I've managed to acquire two of the Marlins with half magazines and 24" barrels. Both were a little rough. One has some pitting near the front sight and a little on the upper tang. That's the one that shoots the best by far.

The second one has a better outside appearance but the bore is a little rough and it doesn't shoot as well. I'm thinking this is a candidate to send to JES Reboring to become a replacement for the .444 I foolishly sold thirty years ago. I'll have less than $450 in the rifle with the cost of reboring, shipping, dies, brass and bullets included. I almost don't want to do this to an old classic but it is the least costly path to a .444 and I already have the other .30-30 that really is a shooter. Any opinions on this conversiion?

I rebarreled one to .25-35... Not a .444, but I think you could pickup a used .444 for far less than the cost of conversion.. Have far more in the .25 that it will ever be worth..

While I am a 444 fan, a 375 might be easier. I don't know if there would be feeding issues using the 444.

Had a conversation with Jesse Ocumpaugh at JES reboring about the conversion. There are feeding issues he has to address so the conversion cost will be $275 instead of $225. That'll up my total cost to $500. Jesse suggested there were fewer feeding problems with his wildcat .405 JES but we'd be looking at adding the cost of dies to the total and resale on wildcats just isn't there.

If I find a good .444 used I may just buy it and sell the .30-30. The other suggestion from Jesse was that the cheaper Glenfields made up into .444's easier than other Marlins. I guess I'll be shopping for a while. If nothing turns up, he'll get the current .30-30 to get a bigger hole in the barrel in January.

Ward,
have you given it a really good cleaning with JB or Montana Extreme? I would think it might also be a candidate for a trial of dyna bore coat. Might bring back the shooting ability.
That is a relatively old and unique set up. Worth a try.

I have had a bit of time with this one and am really enjoying shooting it. I am still working on a mouse fart target load for the kids. But the Lyman peep is on and if my eyes hold up will get a lot of use. Looking for a new front sight blade of early production. The one on it is a bit worn. I think its a JA height. Hood is long gone. This rifle has some local history and if it could talk I would love to hear the stories. 1949 according to the F on the serial number. Some one got real excited with the truoil. Going to have to rectify that in the future.

Classic in every way!! Thanks for posting.

Two nice Classic Marlins you have snagged. The 336-A is hoot to shoot with the longer sighing plane.

I got a reduced load from Seafire which groups around a inch at 100 yards. The load is 20.0 of SR4759 and a 150 grain sierra FP. This powder was just recently discontinued, you may still find some.

Doc

I've located a newer one (it's D&T'd, anyway) and I strongly suspect it's coming home with me tomorrow. It's not perfect, but it's in good shape and should be a nice addition to the deer hunts. I didn't pursue the serial # thing because I'm still mulling it over, but I'm thinking it would be nice to carry deer hunting.

Long story short, I bought the 336A I found yesterday. It's a shooter, not a collectible, and has some condition issues (I call it character), but I don't think the plug screws have ever been out of the receiver, they look original, anyhow. It has a "T" prefix, but only 3 digits following the "T", so I don't know if it's an assembly # or a serial number. Aside from that, I couldn't find any other numbers on the rifle beyond the usual Model 336 stuff on the barrel. (it doesn't say 336A, just simply 336 then SC .30/30 Winchester). No front sight hood, it's long gone.

If nothing else, it'll be a fun shooter.

Ratsmacker. can we see some pictures? 336a's are the best as far as I'm concerned.
I put on my glasses reread your post. I now see it is a 336SC. still a great looking gun
with a t prefix it was made in 1960

I've got to find my battery charger (I recently moved, and it's lost in the shuffle). I'll have to recharge the batteries for the camera before I can post pics.

On further reflection, I might not have an "A" after all, the barrel is only 20" long. It DOES have the half-magazine, though, which is what is throwing me for a loop. It's actually a little muzzle-light, but it sure handles nicely. I can manage the muzzle-light aspect okay, it's better than a Model 7, anyway.

It must have had some serious condition issues along the top of the receiver at one time. It's all gone now, but there's some deep pitting there. Someone cleaned it up and did a great job, the bore is pristine, too.

What you have is a 1960 vintage 336 Sporting Carbine. The "T" prefix is Marlin code for 1960. The Sporting Carbine is my 2nd favorite style of Marlin 336, right behind the 336 SD (Sporting Deluxe).

336A's need a barrel chop