The 336 Club

Or 16.5".

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I would not personally go down below 18.5" because of velocity loss. I'm not sure what the real loss is at 16.5", but I find that 20" is plenty short for me & 18.5" is a real treat to carry around.

AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGG!

NOOOO.. LOL Yall want me to cut a limited edition! Dont know if Im that brave. Actually the 24" barrel is nothing new to me as far as weight and length. I traditionally carry around a 26" round barreled Savage model 1899.. so it is not a problem.. I have some other Marlins that are shorter.. Her is a top favorite of my Marlins.. which this new XLR is a tie..

parts & pieces ...

CityBoy - you can get used and NOS gun stocks from a lot of sources. Gun_Parts Corp (formerly Numrich) often has some nice used ones.

I've had good luck with these folks: http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/about_us.html

I've also had good luck if the crack is not oiled, using slow set 2-Ton epoxy and clamping overnight. I've been able to refinsh over the repairs because the epoxy accepts oil based stains and goes dark on the surface.

I wouldn't chop that special edition Want a short barrel, just drop by any pawn shop

Ooh, ooh! Can I ask a question of the 336 club?

I've done some checking around concerning 30-30 LeverEvolution ammo and it appears to have nearly the same ballistics as a .308. I say nearly since my brief scouranging of google doesn't exactly turn up any direct LeverEvolution comparisons, so I had to infer different data sheets. I'm considering a 336ss for my birthday present

Anybody with practical experience in this realm? Thanks!

it appears to have nearly the same ballistics as a .308

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No. That is not correct. The 30-30 is not comparable to a 308. The Lever Evolution ammo will give you another 50 yards and turn a 150 yard carbine into a 200 yard carbine. But there is no guarantee that it will even shoot well out of your particular rifle. If it groups well from your 336, great. But regular old Winchester Powerpoints have been gettin' it done out to 150 yards for a long time before Hornady came out with the flex tip concept.

The 30-30 and 308 are among the most versatile cartridges. On paper the 308 has a good bit more top end potential, how that translates in the field depends on the rifleman. I suspect the 30-30 is plenty capable for a vast majority of practical needs and it comes in a relatively inexpensive, accurate and handy platform.

If your AO has a lot of open country and a little extra weight won't hinder mobility the 308 is a good choice. If portability is among the most important virtues, a 30-30 levergun is hard to beat.

A compromise that I am currently testing is the new Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle (GSR).

It comes close to a comparable levergun in portability but is still bigger than Marauder / SDT sized 336's

SDT at bottom (now owned by Pine Cone)

I'm liking the GSR a lot though I don't believe it is superior to my 336's for practical field use.

Hey guys, don't want to let the club pass away right!!

The Leverevolution ammo will add 100~150 FPS if you have enough barrel to get it up to speed? It won't help much on short barrels. It takes burn time to get the speed. It will also not hit to point of aim like the old flat nosed rounds. Get some range time with each to see the differences. It takes getting used to.

A short barrel will penalize the old flat nosed 30-30 cartridges too. So you need to think out your trade-offs? If you want to have one caliber but shoot all ranges within reason, you likely need two guns - a short gun with peeps or a Red Dot and a longer gun with a scope.

The Leverevolution ammo will add 100~150 FPS if you have enough barrel to get it up to speed? It won't help much on short barrels. It takes burn time to get the speed. It will also not hit to point of aim like the old flat nosed rounds.

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While not a 336, my 1895 45/70 with an 18.5" barrel delivers a reasonable group at 100 yds. 1.25" rested on two sandbags under the foregrip and nothing in the rear but shoulder. I agree that the shorter barrels wont deliver the velocity that a longer barrel will. How important that is on game can be argued to death. However they are pure joy in dense cover. My 336 in .35 Rem will do about 1.5" with the Hornady LR ammo, and a little better with Winchester round nose. Both will do 3'' or under at 200yds with the shorter barreld 1895 being the tighter of the two. Neither are particularly impressive for paper, but plenty good enough for Whitetail shoulder.

chas08 said:

While not a 336, my 1895 45/70 with an 18.5" barrel delivers a reasonable group at 100 yds. 1.25" rested on two sandbags under the foregrip and nothing in the rear but shoulder. I agree that the shorter barrels wont deliver the velocity that a longer barrel will. How important that is on game can be argued to death. However they are pure joy in dense cover. My 336 in .35 Rem will do about 1.5" with the Hornady LR ammo, and a little better with Winchester round nose. Both will do 3'' or under at 200yds with the shorter barreld 1895 being the tighter of the two. Neither are particularly impressive for paper, but plenty good enough for Whitetail shoulder.

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My best grouping so far with LeverEvolution ammo in a 336 30-30 with 10 shots was 2" at 100 yards. I'm normally closer to a 3-4 MOA shooter so I was having a good day. It's quite likely there is still more accuracy in the rifle with that ammo than I can shoot.

Abel said:

The first thing I'd do is have a 'smith chop it back to either 20" or 18.5". If you can get that fancy wood from Remington/Marlin, great. But 24" is a handful.

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There are many posts above who are disinclined to chop such a beautiful firearm. A more moderate approach would be to have Marlin install a 336Y barrel and magazine tube on yours and send back the original barrel. These are catalog parts. That way, you can always convert it back to stock.

Some others have advised against a 16.5" barrel. I have one that is 16.75" (I gave the smith a specification of 16.5" +/- 0.25"). It shoots fine and out to 200 yards POA/POI doesn't differ by more than 2 or 3". Can't tell you the velocity numbers as I haven't tested it. Based on numbers I saw from Jeff Cooper in the mid to late 90s, I bet I've lost on the order of 100 fps.

Love my 336! i will say this - Most of my shots come at 170-200 yards and at that range i have had considerable trouble killing deer (plural). Shot one large doe dead in the shoulder broad side - knocked her completely off her feet - after 5 seconds she got up and ran away and i never saw her again. - no blood trail to track. I switch to 30-06 and that has not happened again. I only bring this up because so many people think that the new ammo (hornady) has made this a 200+ yard deer rifle but my experience has not proven that.

Most of my shots come at 170-200 yards and at that range i have had considerable trouble killing deer (plural).

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My brush guns wouldn't be my first choice in firearms if the shots where I currently deer hunt averaged 170-200 yds. Our average distance is more like 35-50 yds. I do shoot them off the 200 yd bench, so if the need arises, I feel confident I can do my part. I know both calibers (.35 & .45) will have enough energy to cleanly kill if it's in the boiler room. I love my Marlins, I'm just unsure of which one I love the most.

That new big loop Marlin looks great, but I don't like the laminated wood.

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Yeah, its about 1/2 lb heavier, too. Still, I've got one on my wish list.

Apparently not all Micro-Groove barrels dislike Hornady Leverevolution ammo. My 336 in .35 Rem seems to like them fine. Groups were shot from 100 yds from a vice-like shooting rest. One fouling round was fired prior to shooting the groups. The dirtier the barrel became, the tighter the grouping.

chas08 said:

Apparently not all Micro-Groove barrels dislike Hornady Leverevolution ammo. My 336 in .35 Rem seems to like them fine. Groups were shot from 100 yds from a vice-like shooting rest. One fouling round was fired prior to shooting the groups. The dirtier the barrel became, the tighter the grouping.

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A couple of weekends ago I took my microgrooved 336 in 30-30 out and shot the LeverEvolution ammo through it and got a 2 inch ten round grouping. I normally don't shoot that well. So I know with that ammo it is at least capable of 2" groups at 100 yards.

I know with that ammo it is at least capable of 2" groups at 100 yards

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. Nothing at all wrong with that in a lever hunting rifle. I'd be pleased too.

End of my Range Frustration

Bought a 336 just at two years ago - RC, made in 1952. Ballard rifling, 4X Weaver scope I am sure was put on the rifle the day it was bought new. Well used, would not rate anything on the collector scale, but I love the patina and wear that is present on a well-used, well-cared-for, loved rifle. This gun really should belong to somebody's grandson, but it was my good fortune to pick it up for $275.00.

But at the range, disturbing results. Couldn't group for fresh fertilizer on a good day. Thought I had a lemon.:banghead:

Well, long story short, I have not been much of a scoped rifle shooter in my shooting years - almost all iron sights, most of the last 25 years muzzleloaders. I simply was letting the parallax get me - wasn't stickin' my cheek on the stock the same way ever time. Once i realized what I was doing (with the helpful counsel of a friend) I found that I have a shooter!

Only got to shoot at 50 yards yesterday, due to time constraints and the need to sight in a new AR (sorry I mentioned that name in this forum....) so my wife could shoot it next weekend, but nice! Could cover my group with my thumb! In about 10 days I'll be back to the range, then to work at 100, and to try the Leverevolution stuff again.

My biggest challenge is learning how to shoot a light rifle like this offhand. Not as heavy as my ML's, so doesn't have the weight and 40+" barrel to help it settle in. So, dang, I have to practice.

Now, I need to get another, put em in the same safe, and hope they multiply! As long as they don't cross-breed with the AR.......