So, I bought the Marlin today!!
336C, walnut stock, $400, beautiful. For some reason, I really like the fat foregrip. I feel it gives me more control when I'm aiming at a "deer" (a blank spot on the wall). I can't wait to shoot some groups and try out some ammo!! I think I will install a peep reciever sight, a scope I think would ruin the handiness, and my eyesight is still pretty top-notch. The action is a little stiff, and I pinched my fingers a little the first several times working it. My friend told me not to oil it, that I should just keep working the dry metal until it smoothed out on its own. Is he right?
The gentleman at Gander Mountain told me that the .30-30 is not a good whitetail cartridge. Excellent for coyotes and varmints, he said, maybe small whitetails, but not a good all-around deer getter. He told me that a .308 or a .270 is much better. I then noticed that the Remington 700 .270 on the shelf was $750. I smiled at the gentleman and told him my heart was set on the Marlin. "Okay," he said, "as long as your 20 feet from the deer you're shooting." And then he went into some story about how when he was kid he shot the same buck with a Win 94 for three seasons in a row, wounding it each time, but the buck kept living until someone brought him down with a .30-06 a year later. However, all the experienced hunters who obviously know what they're talking about say the .30-30 is an excellent whitetail cartridge, that it does its job if you do yours, and I think that's all you can ever ask of a rifle, no matter how powerful or accurate. Either the gentleman was trying to sell me the more expensive rifle, he is a lousy shot, or he is a good story teller. Or all three. I suppose they're all just as likely, but man, does that Marlin feel good in my hands! I hope Wisconsin is FULL of whitetails this season!
Thanks for all the great advice guys!!!