First Time Levergun Owner Needs Tips

[BigRix]

I just purchased my first levergun and need some tips from y'all.

I hope this is a good candidate for learning about leverguns and loading centerfire.

Glenfield Model 30A which from my research is a budget version of the Marlin 336. 30-30 caliber.

Snapped a few pics for ya.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/22e7211c.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/0e46a6ce.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/12ab42c2.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/4e7b8bac.jpg

So do you have any recommendations for a first time levergun owner? First time centerfire reloader? First time 30-30 caster?

My goals for this project are:

Have a nice truck gun with a lower power optical sight.
Cast and load my own ammo for plinking and hunting/self defense.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. And now to start my own research.

P.S. I guess I have a use for that Lyman M die I bought at the gun show now.

[btroj]

Get a 311165 Ranch Dog mould and have fun. That is one of the best cast bullet cartridge/rifle combos ever.
Easy to load for, cheap components, plenty accurate, and FUN.

Enjoy that gun, I sure enjoy my 336.

[Crawdaddy]

Nice rifle you will enjoy it.

My tip?

When pig hunting don't use the cross bolt safety and the half cock. Use only one. When you forget to take one off and the pig is running at you the pucker factor is high!

[Gtek]

It can be addictive- be careful. Nice old piece, Midway has about all those Bubba'd screws for the same as dealer from Brownells. They also have the screw driver sets I wish all Bubba's got for Cristmas. Give the #31141 Lyman a thought. Have fun- Gtek

[Crawdaddy]

That's a nice rifle. I think it's micro groove, and predates cross bolt safeties by 30 or 40 years.

I was only off by a little.

[BigRix]

If my research is right it was made in 1976.

[izzyjoe]

nice rifle, you should get yourself a williams receiver sight, and try the lee 170gr. mold. it's cheap, and it work's great! that will be a great truck gun.

[Ziptar]

Go to http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/ and sign up, then introduce yourself. Then start reading. :-)

[jonas302]

I have one like that right now it seems to enjoy driving lee 113 grain wheel weight slugs sized 311 gas checked and pan lubed over 10 grains of unique into nice groups

[crabo]

My tip would be to sell that gun. It is adictive. It is going to cost you a lot of money as you start buying more. Next you need a 39A, then a 45/70, then a.....

That is why I refuse to buy a single action pistol.

[Ziptar]

My tip would be to sell that gun. It is adictive. It is going to cost you a lot of money as you start buying more. Next you need a 39A, then a 45/70, then a.....

That is why I refuse to buy a single action pistol.

Good point! The dreaded "Marlinitus Disease" knows no bounds and takes no prisoners!

GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!! :razz:

[Lonegun1894]

My tip would be to sell that gun. It is adictive. It is going to cost you a lot of money as you start buying more. Next you need a 39A, then a 45/70, then a.....

That is why I refuse to buy a single action pistol.

And just where were you with that little tidbit about single-actions when I was drooling over my first one trying to decide if i really needed it as badly as I thought? and the second?... and the 10th?..... [smilie=1: I mean, they're as bad as lever-actions. these things also multiply like rabbits.

[grubbylabs]

Go to http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/ and sign up, then introduce yourself. Then start reading. :-)

How long does it take them to approve your account so you can use the forum?

[BigRix]

My approval took about an hour.

[FrontSite]

I second on the Ranch dog 311165 bullet for the lever guns. Sized .311 made mine into a real shooter. Steel chickens at 200 yards if I keep my "stuff" together. Also recommend Lee collet dies. You may need to turn the collet "spud" down a couple thousands for bullet tension. Lee factory crimp die has seemed to help too.

[coyotebait]

+2 on the Ranch Dog 311-165 mold sized .311. Also +1 on the Williams reciever sight which your rifle is drilled and tapped for. To me a scope takes something away from the handiness of a levergun. Nice truck gun by the way.
coyotebait

[Ed in North Texas]

Good point! The dreaded "Marlinitus Disease" knows no bounds and takes no prisoners!

GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!! :razz:

Worse yet, Marlinitus leads to Savage Virus #99 infection too. They are not mutually exclusive!

[whopist]

Original Poster stated, low power optics for Glenfield truck gun.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/whopist/Glenfield.jpg
It’s a Leupold 2.5x Compact.

My personal preference is to get a midrange (4-5”) eye relief scope and mount it just forward of the hammer on lever-action rifles. Then you don’t need a hammer spur.

For bullets, I use the Ranch Dog 311165 (mine is a NOE clone of it with grease grooves). If I remember correctly, Ranch Dog developed this bullet using our beloved 30A Glenfield.

Enjoy your rifle and be safe!

[BigRix]

That's a sharp lookin' Glenfield.

My gun already has a hammer spur so that's good to go. I just found out one of my co-workers is an avid levergun guy who actually prefers Glenfields over the Marlin 336. He likes the clean lines of the front sight and puts a William's on the back. I might give that a try first.

Now I just need brass and dies and a mold and primers and powder and a sling and .......

How cheep was this gun again?

[Greg B.]

In terms of "loading centerfire tips" some of the best money I spent was on the Lyman Cast
Bullet Handbook.
The current buzz about Microgrove barrels is that will shoot cast bullets well if you use a hard alloy and size them slightly larger. I assume this means the usual .oo1" or .002" above slugged barrel diameter. Good luck.

Greg B.

[MtGun44]

Just make sure you know the actual diameter needed by slugging and go a bit bigger.

For a regular .308 groove diameter, I start at .310 and try .311, usually one or both work
great - but these are conventional rifling. I have not worked with microgrooves, but reading
says make the boolits fit is key, - and it is key to conventional rifling, so I'm not surprised.

IIRC most problems with cast in mg rifled bbls was undersized boolits.

Bill

[jlchucker]

nice rifle, you should get yourself a williams receiver sight, and try the lee 170gr. mold. it's cheap, and it work's great! that will be a great truck gun.

And your rifle is already drilled and tapped for it. That would be the holes that are plugged by the two little screws (side by side) shown on the upper rear of the receiver in your 3d picture. Those holes are plugged by those little headless screws. Take them out and either a Williams or Lyman receiver sight (your choice) takes the same hole pattern, and both come with screws that thread right into those holes.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i use a lee c309-170rf they are about 20 dollars mine drops wheel weight with a bit of tin at .310 two coats of Lee Liquid Alox 18.5gr H4895 no gas check needed till you try and go faster

i have done air cooled and water dropped both worked i have dug some out of the berm , they get engraved by the rifling very nicely no gas cutting

they load to the crimp groove 2.550 feed fine in the 336 and shoot nice they are cheap to shoot and brass lasts a long time

great fun rounds

i do have a .311 sizing die to add gas checks later but for now i am having fun this way

the lee 2nd edition has lots of reduced loads for the 30-30

planning to fill a bucket with sand to put behind my target , so i can just keep recycling the lead and keep my cost as close to powder and primers as i can.

[BigRix]

A little update for you guys.

I installed a Williams FP-94/36 on the receiver and found I needed a taller front sight. I was unable to source one locally so I called up Williams and the fixed me right up.

.570" tall, wide base, brass bead front sight. I was concerned about interference with the front barrel band and was told to expect some gunsmithing to get it to fit. That was indeed the case.

45 minutes of hand filing and I got it to fit pretty well. I did not have any brass drifts so I used my lead ingots and finished the job with a punch inside of a cartridge case.

My only concern now is I did not fire this rifle before putting on these sights. Hope I don't waste too much ammo getting on paper.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/127f1457.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss208/BigRix/Glenfield%2030A/176c9f00.jpg

[ocelott]

Looks nice - you should be able to "pit an ace" at 50 yards with that...

If memory serves there is a group buy open for a 311041 (173gr) NOE.
it ought to make a great boolit for that set up.

+1 on the Lee 2nd ed - I was poking through it and found loads ranging from 100 grain to 170 grain cast boolits - lots of variety to play with there

[pls1911]

Whopist, you tear me up...
Your scope value is several orders of magnitude greater than the gun....
GEEEZ I never thought I'd see a Leupold mated to a Glenfield.
But I'll bet it's a sweet shooting package you wouldn't trade anything for.

I have a set of the NOE/RD clone molds too.. great quality molds, fine bullets too.

I have couple of early 50's Marlins with period El Paso Weavers.
It's a sin they D&T'd the waffle top receiver, but the quality work, period scopes, and fine accuracy make up a little for the transgression.

[pls1911]

Best advice?
#1. Have fun
#2. Buy a 20 pound lead pot, because you'll be shooting a lot
#3. Ranch Dogs are as good as it gets for bullet designs
#4. Put locks on all your windows and doors... Marlin levers old and new, all calibers and colors will start stalking you, and will fill any shadow and void in your home. If your wife asks why the bed is so lumpy, don't let her look under the matress... If she asks why you have to lean aganst the closet to get it closed, tell her it's the door frame expanded with moisture...

Above all watch your back.... Marlins will jump into your hands or secretly follow you home.
Now, after the first one, all Marlins know who you are, and where you live.

[TXGunNut]

Now I just need brass and dies and a mold and primers and powder and a sling and .......BigRix



Looking good! I've never had to buy 30-30 brass. I saved them for years when they were too cheap to consider loading and they litter the public range where I shoot regularly. Good call on the Williams sight, one found a good home on a favorite 94 of mine awhile back when my old eyes caused me to give up on buckhorn sights.
And pls1911; I'm beginning to realize Leupolds are quite possibly cost-effective for a rifle I plan on keeping and using often. One old favorite hunting rifle went thru five pretty decent scopes before I retired it. If I had been able to spring for a Leupold initially I'd be money ahead with a top-quality optic to boot...and I'd have a good scope for the new rifle as well. It got a new Leupold. :mrgreen:

[shdwlkr]

Don't have one of those but do have a lot of winchester 94 and 92's and finally just got a marlin 62. Addictive is an understatement. It is a disease that will only end when you leave this life.
As to bullet molds I have around 50 different molds. another disease that will over take you if you get bitten but the casting bug.

[BigRix]

This one already started letting others in the safe.

Got my second Marlin and I haven't shot this one yet.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=132373

I think it is getting jealous because I'm paying more attention to the 45/70. :)

[missionary5155]

Good morning
The RD mould & a receiver sight should take care of you for many years. If you get tired of the caliber you have the right rifle to send to JES Reboring to get it rechambered / rebored for any caliber you desire. I had a Glenfield "rusty bore" one sent in to get opened to .405 / .411.
TIP : Do not bet on the horses ! Far better to bet on fish (Marlins).
Mike in Peru