Just bought an old 336

[ojibweindian]

Friend of mine at work just sold me an old Marlin 336 (pre-safety), in very good condition (no rust and just normal wear on the stock). I'll be using it as a back-up for deer and hog, a primary for hunting in thick vegetation, and as a HD/Truck gun. When hunting with my son, it'll be in his hands while I use my 7mm RM.

Just wanted to share the good news.

 

[foghornl]

Very good levergun for your intended purposes. .30/30 or .35?

Both of those calibres have been responsible for many a Bambi & Porky in the freezer.....

 

[ojibweindian]

30-30.

Was thinking of develeping a load which would push 170 grain hard-cast lead bullets to velocities approaching 1800-1900 fps. That should be mild enough for my son to shoot comfortably, and potent enough to knock down deer at reasonable ranges (max of 100-150 yards).

I'm not sure if I'd have to use gas checks for a lead bullet at the stated velocity parameters, and I am assuming that if the lead is hard enough, gas checks would not be required.

 

[kragluver]

Use a gas check for that velocity. You will probably be hard pressed to find a .30 cal PB design for the .30-30.

I bought a cheap, beat up .30-30 about 2 years ago and refinished the stock and barreled action. I put a Wilson receiver sight on it. Now she's a beauty and a good shooter. You'll enjoy that Marlin. I'd much rather carry it all day than my 9 lbs .30-06!

 

[bearmgc]

Fellow Ojib here, hey, bought an old 336 30-30 for the same reason. I share your joy. My teenager hunters are chompin at the bit to shoot their first deer with a 30-30. Best of luck in your quest for a good reload. let us know what you come up with.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Congrats; very hard to go wrong with the ol' 336. But how in the world will you not shoot yourself without a safety!?!

 

[Ash]

If it has Ballard rifling, lead should be no problem at all.

Ash

 

[T.R.]

Marlin 336 is a keeper!

TR

 

[ojibweindian]

Yep, the rifle's a good one.

My grandmother, for those who might want to know, was born in the Soo, and spent much of her youth hunting there. When her and my grandfather bought their farm in the Schoolcraft area, around 1977, she did some hunting with a newly acquired 336. She mostly used it, though, to nail those groundhogs which constantly raided her garden.

She was a good shot, by all accounts, with that rifle.

Also, checked the serial number on mine. Made in 1979.

 

[paintballdude902]

welcome to the club............no really flip thru a few pages and we have a 336 club

 

[Avenger29]

The Marlin 336, is however, worthy of adding some better iron sights to it.

XS makes an intersting setup. A scout rail and ghost ring sights. Might want to look into that. You can mount an IER scope, or a red dot, or even a Bushnell/Eotech Holosight to it.

Add a buttstock ammo carrier and a decent sling.

My grandfather gave me a 1964 336. I added the XS sights and a scout rail recently, so it looks kind of futuristic...in a Firefly sort of way. And shoots quite good too.

 

[ArmedBear]

T.R., are all the deer around Spearfish kinda squarish with no legs?

 

[oldrevolverguy]

Father and son 336s

My son (age 9) and I will be hunting this fall with a pair of 336s. His is a 30-30shooting Hornady's 160 grain Leverevolution ammo with a Weaver 1X4 scope and RamLine cadet stock. Mine is in 35 Remington, 200 grain handloads at 2100 fps, with XS sights. Marlins rock! Fast, reasonably light, short and handy.

 

[ThomasT]

Cabelas carries the PB lead Laser Cast bullets in a 500 count box. I don't know the price anymore. They have gone way up. Laser Cast also has gas check bullets in 30 cal.

Check you rifle for ballard or micro groove rifling. Laser cast may send you a sample to try before you buy to make sure your gun will handle them. If its micro groove it may not.

But if you try them let us know how they work. I would like to try them myself.

 

[moooose102]

do youself a favor and buy some hornady levereveloution ammo for it. much better ammo that previously available, and make the 30-30 an honest to goodness 200+ yard rifle. its amazing how a little bit of streamlining can affect a block of lead!

 

[mainmech48]

As John Taffin and others have pointed out, Marlins with Micro-Groove rifling can shoot cast projectiles very well. It just takes some systematic and careful load development to make it happen.

A gas check is a "must" if you're pushing things above 1400 f/s or so, as is finding a projectile with the right amount of bearing surface, the right alloy composition and a suitable propellant.

Mr. Taffin has been able to develop very accurate cast bullet loads for Marlin carbines in a wide variety of chamberings and has written extensively on the subject. Reading up on this work would definitely save you a lot ot time and effort coming up with your own formula.

FWIW, I shot a lot of small game and varmints with my old Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. using the same Lyman 358429 cast bullets I made for my revolver back when it was the only CF rifle I owned. Didn't own a chronograph back then, as the few available cost about as much as a good used car and used special media to start and stop the clock, but estimate that they were running about 1000-1100 f/s. Accuracy ran about 1/2" at 50 yds for 5-shot groups using a receiver sight from a solid bench and bags, IIRC.

 

[ojibweindian]

Can anyone recommend a good 170 grain cast bullet with gas check?