Not Pleased With 1st Marlin Experience

[Bigscot]

I bought my first Marlin back in March. A used but pristine 336SC in .35 Rem . This weekend was the first opportunity I had to shoot it. I put the first boolit in, close the action, sight, pull the trigger and click. Pull the hammer back, pull the trigger, boom. This happens for several rounds. I tried lubing the bolt and firing pin with a little improvement. I then remove the bolt and clean and lube for even more improvement but the problem stills ocurrs from time to time. I also had 3 rounds fail to fire period. I have not had 3 rds fail to fire in the 15+ years I have been reloading.
Does anyone have any idea what may be the problem?

Bigscot

[inFALable]

Differential diagnosis leads one to suspect

1. broken firing pin
2. bad primers
3. primers not fully seated
4. weak hammer spring
5. long headspace

[JSH]

Sounds like excessive head space. The 35 Remington is known for this. I would suggest that you seat the boolit out a bit farther to fire form this brass to this rifle. Seat the bullet into the rifling, so as to hold the base of the case back against the bolt, other wise your case will grow in the webarea rather than the shoulder, causing head seperations.
You should only need to do this the first time. Then when sizing watch how much you size the case, just barely touch the shoulder with the die.
Jeff

[cast-n-blast]

The above advice is good. As a die hard .35 Rem. fan, they are notorious for having that small shoulder too far back, even with new, unfired brass. Try seating your bullets out until it makes contact with the rifling, for positive headspace. I only partially resize my brass, especially for this round, on reloads. BTW, those Marlins WILL shoot like gangbusters. Give 'em a chance and don't be discouraged

[cast-n-blast]

JSH, looks like we both posted at the same time! GREAT minds think alike !!!!

[JSH]

cnb, I don't have a 35 Remington in the Marlin, but am looking for one. I do however have one in a 14"TC. It has been modified to use 303 and or 30-40 brass to make it into a rimmed 35 RR.
That barrel has always pleased me when I shot it. Sorry to say it does tend to prefer the J word. I am still working with it though. I have shot 120's- 210 cb's in it with good results, just not great.
Jeff

[Bigscot]

Thanks for the info. Now that I think about, it may be a brass/headspace issue as the brass I was shooting I bought from another member here and it had already sized and trimmed.
I will try reshooting same brass again.

BS

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Remember too that some Marlins are notorious for long headspace. You may always have to account for that. BvT

[6pt-sika]

I have five 336SC's at the moment and knock on wood I've not had that problem . However only one is in 35 REM .

I do however seem to remmember reading somwhere that the older 336's had two piece firing pins and that sometimes a problem like this would arise .

[uscra112]

What they said. And don't give up! The 336 in .35 Rem is one real good performer when it's used right. If I ever have to get back down to one gun, mine will be it, unless I'm living in the wide-open West.

[Mar354]

Bigscot, do the misfired rounds appear to have "light" hits on the primer? If so, I believe that you will remedy your problem by replacing the rear firing pin and the flat spring that powers it. The rear firing pin is the one in the back of the bolt that pivots into place to align with the front firing pin when the action is closed,
and is actually struck by the hammer. Although any of the replies you recieved could be the problem, the fact that most of the rounds fired when you tried the second time tells me that you have an alignment problem in the firing pins. That is, when you attempted to fire the first time, the blow of the hammer is being cushioned by some misalignment in the pins, then the second try (without opening the action but just recocking the hammer) the pins are pushed into alignment by the first attempt and fire on the second. I have seen this problem on numerous occaisions over the years with Marlins brought into my shop for repair, and the strange thing is, that I have tried over and over to put my finger on the exact problem and in most cases can't seem to identify the exact "bad" part. But when I relpace the parts the weapon fires normally. On some jobs the front firing also needs to be replaced, but if it looks good, my hunch is replacing the rear parts will fix it. Don't give up on your Marlin, they are fine rifles and with this little problem repaired I am sure you will enjoy shooting it very much.

[woody1]

Check out the "Miss Firing 336" thread down the page a ways also for more possible causes and fixes. Regards, Woody

[Chuck 100 yd]

Bigscot, First thing I would do is pull the bolt and check for rusted/broken or otherwise bad firing pin. All of the above advice is good but check the simple things first.
My 336SC .35 Rem is one of the best shooting levers I own.