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Originally Posted by Swampman700
The new Marlin Express rifles are giving a lot of trouble if the ongoing reports on Marlin Owners are any indication. The .30-30 is as good as the .308ME and the .444 beats the pants of the .338ME. They are an answer to a question that wasn't ask.


Wow, the 30-30 is as good as the 308MX? I didn't know the 30-30 kept a velocity of over 1800 fps and over 1190 ft lbs of energy at 400 yards. Didn't know the 30-30 was such a great long range antelope gun . . . . Not

The 444? Well the 444 marlin drops between 60 and 80 inches at 400 yards while the 338 drops 26 inches. The 444 has between 900 and 1100 lbs of energy at 400 yds depending on the bullet, while the 338 will hit with over 1450. At 300 yds the 338 beats the 444 hands down. One 338MX owner at marlin owners took out a coyote at 370 yards with a NECK SHOT.
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,54765.0.html

What the previous numbers don't take into account is the much lower recoil of the 338 compared to the 444 making it much more appealing to people who are not interested in having the snot kicked out of them by a heavy recoil. Also the 308MX has less recoil than a 308 Winchester and only slightly more than a 30-30

Here's numbers from a recoil table from lightest to heaviest, I'll include the '06 for comparison:
30-30 170 gr . . . 7.5 lbs at 9.7 g
308MX 160 gr . . . 13.4 lbs at 10.4g
338MX 200gr . . . . 16.2 qt 11.4g
308 Win 180 gr . . 17.5 lbs at 11.9 g,(a 150 gr is less than the 338MX)
30-06 180gr . . . . 20.3 lbs at 12.3 g
444 Marlin240 gr . . 23.3 lbs at 14.8 g heavier bullets just makes the recoil go up

Recoil acceleration in G's is included because in 2 guns with equal recoil the one with a higher g force will increase the perceived recoil.

The ballistics and trajectory tables also don't take into account the much better accuracy of the Marlin Express series. MOA accuracy is not unusual for these rifles.

But I guess your right. No one was interested in a flat shooting, highly accurate levergun, with mild recoil that also still hits hard at long distances.

And BTW, your response just proved my earlier point.

Last edited by quietman; 05/05/10.
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Oh, as for the problems, there have been feeding issues with some of the new ones, which Marlin fixes at no charge and pays for the shipping. After that, they work great.

There is also another thread on MO that doesn't get as much attention where a bunch of people reported they never had a problem with their Marlin Express from day one and love their 308 / 338.

One last note on this. 2009/2010 was the first year for the 338MX

When I was looking for one, Dick's checked with their distributors who had none. The rep asked them about another production run. The 338 and 308 are selling very well. Marlin told the distributors there would be a 2010 run (This was before the move was announced, don't know if that put the new run on hold). In fact, the distributors said there were so many inquiries on the 338 that they were not taking back orders as they might wind up with more orders than rifles. So that's one additional thing to take into consideration when wondering about survivability.

I was watching sales while setting money aside, and once the hunting reports started coming in, the 338 started flying off the shelves. Some GB dealers went from several to zero in less than a week. Buds gun shop and Davidsons were cleaned out in less than a month. Pretty good sales record.

They are so hard to find now because Marlin sold the entire production run, and all but a few of those have been bought from the stores / distributors, some of who held a few back to sell at a later date.

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Originally Posted by quietman

There is also another thread on MO that doesn't get as much attention where a bunch of people reported they never had a problem with their Marlin Express from day one and love their 308 / 338.




I am one of those people. Never had a problem with my 308MX.


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Originally Posted by RS308MX
Originally Posted by quietman

There is also another thread on MO that doesn't get as much attention where a bunch of people reported they never had a problem with their Marlin Express from day one and love their 308 / 338.




I am one of those people. Never had a problem with my 308MX.



I am in the same boat here. I have several new 308 and 338 MX's and only one time did my first 308MX give me a feeding issue. Bolt guns don't do it for me at this point but lever guns do. I still have several bolt guns and a Ruger #1 but by and large I enjoy lever guns the most!

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I have a 336 that was rechambered to .307 a couple of years ago and I have never shot it. All I have is a couple of boxes of Winchester factory loads. Do I need to strap it to a tire and pull the trigger from 30 feet away with a piece of string to see if it 'splodes?

I don't know if the .308 MX will make it or not. It's hard to judge what the general gun buying public will buy versus what guys like us who are loony about this stuff want.


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The savage 99 is heavier and uglier than a bolt gun????? Nothing is uglier than a bolt gun.


"Never force anything, just get a bigger hammer".
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Originally Posted by 21
Nothing is uglier than a bolt gun.

I wouldn't bet on that
[Linked Image]

laugh

Last edited by quietman; 09/20/10.
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Originally Posted by quietman
Originally Posted by 21
Nothing is uglier than a bolt gun.

I wouldn't bet on that
[Linked Image]

laugh


I just threw up in my mouth.


Deserve's got nothing to do with it.

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Well, ya got me there....


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Here's another question:

Why did Winchester build the 7-30 Waters as is, instead of using a PO Ackley Improved design? The 7-30 faded because of lackluster interest among hunters seeking a new rifle.

Amazingly, the 6.5mm JDG uses a similar case (225 WIN) but has all the appearances of a PO Ackley design. This chambering is fairly popular among the single-shot huntering guys but to my knowledge no custom levergun has been re-barreled for 6.5mm JDG.

Sherwood


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Uh, the headstamp says "Marlin" ..... get it ?
Remember the 25-36 Marlin ?


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Originally Posted by Blowtorch53
I have a 336 that was rechambered to .307 a couple of years ago and I have never shot it. All I have is a couple of boxes of Winchester factory loads. Do I need to strap it to a tire and pull the trigger from 30 feet away with a piece of string to see if it 'splodes?

I don't know if the .308 MX will make it or not. It's hard to judge what the general gun buying public will buy versus what guys like us who are loony about this stuff want.


It should fire it fine but bring a cleaning rod to tap the case out if it gets stuck
I had a Marlin rechambered to 307 back in 2000 or so and it would stick cases with factory ammo but I never had a problem with reloads and I could use regular 308 brass to reload it and it would eject fine.
The 308 Marlin will duplicate 307 actual obtained ballistics and shoot flatter and retain velocity and energy better with the pointed bullets. The 307 never obtained the velocities claimed by ammunition charts. I was getting 2550-2600fps with 150gr bullets and 2450fps with 180gr bullets. I am getting 2550-2600fps with 160gr bullets in the 308 Marlin.
By contrast, 30-30 150gr loads do around 2250fps and 170gr bullets do around 2050fps out of a 20" barrel.
Compare ballistics between a 30-06 and 300 win mag. Less than 300fps separates their performance levels and more like 200fps.
Likewise 30-06, 308, 270, etc cartridges don't obtain the factory quoted ballistics listed in the charts.
The 338 Marlin that I had did get its factory quoted velocity with the Hornady factory ammo and the 308 Marlin runs about 50-100fps less in 22" barrels.
In my 308 MXLR rifle with 24" barrel I believe I'll get the remainder of the lost velocity and obtain factory quoted ballistics.

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