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Lyman 38
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oldcrankyyankee
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August 31, 2025 - 12:06 am
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Can someone tell me what a Lyman 38 coded “JM” is for?

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Tedk
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August 31, 2025 - 12:17 am
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That would be for a Marlin

“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”

President Harry S. Truman

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cj57
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August 31, 2025 - 3:08 am
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oldcrankyyankee said
Can someone tell me what a Lyman 38 coded “JM” is for?
  

Do you want to sell it? I have a Marlin that could use it

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oldcrankyyankee
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August 31, 2025 - 12:35 pm
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Thank you both, I was afraid of that. 

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August 31, 2025 - 1:00 pm
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oldcrankyyankee said
Thank you both, I was afraid of that. 
  

Or you could use this as an impetus expand your comfort zone – buy a Marlin to fit it Laugh

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steve004
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August 31, 2025 - 2:29 pm
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steve004 said

oldcrankyyankee said
Thank you both, I was afraid of that. 
  

Or you could use this as an impetus expand your comfort zone – buy a Marlin to fit it
  

Tom – let me add JM is not just for any Marlin but the Marlin M1895.  The M1895 would be the perfect Marlin for you.  Find one in .45-90 and you are set!

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oldcrankyyankee
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August 31, 2025 - 6:23 pm
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Steve, the unfortunate problem is the afore mentioned sight is currently resting on the receiver of a deluxe 86. Said rifle letters with a ” Lyman receiver sight”. It just is the wrong sight. Oh I would mention the 86 is in one of beloved calibers, 33 wcf. So technically it should be coded NI. You say tomato. But I do have an 86 in 33 with an NI coded 38.  So clearly Winchester worked to use the correctly coded sights on their rifles. My thought would be the rifle currently in question has had the sight added to fill the holes the factory put in and the original sight was pilfered at some point and the seller is trying to put it back to match the letter, eh, and doesn’t know or have the correct sight available.

Yes a 1895 Marlin would be great to have. The problem is that the couple I have run across are, well, lets just say they don’t cut the mustard for me. IE not in very good condition. The others that did fall in line to my standard were, shall we say, optimistically priced.

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August 31, 2025 - 7:46 pm
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oldcrankyyankee said
Steve, the unfortunate problem is the afore mentioned sight is currently resting on the receiver of a deluxe 86. Said rifle letters with a ” Lyman receiver sight”. It just is the wrong sight. Oh I would mention the 86 is in one of beloved calibers, 33 wcf. So technically it should be coded NI. You say tomato. But I do have an 86 in 33 with an NI coded 38.  So clearly Winchester worked to use the correctly coded sights on their rifles. My thought would be the rifle currently in question has had the sight added to fill the holes the factory put in and the original sight was pilfered at some point and the seller is trying to put it back to match the letter, eh, and doesn’t know or have the correct sight available.
Yes a 1895 Marlin would be great to have. The problem is that the couple I have run across are, well, lets just say they don’t cut the mustard for me. IE not in very good condition. The others that did fall in line to my standard were, shall we say, optimistically priced.
  

I would like a Marlin Model 1895 as well but your experience is the same as mine—either lacking in condition, optimistic in price, or both.

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Zebulon
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August 31, 2025 - 7:49 pm
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Tom, those sufficient condition Marlins may not be available at the moment but, like somebody said about a pretty girl, somebody out there is getting tired of her. 

- Bill 

 

WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist

"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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steve004
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September 1, 2025 - 4:10 pm
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oldcrankyyankee said
Steve, the unfortunate problem is the afore mentioned sight is currently resting on the receiver of a deluxe 86. Said rifle letters with a ” Lyman receiver sight”. It just is the wrong sight. Oh I would mention the 86 is in one of beloved calibers, 33 wcf. So technically it should be coded NI. You say tomato. But I do have an 86 in 33 with an NI coded 38.  So clearly Winchester worked to use the correctly coded sights on their rifles. My thought would be the rifle currently in question has had the sight added to fill the holes the factory put in and the original sight was pilfered at some point and the seller is trying to put it back to match the letter, eh, and doesn’t know or have the correct sight available.
Yes a 1895 Marlin would be great to have. The problem is that the couple I have run across are, well, lets just say they don’t cut the mustard for me. IE not in very good condition. The others that did fall in line to my standard were, shall we say, optimistically priced.
  

Tom –

This is an interesting situation.  Were it my rifle I think I would be very tempted to leave that sight on it.  I wonder if the only way to tell that it is the wrong sight is by looking at those tiny and hidden code letters?  I will speak from experience that we fussy collectors sometimes don’t know to leave well-enough alone.  If it looks right, would you be changing it out just to make the next owner happy?

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oldcrankyyankee
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September 1, 2025 - 5:11 pm
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steve004 said

oldcrankyyankee said
Steve, the unfortunate problem is the afore mentioned sight is currently resting on the receiver of a deluxe 86. Said rifle letters with a ” Lyman receiver sight”. It just is the wrong sight. Oh I would mention the 86 is in one of beloved calibers, 33 wcf. So technically it should be coded NI. You say tomato. But I do have an 86 in 33 with an NI coded 38.  So clearly Winchester worked to use the correctly coded sights on their rifles. My thought would be the rifle currently in question has had the sight added to fill the holes the factory put in and the original sight was pilfered at some point and the seller is trying to put it back to match the letter, eh, and doesn’t know or have the correct sight available.
Yes a 1895 Marlin would be great to have. The problem is that the couple I have run across are, well, lets just say they don’t cut the mustard for me. IE not in very good condition. The others that did fall in line to my standard were, shall we say, optimistically priced.
  

Tom –
This is an interesting situation.  Were it my rifle I think I would be very tempted to leave that sight on it.  I wonder if the only way to tell that it is the wrong sight is by looking at those tiny and hidden code letters?  I will speak from experience that we fussy collectors sometimes don’t know to leave well-enough alone.  If it looks right, would you be changing it out just to make the next owner happy?
  

Steve if it looked right I would leave it alone. Problem is it really doesn’t support itself to the overall guns condition. Hence some one tried to bring the old girl back to life. Real problem is I really really like a lyman 38!

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TXGunNut
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September 1, 2025 - 7:37 pm
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Zebulon said
Tom, those sufficient condition Marlins may not be available at the moment but, like somebody said about a pretty girl, somebody out there is getting tired of her. 
  

Another way of looking at it is she has likely outlasted a custodian or two, someday she’ll outlast the current one. 

 

Mike

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steve004
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September 1, 2025 - 8:02 pm
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oldcrankyyankee said

steve004 said

oldcrankyyankee said
Steve, the unfortunate problem is the afore mentioned sight is currently resting on the receiver of a deluxe 86. Said rifle letters with a ” Lyman receiver sight”. It just is the wrong sight. Oh I would mention the 86 is in one of beloved calibers, 33 wcf. So technically it should be coded NI. You say tomato. But I do have an 86 in 33 with an NI coded 38.  So clearly Winchester worked to use the correctly coded sights on their rifles. My thought would be the rifle currently in question has had the sight added to fill the holes the factory put in and the original sight was pilfered at some point and the seller is trying to put it back to match the letter, eh, and doesn’t know or have the correct sight available.
Yes a 1895 Marlin would be great to have. The problem is that the couple I have run across are, well, lets just say they don’t cut the mustard for me. IE not in very good condition. The others that did fall in line to my standard were, shall we say, optimistically priced.
  

Tom –
This is an interesting situation.  Were it my rifle I think I would be very tempted to leave that sight on it.  I wonder if the only way to tell that it is the wrong sight is by looking at those tiny and hidden code letters?  I will speak from experience that we fussy collectors sometimes don’t know to leave well-enough alone.  If it looks right, would you be changing it out just to make the next owner happy?
  

Steve if it looked right I would leave it alone. Problem is it really doesn’t support itself to the overall guns condition. Hence some one tried to bring the old girl back to life. Real problem is I really really like a lyman 38!
  

Ah, so the condition of the sight doesn’t match the condition of the rifle, with the rifle being nicer. I do see that condition-wise, you would like a sight that matched.  And the fact that Lyman sight letters to the rifle is a significant bonus.  I suspect the correct sight can be found and then you could sell this one.  The Lyman No. 38 for a Marlin M1895 is not something found every day (less often than a No. 38 for a Winchester M1886).

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