Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Brand New .30-30 - Winchester or Marlin?

No thanks. Tried em didn't much care for the choppy action, lack of an external hammer, no mag tube, and the safety that is terrible for a lefty to get to. I'd climb over all the model 99's in the world to get to a pre 64 model 94.

Many friends of the 30/30 saddle guns like them for the way they handle. You can't get that from somebody else, you have to have one in your hands, feel which one is slicker for a snapshot. The Winchester is slimmer but rather Byzantine inside, the Marlin seems more comfortable in recoil and more direct in design. Having both would be nice.

Moose,

I respectfully disagree, I had a 336 new that would not go bang every time you pulled the trigger with a live round in the chamber. This was less than a year ago. It took me 10 plus phone calls and 4 months without the rifle, to get it fixed. Currently the gun is good to go and shoots well. Marlin maybe improving, they have a long ways to go. Step one produce rifles that don’t need repair upon purchase.

I have both and it is nice.

Well that sucks. I know they're a long way from perfect up there in Ilion but I also know they've come a long way too. They've been steadily improving.

I have the Winchester 1894, I have the Marlin 336, I have the Savage 1899,............................. the Savage is better for the handloader. Higher pressure and pointed bullets.

I have bolt actions for that. I don't need my levers to try to be bolt guns.

How is the better for the "handloader"? How are those advantages different from factory ammo? Isn't that better for "the person that want's better/flatter ballistics"?


I've owned several 99's... Could never get past a dislike for them. I just don't like them. I wouldn't trade my single 94 for any three of them. For the use of a quick handling lever gun, I don't need higher pressure and pointed bullets to kill critters 150 yards and in..


Todd

Hear hear!

If you must have a new one, I suggest a Marlin, but only if you can give it a good going over in person first. The tang safeties on current Miroku Winchesters drive me nuts; totally unnecessary (but placed there at the insistence of the parent company, Browning, possibly because a safety is required in Europe). The Marlin safety is easy to ignore, and there's still a half-cock.

An couple of .30/30 alternatives are the Henry single-shot and the Ruger Number 1s. Both have irons, and look kinda traditional, and are easily scoped when you get too old to shoot without glass. An added bennie is that pointy bullets are safe in them. I have a Henry in .308 on its way, and based on one example I saw recently, they're nicely done, with good walnut, and the fit and finish were not what you would expect on a $400 gun. Not a fan of their goofy-looking lever guns at all, BTW; just not to my taste.

That’d be my choice. I’d find somebody that still had a NIB pre-safety Model 94 for sale. They are not really that expensive. Unless you buy a Pre-64 Model.

I bought a NIB pre-safety Model 94 a few years back from a pawn shop for $550. It’s the shorty Trapper Model with the 16” barrel and probably my favorite.

Another vote for one of each. Heck, get a Savage and Henry while you’re at it.

^^^^^^^^This is the truth as I've seen it in the last year or so.^^^^^^^^^^^^Listen to moosemike. I can tell you for a fact, being over on the Marlin Forum, if there were problems, EVERYONE would be talking about it. Reivertom, is reporting old news. If you want an older JM get one. But I can tell you there were plenty of complaints about those as well.

One thing about "new" Marlins still having issues just might be that they're left over from the period before Remington re-tooled. Not certain, just a possibility.

The reviews of the re-tooled ones have generally been positive, with a few quibbles about the shape of the forend and heavy triggers. If I were considering one, I'd definitely factor a trigger job into the budget. I look at old ones when I peruse the used-gun racks, but have so far stifled the urge. Recently saw a decent one for $450, but a few spaces over there was a pristine Remington 798 for $50 less; no contest for me if I was buying.

man, id be grabbing up one of those miroku 94s in .25-35

My preference is either a Marlin made 1970-1990 or a Winchester 1980's , or pre-64 Winchester. I'm sure the new Winchesters are good, but they are out of my price range. Too many used ones out there. If forced to buy new this is the only version that interests me at all. And it would be a lot better with a lot less wood in the forend like they made them in the 1970's and 80's.



https://www.marlinfirearms.com/lever-action/model-336/model-336tdl-texan-deluxe

My first was a Winchester 94 Classic. I was 12 and had good eyes. Regrettably that one is gone. I now have 3 JM stamped Marlins, 2 30-30's and a .35 Rem. Marlins for me because of scopes and side eject. Don't think I would buy new. Lots of good older rifles available from both makers.

Please. I keep trying to tell myself all the reasons why I don't need one.

Depends what you want.
There aren't a lot of used 336Y's around and that's the Marlin I wanted so I had to buy new.

Neither, get a Mossberg.