.22 marlin

Question
i just got a .22 marlin from my grandpa last night. its a semi-auto, anyway i put the bullet in to test fire it and pulled the trigger but it never shot. I'm in school and haven't had time to take it apart and look at it. but i didn't know if you knew off the top of your head or not what it could be. it hasn't been used in awhile and he said it needs to be cleaned, could that be the reason why?

Answer
Cleaning is a good place to start. Particularly if the gun's been sitting for a while, the older lubricants tend to harden over and could be impeding the firing pin's movement. A thorough cleaning with something like Hoppes Elite (synthetic, non-toxic, biodegradable, works great), followed by one of the new wizzz-bang synthetic oils (such as Slip 2000 - non-toxic, biodegradable, doesn't harden, works great) will rule that out as a problem.

The other very possible cause stems from the fact that it is a .22 rimfire. The priming compound in a the rimfire case is placed in a centrifuge and spun to the outside (rim). But sometimes something goes wrong and the compound pools or is thin, and the firing pin happens to strike just where there is on primer. If that is the case, taking the cartridge out, reinserting it and pulling the trigger will likely give you ignition.