Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Which 30-30 Winchester?

I like Marlins.

You can easily remove the lever and bolt to clean from the breach on a Marlin with the removal of the “ lever hinge bolt”. Can’t do that with a Winchester. Never handled a centerfire Henry.

I prefer Ballard-rifled Marlins ( and JM stamped versions overall, pre-Remington ownership). Just personal preference. Microgroove barrel absolutely CAN shoot cast bullets well. General rule of thumb is to use a cast bullet .002+” greater diameter than GROOVE diameter. You have to slug the bore first to get the actual groove diameter of your barrel, then cast/size/lube .002-.003” greater than your reading. Can’t just assume your groove diameter is .308”.

My 1976 era Marlin 336a (24” barrel) shoots honest moa with 170 grain Speer hotcore bullets over 32 grains of Win 748 powder ( flash hole uniformed brass). It does not have the cross bolt safety. I wish it did. I think it is an excellent safety feature-particularly for unloading the rifle.

I agree with other posts. Go ahead and shoot the Marlin you already have.