending on how many rounds go through it. If you want to tackle it:

Remove forend and take off the barrels.

Remove the plastic buttplate carefully with a flathead screwdriver, or preferably a #4 Grace gunsmith screwdriver.

Next you will need a big flathead screwdriver, with 8 - 12" shaft. You'll probably need to file the end some so that it will fit the screw in the stock. Charles suggests a tire iron will also work. A bore light and some patience will help as you use your safe-cracking skills to determine when the driver is seated. This is the only screw/bolt you need to remove. It will probably have several flat washers on it topped by a locking washer.

Carefully pull the butt stock off the gun, exposing the action.

The parts are solid and there is little risk of knocking anything loose. Clean it up with solvent, a toothbrush, and Q-tips. Maybe use a little 0000 steel wool and oil on areas that you notice any light rust. I find clipping the end off a Q-tip and using the paper shaft is a good tool to clean some areas. Blow it out with compressed air if you have it available. Lightly oil the key areas: rails, triggers, springs, etc.

To reassemble, just be sure the safety bar is in place (it will flop around a little but is attached at one end when you remove the action). The only other issue I have found is to look at the tiny end of the safety spring at the very top of the action. After a vigorous cleaning, the wire can sometimes slide below the post... it should stay above the post with the "V" in the wire sliding across the top of the post and the tail of the wire just under the frame. Most likely you would not have a problem. Just be sure the safety is working as it should before you reassemble.

Put the stock back on the gun, drop the bolt with its washers down the hole and use your poke n pray method to screw it back together. Be sure it's tight... I once had to hike back to the clubhouse to get the screwdriver while shooting clays since I hadn't fully tightened it up.

Sorry to ramble, but I hope this helps. Congratulations on your new 16ga and a solid, reliable gun!

chris