Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions Marlin 336 Rebarrel--What Cartridge?

I have a a few .30-30's on hand. One of which is a Marlin 336 that needs some attention. I am really wanting to rebarrel it into something else and entertain some other modifications. What cartridge can I rebarrel this action to (aside from the .35 Rem), or better asked--what can the 336 action safely handle?

I would rather not send this one down the road just yet so lets hear some suggestions.

25-35 Win or 7-30 Waters...

.25-35 would be nifty, this little cartridge is much overlooked just because it was never put in a really accurate production rifle. During the 1930's there were several gunsmiths that made the 25-35 on single shot actions and discovered it made an excellent varminter. I myself have accounted for many, many prairie dogs with a Model 94 SRC and Lyman tang sight, 60 grain Hornady bullet at nearly 3000 fps! A 24" quality barrel on a 336 with a good scope or even a Marbles tang sight should be a ton of fun.

I would imagine that you could use any of the cartridges with the same rim dimensions of the 30-30. So, it would depend on what you are planning to shoot with the rifle when it's done. How about a .219 Zipper for varmints. With a 24" tube and a modern scope it ought to be accurate enough. I've always wondered what a .32 Special (30-30 Improved) would do in a scoped 336. How about a 38-55? Or a 32-40 if you're feeling nostalgic. You've definitely piqued my interest. Let us know what you decide. Thanks; Mike

Chrome nailed it with the 7-30 Waters.

+1.....had a contender in 7-30 and loved it

35 Rem or 356 Win.

Well, I have always been a .444 and .45-70 fan but I also get the vibe that there is no way these will work in the 336.

I would definitely prefer a bigger than smaller bore. The .38-55 definitely has some interest in it. I don't have anything handy right now (at work), would someone mind giving me some performance specs?

I understand that you can do a 375 Winchester in a 336 also.

Interesting, I would have thought that the operating pressure would have precluded it from the 336.

If that is the case, what would be the limiting factor for a .444 based on the 336?

If you go with the 38-55, you will only need a new barrel or current barrel rebored. You will not need to change anything else. The 38-55 is a cool old cartridge anyway, and still plenty useful.

http://www.35caliber.com/

Have you considered a re-bore from Jesse?

250-3000 with 117 grain Hornady RNs.

7mm STE, an improved 7-30 Waters.

307 Winchester, a simple rechambering job.

356 Winchester, a rebarrel/rechamber job with 336 35 Remington barrel.

Jeff

25-35

219 or 22 savage.
307/308.
356/358,

+1 on the 38-55. Grand old cartridge and inherently accurate when the bullets are matched with the bore. I sent a 336 30-30 back to Marlin a couple years back for re-barrel to 38-55. They seem to be in disarray now and dunno if Marlin will do that now. Here's a pic:

I think one of the guys here has a Marlin 336 that they
rebarreled to .25-35.

If it were mine, I would go .25-35.

I'm wondering if anybody has ever done a .357 maximum in a lever gun. It wouldn't really do any thing that a .35 rem couldn't do a bit better, but it would be different and unique. IIRC, rim diameter is slightly smaller than the .35 and don't know if that would be an obstacle or not.

If you reload, the .25-35 with the new nylon-tipped Nosler and similar bullets is safe in the magazine tube. So you can load with essentially the same bullets a .250-3000 or .257 would use. Probably shouldn't match the velocities of those ctgs. in a 336, but you can get a lot more horsepower and better ballistics than any factory .25-35 ever did. Puts it squarely into the deer/antelope rifle category, and it can also be reloaded as a small game or varmint rifle with different bullets/powders.

If you re-barrel, I'd go with the 24" barrel and a "button" magazine. 3-4 shots is plenty, and you'll love the balance!