The 336 Club

I'll pitch in for gas

cool deal cause my truck only pulls 18mpg highway

k well if i can help there send all of your firearms to the east coast and i will keep them oiled and being fired

hey guys im having a problam with my .30-30 its a 30aw (the cheap version of a a 336

when i get to the last round in the tube mag it always gets stuck it does this every time with the last round

it gets mostly into the action then jams and locks the lever fully extended

what could it be? do you think i might need a new mag spring?

Ahh, fun with guns

Here is my Marlin 336 right after I got it.

... custom? lol

we ned pics put together

welcome to the club

Paint: see if you brass is scratched as it might indicate that the loading gate has a burr on it or is loose and can catch a round before it fully exits the magazine tube. Also check its alignment in the port.

Are you by chance using the LeverEvolution ammo? I've heard that some feed it better than others. My understanding is that the XLR models have a different follower plug that was designed for the LE ammo and is available through Marlin.

Another guess is that the Magazine tube needs to be cleaned.

Best of luck and when you find the remedy please share your findings with us.

nope this was a new ammo to me though never used teh hornandy im just happy with sp i normally go with winchester 150gr sp but my friend got the ammo today and it was remington 150 core-lokt but it did it with the winchester too

i did all break dont and it hadnt been too long maybe 6mo since i did the last the mag tube was clean thans for the idea bout the loading gate hadnt thought of that

hey there nem dont worry bout the club house ive been keeping an eye on her

got my best grouping yet with my .30-30 bout 1.5inches at 20 yards

i was shooting a book that my sister gave me for xmas(yeah like im gonna read a book that doesnt involve wilderness or guns or war) made a good target for the farm......till i shot it with 00buck and took a chunk out of it and blew paper all over lol


heading out to the range tuesday to take her to a real range and check the zero on the scope for huntin season

I'm with you on the 336, Nemo.

A buddy of mine bought an 1894 in .44 mag a few years ago, and I got to shoot, fondle, and clean it on more than a few occasions.

Here it is with my 39A and 336RC.



While the 1894 is a fine rifle and worthy of it's place in anybody's gun safe, I have to agree that I would pick the 336 over it for just about any situation other than urban home defense.

Yes, the .30-30 might be just a little bit stout for use in an apartment complex. Maybe.

For any type of use out where rifles are supposed to be used, the .30-30 has it all over the pistol rounds. Flatter, harder, faster, better.

I like the 1894, and may buy one if the right deal shows up, but the 336 is where it's at.

The only commercial loads readily available in .30-30 are:

125 gr JHP
150 gr SP
150 gr JHP
160 gr LeverEvolution
170 gr SP

Of these, I'd say the 125 gr JHP load would be the best for varmints assuming you don't want to save the pelt. The heavier bullets will certainly kill, but you might actually get pass-through without much if any expansion in a small animal. Chances are it would be fatal anyway. Small game hunting for the pot would definitely be a "load your own" proposition I'd think -- and there are certainly better alternatives.

The Perfect Ranch Rifle

I have acreage that requires a good bit of driving for me to get there. Space in the rig is limited so what goes with me is pared down and practical. The versatile 336 in "Thutty Thutty" has filled the niche as my "Ranch Rifle" very well.

Example: Next month Black Bear and Cougar Season opens. There is a cinnamon colored Bear eating and occasionally bedding down on the property. I don't plan on hunting him but in the past Bears have been a nuisance in the area once they become comfortable around us they are dangerous to stock, pets and my family. My neighbor had one that would regularly raid his stables so he made him into sausage and a rug.

I also have a goodly number of varmints and Grouse (season opens in September) on the property. With reduced loads the 30-30 handles those chores too, not to mention the plinking fun at lower cost with less noise.

My point is that while the 30-30 isn't "ideal" for Bears or Grouse it WILL do the job. When I'm there mine sits "cruiser ready" in the cabin with one short of a full magazine tube of "Papa John" Loads with a mixed box of PJ loads, Cast 170 grain Subsonics and a few "buckshot" loads on the shelf next to it - standing ready to take care of any vermin (small and big) should the need arise.

Loads
PJ = 150 grain Rem JRN pushed by a Lee powder scoop of 4895.
170gr Subsonic = 5 grains of Red Dot under a 170 grain PB cast bullet gets just under 1000 fps and is accurate out to 100 yards and prints the same POI = POA as the PJ load out to 50 yards.
Buckshot load A single Buckshot (.314") over a 22lr case scoop of Bullseye powder. Accurate out to 25 yards, prints lower, just behind the bead. VERY quiet shooting and will work just fine on anything you would hunt with a 22.

yay people are coming in the htread again

I'm still hovering around. Just been researching trying to find the barrel bands that have the swivels installed. I'll add them myself but just something wrong feeling about screwing those things into unmarred wood lol

Will that buckshot load feed through the action?

Can you stack them in the magazine?

How deep do you insert the ball? Can we get an OAL spec?

Nem and Fast,
Yes they can easily be loaded in the field provided you have a way to de-cap and re-prime your brass. No sizing is required if the brass was fired in your rifle. The .314" (average) Buckshot (I can't remember if it is 0 or 00 Buckshot) is big enough that there is enough neck tension to hold the ball firmly in place.

The easiest way to accomplish that is get yourself a Lee Loader in 30-30. New they are less than $20. A pound of Bullseye (good for 2,300+ loads)is another $20, Buckshot (been a long time since I've bought it so I don't know what it costs), and a 1,000 primers for less than <$30 (or buy them 100 at a time for a little more per primer.

In the field all you would need is the de-capping pin and the priming base. A chunk of wood could be used for the mallet. A lee .3 cc scoop (if you use Bullseye powder) would be the easiest way to measure the powder. A static free container for the powder and a container for the buckshot and 100 primers would take up less room than a bar of soap and you'd have 100 rounds using and re-using the brass you have on board your rifle.

Yes, I press the ball in with my thumb until it is seated about half way. I champfer my cases which makes it a little easier.

The OAL is 2.210" (average) and they will cycle through my three 336's. I've had 4 in the magazine at once and spring tension did not reduce the OAL and there is zero recoil with these. The report is very similar to a long barreled 22 rifle. Over the chronograph I average just over 1,000 fps. The Buckshot weighs 47 grains (average) the powder charge is <3 grains of Bullseye.

One of these days I'm going to try the buckshot load with Red Dot powder as it burns cleaner.

In a survival situation the 170 subsonics could be used on deer sized critters should you be able to make a head shot. A heart lung shot would work but I would guess the bullet wouldn't exit and the deer might go a piece before he dies without leaving much of a blood trail so recovery might be tough. In SHTF scenario you could quietly take out zombies that stray into your bug out area too. I have them with me when I hunt for grouse. It doesn't explode them like a high velocity round does and is accurate enough that a head/neck shot is easy plus I didn't alert every deer within 5 miles that there is a hunter walking around shooting a rifle. They aren't as quiet as the bullseye/buckshot load, about equal to a 22lr pistol report or a little less, but they are more accurate at longer distances and shoot point of aim = point of impact with my full power jacketed load sight setting.

Here's a picture and somewhere else in this thread I posted a 25 yard target I shot using the buckshot load.

Nem,

My reasons for using the 170's is that it will print the same as my jacketed load out to 50 yards (no sight adjustment required) and it shoots accurately in my rifles. I also have a mold that casts a mighty fine 170 grain bullet ( www.ranchdogmolds.com )

No reason not to try it with 150s though I haven't.

I have tried it with 93gr cast bullets over 5 gr of Red Dot. The results were promising. The velocity averaged nearly 1200 fps. I may do further experimentation using a lower charge to see if I can get the point of impact closer to the point of aim without sight adjustment from my go-to loads. Nearly as inexpensive as the buckshot load (casting them myself) and nearly as quiet but better at longer ranges. It does require more tools to load them though.

I have other cast and jacketed bullet loads but these three seem to cover all the bases pretty well on my property without fiddling with the sights. I have other rifles that will do specific tasks better but none that do it all better.

JSM, that was an excellent post. I've long debated getting into casting, but I just don't have the time or space, though I've recently found .309", 150-grain cast bullets at Cabela's, so I may have to try those. (I'm carefully hoarding my stash of 150-grain Core-Lokt's, those puppies are getting PRICEY! )

I like the idea of the 30 caliber round balls for plinking or small game, no sense in unleashing 1800+ foot-pounds and all that noise when you're just trying to knock the head off a grouse. Plus, they taste a lot better when you don't have to scrape them off every tree within 20 feet.

I think Red Dot will work better than Bullseye with the 93-grain load, five to six grains should be plenty, four might be even better. Let us know how it works out.

Oh, and for those who want to load the Papajohn load on the fly, the 2.2cc scoop is the one to use with IMR-4895 and the 150-Core-Lokt. Try it!

PJ