Marlin 336

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Gizards'n'Gravy

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Hello everyone! Ok, so on Friday I drag my dad down to Academy to buy a Marlin 336 that I've been eyeing for a while now. We get there and I'm looking it over and checking it out and was about 2 seconds from forkin the cash over to Dad. A different guy that works there walks up to the employee we were dealing with and we all start chatting about different guns and what not.Now everything was fine up till this point when new guy notices what I'm holding. This new guy absolutely bashed the 336, he told me that since Remington bought out Marlin that they had gone to crap. He actually would not stop talking about it and made my father mad enough to leave because of his foul language :fire:. Other than new guy being comepletely unprofessional and downright rude, is he right? I've read on the forums here about the Marlin not being what it used to be but I dont think it was THAT bad. So whats the deal? is the 336 even worth buying anymore or what (I personally think it is)? Thanks,

P.S. before he noticed the Marlin he tried to pitch the Berretta 92 to my dad ( IDK why cuz we were in the long gun section), my father was in the Army when the Berretta came along and considers that gun an abomination and a sin against the Lord. The guy was like "sir, you know everbody could use a good, reliable pistol" and my father simply replied "yes your absolutely right, I DO have a 1911":D
 
love your dad's response to the 92, that said the quality has gone down on the marlins sence the parent company that owns remington and marlin started building for more profit. i am still a big fan of marlin and have seen good and bad in the past few years, the model 795 22lr my coworker just bought is absolutly perfect. so my advice to you is to check over the new 336 very carefully, but i would take the time because IMO the 336 is the best lever gun there ever was. now let the argument begin lol!
 
i haven't looked at any new marlins, but the local shop owner has told me that everything that he's seen from them lately is junk. this was in response to me trying to find a used one, which he agreed i would be better off with.
 
you need a classic 336 marlin. they were the good ones.

i have one from 64, texan grip and gold plated trigger :D has a similar year quick detach weaver scope. i stole it from the pawnshop for less than 200 bucks cause no one wanted it (stock was black from dirt)....... i love her :)
 
There was also a Rossi Rio Grande .30-30 for about the same price, I've been wondering about getting it more often now. Yes my father is a die hard 1911 fan, now saying that he also believes that M1 Garand should still be our main rifle. He's is in a permanent state of crankiness because " they took my .45 boy! Thats why! " Took me years to gather up enough courage to come out and tell him I like Glocks more than the 1911, he just started letting me sleep inside again. Seriously, anytime hes mad, thats what he says, kinda funny now that I know how sensitive 1911 lovers are. KIDDING.
 
Sparky, I am only 17. I cannot purchase a firearms myself. I have worked for years to build up enough trust with my father that he will allow me to have whatever gun I want. He raised me to be trustworthy,disciplined, and a hard worker. Many people think it is a bad idea to give a teenager a handgun or semi-automatic rifle, and it is in most situations. But I have a great family that has raised me around firearms and I am very safe with them, I am not going to shoot up my school, I am not going to shoot my buddy with an "unloaded" gun. If I work for it, my father will get it. I love guns, simple as that and I pretty much spend all of my money on them. As long as I don't do something stupid, I can have thngs that other kids can't because I understand that guns are not toys and require great responsibility.
 
Fwiw, this is our 1957 $215.00 Sears/JC Higgins/Marlin 336C that I scored from Gun Broker a few months ago. Came with the sling, a Bushnell Banner 4x and a hard case. It's one of my favorite rifles......:D



Searsfirearms020-1.jpg
 
old marlin is top notch. if it's a newer one, look for poor wood to metal fit, stripped screws, misaligned sights, etc. If everything checks out, you have a winner, even if it's new. Personally, I haven't seen a new one yet that met my standards, (2007 and earlier were all fine for the most part)

Whatever you end up buying, if you take a little time with it and take some hints from these websites, http://marauder.homestead.com/files/tuning_m_1894.htm http://www.levergun.com/articles/Race_Tuning.htm you will have a very fine gun.

The slickest and nicest action on a marlin I ever came across was a sears version, a Glenfield. made by marlin under a different name for a dept store. The stock was a joke, but the metal was very nice. And it was cheap too, because hey, who wants a glenfield rifle right?
 
I love Marlin but if you buy new it's a crap shoot, but I have watched another person (watched the thread) who bought a new 39a from Marlin. The first???(4-5) didn't work correctly but eventually he got a good one. there are good guns coming out, but me personally I wouldn't try them. Go to marlinowners.com and read up on the new ones. Good luck, try a pawn shop.
 
Frankly there are so many beautiful pre safety as well as safety models available used on Gun Broker for a price a good deal less than a new Rem/Cerebus/Marlin version that knowing what I know and by now you are starting to learn there would be no doubt as to what to buy.
As a matter of fact I have a list right in front of me on certain ones on GB I am strongly considering buying as a Christmas gift for my brother.
And to think because I went to the store yesterday during the last few minutes of bidding that I let a 1986 336CS that looked absolutely unfired get away from me.
The guy that won paid a whole $205.00 for that rifle.
And I can guarantee you that used rifle was a lot better built than the one you were looking at.
 
I think there were some issues when Remington took over Marlin production, but those issues may be passed now.

I recently purchased a new Marlin 1894C, built by Remington. It is flawless, except for fit of the butt stock which has a less than 1mm space between it and the receiver, in one place. Can barely get a business card in there.

Not sure if this is something I should be unhappy about or not? ...I have seen older ones where this was also the case.

At any rate, this gun has none of the issues mentioned above or on any other site. The metalwork is perfectly fine and there are no tool marks anywhere. Fit and alignment of the sights is perfectly fine. Bluing is fine.

The best part is how it shoots. WOW. I mean WOW. It is scary accurate and that is with bulk 38sp ammo. So, even if I should be dissapointed with the fit of the butt stock...I would not give this gun up.

I installed a Wild West trigger and gave the stock two coats of Tru Oil. Beautiful gun.

I was at a gun show yesterday and saw a new Marlin 336. Also seemed perfectly fine.

Maybe an older Marlin would be better, I do not know......this new one seems fine to me. Especially for the price $560 (people were asking $650 and more for used ones).

It sounds as though you looked over the one at the store and, if you were going to buy, it must not have had any issues as well.

From everything I have read, all issues reported were cosmetic and did not affect the operation or accuracy of the gun. This being the case, I think that if you find a new Marlin and inspect it carefully, you might be able to find a perfectly fine gun.

Just my $0.02.

Hope this helps

J
 
This is a good line of thinking Captain. I know I would benefit greatly if the "issues" were nailed down as a checklist to take with you to the gunstore, when looking @ Lever guns.

I'd rather have that then have a "Never buy a new marlin" boogeyman lurking. So far I've only heard these two things:

1. Stock fit and finish
2. Machining tool marks left on receiver
3. ?
4. etc?

Both of those are easy visual checks to be made. I also handled a newer marlin about a month ago, and honestly it looked good, felt good, and operated very nicely.
 
one of the issues i know that have popped up(a friend bought the youth model) and he was willing to overlook the tool marks, bolt sticking out of the back on one side more than the other, rough action. he got to the range threw 2 rounds in the magazine and went to cycle the lever, and.... the lever opened and that was it. he had to break the whole rifle down to remove the bullet.
 
Sir,

I did as you suggested. I read all I could and then looked at a few guns. I ordered one and had a list to check, before I would accept the gun.

I am not sure if I can recall all, but it seemed to me that the list was:

1. Fit of the Butt stock
2. Tool marks
3. Stripped screw heads.
4. Misaligned sights (from the report in this thread)

I think that is about it.

I have read (marlinowners) that some people have reported chambering issues with new 336's. Not sure what caliber or what the issue is or was. Apparently, Marlin was able to solve those issues.

As I recall, it seemed to be a pretty short and simple list of things to look for. I am sure others could add more.

I am happy with my 1894C.

Best

J
 
CaliCoastie
one of the issues i know that have popped up(a friend bought the youth model) and he was willing to overlook the tool marks, bolt sticking out of the back on one side more than the other, rough action. he got to the range threw 2 rounds in the magazine and went to cycle the lever, and.... the lever opened and that was it. he had to break the whole rifle down to remove the bullet.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Did you or your friend ever find out what the cause was? I'm not very familiar with the lockup/moving parts on a lever-action. Is this a consistant problem or did he end up selling it/returning it?
 
Thanks for starting the list, Captain!

Here's a few more that Coastie listed (bold):

1. Fit of the Butt stock
2. Tool marks
3. Stripped screw heads.
4. Misaligned sights (from the report in this thread)
5. Bolt sticking out further on one side than the other.
6. Rough action (other than normal break-in stiffness, I'm assuming)
7. Chambering issues (to be clarified) Marlin Cust.Service repair
 
I have a 336 that I bought in 1957. It has taken it's share of mulies, and whitetails, and would never, ever part with it. Was tempted one time to trade it for a Winchester octagon barrel 30-30. Tempted, but no cigar. Still have it, and when I'm gone, my sons can argue over who gets it. Don't know what the quality is on the 336 today, but the old ones, are gold, in my book
 
I know I would benefit greatly if the "issues" were nailed down as a checklist to take with you to the gunstore, when looking @ Lever guns.
Click to expand...
The problem is, there isn't just one problem or even a small group of problems. It seems that just about anything that can go wrong with a rifle has been reported at one time or another from a new Marlin. The things I have heard include:

  • Fit and finish of stocks (up to and including stocks that are actually broken in the box)
  • Fit and finish of the reciever (including stripped screws, scratches, dings and dents)
  • Rough actions
  • Failure to feed
  • Failure to eject
  • grossly missaligned sights
  • unacceptable accuracy
  • missing/incorrect parts
And probably a few others I forgot.
 
I bought a stainless steel 336 a few years ago. My only complaint is that the the forend stock always gets loose on a shooting session. Once the screw that held it broke. So I had to replace it. Every shooting session, I alwasy have to tighten or losen the scre to keep the forend stock form wobbling. Otherwise, that is some minor issue. The function and the accuracy of the rifle outweighs it all. Yesterday, I was shooting my deer decoy at its vital spot at 200 yards with open sights.
 
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