Marlin 30-30 or winchester 30-30?

[AStone]

I wonder what it was about Annie Oakley
- soul-wise -
that let her do the following with a Marlin?

Annie Oakley once used a [Marlin] Model 1891 to put
25 shots in one jagged hole in 27 seconds at a distance of 36 feet (11m).

Da'um.

IMHO, that's a definition of soul.

Maybe not "the" definition of soul,
but at least "a" definition of soul.

Modern day Annie Oakley?

Wonder if the Duke ever
put 25 shots in one jagged hole
in 27 seconds at a distance of 36 feet?

 

[ArmedBear]

The reality is that the 336 and 94, or at least their predecessors, were first introduced at the same time back in the 1890s.

Winchester just got a lot of what's now called "product placement" on TV and in the movies. The 1892/94 didn't even exist when many of the old Western plots supposedly took place. If anything, the '66 or '73 ought to "look right", not the later guns, if that's the criterion.

All I know is, a 94 hurts my shoulder if I plink with it, whereas a 336 feels fine. For carrying and pointing, I like the fit and feel of the Winchester, as well as the Marlin, and they're quite different. But for shooting a number of rounds, I'll take the Marlin's geometry and weight, over the Winchester.

 

[SwampWolf]

Hey Nemo, believe it or not but I didn't grow up idolizing Annie Oakley! But I won't part with my Marlin 39...

 

[AStone]

I didn't grow up idolizing Annie Oakley!

Neither did I, S'Wolf.

In fact, I'm not even sure I knew who she was until I became an adult. (Don't remember, exactly.)

But I saw some film of her recently, PBS if I remember right, and learned what an awesome shooter she was. Kind of a 19th century female Jerry Miculek with a rifle. (OK, yeah, stretching it a bit, but still impressive ...)

Can't help but admire that kind of talent.

 

[StrikeEagle]

Hey Nemo, believe it or not but I didn't grow up idolizing Annie Oakley! But I won't part with my Marlin 39...

Well... I'm guessing that you're too young to remember the Annie Oakley TV Series... with Gail Davis.

I was on from 1954 to 1957 and I'll tell you what... a woman or not, that gal could ride and shoot better than anyone! Davis did most of her own stunts, too, including standing up in the saddle at full gallop and doing some shooting. (I recall that she shot the center out of an Ace of Spades like that, but that kind of strains credulity.)

Wonderful, wonderful show from the early days of TV Westerns.

Do a Google image search on Gail Davis. Only in my adult years did I realize that she was kind of a dish back in the day.

 

[SwampWolf]

Strike Eagle, no, I'm afraid that I'm plenty old enough to remember that show but it isn't one of the ones I ever did much fantasizing about when I was a kid. Annie Oakley (nee Phoebe Anne Mozee) was raised in Ohio near where I grew up. She reportedly learned her shooting skills while hunting small game in order to help feed her poor family (and, no, I never knew her personally ).

 

[jmr40]

I believe the Marlins quality has been consistently good for the last 100+ years both guns have been made. The Winchesters that I have owned and handled varied from excellent to junk. If buying used, (the only option with Winchester), I believe you have a much better chance of getting a good rifle with Marlin. If you have one of the good Winchester it is probably a tie.

My personal choice is to search out the long discontinued straight stocked Marlins in 30-30. I have several made during the mid-70"s that are just as light and easy carrying as the Winchesters.

 

[scrat]

I had to join in on this. Ok for the record i love the look of the winchester. When you look at the Marlin it reminds me of a toy bb gun. However the winchester looks and feels right. Now i am sure just like cars you could buy a good one or a bad one. Thats the chance you have when buying something that was mass produced in the united states. Same time though If you take a premier company like holland and holland and have them make a winchester design model 94 and a marlin design 336 then you are looking at at great manufacture making a great firearm. Both firearms deserve the recognition they deserve. Its sad to think that Winchester is not around. I sort of blame the government on that one and us as citazens. We all should have done what we could to have kept that company american and here in the united states.

today if i were to buy a 30- 30 i would be looking for a new 30-30. With that as hard as it seems i would be purchasing a Marlin. However if i came a cross a good Winchester i would not look the other way.

I own a Winchester Angle eject its a great firearm that i have used a lot of tiimes and will continue to use as the years go by.

 

[SturmMackRuger]

OK wally world has a marlin 30-30 with camo sling brand new for $314 plus taxes is this a good buy or not. Im realy liking the looks of the gun from what I saw on display. Should I go for it or look around some more.

 

[44AMP]

Make mine a Marlin

And an older one if I can find it. My 336 predates the pushbutton safety, my 1895 does not.

When it comes to .30-30s, I like the pistol grip stock and larger butt (I like big butts) of the Marlin. The Model 94 just kicks the snot out of me, it feels worse to me than heavier kicking calibers. Especially the old model 94s with the steel buttplate!

Either one is an American classic, and can be found new and used (although new condition model 94s are getting real scarce and spendy). Used prices vary alot across the country, some areas being higher than others.

If you have the funds, and are not wedded to the .30-30 round, consider the Browning Lever Rifle (BLR). It can be had in .243 and .308, usues a box magazine, so pointed bullets are no problem, and has a solid top like the Marlin, for easy scope mounting.

 

[ArmedBear]

44 I'm glad someone else has had my experience! I was starting to think I was the only one. Well, I and a guy I know from the range who bought a 94 for fun shooting, and ended up just leaving it in the closet until deer season.

People call the .30-30 a low-recoil round, but the first time I got to shoot it was in a 94 and it didn't seem so low-recoil. I quickly went back to the .30-06 I'd been shooting. It was far more pleasant.

But in the Marlin, I'd shoot the .30-30 for fun. It's no problem at all.

 

[qajaq59]

I have both and if I am going to need the scope I use the Marlin. If not then the Winchester with a peep sight goes with me. They are both good guns really. Handle them both and see which one feels best.

 

[StrikeEagle]

People call the .30-30 a low-recoil round, but the first time I got to shoot it was in a 94 and it didn't seem so low-recoil. I quickly went back to the .30-06 I'd been shooting.

I don't get it!

My Remington 700 kicks me pretty good and my '03-A3 is actually painful by the end of a longish shooting session.

My Winchester 94 30-30 is soft in comparison. What kind of '06 do you have? I admit a Garand is very gentle, but not a bolt... at least not for me.

 

[GunTech]

Gun tests has run this comparison (Marlin vs Winchester) a couple of times. I happen to agree with them.

The Winchester has the chachet, but the Marlin is a better engineered rifle for less money.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

Winchester for show, Marlin for doe.

 

[ArmedBear]

my '03-A3 is actually painful by the end of a longish shooting session.

I have little doubt that a rifle designed to be used as a club in hand-to-hand combat would feel like one under recoil.

The .30-06 I was shooting when I tried the 94 was a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter.

Stock geometry and a decent recoil pad (factory installed; I think it's a Pachmayr, but not sure) make a lot of difference. The gun kicks up a fair amount under recoil, but it doesn't hurt any. It has the stock design originally conceived to allow effective shooting of magnum rounds that range from "Whoa!" to "Oh my God!", and sometimes to "That's just plain ridiculous!" So with a .30-06, it's downright comfortable.

As I said, the .30-30 from the Marlin is a comfortable round, with little vertical displacement and no discomfort.

The .30-30 from the Winchester doesn't blow me back or anything; that skinny little buttstock with a hard plate on it just hammers my shoulder, especially my clavicle.

Same thing can happen if you go from a hefty, thick 12 Gauge shooting waterfowl loads to a light little 20 Gauge upland gun. There's objectively less recoil, but you can sometimes feel the little 20 on your shoulder in the car on the way home, more than the 12. Stock geometry, fit, etc. matter, as does weight.