Thread: Marlin 336 ?

Anyone running one of these?wanting a lever gun I can scope up as my eyes dont really do open sights anymore for bush hunting,have the chance to grab a straight stocked 336 in 30-30 but not having handled one before was wanting opinions from people who have them..I have a classic wood/blued Rossi 44mag and love lever guns in general..but wanting a bit more range than the 44 can provide and ability to scope is great plus for the 336 I reakon..pros/cons of the 336 please.
Thanks team.

I had 1 for a couple years, the pistol grip stock model. Good gun, quite abit nicer than the rossi 44(also had 1 of them for many years). Only sold it because I wanted a suppressed gun with detachable mag.

The browning blr or Henry long ranger were also very appealing to me but more than I wanted to spend

A BLR would be another option too I guess..

I have a 1984 336 30-30 with a factory 18.5in barrel, JM stamp. Shot my first deer with it, open sights. For some years I had a Winchester with 20in barrel. It was made after Winchester went to stamped metal parts. Nothing wrong with it other than by design the lever mechanism rattled like a bastard. Useless for quiet hunting so I sold it on. My Marlin is beautifully made and finished..cant speak for post JM models after '84.

Biggest issue is weight and handiness. The Rossi 92 is like what its a copy of. Itis light and carries beautifully balanced in one hand. A lot lighter than my Marlin. And my Rossi are all 20in. There is no issue putting an optic on one or for example a Lyman 66a peep sight (drill n tap required). I run a red dot on a 357mag and scout scopes on 44mag, 44-40 and 454 Casull (45 Colt)

45colt can be loaded to give greater killing power in a Rossi 92 than a 30-30 of same barrel length can achieve for same distance and further out than the 30-30 due to heavier bullets. Trajectory isn't as flat which is the 30-30 advantage. But if you know your gun and your load then trajectory is not really a problem.

I love my 30-30 but in the hills I take a Rossi 92.

These days I have a bunch of Rossi in different calibres.

I ran a 336 in 30-30 for many years. As mentioned, it's heavy but also has all the pro's of a lever for the tight stuff.
I did quite a few mods to save on weight - cut barrel to 16 inch, had it fluted, cut mag down, added hammer extension, suppressed, fitted a tupperware stock. Didn't have much to compare it to (lever wise) but it was accurate, and saw the demise of many kaimai deer. I ended up reloading for it but from memory Fed used to make a 180gn factory load that shot well.

I used to own/use a 336 3030 - found it to be a great gun, but never had it scoped. Open sights on them are really good for up close hunting in Ureweras and Raukumaras. A bit heavy I guess but I was used to a fully wooded 303 before that so actually found it pretty good. Found it to be reliable and despite it's fairly short stature pretty solid when it came to knocking deer and pigs over. Just make sure you turn safety fully off before pulling the trigger as you'll just get a loud "click" and spook the target you've spent ages sneaking up on... dont ask how I know lol

I have a red dot on my Rossi 44 also have ghost ring sight but front sight is near impossible and see inndark bush with my eyes,even the red dot is turning into more of a starburst these days hence the need to scope,I have a little leupold vx2 1-4 with wide du0lex here that would be perfect.

336 in 30/30 is a great gun,I've handled a few of them over the years. That scope should suit it well. Look out deersies.

ok so they are $1600-$2400m (S/S all weather lam stock) at gun city.
A BLR is also around $2500 can give you a bit more hit and range.

or for fun a Ubert 94 in 38-55 will make big holes but also $2600.
The Win mod 94 was upgraded at some point (1970's) to handle the hi performance 375 win version of the 38-55.

or pick up a used Sav 99 or similar for $1000.
Z

If you're struggling with iron sights try and ghost ring setup.
Just put an XS rail and ghost ring on my 336 because I liked it so much on my 1895?

Ah well bit the bullet and bought it,might need to grab a Lee loader for it now!

I BELIEVE they prefer projectiles to be seated deeper than for Winchester's,pretty sure Hornady projectiles have/ had two different cannalure places to accommodate this. I loaded cast for mates and it engraved rifling as they were quite long...something to check out. They are a good rifle,you will be happy camper.

Originally Posted by Muddysteve

If you're struggling with iron sights try and ghost ring setup.
Just put an XS rail and ghost ring on my 336 because I liked it so much on my 1895?
Attachment 282585
Attachment 282586

Where did you get the sight setup from?look great.

They're from XS sights. I managed to get a set posted to me from shooters delight in Oz. Came through the post no issue and no paperwork needed