Marlin 336 in 358 win

[bearcove]

Has anybody done a rechamber of a 35 Rem. I heard the 358 feeds good even though longer. I would like to load the 358318 in it. Be perfect moose medicine.

[No_1]

Ron Carmichael wrote an article for Handloaders Cast Bullet "Special Edition" 1992. In his article he called this conversion wildcat a "356 Rimless". He says he did this for a couple of reasons. He wanted a 356 Win lever gun but his choices were limited because Marlin only made 2,441 units and he did not like the USRAC offering. He also indicated he was not happy with the "dinky little shoulder" of the 35 Rem.

The story pretty much goes that he purchased a 336 CS and had Jack Huntington of "The Rifle Shop" in Palmdale, Ca. do the re-chamber using a standard Clymer 358 reamer. He then prepped some Federal 308 brass by running it in the 358 die set (1 pass) then annealing the neck/shoulder before fire forming the brass using 12 grs of Unique / RCBS 35-200 seated firmly into the lands.

Next he did load work ups for cast as well as jacketed boolits using 35 Rem data then using 356 Win data from the Hodgdon Data Manual #25 and found that he could easily exceed 356 Win velocity "safely in his gun".

I really enjoyed the article. It was well written and clear for even those of us that have less brain cells from sniffing too much lead :mrgreen:. Mr Carmichael did point out the the 336 in 35 Rem's twist of 1 in 16 appeared to be more cast friendly then the 356 Win 1 in 12 twist which I must agree.

I have a 336 that started life as a 35 REM but was re-chambered with a 358 Win reamer. My dad bought it off one of the auction sites and the work was already done but gave it to me before he shot it. It took me a while to figure out what it was because the barrel had been re-stamped "35 LP". I did a chamber cast then after fire-forming a couple of rounds and checking dimensions (and from input from fellow members here) I was able to figure it out. I have only shot it with a Mountain Mold 35-250 RN boolit over a moderate charge of Unique and can tell you that it does shoot good and it feeds flawlessly.

I must caution against using 358 Winchester data in the converted 336. The COL difference of the 356 (2.59) Vs. the 358 (2.78) would in my opinion create a reduced case capacity (due to the bullet being seated deeper) by at least 2 grs. depending on brand brass which would cause the pressure to be WAY too much for the rear locking lever action. I realize that this same action was chambered in 444 Marlin and 45-70 but those pressures (~42k) are much less than the 358 (50+K).

Robert

[bearcove]

I agree that factory 358/data would be to hot. I mainly like the longer neck and the slightly larger case for shooting heavier cast bullets. The 35 rem loaded hotter for marlin is hard to beat. When I get my 358318 mold from Swede at NOE I'm going to try it in 35 Rem first. Only problem I see COAL and how it will feed. Then if I'm not happy I can rechamber one of my 35 rems.

[No_1]

To be honest, with this conversion I believe you can easily exceed the 35 Rem ballistics without exceeding the design strength of the rifle which is good enough reason to make the change.
If you decide to take the jump. send me a PM and I will send you the data that he worked up in his article.

Robert

[bearcove]

Sent a PM, I'd love any info and load data.

Thanks, Rod

[gon2shoot]

Traitor! :-D

[softpoint]

What pressure does the .308 Marlin Express and .338 Marlin operate at? If there is any difference between them and the .444, It would seem like the bolt thrust would be less with smaller bores ,so they may could operate at slightly higher pressures.Just asking, I have heard of people rechambering the 336 to .358 Win. and loading right on "up to snuff" but I'd have to have a little more info, myself, before I did that.:)

[35remington]

Keep in mind maximum overall length of the cartridge cannot exceed 2.57" or the round will not live eject. Which isn't good if you can't get the loaded round out of the chamber without firing it first. The carrier is also limited in the length of the rounds it can shift.

This 2.57" max OAL would be limiting with several bullet types, including 250 grain roundnoses if you hope to crimp in the cannelure. Choose carefully, and as mentioned keep pressures at 356 Winchester levels (about 42-46,000 psi) rather than 358 Winchester levels (60,000+ psi). It would be a good idea to seat the bullet of choice in a 358 case and measure OAL before counting on the bullet to work through the action.

The full bore 358 loads will produce a head separation on the first or second shot. Too much give in the action.