Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions Caught the 336 Bug

Hi guys.I've been a lever nut for quite a while.My weakness is Savage 99s and Winchester 94s but I just jumped into the Marlin 336 arena today.I have been looking for a 336 in 35 Remington for some time and ran into a 336 CS in 32 Winchester Special,probably 90% condition with serial #E-203xx.I couldn't resist,$235 out the door.Can anybody give me any info on this rifle?I can't wait to shoot it.Thought I,d come right to the experts.Thanks ahead.

The .32 Special had a unique property when it was introduced back in 1902. While the contemporary .30-30 cartridge was designed exclusively for use with smokeless powder, the .32 was a smokeless powder cartridge that, according to Winchester advertising, was designed to be reloadable with black or smokeless powder. To ease the problem of black powder fouling, the rifling twist in Winchester .32 Spec. rifle barrels was 1 turn in 16 inches, rather than the 1-in-12 twist of the .30-30. That is what made it "Special."

The .32 Special could be said to be based on a .30-30 case necked-up to accept .321 inch diameter bullets. Actually, both the .30-30 and the .32 Special are based on a necked-down, bottleneck version of the rimmed .38-55 case. The rim diameter is .506 inch, and the shoulder angle is about 14.5 degrees. The case is 2.04 inches long, and the maximum overall cartridge length is 2.565 inches. The SAAMI maximum average pressure is 38,000 cup.

The .32 Winchester Special has been the lifelong running mate of the .30-30 Winchester. It has never been as popular as the .30-30, but it has been popular enough to be one of the top ten best selling American centerfire rifle calibers for most of its life.

Back in about 1965 (at which time the .32 Spec. was already about 70 years old) I saw a list of the top selling factory loaded cartridges in the U.S., and I was surprised to find that the .32 Spec. was number four. I believe that the .30-30, .30-06, and .270 occupied the first three places. I remember wondering what all the gun writers and other advocates of the bolt action rifle must think when they saw those numbers. Two of the top four best selling cartridges in the country were moderate velocity, moderate caliber numbers most often chambered in lever action carbines. By then, they had been making their cases for very high velocity or very big bullets, and in either case bolt action rifles, for 60 years. And the consumers kept on using their .30-30 and .32 Special lever action carbines. It must have been frustrating for them. I don't know where the .32 Special stands in sales today, but I would be very surprised if it were not still in the top 20.

Winchester has sold well over a million Model 94's in .32 Special and I don't know how many additional units have been sold by Marlin and others, but there are a lot of well made .32 Spec. rifles out there. In 1973 Winchester stopped chambering the M-94 in .32 Spec. It was reintroduced into the line in 1982 and it was offered well into the 1990's. In 1999 Winchester does not catalog the M-94 in .32 Special, but like the Terminator in the movie, I bet it will be back.

I bought a brand new pre-1964 Winchester M-94 in .32 Special back in 1964, one of the last 1963 models sold. I equipped it with a Lyman receiver sight for hunting in the woods. It was the fastest handling deer rifle I have ever owned.

I also found that my .32 Special was accurate and didn't kick too much. Recoil amounted to about 12.2 ft. lbs. in my 7 pound rifle. I liked it a lot, and I deeply regret that I later sold it to help finance the purchase of a (then) just announced Remington Model 600M bolt action carbine in .350 Rem. Mag. I later regretted selling the M-600M, too--but that is another story.

The ballistics of the 170 grain factory load for the .32 Winchester Special are very similar to those of the .30-30 Winchester shooting the 170 grain factory load. The .32 bullet has the advantage of making a slightly larger hole; the .30 bullet has a slightly superior sectional density. The usual American factory loads give a 170 grain flat point bullet a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2250 fps and muzzle energy (ME) of 1911 ft. lbs. At 100 yards the figures are 1870 fps and 1320 ft. lbs. The 200 yard numbers are 1537 fps and 892 ft. lbs.

The trajectory of that load should look like this from a scoped rifle: +3 inches at 100 yards, -1.3 inches at 200 yards, and -3 inches at 215 yards. From both the energy and trajectory figures you might conclude that the .32 Special is about a 215 yard deer and black bear cartridge, and you'd be right.

The .32 Special is an easy cartridge to reload. Hornady, Speer, and possibly others make 170 grain flat point bullets for the Special. The Speer 170 grain flat point bullet for the .32 Special has a BC of .297, and a SD of .236. The reloader can drive these 170 grain bullets to about 2,200 fps from a 20 inch barrel with a variety of medium burning powders. My favorite is IMR 3031, which works very well in both the .32 Special and the .30-30.

The third edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading shows that 28.8 grains of IMR 3031 will drive their 170 grain bullet to a MV of 1900 fps. 32.8 grains of IMR 3031 will drive the same bullet to a MV of 2200 fps.

The Model 336 is the foundation of Marlin's success in the centerfire rifle market. It is their best seller, and one of the all-time best selling hunting rifles ever made. Total sales are well into the multiple millions.

There are currently three basic models in the 336 line, and a couple of minor variations. The main models are the 336C (the standard version with walnut stock and 20" barrel), 336SS (a 336C with stainless steel metal parts), and the 336A (an economy version of the 336C with a walnut finished hardwood stock). All stocks currently feature a pistol grip, cut checkering in a hand filling diamond point pattern, and a satin Mar-Shield finish. All 336 models have a traditional deep blue metal finish except the 336SS, which has a satin silver finish.

The 336C is currently produced in .30-30 and .35 Remington calibers. All other Model 336 variants come in .30-30 only.

The basic specifications of the 336C, 336A, and 336SS are as follows: approximate weight 7 pounds; 20" Micro-Groove barrel with full length magazine tube; 6+1 cartridge capacity; overall length 38.5"; hammer block safety; adjustable folding semi-buckhorn rear sight and hooded ramp front sight with brass bead; tapped for receiver sight and scope mount; detachable sling swivel studs; comes with an ambidextrous off-set hammer spur for scope use.

Cohiba, Thanks for taking to time to share the info on the .32 win. It�s one of those rounds that has always been a bit of a mystery to me. One thing I�ve noticed is that the marlins in .32 win seem to sell at a lower price than the 30-30 and .35 rem chamberings. I may need to start scooping up some of them while it�s a buyers market.

Weagle

I have owned several Marlin 336 rifles in 32 Special over the years. It is a great cartridge and will do anything the 30-30 will do. I find myself without a 32 at the moment and regret it. If I could find a straight grip 336 in 32 I would probabally never let it go.

The "E" serial number is a 1948 gun.

Thanks guys for all the good info.Wasn't 1948 the first year 336's were manufactured?I'm still on the hunt for an older 336 in 35 Remington,I know I can buy a new one but I just like the character of an older gun.Just wondering about it's history, who owned the gun,what kind of game it killed thru the years,why it ended up in my hands all intrigues me.A new gun just doesn't do the same for me.Again thanks.

Well here's some more stuff. Early model 336"s were: 336 RC,DL(deluxe), C,A, ADL(deluxe) SC, SCD, T, Marauder, ER(extra range in .307 & .356 Win.) , .307 not produced. These are models up to mid '80's. They were then reinvented with different calibers, names, stocks, camo, stainless, etc.. If the bug has really bit you should have Brophy's Marlin book, and the Standard Catalog of Firearms, a price reference book.

You guys have gotten me interested in the Marlin 336, too! Saw one in a Lewiston pawn shop, setting back in the corner with a lot of dust on it. Ask the person behind the counter how much. He said it had been around too long, would I give him $250 for it. When I discovered it was a 35 Rem. it followed me home.

This 336 was very dirty and in need of care. With all the crud removed it looks great and is in excellent condition. Serial number is 69-521XX. Does that indicate 1969 as year of mfg.?

Jim


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Yes, it's a 1969 Rifle. Good find.

Cohiba: Don't know whether you are a professional writer or not, but with a tiny bit of restructuring and some added background, pics and load variants you should submit that first post to some gun rags for a possible article. Interesting read. Regards, Don