Need help identifying a shotgun

[Freebird01]

Im trying to figure out what model this is. Its a Marlin bolt action 12ga. Its not a Model 55 and no where on the barrell does it list the model number.

My father-in-law left it with us when he passed. Not looking to sell just trying to figure out what it is.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Mgderf]

No idea, but sometimes you can find some information on the bottom of the barrel, under the stock forend.
Try pulling the action loose from the stock and see if there are any markings.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Im trying to figure out what model this is. Its a Marlin bolt action 12ga. Its not a Model 55 and no where on the barrell does it list the model number.

My father-in-law left it with us when he passed. Not looking to sell just trying to figure out what it is.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Best info I could find that wasn't the Model 55 was this wiki. I didn't see any mention of markings though.

Marlin Model 55 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Freebird01]

Yeah I've looked under the bottom of the barrel and there's nothing there. There's a really really small stamping that says JM. Nothing on the stock or fore grip. I haven't tried to pull the bolt to see if there's anything on the inside.

 

[Freebird01]

Best info I could find that wasn't the Model 55 was this wiki. I didn't see any mention of markings though.

Marlin Model 55 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yeah this doesn't have a detachable magazine. It just has a well you drop in from the top.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yeah this doesn't have a detachable magazine. It just has a well you drop in from the top.

I wonder if you could contact Marlin? Maybe they could tell you? Maybe you have some rare prototype or something!

 

[Freebird01]

I wonder if you could contact Marlin? Maybe they could tell you? Maybe you have some rare prototype or something!

With the takeover you got a question whether or not they still have records of the old firearms...

 

[Sigblitz]

Model 54. Made only in 1963. 500 or less produced.

 

[Mgderf]

Model 54. Made only in 1963. 500 or less produced.

For the longest time I had no idea Marlin even made shotguns.
Then, several years ago, a nice model 90 o/u 12ga found me, so I gave it a home.

 

[Sigblitz]

Is it real. There's a 54 listed on Guns.Com but the trigger guard is different. The front of the breech looks a little different too.
There was a discussion on Marlin Firearms Collectors Association that it's not listed in William S. Brophy's book "Marlin Firearms: A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them".
This is interesting. It's very rare or the second fake 54 lol.

 

[Sigblitz]

Looks like the same gun that was for sale. Same trigger guard but it could have been replaced.
I think it's a different gun because the guy in the video said he refinished his. And he has an adjustable choke.

 

[Sigblitz]

So there may have been a 410. Yours doesn't have a rear sight and a metal trigger guard. And it's not refinished which is a huge plus.

 

[Sigblitz]

In the video comments, 7 other people say they have one. One in 10 guage, one with no sight. Counting yours, that's 12 guns, 2 without the sight, 3 guages, and 2 trigger guards.

 

[Freebird01]

If that's really what it is that's cool. This thing is completely unrestored. It's not in bad condition The action still moves nice and smooth but it's not in the best condition either. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot it and it's condition.

I have a Marlin Glenfield 25 silver trigger bolt action .22 also Marlin made some decent guns. This is the first time I've ever seen a bolt action 12 gauge with their name on it though. I've seen 16 gauges from JC Higgins. In fact I've got two of them.

What's the value on something like this?

 

[Sigblitz]

What's the value on something like this?

Another guy got one for free. And someone got one at a pawn shop for $100. So probably $50.

 

[Freebird01]

Guess I need to put it back in the closet for another 50 years

 

[bdj357]

Im trying to figure out what model this is. Its a Marlin bolt action 12ga. Its not a Model 55 and no where on the barrell does it list the model number.

My father-in-law left it with us when he passed. Not looking to sell just trying to figure out what it is.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

It may be a converted 55 since the trigger guard is different and the 54 was solid wood where the magazine would normally be.
Yours has a metal floor plate where the magazine would have been.

 

[Leo]

In the late 50's early 60's a lot of department stores had house brand firearms.

Sears, Mongomery Wards, SS Kresge, Western Auto stores, Coast to Coast Hardware, etc. Some did have their names stamped on, some did not. Noble, Stevens, Savage and other makes made a bunch of firearms "off label". Most were low price plain janes, but a few were midrange, Like the Japanese Miroku O/U shotgun sold by SS Kresge was really a nice gun.

Marlin did make some no frills, birch stock lever and bolt action rifles for discount house use, it would not surprise me if yours was spec'ed to sell at a department store.

 

[Freebird01]

This one I can tell you has never been modified or converted. If it was it would have been done at the factory. My father-in-law and his father before him weren't really gun guys. To them it was just a tool for hunting.

 

[bdj357]

This one I can tell you has never been modified or converted. If it was it would have been done at the factory. My father-in-law and his father before him weren't really gun guys. To them it was just a tool for hunting.

Weird question… does your father in law have any ties to Europe?
I went down the rabbit hole on this one.
When I say converted, it may have been by the factory. The Marlin 54 never had a floor plate as far as I have found. However, an older than dirt gunsmith (retired) said he vaguely recalls the 55 Goose gun coming in a rare single shot that he thought was marketed for over seas due to some restriction. He said you would know if the plate was removed and there was a hole and a plug were the magazine would have been. I’m still digging. If you took pictures from the top with the bolt back or removed he might be able to tell. However, I’d have to print them and take them to his house lol.