marlin 30-30

[sixpointfive]

Have a chance to buy a marlin 30-30 for $300 in very good shape. I am wondering if these rifles will shoot cast bullets because I believe it is micro grooved.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag that has micro grove barrel
shoots cast just fine i do size to .432 i think the 30/30
sized to .311 would shoot fine too.

[shooting on a shoestring]

In three words....YES YES YES.
The micro groove ones, like mine, generally seem to want fatter than usual 30 cal boolits. Mine uses .312" boolits, although it does fairly well with .310".
Thirty-Thirtly was made for cast. Marlin Micro Grooves do fine with boolits. My 336 out shoots my Winchester 94 (pre-64).
Get it and you'll be glad you did. That's not a bad price for now days.

[fordwannabe]

Yup run em fat and enjoy. I really like the look on the faces of guy who swear it won't shoot cast and then you show them a nice tight group. You have just ruined everything they knew about cast boolits. LOVE IT!

[blixen]

Around here any 336 under $350 is a good deal. I'm still working up cast loads with mine, but so far it looks good. I'm using a lee mold meant for the .303. Sized to .314 worked the best, but I have to seat the gas checks way down past the shoulder for them to chamber. But it doesn't seem to hurt accuracy, at least with light loads. I got some 2" groups at 50 yards.

(With J-bullets, it's wicked accurate.)

[myg30]

What year was it made ? some steer clear of the Remington made ones. If its an older one, GRAB IT !!

Mike

[TXGunNut]

Agree with all the above, hope it's still sitting on the rack when you get back!

[sixpointfive]

What is best bullet to run? Does it need to be flat point?

[Ironnewt]

unless you are loading one of those commercial "bullets" with the plastic tips, (Specifically made for tube magazines) stick with flat pointed "Boolits"

[Ironnewt]

"Bullets" in question are Hornady "LEVERevolution" and "MONOFlex" .

[TheGrimReaper]

i have a Marlin 1894 in 44 mag that has micro grove barrel
shoots cast just fine i do size to .432 i think the 30/30
sized to .311 would shoot fine too.

Same here! I love my Marlins.

[northmn]

$300 in my parts is a very good price for wither a Winchester or Marlin.

DP

[OverMax]

The older marlins hardly ever wear out. Better to buy a 30-30 over a 35. At least you'll always have brass for it no doubt. Is it the carbine model 336 (-SC-?) Or is it the standard rifle model 336(-A-) your buying? For fun you should try and bargain down its price a little. If its owner won't budge off his 300.00 mark. Its still a reasonable price to pay for a nice clean one.

[sixpointfive]

Thanks, it is I'm my hands. Anyone try the 311291 bullet? Model cs

[TXGunNut]

Congrats! No clue on the 311291 but there are a few threads about it. I'm toying with the 311-165 RD (Marlin design) and have a NOE 311041 waiting in the wings.

[Gtek]

You might want to look into a set of RCBS Cowboy Dies, and some mold that drops about .310"ish. Just sayin. Gtek

[TXGunNut]

You might want to look into a set of RCBS Cowboy Dies, and some mold that drops about .310"ish. Just sayin. Gtek


Great point, getting to be a big fan of those dies! Bought a set for my .32WS and an expander to use with the RCBS expander body and my RCBS 30-30 dies.

[northmn]

The older marlins hardly ever wear out. Better to buy a 30-30 over a 35. At least you'll always have brass for it no doubt. Is it the carbine model 336 (-SC-?) Or is it the standard rifle model 336(-A-) your buying? For fun you should try and bargain down its price a little. If its owner won't budge off his 300.00 mark. Its still a reasonable price to pay for a nice clean one.

Got a lot of issues with that statement as I love my old 35. Getting cases is really not a problem for the 35 either. While I ahve a lot of 30-30 cases I have a few 35's now also. Have a 38 special revolver and can shoot those cast bullets in the 35.

DP

[FergusonTO35]

All my Marlin .30-30's do great with boolits sized to .310.

[GabbyM]

Bought my daughter a Marlin 336 in 30-30 a few years ago for $350. It’s pretty much a marginal shooter. Picky about what boolits it wants to feed without cutting the noses also. Then there is the Winchester M94 AE I picked up last summer for the price of $500. I hope the seller was happy. Rifle will shoot BHN#9 alloy 150 grain boolits 2,100 fps and keep them all on a clay trap target disk at 100 yards with iron sights. Feeds any boolits I’ve pushed through it as long as the nose isn’t over .300”. In case you don’t know. A 150 grain BHN #9 alloy cast boolit will mushroom all the way down to the gas check upon impact at those velocities. From standing off hand I can shoot that little lever gun as well as my heavy bolt action scoped rifles. Lacking handy sling and ten seconds to get off a shot with the bolt gun.

For a walk about gun soft bullets are nice. Low ricochet is a huge deal. Give me a Winchester with it’s standard rifling in 1:12” twist over a Marlin with micro 10 twist any day. Just because we can make them shoot if we jump enough hoops doesn’t thrill me to much. I also like th AE (angle eject) model. As it’s stronger than any other M94. True the cross bolt safety and inertia firing pin are not desirable. But Marlins have those too. Keep the gun clean and the inertia pin will work. Mine puts big dents in Remington primers.

I'll also second or third the RCBS Cowboy dies in 30-30. They are very nice.

[Shuz]

Thanks, it is I'm my hands. Anyone try the 311291 bullet? Model cs

I am just starting to play around with the 311291 in my 336CS Marlin of 1993 vintage. OAL has to be kept to 2.300" or less due to short throat. Much better choice of boolits is the RCBS 30-150FN or the Lyman 311465. At least they shoot well in mine. I wanna wring out the 311291 tho as I have it in both solid and HP styles.

[blixen]

I'm using the LEE DC MOLD C312-185-1R cast at about 180 grain.
60495
Like I said, I've got to seat 'em deep because mine has a short throat too. (That's a 50yd group).