Marlin 336 vs SKS

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Saiga39

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
131
Seeing that 7.62x39 and .30-30 have similar ballistics, what would be the better option, a Marlin 336 or a SKS??

I was at a rifle range once and this guy had a scoped Marlin 336 and I thought it was a real sweet rifle.
I've been considering picking up a SKS but from what I read the receiver cover scope mounts loose their zero. I could get a scout scope mount for it but there goes the std iron sights.

I've been considering an under 200 yard deer rifle. I'm concerned if I bought a bolt action it would end up sitting in the safe except for hunting a few times a year.
 
Last edited:
SKS = Inexpensive battle rifle.

Marlin 336 = SEXY utility rifle!

:D

Get the 336 over the SKS. All day every day.
icon14.gif



-T.
 
Last edited:
I had a Yugo SKS which I recently sold. I used the tech sights rear aperture sight and was very happy with that setup. For the same price of just a decent mount, you got increased sight radius and simple reliability. Though I did also have to buy a firing pin with return spring to avoid slam fires.

I am going to buy a 336 very shortly. I will probably use a fire sight or something similar.

The SKS can eat steel cased Wolf ammo all day long which is very cheap. The rifle is accurate enough for hunting, however not legal in all ares. Also, some ranges do not allow you to shoot steel cased ammo, which will put you in the same ballpark as 30-30 prices.

From what I've seen, 30-30 ammo is not too pricey, and there are lots of choices in both plinking and hunting ammunition.

Another point is that the 336 is much lighter than the SKS.

For the record, I did not sell my SKS to buy a 336. I sold my SKS and Saiga for an AR. Now that I have an EBR, It's time for some old school PC steel and wood reliability. and maybe some hunting too...

I'll add that the SKS trigger had more creep than my Glocks, and for the price of a brand new 336 at Wal Mart, the SKS was a dinged and dented old issue battle rifle that had slept in the mud to often. Then there is cosmoline... I won't go there.:banghead:
 
While I don't have a 336, I do have a Marlin 1894.

SKS is a 10-rounder. 336 is a 6+1-rounder.

The SKS is faster to reload when using stripper-clip.

You can top-off 336, not as easy with SKS

The Marlin has better trigger.

The iron sights on both are about par.
 
What to you want it for?

That's the only question...

Just to have it?
To hunt?
Plinking?

Only you can answer that and without that answer no one else can give you a "good" answer.

The SKS is inexpensive but not a 'cheap' feeling rifle. I personally find the SKS very well thought out, simple yet efficient in design, accurate enough in it's original configuration to be useful, handsome in a practical way, and an outright blast to shoot. Inexpensive? Maybe, but cheap? No, not at all.

The Marlin? Well, as they say there's something about 'em. I'm old enough to remember when it was the Cowboys who ruled the airwaves and the lever-action was king (alright, so they were Winchesters, but you get my drift). My Marlin is 50 years old shoots like a dream and one of the last of my rifles they would pry from my "cold, dead, hands". It's not the tallest or the prettiest. She only holds 6 +1 but she'll put them where they need to go, and without complaint rain or shine.

Basically, I love 'em both...

Now, back to the original question....

What you intend to do with it is where we should start.
 
Last edited:
EVENFLO76, that's funny because I also sold my Saiga to build an AR.

I've been considering an under 200 yard deer rifle. I'm concerned if I bought a bolt action it would end up sitting in the safe except for hunting a few times a year.
 
Depends on what your looking to do with the rifle but for day to day plinking and the off chance you might need it for home defense the 336 has my vote.Now if you were asking the same question when sks rack grade could be had for about $100 plus ammo was dirt cheap that might change my vote.Evenflow has a point about ranges becoming more strict about steel cased ammo so the ammo price is a moot point.
 
I have a great 336CS and I have been kicking the idea around about an SKS or AK, but when I analyze it I think the 336 is more than enough rifle and it sure is pretty. I set mine up with see through scope rings so I can still use the iron. All I can say is that I took every deer I wanted to take with it. I think we all have the thought that there may well be some draconian restrictions on semiauto rifles and I know that makes me want one just because of that.
 
I have both a Marlin 336C lever-action and 2 SKS's a Yugo and a Russian...Now normally I would've said Marlin,and I do love mine the SKS's as a semi-auto and eats Wolf and Golden Tiger rounds without any problems...I would say SKS...
 
I have a SKS and a Winchester M94. I would sell my SKS before the Winchester. I simply enjoy shooting the Winchester more.

As a side note: The dust cover scope mounts are junk! They won't hold a zero and they typically have a high rail. The high rail makes it difficult to get a decent cheek weld and blocks the irons if you wanted (or needed) to use them.

The rifle was never intended to have a scope on it. If must have a scope on it there are scout and receiver mounts available.
 
I've been considering an under 200 yard deer rifle.
Click to expand...

Either the 336 or the SKS will work. I'm thinking that a nice 336 can be a really sexy rifle and will give you a lifetime of use, especially with the appropriate scope. A nice SKS is, well, just an SKS. Plenty of utility and dependability, but never what I would call pretty. I own an SKS and took my first deer with the Marlin (in .35 Rem.), I'd rather have that Marlin.
 
Depends on the purpose. For self-defense in a SHTF scenario, the SKS. For hunting and most purposes, the Marlin .30-30 wins out:

1. Better looking / more pride of ownerhship
2. The .30-30 has statistically significantly more oomph than the 7.62x39mm. More than a just a scrunthair. Particularly with the 160 Leverevolution and the 170 gr loads.
3. the 30-30 has more and better types of hunting ammo available, and they're available ANYWHERE you buy ammo.
4. The levergun will likely have better accuracy.
5. the levergun is more likely to have 100% reliability.
 
If I'm going to buy a marlin 336 I'm going to skip the 30-30 chambering and opt for the much superior 35rem.

As for marlin 30-30 vs SKS both rifles and cartridges will do the exact same thing to the exact same critters at exactly the same ranges. For you the biggest factors should probably be ammo cost and whether or not you want a scope.

If you want a scoped rifle then the marlin is probably the better bet. If you want to use irons then a SKS fitted with a Tech Sight is going to be really appealing.

You mention a scope and sights.....FORGET about those crappy see thru marlin rings. They're the levergun equvelant to the craptastic SKS cover mounts.

How bout the best of both worlds......A Saiga in 308win :D

2. The .30-30 has statistically significantly more oomph than the 7.62x39mm. More than a just a scrunthair. Particularly with the 160 Leverevolution and the 170 gr loads.
Click to expand...

I disagree, I've found the difference between 7.62x39 and 30-30 to be much less than the already insignificant difference betwixt 308 and 30-06

The speeds that manufacturers publish for 30-30 are so laughably optimistic that such comparisons using this data are totally meangless.

Take the new 160g Hornady loading. They claim 2400fps, most reports I've seen put the velocity for this ammo in a 20" bbl at 2285fps. I've personally chronographed 170grn factory loads that didn't break 1900fps

3. the 30-30 has more and better types of hunting ammo available, and they're available ANYWHERE you buy ammo.
Click to expand...

In the past 10yrs I haven't been anywhere that sold 30-30 that didn't also stock 7.62x39
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Marlin 336SS quality vs other 336 models
Replies
1
Views
356
Abel
A
M
  • Locked
Lever 30-30 vs Short barrel SKS
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
elmerfudd
E
S
  • Locked
Mounting a scope on a Marlin 336
Replies
15
Views
5K
ECVMatt
ECVMatt
S
  • Locked
Will Marlin 336 See Thru Mounts fit a Marlin 1894 44 mag?
Replies
1
Views
631
hoghunting
H
A
  • Locked
Marlin 336 with Williams FP
Replies
2
Views
767
SSN Vet
SSN Vet
Back
Top