The 307 Winchester is just a bit too much for the Marlin 336 action. The problem is sticky extraction. Seattleloader has two Marlin 336 rifles barreled for the 307 Winchester by Mr. Nonneman and these rifles while very accurate, exhibited sticky extraction when loaded to high pressure.
The 307 and 356 Winchester cartridges were actually �invented� by P.O. Ackley, Dean Grennell, Frank Hemsted and a few other members of the American Reloaders Association in 1968 as part of a series of short articles about modernizing the standard lever action rifles. Frank Hemsted accurately predicted the performance of the two cartridges before any rifles were built. Several other wildcatters worked with the idea and Myron Rockett�s article in the 1979 issue of Gun Digest brought the 444/308 wildcat to the publics attention. I thought the cartridge would be legitimized by Winchester quickly after this but it took quite awhile for the 307 and 356 to appear.
The problem with the 307 and 356 was the negative press or total ignoring of the cartridge by the gun press. If the new Winchester cartridges had benefited from the positive press the 308 Marlin Express has received they might have stood a chance in the market place. Out to 240-yards there is no difference between the 307 Winchester loaded with a flat nose bullet and the 308 Marlin Express loaded with the LeveRevolution bullet. The difference is in the press coverage.
The new Marlin 308MX is a �better� rifle than the Winchester Model 94AE as far as fit of the interior locking pieces and a few other tricks such as nylon rub strips on the forend which give the 308MX rifle the potential of delivering excellent accuracy for any production rifle, not just a lever action rifle.
The facts still remain the 308 Marlin Express cartridge is loaded to less pressure than the 307 Winchester cartridge.
Edit] I fixed the year of the ARAB articles and should have mentioned that Seattle only gives up about 100- to 125-fps over the Winchester rifles.
Last edited by william_iorg; 04/25/10.
