Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Marlin 336 in 30 WCF-- What to do?

I have a very nice Marlin 336 in 30-30. Now that my sons are grown, I'm debating what to do with it. I was not all that impressed with it as a deer rifle. I prefer 30-06 and 308 WIN.

Some things come to mind:

1) Ream it out to 30-30 AI.
2) Ream it out to 307 WIN
3) Use it to experiment with Cast Lead in 30-30
4) Keep it as is and wait for the grandchildren to come online.

. . . I'm open to ideas.

If I decided to AI it, who would you suggest to do it? How about 307 WIN?

Cast lead in a Microgroove can be a challenge, but certainly do-able.

I always liked the idea of a half-magazine conversion, coupled with a .219 Zipper barrel with a fast twist to handle heavy bullets. Sort of a rimmed .223 lever gun.

In the end I probably wouldn't mess with it and save it for the grandkids or as a loaner.

Buy a mold and use it for small game or fun shooting with cast bullets. I have a pair of 336sc from the 50's that haven't seen a jacketed bullet in years. 7 grains of Trailboss and a 173gr gas checked bullet cast from wheelweights shoots under 2" at 100 yards with a peep and has the noise and recoil of a rim fire.

if its pre-crossbolt safety, i'd sell it instead of keeping it for the g'kids. those pre-cbs guns are not good for kids imo. and yes, i know, we all used them back in the day. but a lot of us dropped the hammer on a live one by accident too. better guns for little kids abound.

Punch it out to 30-30 ai and have fun.

Very sound advice. I'd keep it, but find something more suitable for the kids. That old saw about exposed hammer guns being great for beginners ain't really so.

Have it rebarreled to 250 AI and shoot one in the mag and one in the chamber....a twofer.

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/336/46264-336-250-savage.html

It's got the crossbolt safety.

I happen to like the additional safety. I use it only when unloading. The rest of the time, I used the half-cock.

I found it a very suitable gun for my kids. Of course, they were large kids, and it fit them at 9 without modification.

If I got it modified to something new, it would be for later on in the season when a short stock could offset the extra layers.


Let's just say I did get the urge to AI it. Who would y'all recommend to do the work?

Get a reamer and extension handle and do it yourself.

Gotta wonder why you aren't more favorably disposed toward the gun? Guessing it isn't accuracy, maybe terminal performance? If that's the case I'd be curious about what bullets you have been using. That said, I will admit that the couple of semi tractor trailers full of stuff I've shot with the .30-30 were shot, not scared to death.

I was wondering the same. The 30-30 Lever Evolutions that I was shooting accounted for plenty of 'dead right there' shots under 125 yards.

Good question. The answer is probably illogical, but then most of deer hunting is, so I guess it's okay.

The problem stems from back when I first got the piece.

Here's an example:
Like a Dog Returneth.. .

The next year, I got the Savage 99 in 308 WIN and the problem of deer shaking off bullets went away.

The other bugaboo was with #2 son, Mooseboy. He had all sorts of trouble with the 30-30 until I switched him out to the M1 Garand when he was 12. No problem after that-- the boy was a deer killing machine.

Mooseboy finally fessed up a couple of years ago that those first few seasons, he was closing his eyes before squeezing the trigger on the deer. (ARRRRRGH!)

Meanwhile, I was getting to feel the Marlin 336 was jinxed. At first I tried changing loads and then I just put it on the shelf for 5 years, until #3 son, Angus, came online. By then I was using Win PP 150 grain over a near-max load of H4895.

The first time out, Angus shot at a nice little buck at 20 yards and . . . nothing. The deer put his head down and went on grazing. He later admitted he'd muffed the shot. That evening, He hit a nice fat doe at last night, and the jinx was broken-- the doe ran right up to where the truck could get it and fell over.

The next year, Angus switched to a 30-06 and the Marlin's been on the rack. Until the grandkids come online, there probably is not much need for it.

If you are not happy with the rifle now, I think you should just sell it. It will still be the same gun if you spend "X" amount of dollars to have it rechambered, with no magical properties that it didn't have before. But it will be worth less as an AI than as a standard .30/30.

The 30-30 gets a bad rep from all of the beginners who get handed one. Everybody has to start somewhere, I reckon.

Moose vs 30-30, at about the 28 min mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xZsgwPlLM0

I'd keep it as is. If that isn't good enough, sell/trade it and get what you want.

Try some FTX bullets and LEVERevolution powder.

My first .30-30 was a 94 Trapper, a gun somewhat velocity challenged due to its short barrel. Hand loads with 150 gr Hornady RN bullets either dropped critters on the spot...or not. One day I shot a doe thru the heart, leaving a huge spray of blood and tissue where she'd stood, and a blood trail the blind could follow. For about 100 yards. After that I tracked her for another 100 yards, nary a drop of blood seen. Finally found her laying on a big log smokin' a cig an drinking a Coors Lite... Wait, that's not right... Found her dead by a big log.

Not long after I began loading the Hornady 170 gr FN. That silliness described previously ended. They just don't go very far after getting smacked with those bullets. Dunno what the difference is other than RN/FN. Corelokts work pretty well also. And cast bullets with big flat noses.

A .30-30 is not a long range rig, but it ain't throwing rocks, either! I still like to use one when I'm interested in a good walk along the coulees and am not so worried about filling a tag that I can't pass up the longer shots. Personal limit is 175 -200 yards max with a .30-30.

I'd keep it as is as well. I've seen more dramatic bang flops with a 30-30 than with any other chambering. I'm gonna guess shot placement.

Though that 219 Zipper idea sounds fun.

Stunt Shooter!