Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Marlin 338 express??????

OK, I'm looking for a lever action. It's not a right now thing but I definitely want one. Not sure why but I have always had a thing for a lever action. I may just go with the plain vanilla 30-30 which has been getting it done forever but would like something with a little more oomph but not treading into 444 marlin or larger territory. Been there with the 450 Marlin and I don't need all that thump, just isn't fun to shoot a lot with.
ANY WAY, looking for input on the 338 marlin express. Who's used one, on what and how did it do? Also how is it surviving?

I have been looking at the older 375's and 356's but they're almost as much as a new rig and are getting scarce on the loading supplies.

I have used extensivly the 375 win, 356 win and the 358 win on moose, deer, brown and black bear, no experience with the 338 marlin but see no reason it would'nt do every bit as well or better. Used the 338fed for a while with excellant results on moose/deer, only possible handicap I can foresee is not a lot of bullet selection. Looked at one that had a little work on it and the trigger was one of the best ever felt on a lever rifle, think it would be a great choice. My eye's have reached the point that need a scope unless hunting in snow/rain, when faced with those conditions still use my 356 win with 250 kodiaks.

FWIW I don't find the recoil of my 444 near as bad as my 45-70 handloads, and the 450 should be even worse. If you know someone with a 444 see if you can shoot it. You might like it.

want a little more than a 30 30, then how about a 35 remington ?

I've got levers in .44, 30-30, .250 Savage, .303 Savage, .300 Savage, .308 Winchester, .35 Reminton, .358 Winchester, .444 Marlin and .450 Marlin.

The .450 does things all the rest won't do. It puts really big holes in things and makes them bleed. We hunt big wild boar a lot here and they are the weirdest animal on earth after hit with a bullet. Most times they drop, but sometimes they just take off. Doesn't matter how solid they're hit unless their hit in the head. They've got a slow metabolism and a pea brain. They'll run for a 1/4 mile dead from the shot and because they've got this thick cartilage up front some times they don't bleed out much. The .450's and the 45-70's punch holes big enough that you get good blood almost every time, but to be honest every pig I've seen shot with one was so hammered it never got out of sight. The big guns have their place.

If I were to give em all up I'd go with a Savage 99 in .300 Savage though. .308 would be the same.

My personal preference, that's all.

Try to find a BLR in 358, or 450. I have a 444 and it shoots really well, and the recoil is not that bad.

I kind of forgot about the BLR and the 35 Remington. Thanks for all the info boys, I have some more homework to do it looks like. Another thing that has recently thrown a wrench in my plan for the next gun was I picked up a Remmy 7600 in '06 the other day. Shouldn't have done that!

brinky72, if it were me, I'd look at standard cartridges ie: 30-30, 35 rem, 444, 45-70. With Marlin being bought out, and some of the oroblems they are having, the 338 may not be around too long. Yeah I know the 444 is "propriatery", but it's been around for a long time. I have a 1895 Marlin GG[circa 2003], in 45-70. You can load the old war horse from mild to wild. It will do the job on most everything. I've killed bear, hogs, and 7 head of african plains game withe the ole girl.


maddog

an add on to my above post. Went over to Marlin Owners and was reading the Marlin rant forum. Guys said in the new Marlin catalog, among other things, the 338 is not listed nor the 444, for new production. They keep going, and Remington will completly ruin/drop the Marlin brand.


maddog

Yep!

Doc

I find the recoil of the 265 grain bullet in a .444 to be similar to shooting a 165 grain load in a 30-06 at the most. Or maybe similar to a 3" mag in a 12 gauge shotgun. Nothing to get alarmed out. The .300 grain bullet increases the felt recoil a little more, but still not unlike a 180 grain 30-06
gary

It sounds to me like you are looking for a .35 Remington. Very classy cartridge. mild recoil, mo betta umph than the .30 WCF. Used Marlin 336's abound. Factory ammumition is reasonably priced and fairly easy to find.

I haven't killed anything with my 338 yet but it it accurate and fun to shoot.

If you have any interest in a Winchester Big Bore in 375 Win let me know. I took one in on trade a while back and just don't ever shoot it.

shoot me a PM with your email and I can send pics.

No one has mentioned the .308MX so I will give it a nod. If you can find one made before Remington took over they are nice guns. True, they don't have the craftsmanship of the old 336s in .30-30 and .35 Rem, but they offer good ballistics. I had the barrel on mine cut down to 20" and re-crowned. It's a shooter. I have a DRC lever on order.

I must have gotten lucky.I grabed a 308ME right after they came out.It is nice,finish on wood and metal are very good and shoots slightly bigger than one inch groups at 100 yards.Scoped with a Viper 2-7.

jdm, mine shoots the Remington 150-grain Core-lokts better than the gummy tips. I have three boxes of the Monoflex waiting to try. Now, back to all these wonderful levers, I think I own or have owned just about every lever mentioned in this thread and can't fault any of them. The Marlins made in the 50s and 60s are works of art for subtle craftsmanship and attention to detail. Two of my personal favorites are my Marlin in .375Win and my model 92 in .218 Bee. I've owned several BLRs and have a number of Winchesters. But, for all around performance without recoil (and I have a Guide Gun with which I've taken a lot of game with Garrett's 420-grain Hammerheads) and if I wasn't looking for a really cherry used rifle, then I would take a "JM" stamped .308MX.

Brinky,

I own both a 336 in .35 Remington and an XLR in .338 Marlin Express. I have killed moose with both. IMHO the .338 was tailor made for moose; I don't plan to tote another lever gun during moose season for the foreseeable future.

I know the .35 is an established cartridge while the .338 may or may not have a future- I won't spend time here speculating about it. I have purchased the necessary materials to be able to reload for it once my factory ammo runs out. Also, I know there are crummy guns out there, depending on where it was actually made and by whom after the Cerebus/Remington buyout. My rifle shoots very well, and its a joy to shoot.

The moose I shot was not large- perhaps 750-800 pounds on the hoof- and the shot wasn't far. (120 yards) But it was pretty much a bang/flop kinda thing, with his first step after the shot (broadside to the chest) wobbly and headed straight down. The wound channel was impressive. Range shooting has done nothing to dispel me of the belief that it will be a very good cartridge for moose at much longer ranges, should it ever be needed for such. It was for that possibility (over the .35) that it was puchased.

Could I simply hunt with a bolt action? Sure; I have a mighty fine M77 in .300 WinMag that has many, many kills to its credit. But I really like hunting with a Marlin type lever gun. My .338 ME comes to the shoulder so easily. Also, though the numbers may suggest a slight bump in felt recoil over my .35, I honestly can't tell much of a difference at all. (using the Hornady factory ammo) I could shoot it all day (in a perfect world with unlimited funds and ammo) and never notice.

So that represents my two cents... and I signed up for this site to be able to pass them along. I am a big fan of the cartridge, and I have big plans to do a whole lot more hunting with it. It will be my go-to moose gun from here on out, and I'd like to tag a brown bear with it sometime in the upcoming year, whether during the spring season or the fall season.

Best of wishes to you; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

What bullet did you use in the 338? Hornady FTX?

I would think that a BLR in 7mm-08 might be your huckleberry.