Marlin 336 caliber conversions 30/30-307 35rem-356

[R.W.Dale]

I've got a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington from the 1970's I've recently acquired, I've always been a fan of the cartridge but 35 Remington is getting very hard to even get brass to reload for and I really don't see that changing ever again.

I've been in correspondence with a reputable gunsmith for this kind of work to have the rifle converted to what's essentially a rimless 356 Winchester, basically a light loaded 358. I'm not looking to ever buy any factory ammo but having a source of essentially free brass forever is appealing and a modest boost in performance would be icing on the cake. I would expect some accuracy improvement with the superior geometry of a 308 based case as well.

My deciding factor on this may come down to getting any firsthand reports from you guys who may have had such conversions performed as to how the rifle functions and shoots.

 

[brewer12345]

A very brief search online shows scads of Hornady Leverevolution available in 35 Rem. I think I would just stock up on some factory shells, acquire suitable bullets and powder, and not bugger up a classic Marlin. That is what I chose to do.

 

[stiab]

Dick's SG near me had .35 Rem ammo recently, and I always see it at the gun shows. More expensive than .30-30 by about half again. Shortage must be a regional thing. I have seen threads about conversions on the Marlin Owners Forum, may want to check with them.

 

[redbullitt]

For what its worth I have seen 35 rem around here too. Never had one, but definitely could pick up ammo if I wanted.

Being that is a nice JM marlin, I gotta suggest leaving it 35 rem! Buy a bunch of brass and shoot away!

 

[Salmoneye]

There is a guy on the forums that goes by the name of Grumpa...

He makes .35 Rem cases from .308...

Last price I saw was .60¢ each...

All the reviews I have read say the internal capacity is a few grains of water less due to thicker brass at the head, and correspondingly that case life is extended over factory .35 Rem...

I have no affiliation with the guy...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?238582-35-Remington-Brass-from-308-1x-fired-Mil-brass

 

[Scooter22]

I don't know what your conversion costs are and a set of custom dies. Plus the drop in value for having your Marlin converted to a obscure wildcat. But I'll bet you could buy a lifetime of .35 Rem brass when they make their yearly run for less and not destroy the value of the gun. Ones in .35 Rem usualy sell higher than ones in 30-30. I'd buy the brass or sell the gun and get something chambered in .358 Win.

 

[R.W.Dale]

It's $140

No custom dies needed. 356 and 358 use the same cartridge dimensions. You simply change which shell holder you use.

Drop in value is of no consequence to me. I will never sell this rifle.

ETA the rifle will be chambered for 356win. I will simply use rimless 358 brass formed from 308. That's the only wildcat part

 

[ThomasT]

Thats a pretty reasonable price for a barrel swap. We he reinstall the factory sights in the price? I am guessing that a rechamber of the existing barrel won't work?

Sounds like fun. My buddy has a marlin 35 remington for sale and the ammo/brass problem is what is holding me up. Plus I just don't need another rifle. The brass from grumpa looks like really good stuff. That is what I would probably buy if I did get a 35 remington.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Thats a pretty reasonable price for a barrel swap. We he reinstall the factory sights in the price? I am guessing that a rechamber of the existing barrel won't work?



Sounds like fun. My buddy has a marlin 35 remington for sale and the ammo/brass problem is what is holding me up. Plus I just don't need another rifle. The brass from grumpa looks like really good stuff. That is what I would probably buy if I did get a 35 remington.

It's a rechambering of the existing 35remington barrel

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Marlin 336 caliber conversions 30/30-307 35rem-356


It's $140

For that price, you can buy a lifetime supply of .35 Rem brass.

 

[ThomasT]

Here is a good write up on the 35 remington and the velocities possible for the Marlin. If you rechamber the rifle strength will be what determines your top load. I am not sure you can safely get more velocity with the rechamber just easier to find cases. Sounds like a fun project though.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/35remington.htm

 

[Airgead]

I used to think .35rem brass was hard to find, but what I've found out is you just have to hit your smaller, local shops in the ~ 8 weeks before your state's rifle season for deer. Remington and Hornady churn some out every year to fill seasonal orders. Every October I go in and buy two boxes of Hornady LeveRevolution in .35rem and then go back in January/February and buy two more if they have any left. I think I've only ever found it once at a box retailer. I also left a classifieds ad on a more-local, smaller gun forum offering a reasonable price per fired case + shipping costs and obtained ~150 within two weeks.

That being said, your wildcat sounds interesting and I certainly don't want to discourage you from trying it if it's really what you want to do.

 

[BLRguy]

I had been interested in this conversion, but read much conflicting info as to the strength of Marlin actions. The debate centered around whether or not Marlin changed threads and heat treating on .356 actions. And that they stopped production due to problems with pressure.
May be worth a read. Marlinowners.com would be a good place for info. I still think a Marlin in .356 would be fantastic, if safe.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I'm in the same boat as you BLRguy. In the end I've just kinda shelved the project in favor of my next AR build for the time being.

 

[herrwalther]

I have almost 100 rounds of factory .35Rem and about 200 rounds of my own handloads. Between the two, even if only fired when hunting and to make sure the scope is still on I have plenty to last just a few hunting seasons.

 

[rule303]

.35 Remington is many times more popular than .356 Win. Both can be loaded to essentially the same performance in a Marlin 336. Why swap a somewhat uncommon caliber for an even less common caliber? Lots of ammo was put on the back burner the last few years while the manufacturers were trying to keep up with demand for the more common rounds. Two years ago you could hardly even find .243, which is one of the top 10 selling rounds in the country.
Remington and Hornady have both made runs of .35 rem recently, and barring another run on ammo you should be able to find it pretty easily. Marlin still chambers it in the 336, not to mention all the older Marlin, Savage, and Remingtons out there. As long as there is demand, I don't think there is much danger of it being phased out by the ammo companies for quite a while.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I concur with rule303.
I have both m336 in .35 Rem and BLR in .358.
I load up the .35 to where there is indistinguishable difference in the field between the two. The chronograph says about 150fps advantage to the .358. With the Marlin action, my guess says 75-100 fps max for the reamed chamber. Not enough for cost/loss in value of rifle.

I really like my Marlin. Great trigger. BLR is beautiful gun. Trigger horrible. Marlin shoots RCBS 200grn FNGC (220grn) over 39.0grn BLC2 to about 1.5moa.
Guess which one gets hunted the most?!