Marlin .38 Standard 1878 Pocket Revolvers

Did I hear you right, Marlin revolvers? Yes, in fact the company we know so well today as being famous for making hunting rifles started during the Civil War and their first products were handguns. Gunmaker John Mahlon Marlin began his distinguished career in 1863 by manufacturing .22 single shot pistols at his New Haven, CT factory.

During this time, the Rollin White patent, covering the manufacture of revolvers with cylinders bored through to accept a rimmed, metallic cartridge, stood and the rights were assigned solely to Smith & Wesson. Thus, S&Wand Rollin White himself were the only parties who could legally manufacture and sell metallic cartridge revolvers until this patent expired. The S&W Model-One .22 rimfire (a design using a barrel that tipped-up) was the first successful metallic cartridge revolver.

After the S&W/Rollin White patent expired in 1869 Marlin, like many other gun makers, expanded his small line to include single-action, metallic cartridge revolvers. Most of these early Marlin single-action revolvers were patterned after Smith & Wesson’s very successful, spur-trigger, rimfire revolvers. In this tip-up design the barrel was latched to the frame at the bottom in front of the cylinder and was hinged to allow the cylinder to be removed for loading and unloading.

In 1876, Marlin added the .38 Standard 1878 Pocket Revolver. This became, up to that point, his largest revolver and the first centerfire handgun to be added in his growing line of tip-up barrel revolvers. Marlin 38 was almost a spittin’ image of the tip-up Smith & Wesson revolver. Only about 12,000 of these innovative and well built little pocket single actions were ever made. made the .38 Standard 1878 revolvers from 1876-1887 with total quantities manufactured estimated to be roughly 12,000 weapons.

This wellmade and very simple single action was offered only with a 3¼" round, ribbed barrel and its cylinder held five shots chambered for the then brand-new .38 Smith & Wesson caliber. Expelling the empty/fired cases from the cylinder was a slow process that was accomplished at the rate of one-chamber-at-a-time. Ejection occurred by the purely manual process of opening the barrel, removing the cylinder, then sliding each chamber mouth-first over the ejector rod that was screwed to the bottom of the barrel.

Simply put, this was an exact copy of the crude system employed by Smith & Wesson on their first rimfire revolvers. Although Marlin’s 38 Standard looked very much like an exact copy of S&W’s Tip-Up revolver it really wasn’t, at least not quite. While Marlin did follow the basic Smith & Wesson design principles, unlike the S&W which used pivot points on each end of the cylinder to hold the cylinder centered in the frame, Marlin opted to use a separate, screw-on axis (base) pin that threaded into the frame.

The .38 Standard also used an ingenious and somewhat more complex devise to fasten the hammer to the frame. While acting as the hammer pivot, the head of the hammer screw-stud also doubled as the mount for the spi raled, flat-leaf handspring as well as providing a hole for the center sideplate screw to thread into. No, the Marlins were not built with the exacting machine work and wonderful finishes of the Smith & Wessons but these little revolvers were nevertheless very well-made weapons.

Certainly, I don’t think anyone would argue they were several grades above some of the so-called "suicide specials", those poorly built pistols that were being produced in Europe

To eject spent cases, place cylinder chambers over the ejector rod. Look for the little "spud" under the head of the barrel pivot. It locks into a notch in the right frame hinge to keep it from turning. for the mass-markets of the day. This quality handgun was Marlin’s last single action and their second-to-last offering in the field of revolvers.

The 1878 Pocket was followed in 1887 for a brief period by a .38 Double Acton Top-Break revolver before the factory decided to devote its attention entirely to the manufacture of long guns in 1899. Disassembly Instructions Before starting any work, let’s follow some basic safety procedures and make certain this weapon is empty. Grasp the revolver by its grip and point the muzzle in a safe direction, keeping your fingers away from the trigger (#28).

Use your thumb to pull the hammer to the rear slightly until you hear one "click." This places the revolver in the half-cocked or loading position. Reach under the barrel/ frame and with your other hand pull up on the barrel catch (#6) to unlatch the barrel, then pivot the barrel (#2) all the way up. Reach in and pull the cylinder (#3) forward off the base pin and out of the gun. If any cartridges are in the cylinder chambers, remove them now and place them in an area apart from where you are working.

Barrel removal and disassembly. We can remove the barrel by first unscrewing and removing the barrel pivot screw (#5a). The barrel pivot (#5) may now be carefully tapped out from the left side of the frame hinge using a small, straight pin-punch and hammer. Take note of the small "spud" under the head of the barrel pivot and of how this spud must align with its corresponding notch located inside the hole in the right hinge for correct reassembly.

Once the barrel pivot is out, the barrel can be simply lifted out of its hinge in the frame (#1). The ejector rod (#9) can be removed from the barrel by first unscrewing and removing its screw (#10), then Sometimes they get stuck with rust or hardened grease so we have used a tapered punch as a lever to help with removal. pulling the ejector rod forward out of its seat in the barrel.

The barrel catch (#6) is removed after first loosening and removing its screw (#7), located at the rear of the barrel, once that screw is out the barrel catch (#6) and its spring (#8), which is a small coil spring not shown in the illustration, can be withdrawn out the bottom of the barrel. Be sure to notice the position of the notch in the shaft of the barrel catch as this should face rearward for later assembly.

The front sight (#11) is held in its place in a machined slot in the barrel rib by a short sight pin (#12) which may be driven out in either direction using a small cup-tipped pin punch and hammer. Hint: After

the sight is removed make a mark with a Sharpie marker on its left side on the bottom half for reference so you may put it back exactly as it was removed. Remove the grips and sideplate. Unscrew and remove the grip screw (#13) and carefully lift off the grip panels (#14 and #15). Using a suitably sized hollow-ground screwdriver, unscrew and remove the two sideplate screws (#17 and #18).

Turn the frame over onto its side and hold it by the hinge so that the sideplate is facing up making sure to hold the frame over a padded surface. Using a plastic or wooden mallet, tap the grip frame with a few sharp blows. This tapping action will cause inertia and the sideplate (#16) will jump up and out of its seat in the frame for removal. Don’t ever attempt to pry or lever off the sideplate as serious damage to it and the frame that affects the frame fit can result. Remove the mainspring and the hammer.

Use a pair of spreader-type pliers to compress the top of the mainspring (#24) so that the hammer stirrup (#23) can be rotated forward and disengaged from its seat between the ears at the top of the mainspring. Next, loosen the strain screw (#25) located in the bottom-front of the front grip strap on the frame. The mainspring is now loose so it can be withdrawn from the frames side.

With the hammer forward, use a small screwdriver as a lever and carefully pry the handspring (#19a) out of its seat with the hammer stud. Be sure you notice its positioning on both ends for reassembly later. Rotate the hammer slightly backwards and remove from the rame. The hand is removed by lifting it out of its pivot hole in the hammer. Notice the inset hammer stud/screw to the right of the hammer. Select an appropriately sized screwdriver to unscrew the hammer stud (#20), unscrew and remove it from the frame.

Now, rotate the top of the hand (#19) toward the rear and lift it out of its hole in the hammer. Hold the trigger (#28) to the rear. The hammer (#21) can now be now rotated to a point about half-way rearward, lifted up and out of the frame. Remove the stop cover plate. Unscrew and remove the stop cover screw (#29), this is the small screw located on the frame bottom just forward of the trigger. Hold the frame up

side down by the grip, hold the trigger to the rear and tap the frame just on its side around the trigger area a few short-sharp blows with a plastic or hardwood mallet. This action should cause the stop cover plate (#30) to be shocked up and out of its seat with the frame by inertia. Never try to pry off the stop cover plate as you may permanently damage it and its fit in the frame. When the stop cover plate has jumped loose, remove it along with the stop spring (#31), noting their positions for re-assembly later.

Removing the cylinder stop and the trigger. Use the correct size cup- Marlin .38 Standard 1878 Pocket Revolver (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Frame 2 Barrel 3 Cylinder 4 Base pin 5 Barrel pivot 5a Barrel pivot screw 6 Barrel catch 7 Barrel catch screw tipped pin punch and a small hammer to drive out the stop pin (#33), this is the forward-most of the two pins that pass through the frame from side to side.

Removal of the pin frees the stop (#32) which may now be pushed out toward the bottom by using a small punch through its window in the frame. Note how the tail at the rear of the stop fits over the shelf at the top-front of the trigger for correct reassembly later. Once again, use the same cuptipped pin punch and hammer to drift out the trigger pin (#27).

The trigger pin is the rear-most of the 8 Barrel catch spring (not shown) 9 Ejector rod 10 Ejector rod screw 11 Front sight 12 Front sight pin 13 Grip screw 14 RH grip 15 LH grip 16 Sideplate 17 Sideplate screw, rear 18 Sideplate screw, center 19 Hand 19a Handspring 20 Hammer stud 21 Hammer 22 Stirrup Pin 23 Stirrup 24 Mainspring two pins that pass through the frame from side-to-side. The trigger (#28) is now free and may be pulled out through the bottom of the frame along with its attached trigger spring (#26).

The trigger spring is fitted tightly into a slot machined into the lower-rear portion of the trigger. The remaining piece on the frame is the base pin (#4). The base pin is threaded into the frame using a lefthand thread and will unscrew in a clock-wise direction, that is, looking at it from the front. Reassemble the revolver by reversing the order of disassembly. AG 25 Strain screw 26 Trigger spring 27 Trigger pin 28 Trigger 29 Stop cover screw 30 Stop cover plate 31 Stop spring 32 Stop 33 Stop pin