I have a need ( yeah right) For a stainless Marlin MXLR or XLR in .308 Marlin Express or .30-30 Win. What are the pluses of the .308 over the .30-30? I am going to be handloading so won’t have to pay the high prices for factory ammo although the brass is still more for the .308 so I am taking that into consideration
I always thought that would be a neat Rifle / Caliber combo to own.
Winchester marketed their own version also in the Winchester Model 94AE Big Bore .307 Win. Lever-Action Rifle,
Never had a chance to buy either one of them, though. You rarely ever see either for sale.
I had a Marlin MX .308 Marlin Express when they came out and it shot great but I really wanted the stainless and laminated stock version but never could find one. Now they are starting to get some crazy prices for them but I found a .308 ME at a decent price so I might have to grab it. Would love one in .338 ME but they are really high right now
I think you made the right choice...
Found 250 pieces of brass, flex tip bullets, dies, Leverevolution powder and a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 from Doug
It will be interesting to hear what velocity you are getting with LVE in the .308 ME. My 24" 30-30 gets over 2300 with 170 using it.
I have a 22" 308MX. Wonderful rifle.
The Hornady factory loads will hover just under or over 2,600fps from the 22" barrel.
You dont need lever powder as the pressure limit on the .308 Marlin Express allows you to reach good velocities using Hodgdon 4895, Varget and Alliant Reloder 15.
Best performance on our lighter West Texas deer with any .30-30 bullet is between 2,400 and 2,500 fps. The 170 grain Speer Hot Core is the standard. The wonderful Speer bullet will deliver a 240 yard point blank range on an 8" target circle.
The 20" barrel .307 Winchester will easily exceed 2,500 fps with the 170 grain Speer bullet but again, between 2,450 and 2,500 fps delivers the best on game results.
If you want to use a .30-30 get a 26" barrel and you will come up just short in velocity with excellent results.
I dont care for the FTX bullets performance on game. The FTX bullet does the job but tends to wad up and loose it shape.
I dont care for Lever powder with bullets heavier that the 160 grain FTX bullet when you are looking for higher velocities - above 2,450 fps with the 170 grain bullets.
You will like the Marlin rifle. The vertical locking bolt is fitted well into the sliding bolt. The forearm has nylon rub strips to work against the barrel.
My 22" 308MX with Hornady Leverevolution factory loads is a very accurate tubular magazine leveraction rifle. You will have to work hard with your handloads to beatthe accyracy from the bench.