The 336 Club

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Maine is quite a different place than Long Island when it comes to .30-30 and what you can shoot with one, when and where. ;)

I don't miss Long Island - was only there twice in the 70's - but I miss my 336.
 
I ran across a good condition 336RC with a straight stock in .30-30 yesterday at my favorite FFL yesterday, and brought it home. S/N is W36XXX, on the bottom tang under the lever. If my source* is correct that means it was made in 1963, so I'm only ten years older than the rifle is. Told the counter guy (an old friend) if it had been chambered in .35 Rem I would have kissed him. He didn't seem too enamored of the idea :D.

One more added to the stable!

* http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/m...tes-manufacture-info-39a-stats-1952-75-a.html
 
Nem,
Indeed this thread is still breathing. Perhaps just getting going....

I have two 336's, both are Cowboys - 24" octagonal barrels, conversions done by Marlin while still in New Haven. One in 30-30. The other in 38-55.

owboys3855and3030a.jpg


LOVE both of them. The practical side of me has great appreciation for the 30-30. Might be on of the most accurate rifles I've ever owned. A rare variation for sure and those that have them don't typically let go of them. I've had both the Original and the conversion (originally a 336 Texan, sent back to Marlin where the craftsmen there converted it to a Cowboy). I did sell the original (mistake... but it went to a good guy). For the silhoutte game you really can't beat a 30-30 Cowboy...

I later discovered the 38-55 Cowboy. Less practical. Way more fun. Provided that you are a reloader and caster.

owboybores.jpg


The 38-55 is definitely NOT for those with short attention spans. It takes work - if you call experimentation (shooting) work. Each 38-55 is a story unto it's own. First you must find the bullet diameter it likes, .379-.382", the weight, the charge...

Once you get it right, Life is good :D

It was the first caliber I was able to reach out to 1,000 yards with. and I frequently use it in Silhouette matches, Long Range Matches and Hunting.

800 yards with a Marlin 336 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bN2Gcd3OGw

Now if I could only have one, it'd be the 30-30. But since I have both, I must admit that the 38-55 gets a vast majority of the attention.

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Montana Vintage Arms Tange sight. Zero to 1,000+ yards. Gotta love it!
 
Mo said:
Montana Vintage Arms Tange sight. Zero to 1,000+ yards. Gotta love it!
That's just impressive, right there.

Congrats on the new rifle, Fred. Pics when you can.

Thorin, come on up to Maine. We'll do some fishing.
 
I can definitely understand "many" in TN. Even many in NY state.

But I'm curious about the proportion of households on Long Island, or - say - Manhattan - in which one would find a 336 or any other .30-30.

I can see lots of 9 mm and 45 ACP in LI and Manhattan, but why do I think there'd be very few rifles chambered in .30-30 there?

I'd predict a higher proportion in Bangor, Charlotte NC and ABQ than in Chicago, Philadelphia and LA, also.

Don't know where I'm going with this, but you get my drift. There's a cultural distribution hypothesis in here somewhere.
 
I can definitely understand "many" in TN. Even many in NY state.

But I'm curious about the proportion of households on Long Island, or - say - Manhattan - in which one would find a 336 or any other .30-30.

I can see lots of 9 mm and 45 ACP in LI and Manhattan, but why do I think there'd be very few rifles chambered in .30-30 there?

I'd predict a higher proportion in Bangor, Charlotte NC and ABQ than in Chicago, Philadelphia and LA, also.

Don't know where I'm going with this, but you get my drift. There's a cultural distribution hypothesis in here somewhere.
Not sure if this counts, but my .35 Rem 336 was the first gun I bought when I turned 18, 34 years ago. I lived in Queens, NY and bought it at a shop on LI. It now lives in a safe in RI.
 
That's interesting, Strut. I wonder - do you know? - when the last deer hunting was allowed on LI.
Couldn't tell you about gun hunting, back then we used to go upstate to hunt. When my friend bought some land in Schoharie county a few years after I bought the 336 I picked up an 870 in Hermans world of sports at the Green Acres mall. Schoharie is a shotgun only county. It was bad back then for gun owners in NYC but definitely not as bad as it is now. I believe you can still bow hunt on LI although I've never done it.
 
I looked for years for a clean, older 336 with pretty walnut, LNIB. I finally found one two years ago on GB, DOM 1974. It shipped in the original box and looks unfired, really pretty. Ive had a Nikon 3x9 on it, and while it shot great, it was too large for the gun and didn't look good.

Last week I bought another rifle on GB that had this vintage glossy Leupold 2x7x33 mounted, and I thought it would look much better on this 336, in classic weaver top mount rings. It is so low, I had to remove the ramp under the rear site to get clearance. It is dialed in and ready for deer season!
 

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Great pics they make me really miss mine. Had one in a 35 Rem with 16.5" barrel, I cut it down to mimic the old guide guns.
 
Yeah, that's a beaut, AK. Nice work.
_____

I just found this post over on ESEE forum where I hang out a lot (same user name). Did this guy score or what? :what:

I recently bought a 68 marlin 336 from a guy for $150. The outside is a bit rough, and the wood needs a little lovin, but the inside tells me this gun never got shot much.
 
That is a HUGE score.

Mine had lots of bids, and was waaay over retail, but it was a time warp that I could not pass up. Didn't want to wait another two years, if ever, to find one like this.

I would have snatched that deal up in a heartbeat just to have it.
 
Deer season has started. Over the last 5 or 6 years the 30-30 has become my favorite rifle for hunting, social range shooting, and I've taken a couple of rifle self defense classes with it. I've talked about it in the past but never taken a photo till now. Recently I did the last thing to finalize it which was to shorten the lop. Below are some of the details.

Work done by Brockman
16.75" barrel
Smoothed action
Enlarged lever loop
XS sights and scout scope

Recently had lop changed to 12" by a local gun smith.
It sports a Galco Safari Ching sling.

If I had to do it over, I'd probably go with Skinner sights. I think they look slightly nicer.
 

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Have just purchased a 1968 Marlin 336RC
Beautiful rifle
Fitting Williams rear peep with Fibre Optic Ghost Ring and Fibre Optic Firesight front ramp
Will consider a Pine Ridge XS scout scope and rail later after I see how I go at 200 yards with the new open sights
Using 160 grain Leverevolution and Federal Fusion 150 grain, which perform close to the same actually
Living in Texas now, but when I return to Oz (where a civilian cannot own a semi-auto rifle) this little Marlin lever action beauty will be just perfect in 30-30 :)
 
Sheepdog1968 said:
If I had to do it over, I'd probably go with Skinner sights. I think they look slightly nicer.

Same here. The Skinners have the multi aperture capability. My XS ring is nice, but huge. The front sight post is a but on the fat side, also.
 
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