Marlin 336 Questions

G

Guyon

New member
Howdy all,

Just bought my first centerfire rifle--a Marlin 336 AS (formerly the 30AS) in Win 30-30. My overall knowledge of rifles is about as expansive as Al Gore's capacity to tell the truth. In other words, help!

I have three main types of questions right now:

1. What size of optics would make for a versatile scope on this gun? I've been looking at 3-9X40 scopes. Is this a good choice? The gun is at the moment intended to be an all-around rifle that can be used for hunting (mainly deer) or pressed into service for home defense if TSHTF. I don't think I can afford a Leupold any time soon, so I've looked at Simmons, Bushnell, and Tasco World Class. I've done searches here and seen the debate on the price vs. quality issue. Really, right now I'm more interested in the numbers (power and objective lens) you recommend. However, if you want to make suggestions on brand names, that's fine too.

2. What's a good cartridge to shoot in this gun? In doing some searches here, I've seen that people have had problems with lead bullets in the Marlin Micro-Groove barrel. When I bought the gun yesterday, I picked up a box of Remington Express Core-Lokt Soft Points in 150 gr. The very tip seems to have lead exposed, but the majority of the bullet appears jacketed. Will these cartridges give me any trouble? What do you recommend in this gun?

3. Barrel break in... myth or reality? I really don't see how treating the barrel differently (with more aggressive cleaning at first) can help. It seems that if you start with a clean barrel and clean every so many rounds, the gun should shoot as it was intended. A lot of folks here talk about how they've had good results with a barrel break-in method. But I wonder if similar results would have occurred with just a normal cleaning schedule. Opinions?

I'd appreciate any other tips, warnings, encouragement, or large denominational bills with non-consecutive serial numbers that you'd like to send my way.

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Guyon
NRA, GOA, & TFA Member
Vote for your rights!!!

[This message has been edited by Guyon (edited October 29, 2000).]
 
1. What size of optics would make for a versatile scope on this gun?

IMHO, a better set up would be a Lyman or Ashley peep sight - but - a fixed 2.5 or 4 makes sense too. I like Weaver for a low priced brand. Your wasting money by getting a high power variable. In it's 200 yard envelope a .30-30 is very hard to beat.

2. What's a good cartridge to shoot in this gun?

The "mart" ammo works very well. I like either Remington or Hornady and tend towards the 170 grain bullets. Nothing wrong with almost any of the ammo available. There are no mysteries with .30-30s.

3. Barrel break in... myth or reality?

IMHO, it's not a myth, but simply a matter of time/money/results desired. If I had a custom barreled rifle shooting a hot cartridge and I wanted the best possible accuracy - maybe. For a GP rifle, nope. Clean it throughly after shooting and "fuggedaboutit".

Get a good solid scope mount (not a see through), think about a trigger job and buy lots of ammo. Practice makes perfect.

Giz



[This message has been edited by Gizmo99 (edited October 29, 2000).]
 
Your score selection will work fine. A 40mm scope objective with 3x9 magnification is a good choice. And any of those brands will do.

Ammunition. The cheapest you can get that will shoot straight in your rifle. Seen those same Remington bullets for about $7.00 a box just before hunting season. One investment I would make is a Lee hand press and crimp die for 30-30. This will uniform the crimp on the bullets and improve accuracy. Then learn how to reload later.

Break in on any rifle is critical if you want straight shooting for a life time. Everyone has a method, I've got mine. Clean the bore first. Shoot one bullet (some guys say 2 or 3) and clean the bore. Do this at least half a dozen times. DO THE AGRESIVE CLEANING after every shooting session thereafter. Good groups for a lever gun is about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches. If the groups are larger, the rifle may have to be tweaked a bit.

Robert
 
1)For optics on a 30-30, I prefer a 2-7x32 scope. The wider field of view of 2x is a definate plus in close quarters, and you are limited to about 150yds with the 30-30 (IMHO, 200yds is really pushing the envelope). I have both a Leupold and Tasco World Class, and while the Leupold is a better scope, the Tasco is better than I expected and was only $60 through Cabelas.

2)The Remington 150gr C-L is the most accurate factory load out of my 336c even though the velocity is erratic, from 2100-2300fps. The only way to really find out is to buy a box of each of the major brands and spend a day at the range. Pick the one with the smallest groups. The lead nose on the bullets is fine, it helps with quick expansion, and holds together better than a hollow point. Just don't try and use spire point bullets in a tube magazine.

3)Barrel break in does matter. You will never get benchrest accuracy with a 30-30 lever action anyway, so don't worry about getting the bore spotless. I would clean it right away, after getting the scope close enough to test ammo, then after each five shot group of ammo, rotating different brands/weights each time. By the time you have shot four or five boxes, your barrel is broken in, and you know which ammo to get.

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NRA, GOA
"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"-Neil Peart
Vote in November.
 
Guyon:

The Marlin is a pack mule. Don't worry about barrel break in just use it and keep it clean. I have hunted with em' for 29 years using first a 336 CS pre-pc safety and now a 336 W w/safety which I might add I think is a great idea when you are climbing up and down ladders.

The Remington Core-lokt 150 grain $6.99 per box meglamart special is a hard to beat round. Sight it in at 25 yards dead on and you will be good to go out to 100 yards.

The Tasco 4X scope is the ticket. Keep in mind the 30-30 is not a 300 yard rifle. You will not have time to play with optics when the Buck appears. The moment of truth will only be a moment. 30-30's do not generate a great deal of pressure and there's no need for a $300.00 scope. Peep sights may be fine but why not have the magnification? You can use the 4X at 40 yards or 100 yards which is the range you should work with anyway. Using cross hairs will help you to "hold it on" the buck.

Inside of 100 yards, there is no finer rifle for a Whitetail Buck. I have knocked down every deer taken in this range and I personally saw a downed buck that my older brother shot at 40 yards through a thicket.

Stay with the basics: Tasco 4X mounted directly to the bases-----no see through mounts!, Remington 150 grain Core-lokt soft points and plenty of practice.

Finally, get yourself a Supersling that is adjustble on the fly and light-weight, you'll love it.

[This message has been edited by Will Beararms (edited October 29, 2000).]
 
as far as scopes go a leupold 1X4 vari-X II would be a great choice for a Marlin336.You can get one for about 220 dollars from Mid South.1-888-SHOOTER.The field of view is so wide anything, moving or not, if you can hit it with iron sights you can probably hit it easier with this scope set on 1 power.And 4power is all the power you need on a 30/30.plus it is a small scope and doesn't mess up the balance of a light leveraction.It cost a little more than a simmons or a tasco and darn well worth it.
 
just one more thing you mentioned home defence.that 1X4 when set on 1 power is so clear you can see the front sight of your gun clear as day, and your field of view is so wide you can engage targets very effectively from as close as 5 feet away.
 
I have to agree with Nevada. The 30-30 is no long range propostion. Whem I had my marlin, I had a 1 3/4x5X Redfield on it. )Too bad they went belly up.) I hunted with it in 1 3/4. If the deer was far enough out, and not spooked, I'd switch to 5X for precision shot placement. At least that was the plan. Seems like the deer was always close enough that I didn't have to change power. One of my favorite rifles is an FN Mauser in 7x57 with a Leupold 2 3/4X scope. I've never felt hadicapped for any shot with that one either.
I guess my point is, you don't need a 3x9X scope on a 30-30. JMHO.
Paul B.
 
Guyon:

If you are deer hunting in thick timber or brush, there will not be time to flip and fumble with variable power settings. I have hunted for 29 years with my longest shot being 60 yards and I can't tell you how many times flipping and fumbling has caused me to go home meatless. Literally, you may have five minutes to get positioned and make the shot on a slipping thicket Buck--------that's why some of them get so big.

Do this: go to your gun store. Get a 4X. Look at the wall in front of you and then look outside the window of the storefront across the parking lot. Do this several times and tell me if you could have made the shot across the room or across the parking lot. I have no problem with either thanks to the Good Lord preserving my sight.

Home defense? Practice point shooting if the Marlin is your only option. Otherwise, use a shotgun.
 
Can't resist..

Mine is a 336C sn R255xx, in 35 Rem, had it since high school.
I think I am missing something by the pre-PC safety comment.. :D

Added it has an older Weaver K25 60B on it with a post reticle. Works good and has for years..

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De Oppresso Liber
 
Guyon, I have to echo a lot of other sentiments here, especially Nevada's. I just ordered a Leupold 1-4X Shotgun scope (it has a heavy reticle) for $225 or so from Tyko.com. If you want a 2-7 or 3-9 they'll be fine, but they'll spend 99% of their time on 2 or 3 power. If you're on a budget but want good optics, save the money on a variable and buy a good quality 4X. You'll NEVER regret it. Forget ghost ring or peep sights if you hunt early in the morning in the woods. I put a williams foolproof with the fiber optic front sight on mine, and the front sight is invisible until a quarter till eight (this was Saturday).
 
I see a couple warnings about see thru mounts.Whats the problem?I recently mounted a 4X Nikon on Weaver see thru`s on my .35 Rem.336.After 2 range sessions and 2 boxes of 200gr.SP`s I am having no problems.
 
fmjcafe, the problem most people have with see through mounts are that you have to lift your cheek up higher than your natural "spot weld" in order to look through the scope. In a hard recoiling rifle you get jabbed even worse, and it's difficult to maintain a good eye-scope alignment. The other complaint is that the field of view over the iron sights is disrupted by having the scope in the. I've never used see-throughs, so I'm repeating what others told me when I was considering them. If you aren't experiencing any problems, ignore evryone elses' comments.
 
I agree with most of the folks here. 3x9 is way too powerful for a 30-30. 1-4 will be more than enough, and will be more compact and lighter as well. If you need to make 200 yard shots, then you'll want something other than a 30-30.

M1911
 
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