xtm: Your Marlin 38 is really neat looking. I've always been a Marlin man. I have a Winchester or two, but Marlins have always called my name. The first firearm I purchased with my own hard earned cash was a Marlin 1894 .357 which I still have.
My dad had a factory birdseye maple Winchester .22 pump with the exposed hammer (I think it was a Model 62). I loved that old gun, but it was just too valuable to shoot so my dad sold it.
I always wanted a .22 exposed hammer pump of my own. Since I was a Marlin guy, I read up on them in Brophy's book. I would have bought at decent condition Marlin pump, but I really wanted the last exposed hammer version they made, the Model 37 takedown in .22 short, long, or long rifle.
I went to the big, fancy local gun show (CADA in St. Charles, IL). My eyes were tuned to the long and slim lines of .22 pumps. I saw tons of Winchesters and many Remingtons. They were all priced very high, into the four digits easily. In the last aisle, on the end, I spotted a table with a Marlin pump .22 displayed for sale. As I approached it looked to be in very good condition. So good as a I got closer that I figured maybe it was redone. Nope. I asked to handle it. The wood was really nice and had terrific grain. The action worked perfectly. I produced my bore light from my pocket and I was thrilled to see the inside of the barrel was bright, shiny, and mint! The price was marked at $325. It still amazes me that the much, much rarer Marlins don't command the prices of the Winchesters or even the Remingtons. This was the only Marlin .22 pump at the entire gun show. I asked the seller if he would take $300 (I know, I know, but we all still try to barter the price down, right?) but he said another guy offered him $300 and he refused it since it was a two day show and it was only Saturday. I took out my $325 and said, "Well, that guy just made a $25 mistake."
The following weekend, my local Cowboy Action Shoot had a .22 side match where the winner would get 50% of the entry fees. We had to shoot 10 Ritz crackers at 50' in the shortest amount of time. I hit all 10 with my new (old) Marlin pump in just over 11 seconds to win. If I remember, I won $60! So in my mind, I only paid $265 for this little .22 pump rifle!
-Steve