My Marlin 336A

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dvdcrr

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I purchased this awhile back after getting the jones for a lever action. The rifle I bought is a very lightly used Marlin 336A. It has a 91Xxxxxx serial indicating it was made in 2009. Someone at the factory tried to apply a JM stamp but its hard to read. This is a North Haven produced rifle. It has a very even nice blue. It also has very nice checkered stocks which are fitted perfectly and no wobble. Instead of the barrel band at the front of the forestock there is a blued nosecap which I really like as far as appearance. The front swivel stud is mounted there and the rear swivel is traditionally located on the buttstock. I dont know the wood type but it looks like a red stain finish. I really dislike some faux finishes out there but for some reason I like these stocks. I like the reddish color, the checkering feels great. Anyway the trigger is fine and the lever action is smooth and solid. I stopped into a local gun store, the kind of place that has racks of gun stuff with 25 years of dust on them. I said I needed scope mounts for a Marlin 336. He said no problem and threw up a Weaver base and Ironsighter rings on the counter all " Made in USA. ". I got these home and in no time had a Redfield Revolution riflescope mounted low and tight. I have fired several loads including Winchester, PPU, Federal and it shoots them all great. Standing hits on steel plates at 200 yds. are easy if you are up to it. Capacity is 7 total. The irons consist of a front hooded gold bead and typical ramp rear sight which might be capable of folding. The buttplate is checkered black plastic and says Marlin on it. Loading is through the gate and you have to cycle the action to empty. All in all I really like this JM 336A. I have not owned any other JM models. Feel free to share your pics and experiences with your 336!
IMG_20141108_111731145_zpsb7cd7d01.gif
 
dvdcrr

Nice looking Marlin you've got there. Sold my Model 336 many years ago but every so often I get a hankering to get another one.
 
I like the cartridge and the platform, but for some reason, I kept getting them and selling them just as quickly. They never seemed to stick, despite the fondness for Marlin and the .30-30 cartridge. I went through old waffle-tops, newer REM and JM guns, and a few in between. I came close to keeping the 336BL I had several years ago, but it too went down the road. All told, I probably had 10 or 15 .30-30's over the years, many if not most of them Marlins.

Finally last year, I was determined to build up a .30-30 that I wouldn't get rid of. This is what I came up with.

image_zps54046c86.jpg

Shortened the barrel and the tube. Smoothed the action (although as an older gun, it was already fairly well broken in). Changed tube retention from barrel band to stud type. New rail and sights. And then I put the stock on a massive weight loss plan. Marlin stocks have always felt too big in my hands, so I took a set of stocks from a 308MarlinExpress and shaved them down and then refinished them. The whole thing was Cerakoted matte black to keep it from rusting when out in the rain. The scope is a Leupold FX-II scout scope in low Burris quick release rings.

So I basically built myself a gun that no one would be willing or able to pay the price it cost me to put it all together. So, even though like everything else in the shop, it too is for sale, I have a suspicion that this one will stick around for a while. Its a nice gun to throw in the truck everyday...
 
MountainBear

Very nice set-up. Hope you hang on to it for awhile as it looks to be all dressed up and ready to go.
 
Instead of the barrel band at the front of the forestock there is a blued nosecap which I really like as far as appearance.
Click to expand...

Some little known trivia. Levers with barrel bands are carbines. Barrel length does not matter, although traditionally most are shorter. The end cap makes your's a rifle, not a carbine.

The Original 336C's were 20" barreled carbines, while the original 336A's came with 24" barrels and end caps instead of the barrel band. I have no idea why, but Marlin made a lot of cheap budget guns with hardwood stocks instead of walnut in the 336A configuration. At the same time they made an almost identical gun called the 336W. The only difference was the barrel band on the W and end cap on the A. Would have been less confusing if they still made a longer barreled version and called it the 336A and only made one budget gun and called it the 336W.

All of the 1894's, 1895's and 444's are rifles. The short barreled guide guns are actually known as short rifles, not carbines since they don't use barrel bands regardless of the barrel length.
 
I have one nearly identical to yours, bought mine new in 09 so probably even the same year.

Pretty neat guns. One of these years I'm going to take mine elk hunting. I don't think anything would be better than bringing home a bull with a lever action 30 with open sights. (It's just hard to take it when there's a 300 sittin right beside it in the safe and it seems like the elk are always at least 200 yards away) It would make a guy a better hunter though
 
Nice rifle!
This is my 1955 336 SC 30-30 cut to 16.25" The SC stands for Sporting Carbine. It has an end cap forearm and is not called A rifle.

Shorty.jpg
 
There's a stainless North Haven CT manufactured 336 at one shop that was a display model. The price is still way too high on it, but if I could somehow get them talked down a bit, it'd be a good starting point. I'd have it shortened to 16.25" and bead blasted, then do something with the stock. Standard wood is OK, but like MountainBear, I've had a couple Marlins and none have stayed. I'd kind of like to have one that is just mine that I'd be way more inclined to hang on to. I'd maybe go with the grey laminated or something synthetic.
 
I have owned 1 30AS, 2 336s and model 36 all in 30-30. Owned the 30AS for over 10yrs and it was great rifle. Never a failure. Owned 1 model 336 that would not fire ( bought cheap and sold it cheap). I own a 336W model now and it is just as reliable as the 30AS. Gave the 30AS model to my stepson. I sold the 30AS as he will be receiving a new 336 with a new scope for Christmas. He is really excited about his new rifle. With the exception of one all Marlin 30-30s I have owned were plenty accurate and extremely reliable.
 
I am a Marlin Fan, a couple 39As a 1894c in .357 and a 1895cb 45/70. I have Ted Williams 30-30 but need to replace that with an earlier 336 in keeping with my Marlin lever addiction... someday.

Nice looking 30-30s in this thread.
 
I have a simple model 336C manufactured in '78. Has a peep sight on it.

Even though it mostly sits in the safe nowadays, I am glad to have it. It was my first center fire rifle and I consider it a classic. I have complete confidence in it if I ever need to call on it.


Nice looking pics, everyone!
 
It looks like the scope is touching the
rear sight in the pic but in reality there's plenty of clearance. I can almost fold the rear sight.
 
Found one in the back corner of a gun shop five or six years ago. Shop owner said it was going to auction. Pretty rough looking, had been stored muzzle down in a basement and the last couple inches of the barrel were pitted. Stock finish mostly gone but it seemed tight. I'd been thinking about a 35 Rem and this would have been a good start for a rebarrel project. Had the Marlin 1.75-5.5X scope in Marlin mounts. Cleaned the bore and it looked pretty good. Fired it at fifty, made an adjustment or two and moved to 100. 150 grain handloads settled in at 2-3" for three shots. 170 grain Rems got me 2". I have abandoned the idea of rebarreling. Cost: a C-note and tax. Ugly carbine, older, and without the garish Marlin checkering, but it can go anywhere on the farm and perform. A long shot on my remote land is 120 yards. Two yotes so far.
 
I can't seem to find .35 rem ammo. disappointing as I really love my 336c.
 
I have a Marlin 30 AS in 30/30 I boufgt it new at the old hardware store in town back in the day ,87 or so It was my first centerfire rifle I still have it although there sesms to be some snobbery "Oh you'r hunting deer with that little 30/30"? How dead you have to have em?
 
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