Buying a used levergun

[aarolar]

Looking at buying a used levergun in 35 caliber. What are some things I should check out to avoid ending up with a problematic firearm? I have very little experience with leverguns and I'm mainly talking about the action.

[Edward]

Other than brass there is no problem!

[dragon813gt]

Pick a cartridge first and go from there. The question you answered is so general that we can't possibly answer it.

[aarolar]

More than likely a 336 in 35 Rem that's what's plentiful around here.

[dragon813gt]

More than likely a 336 in 35 Rem that's what's plentiful around here.

Ammo is seasonal at best. Not saying don't buy but there are typically long droughts between runs. Brass seems to be available now. And Grumpa has converted brass for sale.

[aarolar]

Well I cast and reload so as long as I can get my hands on brass I'm fine with that.

[Frank46]

All but one of my lever guns is new. Now having said that here are a few tips on buying used ones.
Look at the screw heads are the slots nice and straight or buggered up? Some people should be banned from screwdrivers and guns
Check the wood for nicks,dents and scratches, another sign of the treatment then gun has had.
Check the bore, are the riflings clean and sharp or signs of rust and pitting.
Work the action and observe the ease or lack of ease working the action.
General condition of the blued finish, nice shape, any rust or pitting from getting wet or bad gun care.
At one time you could get all the winchester 94's you wanted for $125 or less same for marlins. But today that isn't the case so be picky and if you see rust or corrosion on the outside and isn't bad and depends on how bad you want it, may be a buying point in negotiating a lower price.
In general a dirty bore may or may not be a case for passing, get the dealer to run a patch through the bore to see just how good or bad it really is. Or do what I do and carry a cleaning rod and some patches and run a few down the tube. Get some weird looks but has saved me from buying a stinker.
Glued in scope base and scope rings, Bought a marlin in really nice shape all the plus's I've mentioned. Took it apart and found all the screws were glued in place. Wrecked the scope ring screws but got lucky with the scope base. First time I ever saw that.
So there are few tips buying used lever guns. Hope this helps. Frank

[pietro]

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Make sure that it fits your wallet - everything else is easily fixable.


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[sghart3578]

If possible make up some dummy rounds to cycle through your prospective purchase. Check the usual stuff. Barrel/sight alignment, bore condition, etc.

If you have 35 Remington brass already and you cast then you are golden.

I don't a 35 caliber but I have always wanted one. Something about that caliber is fascinating to me.

Best of luck.

[aarolar]

The other option I have is to pick up a 30-30 for a song and then send it off to JES for a rebore to 358 Win. I already have tons of 243 brass.

[Shawlerbrook]

The 35 Rem is a great woods deer round and been around for a long time. Ammo and brass can still be found with a little patience. As far as what to look for , pretty much the same as buying any used gun. Abuse, neglect, cracked wood, buggered screws and a good shoot able bore. The 30 30 or 35 are probably the two most common lever guns you see out here in the eastern whitetail woods.

[aarolar]

Thanks that's exactly what I want it for.

[Dan Cash]

The other option I have is to pick up a 30-30 for a song and then send it off to JES for a rebore to 358 Win. I already have tons of 243 brass.

A .30-30 action in Winchester or Marlin configuration is not strong enough for the .358 Winchester. While it could be downloaded to safe levels, a future nimrod might feed it the whole 9 yards with disasterous results. Most factory .358 won't feed through the 336 or Win 94 action as it is too long.

Since you reload, a 2 or 3 hundred new cases will likely see you through the better part of a lifetime unless you shoot an extreme amount. 336 Marlin in .35 Rem would be my first choice, Marlin or Winchester .30-30 rebored to .35-30=30 wildcat would be my second. I have a 1950 vintage 336 in .35 Rem that is superlative and satisfies my .35 itch.

[dragon813gt]

The other option I have is to pick up a 30-30 for a song and then send it off to JES for a rebore to 358 Win. I already have tons of 243 brass.

You mean 356 Winchester, right?

[Hickok]

If you can find a good Marlin 336 in .35 Remington, with nice wood, a nice clean bore and a crown that isn't dinged up from a cleaning rod or from being ground into the floor mats of a pick-up truck, buy it.

You won't need to send it away for a re-bore to another caliber. The .35 Remington will do it's job well.

[357Mag]

Looking at buying a used levergun in 35 caliber. What are some things I should check out to avoid ending up with a problematic firearm? I have very little experience with leverguns and I'm mainly talking about the action.


aarolar -

Howdy !

The first thing I think of when a notional .35" calibre lever gun is discussed, is.... .35 Rem Marlin M-336.

For these rifles, you might encounter " micro-groove" rifling; or the 12-groove " Ballard-style " rifling featured on the M-336 XLR chambered for .35 Rem. The XLR has a 24" barrel, and the fore end terminates w/ and end-cap;
v/s the external band seen on many of the traditional -336s.

A M-336 XLR .35 Rem will give you a stainless barrel and action, along w/ a laminate stock.

I have one of these ( amongst the last made @ Marlin's former CT plant ).
It is an outstanding rifle, and very accurate.


With regards,
357Mag

[xdmalder]

A .30-30 action in Winchester or Marlin configuration is not strong enough for the .358 Winchester. While it could be downloaded to safe levels, a future nimrod might feed it the whole 9 yards with disasterous results. Most factory .358 won't feed through the 336 or Win 94 action as it is too long.

Since you reload, a 2 or 3 hundred new cases will likely see you through the better part of a lifetime unless you shoot an extreme amount. 336 Marlin in .35 Rem would be my first choice, Marlin or Winchester .30-30 rebored to .35-30=30 wildcat would be my second. I have a 1950 vintage 336 in .35 Rem that is superlative and satisfies my .35 itch.

I do agree the 35 Rem and 35/30-30 would be great. If you are set on 35 call and can only find a 35 rem rifle I would look hard for the brass and a couple hundred would be enough for a long time. Plenty of time to pick up more brass along the way.

If a 30-30 is all you can find the 35/30-30 or 356 would be the way to go. Either brass would be easy to get at any point in your life and they both have plenty of power. And don't overlook the 30-30. It ain't any slouch!

With all that said the difference between the 356 and 358 is two different things. One is the rim. The 356 will eject better out of a 30-30 conversion. The 358 will eject better out of a 35 rem conversion. The other is OAL. The 358 has a longer OAL and thus can fit more powder in the case. More powder room will equate to higher velocity run at the same pressure. And there is the catch. They both run at the same pressure! But you cannot use 358 load data in a tube fed levergun because of the bullets needing to be seated deeper because of the OAL restriction.

So if you want to get a 35 rem and rechamber it to 358 win go for it. Just remember to use 356 load data. 358 powder charges at 356 OAL will get you into trouble.

[aarolar]

Going to look at this one Wed it's a JM stamped 336 35 Remington, he has 4 boxes of Hornady Leverevolution and some once fired brass and said he may have some old corelockts.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160119/4a7daccdd1a31ed87d56aab86db420cf.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160119/18b657920b3c73cc1508e0fba14bc008.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160119/c01090bca84897c2c8ad7d82e95647f7.jpg

[xdmalder]

Looks like a mid to late 80's 336C. As long as the bore is good and the price is good all is well

[Hickok]

That looks like a fine rifle. I agree with XDmalder. I have killed deer and wild boar with the .35 Rem. out of a lever action and a 14" Contender. This cartridge flat out works!

[Nicholas]

Your question is answered if it fits your budget! Love those 336s.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

The SAAMI pressure for the .35 Rem is 33,500 PSI while the SAAMI pressure for the 444 Marlin is 42,000 psi. The .444 is of course a Marlin 336. 35 Rem pressures are set due to very old semi-automatic rifles built for it. A careful reloader can substantially exceed the factory specs (200 grain at 2000 fps) with little difficulty. Careful development can get 220 grains at 2200 fps with good case life. I use case life as an indicator of suitable pressure along with ease of extraction, case head expansion and of course - good accuracy. The other 35, the .358 in a Savage 99 is better, but hard to find and MUCH more expensive. The cheapest way to get a .358 Savage 99 is to find a tired Savage 99E in .308 and have it rebored.

[aarolar]

I'm super excited about getting my hands on this gun worst part is I'm picking it up late tomorrow afternoon then I'm leaving after work Thursday headed to Arkansas for duck hunting so I won't get to shoot it until I get back next week.

[Hickok]

Aarolar, have a great hunt!

[aarolar]

Aarolar, have a great hunt!
Thanks hoping it turns out like I hope but hunting is hunting.

[aarolar]

Jackpot

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160121/35ac35a67f232c856693a0291d1a7895.jpg

[Pereira]

Well, I see ya scored some ammo.:grin:
What about the rifle:?:

Love the 35 Rem. they are deer thumpers fer sure.
Got 3 of 'em myself.

[aarolar]

Well got home from Arkansas about 12:30 this morning and took a quick nap then got all my gear cleaned up and put away and got around to fooling with the new gun.

Broke it completely down and cleaned it thoroughly then took it out and put almost a full box of the Hornadys through it to dial it in. Got it pretty good at 50 yds but struggled at anything past 75 yds. Now I'm struggling with putting a scope on it or not, I really prefer it with the irons but the goal is feeding the family in the end.

Ordered all the stuff to reload it today but need some good suggestions for loads using a 358-156 and Berry's plated bullets 158 grn. I have 2400, H335, 4227, 3031 and Unique on hand anyone have any suggestions?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160127/4346e2a7bebaf12fcd0cb8a6038685b1.jpg

[OverMax]

There really isn't much that can go wrong inside a Marlin lever. Although on one occasion I did see a 50-ish 336 30-30 model having a {easily replaced} broken part called its: ejector spring. As I recall the rifle still functioned with its broken part even. I'm fond of JM Marlins as I do own a model 36 SC. But 35's I don't bother with. Nope to many >if's< lately about that cartridge that keep my hankering to a minimum so's not to buy one. But OP you do as you want. 35 Marlin. Could very well turn out to be a great rifle for >you.<

[TXGunNut]

Ordered all the stuff to reload it today but need some good suggestions for loads using a 358-156 and Berry's plated bullets 158 grn. I have 2400, H335, 4227, 3031 and Unique on hand anyone have any suggestions?-aarolar

Congrats on a good hunt! My favorite boolit the the 35 Rem in a 336 is the RD 359-190, I think NOE makes a run of them now and then. I've tried heavier with no success. Haven't tried pistol boolits. I've had limited success with 3031 in this cartridge but always wanted to try H335. I've had very good results with Rx7 and LVR powders.

[xdmalder]

Well got home from Arkansas about 12:30 this morning and took a quick nap then got all my gear cleaned up and put away and got around to fooling with the new gun.

Broke it completely down and cleaned it thoroughly then took it out and put almost a full box of the Hornadys through it to dial it in. Got it pretty good at 50 yds but struggled at anything past 75 yds. Now I'm struggling with putting a scope on it or not, I really prefer it with the irons but the goal is feeding the family in the end.

Ordered all the stuff to reload it today but need some good suggestions for loads using a 358-156 and Berry's plated bullets 158 grn. I have 2400, H335, 4227, 3031 and Unique on hand anyone have any suggestions?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160127/4346e2a7bebaf12fcd0cb8a6038685b1.jpg

If you are using factory iron sights I would suggest switching to a peep sight. Much more accurate! Also you could switch to a 6 o'clock hold. Much better for precision.

[aarolar]

I do use a 6 o'clock hold always have but the factory irons are real bulky. How do peeps do in low light like when hunting late afternoon and early mornings?

[Kestrel4k]

[...] Got it pretty good at 50 yds but struggled at anything past 75 yds. Now I'm struggling with putting a scope on it or not, I really prefer it with the irons but the goal is feeding the family in the end.

Ordered all the stuff to reload it today but need some good suggestions for loads using a 358-156 and Berry's plated bullets 158 grn. I have 2400, H335, 4227, 3031 and Unique on hand anyone have any suggestions?
OP, for sighting options I might recommend this setup I put together for my Marlin 336T & 444T:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?164745-Anyone-here-use-Skinner-Sights&p=1851838#post1851838
A Leupold 2.5x fixed-power w/ classic Weaver 'Low' rings, but also with a Skinner Lo-Pro aperture 'hidden' under the low-mounted scope tube.

Also, I have had some issues with the plated bullets @ rifle velocities (shedding jackets during flight), I don't think they are worth their small cost savings for these sorts of applications. If you do want to shoot pistol bullets I think that the Hornady XTP's may be a much better bet.

Best of luck,

[pietro]

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Receiver peep sights do a lot better in poor light than open/iron sights, and work best under those conditions with the peep aperture removed (shooting through the resulting ghost ring), in conjunction with a fiber-optic front sight bead.


http://www.williamsgunsight.com/gunsights/images/63331fp94seset.jpg



(best practice indicates that a peep sight use look THROUGH, and not "at" the aperture, focusing on the front sight & placing the front sight on target)

Scopes, however, will do much better than a peep sight under those conditions - no doubtaboutit.

A hunter pays for that improved dim light sighting with a heavier, more awkward-handling rifle, that can be problematic in rainy weather.


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[aarolar]

Shot it a little more this afternoon when I got home from work and I'm much more satisfied with the results I was able to knock my 6" steel plates consistently at about 80yds. I think yesterday I had gotten a sore shoulder from sighting it in and had a slight flinch going on.