Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions 30/30 to .308 Marlin?

Can a 336 in 30/30 become a .308 Marlin by only rechambering?

Anyone know?

Don't know about 308mx, but I have a 336 rechambered to 307 Winchester. I would go over to Marlinowners Forum and ask the experts.

Thanks. Ill check with them.

I really don't think it's cost effective......

just buy a 308 Marlin......

Sad to say the conversion will not work well. The 308 Marlin Express neck is larger diameter and is shorter.
Don’t get me wrong, you could run a reamer in it and then use a .30 caliber throater to open up the neck but I don’t think you would be happy.
Best idea is to buy a 308ME. Second best is ream to 30-30AI which works well

I would assume that 308 Marlin brass is, or is going to be, as uncommon as the 307 and 356 are and are likely to be for the foreseeable future. An upside for them is that they are just rimmed versions of the 308 and 358, so, at least in the Marlin 336, those cases can be easily substituted if you pay attention to the COAL.

The most practical and least expensive path to faster speeds is probably via the 30-30AI.

Of course, the 30-30 is a great cartridge in its own right as long as you use it within the parameters of its performance envelope. The 30-30 is so old and so common that it is often overlooked and under appreciated by 21st Century hunters.

Remember you can make 307, 356 and 308ME from 444 Marlin.
I have made it from 270 and 30-06 and it works but requires reaming and annealing.

Here is a picture of a few formed .308 Marlin Express cartridges. .444 Marlin is the easiest way to go.

Over at Marlinowners forum there have been members there that have done this conversion......though it is generally not recommended. IIRC one of the reasons is that a standard 30-30 has square threads on the barrel while the 308 marlin has tapered/beveled threads.....reason being the higher pressure of the 308 round. Check over at Marlinowners website.

Don't know about pressure problems with the 308mx conversion, but with the 307 Win., no problems as long as you don't hot rod it.

There is a smith here in Oz that has done a few conversions from 30/30's to 307 in both Marlins and Winchesters. He marks the barrels as 307 Win.

In a Marlin you should be able to use rimless 308 Win brass, which to my mind is much more practical than a 308 ME, unless you don't reload.

Regan Nooneman can convert your 30/30 to 307.If you tell him you are going to use 308 brass.He will set the rifle up for that.You have to use 307 load data if you use the 308 brass.

Regan Nonneman did mine and he does excellent work. The gun is accurate and functions flawlessly.