Marlin 60 remained loaded

[mike a]

The haters may attack me but I gotta show you this. I dug my marlin 60 out to clean it up. Cleared it and took it apart. Look what I found. I was shocked. Thought it was clear and it wasn't. I still don't know the cause Dirty maybe but it wasn't that dirty. So I didn't clean it and tried to duplicate it an couldn't. I'll now look for broken parts. Any ideas. Ps I won't respond to a bunch but of negative bs. Mike

 

[TAJ45]

That would definitely cause some consternation.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I guess i dont get it. You cleared it then took it apart. What is the picture showing? All i see is a round maybe stuck on a loading ramp. What about it being dirty? If there was a round in it how did you miss it? Could it have fed into the chamber?

 

[dellet]

Tube Feed magazine?

Learned this lesson at about 14 years old. Dad picked up a pump that I had cleaned and put away. He found a round ready to chamber when he opened the action.

From that day on I had to count rounds in and out as well as account for every shot fired with an empty. It was 2-3 times shooting later that I was one short. Luckily he was right there doing the counting with me.

Last round hung up in the tube and would not feed, took a couple bumps on the stock to get it to drop out. Cleaned the tube and new spring for good measure.

 

[Walt Schmidlin]

If the magazine tube is steel rust/corrosion in the tube could have resulted in the round shown not being pushed forwarded as would be expected. If the magazine tube was brass I don’t have an opinion.

 

[mike a]

I guess i dont get it. You cleared it then took it apart. What is the picture showing? All i see is a round maybe stuck on a loading ramp. What about it being dirty? If there was a round in it how did you miss it? Could it have fed into the chamber?

I'm thinking I opened the bolt and locked it back, remove the tube follower and dumped it. I then looked st the chamber and didn't see the round on the feed ramp. It's been in my safe like that for months. Good thing I don't dry fire rimfire or I could of dropped the bolt and pulled the trigger. Tube feed is strange to me. I'm a bolt guy. Remove magazine, open bolt. Even on my AR remove mag, open bolt. My shotguns are doubles. I think I'll get rid of this 60 and get a RIM X. Mike

 

[shoot4fun]

I'm thinking I opened the bolt and locked it back, remove the tube follower and dumped it. I then looked st the chamber and didn't see the round on the feed ramp. It's been in my safe like that for months. Good thing I don't dry fire rimfire or I could of dropped the bolt and pulled the trigger. Tube feed is strange to me. I'm a bolt guy. Remove magazine, open bolt. Even on my AR remove mag, open bolt. My shotguns are doubles. I think I'll get rid of this 60 and get a RIM X. Mike

I think you have realized the thing that was my first thought. You DID NOT clear the rifle. It's not that tube fed firearms are inherently dangerous as much as one's thought process that all weapons are "cleared" the same.
BTW, Most of the situations that left friends missing fingers, hand and arms arose from tube fed firearms, both shotgun and rifle.
Thankfully, this time all turned out well.

 

[sawcarver]

On my marlin 60s the tube plunger is orange. With the bolt open you need to see the orange plunger or its not clear. With the round where it was you wouldn't have been able to see the plunger. If your plunger isn't orange I'd paint it

 

[Bill K]

The tube fed rifles, especially 22lr's were famous for a round sticking in the tube, when a person thought they had unloaded the tube. It is always best to double and triple check those tube fed weapons.

 

[snert]

Oh how many times I have watched trainees (many with years on the job) rack a slide then drop a mag and think the ol Glock is "safe". Sounds like maybe you got dinged by a halting follower that stuck, then fed later. Either way, a lesson learned and a lucky "miss" has taught many of us a deeper reflection. No harm, lesson learned, no foul. Thank the LOrd and move along.

 

[Texas10]

I've got two tube fed .22 bolt action rifles that I've had for 50 years. And what I just learned might help ensure I live a while longer.

Thanks for the post, Mike.

 

[spife7980]

I have a marlin 981tx, a tube fed bolt, and if you open the bolt without letting the firing pin go/decompressed it will keep one round from the tube sort of half way into the action and half way out but its below chamber level. So I can empty the tube but that one round will still be held in there. You have to cycle it to clear it. If you dont let the firing pin cock then they stay all the way in the tube as they should.

As kid I used to chamber one and put it on safe and with that next round below it moving half way into the action I was effectively able to put one more extra round into the tube, 17 instead of 16 IIRC. Not very safe now that I think about it but I was always sure to keep it on safe and to never let anything get in front of the muzzle.

 

[mousegunner]

Had a used 60 that had a slight kink in the tube, now and then a round wouldn't feed. Had to make sure I saw the follower whenever I cleared it. That saved me from almost putting a round through my moms Curtiss Mathis TV.

 

[DirtySteve]

I can not throw stones as I shot my truck... A long time ago but crap happens... I was in the truck and hit the ash tray.. perfect shot. ordered a new ash tray and good as new.. For some reason the radio switch to a high pitched ringing for an hour after the incident.. probably unrelated... lol..

 

[DJSBRS]

I had no idea. Thanks for sharing and I encourage all to share such events or experiences. Even old timers like me learn from somebody that is willing to share no matter the uneasiness of cause and effect.

DJ

DJ's Brass Service

 

[Just Say Moe]

Do you think if you dumped the tube, reinserted it, then racked the bolt 4-5 times that would have cleared it? With no spring pressure, the round maybe didn't have enough oomph to get out of the feed tray.

Also good for you for using the bolt hold open device. I use mine all the time on my 99M1.

 

[338 dude]

The haters may attack me but I gotta show you this. I dug my marlin 60 out to clean it up. Cleared it and took it apart. Look what I found. I was shocked. Thought it was clear and it wasn't. I still don't know the cause Dirty maybe but it wasn't that dirty. So I didn't clean it and tried to duplicate it an couldn't. I'll now look for broken parts. Any ideas. Ps I won't respond to a bunch but of negative bs. Mike

The same thing happened to the husband of a coworker of my wife he Started to take his pistol apart to clean it and shot himself through the thumb

 

[sqrlgtr]

Cant speak for no one else but Im sure it could of happened to me also.Thats another example to always treat every firearm like its loaded NO MATTER WHAT..I did shoot my truck hood once but that was not a loading/unloading accident....I had shot a groundhog off truck hood that was pretty good ways off when I spied another down in a ditch a little closer and forgot to allow for the different angle I had to get to to shoot it.Made a very funny sound when I pulled the trigger took my a second are two to figure out what I had done.

 

[Monte F]

If I had a nickel every time a road hunter shot a hole in the hood when they spied that trophy buck I would be retired by now!

 

[jds holler]

How about the old "jack the action" method of clearing a semi-auto. How many times have ya watched someone jack the bolt two or three times, and when nothing is ejected, start pointing and snapping.

LOOK AT THE CHAMBER HOLE BOZO!! Ejectors don't always work. I used to have a pretty nice High Standard Dura-matic that had an untrustworthy ejector. I was taught to ALWAYS look at the empty chamber hole to clear a gun. There is no substitute. jd

PS. My Bozo remark isn't directed at the OP