Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions 30-30 vs 307 vs 35 vs 356 vs 375

Given your druthers for a 150 yard thumper, fit to drop most anything, but mostly used on deer and black bear, what'd it be and why?
Looking in my Lee loading book, 356/358win looks like the speed winner, but the 375 seems to underloaded for use in a Marlin.
What do you think.
P.S. I think the 375 has "cool" factor.

444 Marlin!!!!!

I wondered who would the .444 up
For me it is the .307 Winchester with 170-grain bullet or-
.308 Marlin Express with 150-grain bullet or-
.356 Winchester with 200-grain RN or RCBS cast or-
.375 Winchester with 200-grain Sierra bullet (deer and pigs) or-
.444 Marlin with 270-grain Speer GD or 310-grain Lee or-
.45-70 Govt. with either the 322-grain Lyman 457122HP or the NEI solid version at 355-grains.
You can take your pick and they all perform well

35 rem...fairly common, easy to find ammo-

I think I am sticking with my 30-30 Ackley, and the 170 grain Speer FP bullet.

The 307 and 356 work awfully well. I've owned a 444 Marlin and a couple of 375s, but will opt for either the 307 or 356. The 307 is way ahead of the 30-30AI when it comes to safety, as the 30-30 brass is much thinner than the 307 brass and doesn't split at the necks like the 30-30AI brass is often known to do. The 356 is, again, way ahead of the 35 Remington when it comes to safety because of the heavier brass. I know that lots of folks load the 35 Remington hot, probably because Paco Kelley does, but eventually that thin brass is going to fail and you probably don't want to test dummy for the gas handling characteristics of a Marlin 336 when it does happen.

Jeff

I've owned marlins in .356 winchester and .375 winchester, and I'm on the .375 bandwagon. I even had my own special one built up. It's a Marlin 30TK (Kmart exclusive) rebored from 30-30 to 375 by Jesse Ocumpaugh.

Weagle

What'd it cost ya for the rebore?
I like the way the mag tube is attached to the barrel on that, mine is a barrel band.

Jesse Ocumpaugh did the rebore for $150 plus shipping. He does other caliber/chamberings as well. His contact info can be found here:

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=217

Weagle

I've owned several rifles chambered in 375 Winchester; a couple of Marlin 375s, a Ruger #3, and several Savage 99s, but I was overwhelmingly unimpressed by both the Winchester/Olin factory ammo and the component bullets that are available for the 375. The 375 might be a better choice if you're planning to shoot hard cast bullets, but the 180 and 220 grain Speer FPs are so good in the 356 that, for me, the choice for an exposed hammer tubular magazine rifle hunting cartridge isn't even close.

The last time that I looked, GPC was still listing new 375 Marlin barrels for about the same $$ as Mr. O's reboring work.

Jeff

FWIW, if the .444 Marlin has an interest, I know where a good one (with some honest hunting bumps/scratches on the wood, but near perfect metal) can be found at a very reasonable price.

By far, the .444 out-thumps anything else in the Marlin line-up, except for the .450 and the .45-70..... though those two THUMP on the back end a good bit more, too.

For deer or blackies out to 150yds the 444 gets my vote. Been there, done that. The 348 Win is hands down the coolest of all though. The 375 Win ain't mch more potent than a 35 Rem. The 356 Win has MUCH more balls.....

I want to rebore and rechamber my 336, so 444, 450, 45-70 are out. The 356 and 358 seem to be the winners in opinion as far as my options go. I have a boatload of 308 brass, trimmed the necks thin tho, but might still reform alright.

I'd go 356, providin' you roll your own......

I own two .356s. They are among my favorite rifles. Each has accounted for black bear and mule deer. I have also taken grizzly with this caliber. The .356 is a fun caliber to shoot. I can routinely take a one gallon milk jug at 200 yards with either the 220 Speer FN at c. 2400 fps or the 250 grain Kodiak FN at c. 2050 fps. I'm not dissing the 30-30, the .307 or the .375 as each is fun to shoot and each has its own charm. For me, however, the .356 is simply one fun rifle. The twin .358 was only added to my inventory this spring, but it has already taken a bison. Another fine round that has not received the respect it deserves.

If you put the bullet in the right spot, all of them will do the job and you won't be able to tell the difference..The 30-30 is a great 150-200 yard deer gun anyway you cut it, so why bother other than to please yourself and thats a good reason I suppose.

BTW if you shoot them in the wrong place, again the results will be the same.

I own Marlins in .30-30, .375 Win and .45-70. The .375 seems to like the Hornady 220g bullet better than the 200g Sierra. Pushed to 2300fps with AA1680 the 220g is quite a thumper.

In th .30-30 I use both Speer 170g FP's and Nosler 170g Partition RN's. This year I hunted elk with the Partitions but would feel very comfortable using the 170's on deer.