Marlin 336: C v. W?

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Marlin made a 336A (in the past) that is similar to their current 336 XLR.

The current 336A is the replacement for the old 30A plain jane model.

Confusing, yes.
 
Carl, thanks for that clarification.

Since you appear to be (at least one of) our resident knowledgable people about Marlin 336's, would you mind expanding your useful comparison of the current models to include the A? That is, especially, how does the A compare to the W?

For reference, here's what you wrote back on the last page about the C v. W:

336W
Hardwood stock,
forearm barrel band,
sling swivels and padded nylon sling

336C
Black walnut stock,
black cap on pistol grip,
fluted comb on buttstock,
forearm barrel band,
studs for detachable sling,
336C also available in .35 Rem. caliber.
336SS is stainless steel version of the .30-30 336C
Click to expand...
 
The current 336A has a forearm endcap and studs for detachable
swivels whereas the 336W has a barrel band and sling loops and
comes with a padded camo nylon sling standard.

In the past, the 336A designation was used for a 336 rifle
with 24" barrel, to make things confusing.
 
Thanks, Carl.

So, all this leads me to another question: I can understand that the 336C is a different beast than the A & W.

But why would Marlin make two models - A & W - that seem so very similar with only minor cosmetic differences?

Am I missing something? Is there really more difference in functionality between A & W than I'm understanding?

(Hmmm. I'm just realizing it's past lunch time, and for some reason I want a burger and a root beer ... :rolleyes: )
 
(Hmmm. I'm just realizing it's past lunch time, and for some reason I want a burger and a root beer ... )
Click to expand...

Now that's funny. :D

I've been following this thread since last week...and been keeping my eye out for a local pre-crossbolt-safety 336c since last year! Too bad this one is in Texas...

Thanks to Nem for asking the good questions and to everyone else for providing lots of great, informative answers.
 
cheapest 30-30

a little off topic, but whats the best 30-30 deals online? I have a 336, Big five special. I dig it, makes me feel all cowboyish and stuff. $325 is what I paid for it. I wish I thought of that used idea though. Im running low on doe again. Freaken guns cost a fortune. Shooting tommorrow at Sunnyval if any THr dudes want to shoot.
 
Went to my local range on Friday afternoon to shoot my two handguns.

After checking in, before heading out to the range,
I asked a couple of members sitting at a table about their views on centerfire rifles.

I told them that I'm looking around for a good general use, "all-purpose rifle",
and asked them what they would buy.

They asked, "What do you want to use it for?"

"Truck rifle, general shooting, deer, defense...", I replied.

"I'm leaning towards a lever gun in .30-30."

That drew an immediate response.

(Paraphrasing a 15 minute lecture from the "wise" experienced users to a percieved novice.)

"You don't want a .30-30...bad trajectory...military uses .308... .308 will be THE rifle round of the 21st century with in a few years...if not .308, then go with .30-06...range of rounds... .. ."

After a while, I felt I'd heard it all before, said, "Thanks for the advice",
and walked out to the range to practice shooting my handguns.

About ten minutes later, I walked back into the "office" to rent a spotting scope.

As I walked in, the big guy that offered most advice about why the .30-30 was the "wrong" rifle to buy was saying to another guy, "...he wants a .30-30..." with a smirking smile on his face...

When he saw me, he stopped in mid-sentence ... :uhoh:

Whole thing kind 'o left me feeling a little put off ...

Seems to me if the .30-30 has lasted this long, it can't be all that bad,
even with the presence of .30-06 & .308.

I think I'll go eat some more tiramisu and think about this some more...

~N
 
I just learned in another thread (thanks Gaucho Gringo) that Big 5 has a 336A on sale (in my region) for $334. (Normally, $399.)

Even though I'm probably going to be a good boy and wait to buy a used one :rolleyes: , I'm still curious about the A.

So, I'm going to bump this thread by repeating a question from a few days ago.

Am I missing something? Is there really more difference in functionality between A & W than I'm understanding?
Click to expand...
I've read Carl's listing of the differences in the three versions (above), but I'm still curious about whether those differences make any substantive difference in the gun, or is it purely cosmetic.

And is the A, therefore, a more expensive rifle in general than the W. (Intermediate in price between C & W... ?)

Yeah, I know, I'm probably picking nits here, but I'm just curious.

Nem
 
whats a nit?

I think it is a bug that lives in a monkeys fur. And other monkeys pick it out and eat it.

thats gross as hell dude.

I bought the cheaper 336. It shoots great. I have a browning that looks good. so this one is for the truck and lots of shooting. I did not see any difference in sites or fininish. Just furniture.

I would buy another if she would not yell at me. She being wild Jeanne. My spouse.
 
whats a nit?

I think it is a bug that lives in a monkeys fur. And other monkeys pick it out and eat it.

thats gross as hell dude.

I bought the cheaper 336. It shoots great. I have a browning that looks good. so this one is for the truck and lots of shooting. I did not see any difference in sites or fininish. Just furniture.

I would buy another if she would not yell at me. She being wild Jeanne. My spouse.
 
thats gross as hell dude.
Click to expand...
Yeah, well, I am a biologist. :rolleyes:

There's a running joke among biologists: never take a biologist out to dinner, especially seafood, because they'll tell you all about the anatomy of what you're eating. :D

And yes, "nits" are eggs of a louse.

But in this case, I was just using the old adage about "nitpicking". I don't really eat them. ;)

Nem
 
I got my 336w 30/30 for about $210 with no tax at a local pawn shop. It looks brand new, and even came with a scope with "iron sighter" rings. It is the newer versoin with the cross bolt safety. It shoots well.
 
Nematocyst-870: It warms my heart to find you on a .30-.30 thread. I PROUDLY own a Marlin 336C that I bought used for $150. It is an older model without the crossbolt safety. I'm very pleased with it.

R/fiVe
 
By the way, since this thread is a bit older now,
I thought I'd add a link to a follow-up thread relating to Marlin 336,
with a slight change in focus from C v. W to A v. C.

The main topic has been barrel bands and their alleged impact on accuracy,
but it's taken a few other interesting turns as well.

Yall, come now, ya' hear?
 
I read Georges thread..

OK, I'll admit I sort of liked the green 336. Glad it was his gun. One comment about doing that to a Marlin instead of a Win94... I own a pre64 94 and cringe at the thought of such a mod to it. I own a 336c, affectionately known as Mr. Lucky, named by my hunting partners, I shutter in my boots, get the runs, my vision goes blury, my pecker shrivles up, at the mear thought of doing that to my Marlin.

It's already a Cowboy Assault Rifle!!! In stock form. It holds 7 rounds. It has open sights for quick target aquisition. With 20" barrel it's certainly not long. And in thuddy thuddy or 35Rem is more powerful than an AK. Why would anyone want to castrate it's power and make it a mear balistic equal to an AK? The large TruGlo red dot looks absolutely hidious on that classic lever gun. (Well, a scope of any sort looks hidious on a lever action rifle.)

It's a free country. Do as you wish.... Uhg!

That guy's a moderator on THR?

If you truly can only have one gun, then just go buy a Ruger Super Red Hawk and learn how to shoot it.

-Steve
 
if you go used....

look for one with tapped holes on the left side of the receiver for mounting an appeture site. Peep sights are a big improvement over the buck-horns IMHO and either the Lyman or Williams will screw on in <5 min. with these holes.

They make apperture sights that will attach on top (i.e. WGRS), but they sit higher up and require mounting a taller front sight as well.

they all come with pre-tapped mounting holes for scope rings on the top of the reciever.....but they stopped tapping the holes on the left side in 2001
 
.30-30

I acutally pulled this thread up in a searchand joined just to reply to this thread. I am aproud owner of a 336 I bought it to replace one my father had given me growing up hunting in pa. I bought it for 120$ because of some loss of bluing on the lever and around the barrel and broken firing pin. and some raised grain on the stock. serial number ends in J so form what i have seen that means circa 1952 and no cross bolt safety which I like better actually. It cost me 40$ to replace the pin (had a gun smith do it) sanding down the grain myself. and have yet to have it re blued as i am dtermining where I want to have it done. So doing the quick math i have 160 bucks into my favorite hunting rifle. Now as for accuracy lets all be honest here I personnally have never taken a shot at a deer over a hundred yards out however lets say you do. As you probably know or read .30-30 Ammo has gotten an upgrade every lever action owner has to check leverevolutions ammo out. now not to sound like a commercial because in actuallity I work on ships for a living but i tried this stuff out and I am actually more accurate with it then my Colt Ar-15 and my brothers Savage .30-06 I am so proud of my 160$ gun I am looking to perosnally upgrade to walnut stocks and putting some quality optics on it.
So in conclusion I would go to every used gun/ pawn shop you drive by I would walk in ask for a 336 the more cosmeticly beat up the better because it is very satisfying to have a hand in creating such a great tool.

Question someone mentioned something about marlin refurbishing and rebluing at a reasonable price true/false?
 
Good choice in the Marlin. I'm working up handloads for mine right now.

Also, I agree on finding a used one. If you're lucky, maybe you can even find one of the pre-safety ones.

Oops - didn't realize that Nematocyst was the OP.
We've kind of had this conversation before. :)

Good choice though.
And why is it that Marlin threads never die? :evil:
 
Pabornsailor, welcome to THR.

Wow, you brought this thread back from the dead. (It's been quiet since December, 2006.)

Glad to have you amongst the ranks of 336 owners.

Please consider bringing your story (just copy and paste)
over to the place where a lot of us 336 owners hang out these days:
The 336 Club. (Don't worry about reading the whole thread before jumping in; it's pretty long.)

Nem
 
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Everyone talks like the "newer" cross-bolt safety 336s are not as good as the older non-cross-bolt safety models.

What's up with that ? Granted - the cross-bolt safety is a break from tradition but that doesn't make the rifle (or the safety) bad, or even less desireable.

The whole "pre-cross-bolt safety" nonsense is just more gun show dealer hogwash - trying to make people believe their older rifles are automatically worth more. And, of course, plenty of people will fall for that apple sauce.

If you find a good deal on a CS - grab it and be delighted.

And by the way - anyone who "pooh-pooh's" the 30/30 is giving themselves away as an armchair rifleman.... very likely one of the sheep-le who follows any goat that writes in the gun-zines or a parrot who simply regurgitates whatever garbage they read in this month's issue of "Lock, Stock, and Stupid".


:cool:
 
Everyone talks like the "newer" cross-bolt safety 336s are not as good as the older non-cross-bolt safety models.
Click to expand...

Shawnee, I suspect the issue lies largely with history.

For those who "grew up" w/o the CBS (crossbolt safeties), and were used to the older version, adding another element to the mix understandably just complicated things. Those were simpler times.

For those of us who "grew up" with CBS - they were already on some of my guns even as a kid, it ain't no thing. I'm used to them.

I actually prefer CBS on my guns, even the Marlin levers where half-cock hammer is itself a safety. If I'm in an area with other people (e.g., camp or range), I like that extra layer of safety.

In a hunt, the safety would go "off" and I'd use the hammer on half-cock. (I say would because I have yet to have my 336 on a hunt yet. Yes, sad but true ... trials and tribulations of being a business owner in a troubled economy.)

As for older rifles being "better" than newer ones, because they were made better in the past, I no longer buy that. I've seen no one produce any statistics that problems caused by QC failures are higher now than in, say, 1963.

If there's a problem with a Marlin, Marlin takes care of it as far as I can tell.

Hmmm. This CBS issue is a conversation that we haven't had over in the club yet. Will make it so soon ...
 
"I was raised on the half-cocked notch and it works great for me."


So was I, and the "half-cocked notch" works just fine... and it is how I use my 336CS.... for the same reason as you... it's what I'm used to.

Was also "raised on" the "Old Model" Ruger single-actions (before the transfer bar safety). But my new model Super Blackhawk is just fine. Like the 336CS - it's just different. No real "lesser value" regardless of what the gun show lizards try to pass off.

I've had three 336's in 30/30 and the CS happens to be easily the most accurate of them all.

:cool:
 
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