Marlin 336

[Zombie1978]

Trying to find a good bullet for 30/30. I have some GT bullet sized to .309. They shoot good but leave a little lead. I have some double lubed with alox and will try them this week. I see some people say to use a bullet sized to .311 for a micro groove marlin. Does anyone here shoot a bullet sized smaller with good results?

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[44man]

No, too small. I use .311".
Alox will not help, I hate the junk. Grooves in the marlin are only .003" deep with a tad larger bore so you are not filling them.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I've gotten good results with the RCBS 180 FN (.309), the RCBS 150 FN (.310), and the Ranch Dog 165 FN tumble-lube (.311), all gas-checked using Alox. All shoot under 2" at 100 yards, the Ranch Dog at .311 is just a bit better with under 1.5 inch groups common. Three different pre-safety micro-groove Marlins.

[popper]

311 but I've heard Rem is getting it straight now for new production. Alox & Recluse didn't work well in mine but dipping in Mazzola and loading immediately did. You could try ASBBDT with HF red (cheap), size to 311, I assume the boolits are hard ball store bought. If lubed, you can wash the lube out with gas or other solvent. PC won't stick to the lube. If going the PC route, WD after cooking to get hardness back up else you need to wait a month before shooting.
Edit:Just got new 30/30 mould from Tom, cast some last nite. 1 hole GC, 1 is modified PB. Basically RD nose (no crimp groove) and body & base like I use in BO & 308W. 2 very small grooves, not for lube - just to collect lead. Got to PC them and try but loaded a dummy - to OAL that feeds & chambers good, just barely engraves but extracts fine. PB drops 170 and GC is 180 sans GC. Unique/2400 for the PB, LeverE for GC full boat loads. Might even try some BLL for the PB plinker loads.

[Wolfer]

My old 311041 only drops at .309. I size and check at .309. 2 thin coats of LLA with 17 gr of 2400 pushes it to 1700 fps. No leading, plenty accurate and kills deer quite well.

My 336 was made in 1966 and the bore slugs at .308. This is not the norm from what I read but it's the only one I have any experience with.

[44man]

Mine is a fairly new Remlin and slugged .309+, don't remember exact figure but it likes the .311" best.
My 311041 was luck and drops big enough and I made 2 other molds and my 187 gr shoots best. One came out 193 gr and still shoots OK. I messed up the 193 and have to size the nose to .301" with a lapped Lee die.
Figuring the size to make a cherry is crazy hard.

[SierraHunter]

I can't say that I've ever had a micro groove 30/30. I currently have a micro groove in 358 Winchester and it likes them fairly fat. With a good fitting Bullet I have shot groups with this rifle I never thought possible with iron sights and sand bag rest.

[popper]

Mine is a 2008 bigbox special. Shot accurate with the Lee RD GC but not PB. Sold the mold years ago, just loaded the last of the remaining cast. Bore is loose in the middle but going to try it with cast again. Like I need another project. Kind of a back up for the PC Pol. crowd. Tried several bought versions of the RD but none really worked right. I had to seat really deep with the fat 041 or several of the RD noses. Crimp groove is really a PITA and I don't want to trim some cases short. I figure I should get them to ~17-1800 2 MOA.

[SierraHunter]

I find with micro groove longer bullets seem to shoot better. My 358 shoots a 270 grain cast as well as I can hold it.

[Frank V]

I would look at a gas check mold. Lee has some interesting bullet molds & are not too expensive if it doesn't work out. I've had fantastic accuracy with them in handguns. Those Marlins will shoot well given a load they like.