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C-dub wrote:I have a Model 80 bolt rifle from the late 30's that shoots really great. It says .22lr on it and I have used a couple different kinds of modern ammo in it and it's fine.

Hey, C-dub. You've got a great little rifle there. They're great shooters and amazingly accurate to be so simple as you probably know. If yours is a plain Model 80 designation with no suffix (DL, E, G, etc) it was made between 1934 and 1939 per Marlin info. I shoot HV in all of mine and I have at least a dozen (lost count) in various iterations. (I just bought another one at a pawn shop while I was in Mansfield this past weekend. Shhhh! Don't tell my wife.) Some are house branded (Revelation (Western Auto) , JC Higgins, Ranger, Foremost (Penney's), but most are Marlin and a couple of Glenfields. . My first Model 80DL is hard to date (made from 1940 to 1965). It's a ballard rifled (pre microgrove which came out in 1953-4). It originally had the 12R peep sight, but some one replaced it with a buckhorn style rear and has the older style bolt (large knob) with two piece internal extractors rather than the wrap around band style. It could as early as 1940 when the 80DL came out. The current Marlin XT is just modern version of these rifles with an improved trigger.

Lionman13 wrote:I have a question on two old rifles I inherited. Assuming these two guns are cleaned up (as good as possible) should I shoot them, and can I use .22 LR in them? I can order .22 longs from CCI but they are rare.

1. 1920's Jc Penney Marlin 81 bolt action single shot.

2. Early 1940's Mossberg M42 7 round mag. Takes shorts or longs, but the screw is missing from magazine to use shorts.

Does the Penney's rifle have a model number Marlin 81? Penney's house brand for firearms was the Foremost name. The Marlin Model 81 is tube magazine repeater and were produced beginning around 1934 until the late 60's early 70's and they made a detachable 7 shot mag version Model 80 as well. I have a Penney's Marlin made rifle and I believe it's a Foremost 2025 or 2025. Marlin produced single shot rifles were Model 10 and 100 and were produce from around 1936 to the 1960's. There are other marlin single shots .22 rifles also. The model number would help narrow the date and whether HV would be OK. Do either of the top two rifles look like yours?

If yours is truly a 1920's era rifle I'd stick with standard velocity.


Marlin 100 Earlier models have a metal trigger guard

Savage 120 Foremost (Penney's) Model 6610


Marlin Model 81