My 44 mag cowboy just experienced the famous Marlin jam. It stuck open when ejecting a round and won't close no matter what I try.
what can I do myself to close the breach and fix it so it won't jam again?
By the way, I am not a mechanical wiz but I do have a good set of gunsmith screw drivers.
Thanks for the help,
Dana

To get it to open and close again should be the easy part. Lay the rifle down on its left side and just remove the lever retaining screw and lever. Then pull the bolt straight out the back of the receiver.

Be VERY careful not to turn the rifle onto it's right side or raise it up with the bolt out, or you will likely lose the ejector.

Anyway, while you have the bolt out, you might as well clean it, and very lightly oil it (Just rub it with an almost dry oily patch). Then put the bolt back in and replace the lever. It should close easily then.

Stopping it from jamming depends on why it jammed. Often that is from trying to feed improper length handloads through them. Other times there is dirt and crud gathered 'round the disconnector. In older guns, wear on the lifter can contribute.

There aren't a great many knowledgeable lever gun mechanics around anymore, thanks to the overwhelming popularity of bolt actions, but any good lever gun man should be able to fix it in jig time.