So maybe Marlin (Remlin) **IS** "back" (Marlin 336 anecdote)

U

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Traded a NIB PMR30 for NIB (recent manufacture) Marlin 336C in .35 Rem.

Haven't shot it yet, but it looks and feels like a fine mo-sheen.

Wood fits metal, sights are straight, feels fairly smooth, and cycles full cartridges well. This reminds me of old Marlins, to be sure. Looks promising / fingers crossed.

Stay tuned.

Also found out that the regular 336s have many refinements over the youth model 336s:
-cut instead of press checkering
-walnut instead of laminated wood
-grip cap instead of no grip cap
-bluing instead of matte finish
-comes with hammer extension

Well worth the extra $40 or $50 or whatever it is.

And, and while we're here, please do tell me why .35 rem is the greatest thing since sliced bread and I should keep it, or an abomination to the venerable .30-30 levergun, and I should sell or bury it and never speak of it again? :) Never had a .35 Rem rifle before now.
 
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They went through a difficult time when production was moved to NY.

The ones that I have handled in the past year appear to be well made and fitted. The most glaring errors on the first runs were poor metal to wood fit, off center sights and gritty actions from not cleaning up prior to shipping.

If you encounter one of the early NY ones, close inspection will cull out the bad ones. The grittiness can be cleaned up with thorough cleaning and smoothing internals with flitz or fine grit paper.

My brother just got a 336 big loop with the 18" barrel. It is neither better nor worse that my 1999 DOB 336sc, but does not have the 'sex' appeal of my 1950 RC model.
 
My first rifle was a 50's Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. The 35 Rem is a very under rated cartridge, and really is a great deer round. I wish more gun makers would offer it as an option, including Winchester.
 
My JM 336 in 35 rem puts 5 shots into 1.25-1.5" with regular boredom. It sports a Burris 2.75x scout scope. My remlin 1894 in 357 puts 7 shots into 2", no scope. Williams peep sight. The action on the 336 is much smoother but that may be a function of the 336 vs 1894 rather than the JM vs remlin. There is no doubt the JM is a more refined firearm but I'm not at all disappointed in the remlin 1894.
 
I've always liked Marlins. Good to hear that they are building good rifles again. I still prefer the 1970-80's versions better because they have tweaked the stock design on newer versions and I really prefer not to have the crossbolt safety.

I've owned both 30-30 and 35 Rem, still own one in 35 and several 30-30's. Realistically the only reason to own the 35 is just to be different. And I think that is good enough reason.

Performance on game is identical. The 35 makes a slightly bigger hole, 30-30 penetrates deeper, everything dies. The 35 has slightly more recoil on paper, but you'd have a hard time telling the difference. Both are best at 100-125 yards but if you want to push the range farther the 30-30 has a bit of an edge. The biggest downside to 35 is finding ammo. The round isn't nearly as popular as it was 40-50 years ago.
 
A Marlin 336T in 35 Rem was my first deer rifle. With a 4 power scope I was good to 150 yards, and shot an awful lot of deer. The ammo for me back then was the 200 gr Core Lokt. Always got exit wounds and good blood trails.

Looking back over 50+ years and several rifles and calibers, nothing since that old 35 ever killed deer better.

And, for the sake of hunting arguments, my brother and my Dad had 336's in 30-30. We had endless arguments about which caliber was better. No agreement was ever reached. No argument was won.
 
Thanks all; that's very helpful.

I decided to keep it and make it my iron-sighted "rain & wet snow" rifle for up to elk/moose, until such time as I can find AND afford a Rem model 7 with iron sights in .260. :) I put a Williams peep on it with a fiber optic taller front (until I can get a Skinner - prefer steel to the somewhat junky aluminum Williams).

Yeah, the main drawback of .35 Rem seems be that the ammo is almost TWICE as much as .30-30, to buy factory.

My former "rain rifle", the 16" 336 in .30-30, has been "moved" - relegated to "homestead defense" - for in case a bear / wolf / cougar goes after the dogs or the roomie's horses (something was hanging around a couple weeks ago that had the horses spooked to high heaven). The 16" .30-30 is wearing a Leupold VX1 "Hog" 1-4x20. Pretty neat scope (the pig plex reticle). I want a lot of precision to pick out a spot (in low light) on a wolf/cougar/bear attacking the dogs, when the dog is inches away - hence the scope.

Sidebar: Now that I'm in a low crime area, in truth, I have now lost all interest in getting a replacement AR15 or Tavor or similar for "homestead defense" (at one time, I was a nut about EBRs). Now I feel more than adequate protecting the home and homestead with "just" the .30-30 for large critters -- and for social work, the CZ85 in 9x19, Timberwolf .357 mag pump, & the 12 ga shotgun.

I decided I'm pleased with this plan -- because to tell you the truth, right or wrong, I feel a *bit* more confident with .35 Rem and 200s or 220s over .30-30 and 170s for elk - I will have an elk tag next year, even though I didn't have one this year (didn't want to pay the out of state fees).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt0kwECKApE

This is arguably the perfect chambering for a "rain & wet snow rifle", where 99.4% of shots are going to be under 75 yards. Plus, I know that there is a lot of evidence that raindrops do NOT affect bullet flight, but nevertheless, part of me just feels more comfortable with a 200-220 grain bullet over say, a 120-150 grain bullet in a "full-power" bottlenecked round, if there are large raindrops or large snowflakes, in terms of not being affected. Is this is false concern?
 
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So listen, another question - on .35 Rem,

which of these two, assuming equal accuracy, would you choose for the best terminal ballistic performance (shortest and easiest tracking job) for elk:

--Factory Hornady Leverevolution, FTX 200s @ 2,225

or

--Handloads with Speer Hotcor SPFN 220s @ 1,900

?? And would your answer be the same or different for cows vs. bulls?

Thanks.
 
I've had a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington for years and love it. In my opinion, the .35 Remington is a great brush-busting cartridge, capable of anchoring anything on the North American continent.

al
 
Looked at a new Remlim Marlin today. It was a big drop it finish from the pre-remington guns. The finish looked like a sandblasted steel ;like the cheapest 870 shotguns. Marlin used to have some very nice walnut, not now. It is just so sad.

I also had a look at a new Model 7, also cheeped out finish and silly massive recoil pad on a 243. Just awful!
 
Hi UD,

Do you have a picture? You mentioned yours had the bluing and not the matte finish. Is that correct? I've only seen the matte ones.
 
fourbore - were you looking at Walmart or other big box store guns or regular gunstore? There are often differences in those. Because what you're describing does not sound at all like what I just got - but it could be an early Remlin that just been on the shelf for a year or two or three. After all, the crappy ones just aren't gonna sell fast, if ever, so it stands to reason that if they didn't get rid of it early on before the public knew of Remlin's problems.

Turtlehead. The sides of the receiver and the barrel are nicely blued, but the TOP of the receiver changes to more of a matte finish; kinda weird. Yes, I will get you a picture.
 
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The matte top is to cut down on glare, which has long been an issue with iron-sighted lever-actions...
Back in the 50's Marlin experimented with a "Waffle-Top" design to reduce shine on the top...
001aa.jpg


Then some bright fella came up with matte finish for the top of the receiver...
which is way cheaper to do ;)


I love me some Leverevolution, but the handloads sound fun too :)
I'd try 'em both for the fun of it!!
 
fourbore - were you looking at Walmart or other big box store guns or regular gunstore? There are often differences in those. Because what you're describing does not sound at all like what I just got - but it could be an early Remlin that just been on the shelf for a year or two or three. After all, the crappy ones just aren't gonna sell fast, if ever, so it stands to reason that if they didn't get rid of it early on before the public knew of Remlin's problems.
Click to expand...

This was a medium size, fairly well stock, New Hampshire gun shop. Cannot say how long it sat there. Perhaps Remlin is testing the market finishing some various ways.
 
Interesting.

Soooo, anyhoo....

220 Speer Hot Cor Flat point reloads @ 1,900

or

200 Factory Hornady FTX (leverevolution) @ 2,120 (real world, not the 2225 shown on the box)

for elk, with shots limited to 100 yards? (assuming equal accuracy)

Or should I move this question to Hunting?
 
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UD nice find. I would like to have a 35 marlin myself. My buddy has one for sale, an older marlin, but not being able to find brass or much in the way of bullets killed the deal for me Plus seeing that the 35 isn't really any better than the 30-30 sorta stopped my itch to get one. And I can load 44 mag rounds for my 1894 marlin that match the energy of the 200gr 35 remington load. Just not as flat shooting. But a whole lot easier to find.

Have a look at this chart to see what I mean. If you haven't been to this site before have a look around on it. Its all things lever action.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/compare.htm
 
Good luck finding any 220gr bullets from speer. Or anything else from speer. Midway does show 200gr hornaday and 200gr sierra bullets in stock. I would buy at least 500 if I had a 35 remington since they are so scarce. No brass in stock. I haven't seen 35 remington brass from remington in a couple of years. Its not even listed on midways site any more. I guess remington has orphaned its child. No listing for 35 rem ammo except for the over priced hornady flex tip stuff.

But the good news is is that GB has 35 remington brass listed. At over a dollar apiece.

UD I hope you can find ammo for your new gun.

I forgot to mention, but I just went to Academy Sports and while there I had a look at the ammo selection. And nope, no 35 remington in stock. They had 7mm Mauser though. Who would have thought that?
 
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