.338 Marlin

[Kleanbore]

Saw a guy from Hornady touting a new Marlin Express round on Guns & Ammo TV last night. Said that with a 200 grain bullet, the round's 300 yard performance compares with the 180 grain .30-'06.

Wow! I don't need one and likely wouldn't like the recoil, but that's something. Up there with the Winchester '95 (except in .405).

Doesn't appear to show up on either the Hornady or Marlin websites yet.

 

[Jim Watson]

I guess the .308 Marlin Express wasn't moving too well, so they dreamed up another gimmick. Probably to fall by the wayside like the .307 and .356.

And people just keep buying .30-30s and .45-70s.

 

[Shawnee]

"And people just keep buying .30-30s and .45-70s."

LOLOLOL

Fersure! You'd think someone in the Sales Dept. would notice that instead of trying so hard to fix something that isn't broken.

 

[Kleanbore]

Just an opinion, but if the.308 Marlin Express had not been a sales success, I seriously doubt that a .338 would be in the offing. I've seen people buying them at several nearby stores.

The obvious reason that the .307 and .356 Winchester cartridges failed is that while they had high energy at the muzzle and at shorter ranges, they couldn't overcome the drag of the flat bullet and were not good at longer ranges. Same thing for the .375 Winchester and the older .348.

That's why the Winchester 1895, Savage 99, Winchester 88, Sako Finnwolf, and BLR were developed--they could use powerful cartridges with pointed bullets.

Obviously there was nothing that these rifles could do that bolt-action guns cannot, and of the above, only the BLR is still offered, but some people just prefer lever actions.

With the new bullet, the .30-30, once considered marginal in many circles, has been significantly upgraded in terms of long-range performance, and this is reportedly helping sales of the venerable old Marlin 336. Looks like the .35 Remington also benefits significantly. There has even been sufficient demand for Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition to result in a run in .32 Winchester Special. Some have speculated that the new ammunition may provide the necessary impetus for the return of the Winchester Model 94. We'll see.

The new .338 is apparently not listed for sale yet, and the guy from Hornady said that they are taking it out on elk hunts. We'll see how it does. The .308 reportedly groups well in the 336, and how the .338 groups and performs on large game at long range may determine its success.

So, which will be better, a bolt ought six or a lever .338? Maybe the former, by some perhaps small margin. Which will be easier to find ammunition for? Certainly the former. Will the latter sell? I can't say, but there seem to be an awful lot of people with great affection for the Marlin 336, and that could be the determinant.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Dear Marlin:

I like your guns, but this is really stupid. You're much too late to the party to oust .338 Federal, and so you're wasting a lot of time and money tooling up and marketing these. This is going to be the shortest flash in the pan ever, I predict. Nevertheless, I hope it works for you - good luck. I'll stick with .30-30 and .45-70.

 

[Titus]

I don't know how the Express round is selling, but if we're thinking of other options for Marlin, how about another run of stainless 1894cs?

 

[jbadams66]

I dont get some of you guys. You are basically saying that all rifle companies should stop working on anything new because your old rifles still work.

The 308 marlin has a good following now with people using them to take deer and elk at 300+ yards. Sure the old 30-30 and 45-70 are capable of this but very few shooters are able to calculate drop at those ranges.

The 338 marlin wont replace anything in the marlin line up. It was made to have a medium bore marlin 336 leveraction with 3000 ft lb at the muzzle and over 1500 ft lb of energy at 300 yards with less than 10 inches of drop. Nothing in thier lineup even comes close.

Some people say just buy a BLR but I just dont like the cam action and the overall feel of the rifle.

Will the 338 marlin make me sell my 35 remington and 45-70, No but I will be adding one to the lineup. This will be a rifle that I can use anywhere that I hunt and for any animal that I could hunt and I wont be limited to 200 yards.

 

[freakshow10mm]

The 308 marlin has a good following now with people using them to take deer and elk at 300+ yards. Sure the old 30-30 and 45-70 are capable of this but very few shooters are able to calculate drop at those ranges.

They would still have to calculate drop with the .308 Marlin Express. There is a stark difference in the capabilities of the cartridge and the shooter.

 

[jbadams66]

Yes I know you still have to know the drop for the 308 marlin, just the same as you would for any cartridge. The difference is that with the 308 marlin and the 338 marlin is that would be able to hold at the top of the back at 300 yards compared to trying to figure out 2 to 3 feet above the back. You also have to look at the drop if you are off by 25 yards either way. If you shoot for 300 and the deer is really 325 the new marlin carts will only be down about 2-4 inches, the older round nose and flat nose bullets will drop over a foot.

I know the new cartridges arent for everyone but I dont understand why people slam a company for trying to come out with new things.

 

[VingThorr]

it showed up on hornady's website, nothing on marlin's yet though.

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=787

this gun does have a market . . . for people like me

1 need an arizona hunting rifle that can shoot across canyons and drop an elk

2 don't like bolt guns

3 don't like lever guns made in japan

4 don't like doing alot of trajectory math for .444, .45-70, or .450

5 would love a gun that feels like my .30-30 in my hands


there you have it, marlin is about to make exactly what i've been looking for

 

[Kleanbore]

The current issue of American Rifleman has a fairly lengthy article on the cartridge and rifle.

Pretty impressive, to me. Not quite Savage or Weatherby accuracy but plenty of power for most North American big game and a very decent trajectory.

Reloading components (LR bullets and the progressive powder) are not yet available but are intended to be sold.

Just the kind of thing that Teddy Roosevelt would have loved, I think.

 

[slzy]

anybody know how fast an airplane on a treadmill has to go before it flies?

 

[Airborne Falcon]

I know I sure love mine. It is perhaps the greatest levergun cartridge ever designed imho. I'm gonna give it a try on an Elk bull this fall in Idaho and see what she'll do. I suspect it will perform as advertised ... it sure is an accurate system.

 

[SwampWolf]

I guess I'll never understand the mindsets of folks who almost seem to resent the efforts of a gun/ammunition company that's trying to market a new cartridge. So what if the "latest and best" doesn't measure up to, let alone match, the ballistics of traditional ones? If a new cartridge infuses new interest in the buying public and results in an economically healthier firearms industry, I'm all for it. If the new cartridge falls on its face (like more than a few of the "older" ones have, sometimes for no good reason-i.e., the .358 Winchester and the .257 Roberts), well, "nothing ventured, nothing gained"...

You can always buy your favorite old standbys, so why the angst? Personally, of the many firearms I own, the "newest" chambering I own is a couple of .40 S&W caliber auto pistols. The rest are what charitably could be called old-timers, from my .22 Hornet to my 45-70 Government. But I would never begrudge a new cartridge offering, no matter how redundant or superfluous it may seem to be. In fact, I applaud the "cartridge a month" marketing strategy.

I grew up in an era when a neighbor buying a new Studebaker would bring a crowd of curious on-lookers around for a couple of weeks. And a new cartridge was something to talk and read about for months, if not years. I think we truly live in the "golden age" of firearms: a time when you can buy Glocks and retro Smith&Wesson revolvers; AR-15s and Winchester 1886 reproductions; .380 pocket pistols of every persuasion to a glut of .454 Casull/.480 Ruger/.500 Smith&Wesson super magnums-and any and everything in-between.

So I say, stop the hand-wringing and enjoy the show! I am certain that the day is unfortunately coming when our grandchildren will wistfully recall the day when Grandpa had it all and rue the day when it all came to an end. But what they won't understand is that some of us were whining about having too many cartridges to pick from...

 

[ijosef]

I'm glad manufacturers are always trying to build a better mousetrap, but it is quite the uphill battle. Gun enthusiasts, by and large, tend to be pretty traditional when it comes to their caliber choices. New rounds have many obstacles to overcome on top of entering an already crowded market. First off, the new round needs several platforms. If the new "8mm ijosef" is only chambered in one gun by one manufacturer, it will likely have trouble catching on. Ammo availability will also be an issue, so manufacturers will need to get on board with the new designs, as well as die set makers for the handloaders out there. While most new cartridges address shortcomings in existing ones and try to fill a niche of their own, they really need to stand out in order for them to gain footing. Why buy the new 8mm ijosef when the .308 and .30-06 are plenty good enough? Sure, the new cartridge might have slightly superior ballistics and more downrange energy with a little less recoil, but there are a million rifles out there in the popular calibers, not to mention that factory ammo for the new 8mm ijosef is twice as expensive as the other stuff.

A lot of factors come into play and the cards have to line up just right for a new cartridge to really take hold. Still, I'm glad manufacturers are willing to give it a try, despite the odds. If they didn't, would we have the aforementioned .40S&W or the .357SIG? What if they decided in the early 1950's that they could never overcome the popularity, performance, and market share of the 30.06 and didn't bother designing the .308?

 

[bleon711]

I've had my Marlin 338 for a little over a year and absolutely love it. I am currently developing some reduced power 200 LFP gas checked loads the results of which I will post here. I will use both Hornady dies and Lee custom Collet dies for these loads and am looking forward to the results. I fully anticipate my Marlin 338 will become my go-to rifle.