Marlin 336 vs. Saiga 7.62

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JAV8000

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I can't decide! I really love the basic, straight forward usefulness of the lever gun; not to mention the price. I also love the semi auto action of the Saiga. The lever gun is slower shooting, but is more accurate and handier. There's a mall ninja inside of me saying I need to convert a Saiga. They're not THAT cheap anymore.....but are such an amazing anti-zombie rifle:scrutiny:

In the end the .30-.30 has the capacity for way more push than the 7.62x39. I cant stand when people compare the two cartridges and try to say they have = effectiveness. For humans, MAYBE, but not game like black bears. I have yet to see heavy bullets (175 gr.) loaded into 7.62x39 cases....maybe it's possible.

I sold my rifles years ago, as I've become a handgun "mostly" guy. I want one decent rifle for whitetails and black bear + general all round rifle use. What should I get? Funds are a bit tight since I recently picked up a new 4" stainless GP100 :)
 
How is converting a Saiga (properly) mall ninja?

A standard configuration AK is as far from mall ninja as it gets.
 
If you want a handy hunting rifle, go for the 336. It will do everything for Deer and range shooting you want it to. It certainly has an edge in accuracy "out-of-the-box", and with these new "revolution" cartridges out there you can improve a 336's accuracy to far surpass any x39 AK that hasn't seen some serious work.

The Saiga will take the same deer in the same field. It's semi-auto, and that means a fun time at the range. But unless you want to spend $150-200 on one of those Beryl style scope mounts, good luck getting a scope zero'd in. It's hard to keep a scope zero'd on an AK with its side-mounting bracket. Then there is the issue of converting. It's easy, but once you add the cost of a conversion to the price of a Saiga, you could have easily bought and scoped and sighted in a 336 and had money left over for ammo, some beverages, and a pie :D .

So I'm going to lean you to a Marlin. If anything else, your hunting buddies will take you more seriously :D .
 
I have and enjoy the marlin 336. With the new LeveRevolution ammunition how can you lose? I also own a sks in 7.62x39, these are great at killing men, not sure about bears.
 
The Marlin is a MUCH better rifle to use out of the box. Better balance, better trigger, better handling, better sights.

The Saiga is something I would only want if converted. The "sporterized" version has a lot of faults.
 
One drawback, and my friend found this out the hard way, x39 is a LOT cheaper than 30-30 for practice and plinking.

He brought his Marlin and two boxes of 30-30, $13 each at the time. I had my CZ carbine with about 10 boxes of x39, $3.50 each. Guess who was begging to fire my gun after his ammo got used up?
 
I was wondering about the side scope mounting bracket. There are some Russian built red dots with quick release side bracket mounts that are advertised as being removable and re-zeroable.

I'm thinking I want to put a Williams Fool Proof aperture sight on the Marlin, no scope. Unless an army of zombies (invaders) come to attack my fourth floor studio apartment, I'm sure the 336 would be just fine backed up with my high cap 9mm.....actually that sounds pretty Resident Evil, maybe I'd find a perfectly functional AK with 8 fully loaded magazines glowing in a dark corner:D when the SHTF big time.
 
I would get the 336, or maybe the new 338 marlin express if you want something a little bigger. The ammunition will be more, but it may be worth it.
 
the lever is so much more handier, if in the woods hunting; especially so , if you get a older winnie, not marlin; very sleek and slim are those winnies.
that being said, I love saigas, and would not trade mine for the world,
they do everything else, very , very good.
 
I think the 336 would be more humane when harvesting deer/bears. I can see the Saiga as a better range gun, but you mentioned hunting. Here in PA two things put a negative on purchasing the Saiga:

1) You can not hunt with a semi-auto rifle
2) 7.62x39mm is becoming more expensive

As far as home defense goes, you should probably just stick with the new GP 100 you just picked up!
 
I used to won a WASR10 back in the $299 days. I traded that gun for a drum set worth twice as much, so I feel ok about it. It made me sick with AK fever though.

22LRFan, right you are! Like I said, I've got plenty of handgun firepower. It's like this, when you are handgun crazy, you need that super-cool rifle, and when your rifle crazy, you need that super-cool handgun.

Guns are a sick addiction.......and I mean that in the best way!
 
Depends on the use

I have both. Both guns will kill a deer easily, although the 336 is clearly better suited for that purpose.

The factory trigger on the Saiga is the pits. So, unless you're going to do the conversion, definitely go with the 336. That said, my converted Saiga is arguably my most fun gun.;)
 
ive seen 7.62x39 loaded with 240 grain bullets for a subsonic load for a suppressed weapon
 
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