Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but my question is on the Marlin 336CS .30/30. I have read this thread and found some great info. I am not a gun expert by any stretch, but my dad did teach me to shoot and hunt when I was in elementary and jr. high, but I lost interest and sort of got out of it. But I still have the above gun that he bought me. It is a 1985 serial number. smooth walnut stock, and I just cleaned and oiled it for the first time since, well way back then. But no rust that some oil would not remove. the gun is clean. I am interested in cleaning it right and making sure I have the right ammo. All I want to do with it is do some shooting with some guys at my church. But who knows when I might need to kill an elephant or something.
Here are my questions:
1. How many cartridges will the gun hold? Not including the chamber.
2. i cleaned out the barrel with a riffle cleaning kit, gun oil, and cleaning patches. Do I need to clean the barrel until there the patches are clean? Or will shooting it a few times clean it up? I have used a dozen or so patches and there is still a bit or residue on the white patches.
3. I went to Wal-Mart to get ammo and all they had was Federal 30-30 WIN 170 Grain Soft Point RN. (Also what does the RN stand for.) Is this ammo ok for my stated purposes in this post? Will it shoot ok in this gun or is there something else which is more preferred?
4. When cleaning the outside of the gun, I sprayed a rag with gun oil and wiped it down, getting it all the nooks and crannies. Then I wiped it clean. Can I get the gun too oily?
I shot this gun deer hunting as a kid and remembered loving it. I have it clean up pretty good and want to fire off a dozen rounds this week to get the feel for it and adjust the scope.
Thanks to all who can answer these questions. I love this gun and am getting excited about shooting again for sport. (Not really a hunter again yet, but might get into it one day.)
K