Need Barrel for Marlin 336-44.

[John 242]

Hello everybody, I'm looking for a replacement barrel for a Marlin 336 in .44 Mag.

The current barrel has a good sized bulge/ring in the chamber about a half-inch up from the rim of the case. It's bulged bad enough that fired cases won't extract and need to be beaten out of the gun with a rod.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a replacement barrel?

I've tried Numrich, Jack First, ebay and Gunbroker.
I think a take-off barrel is what I'm looking for, but something like a pre-threaded pre-contoured would probably work, unless someone has a differing opinion.
I would prefer not to turn a barrel from a blank, if I can avoid it.

I have access to a lathe and milling machine and some gunsmithing experience, but I haven't replaced a barrel on a 336 before. Any tips or advise? Anything I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance.
John T.

[pietro]

FWIW, I'm thinking that you're seeking a hen's tooth, and would suggest an alternative.

The chamber can be bored out larger from it's rear end to the start of the rifling leade, then sleeved with a soldered-in appropriate steel insert, and the insert re-chambered with a .44 Mag reamer.

(I would pre-drill a .427" hole through the center of the insert, which would make cleaning up the chamber a snap).


.

[Jedman]

I once had a 336-44 barrel that I found on eBay but no longer own it. If you can find a newer M 1894 barrel in 44 mag it will screw on OK but I don't know if the dovetail cuts would be in the right place for a 336.
The barrel I had , had a very long hood above the chamber and would require the bolt to be turned eccentric for relief on the topside to clear the long hood. Most all models of Marlin centerfire rifles have the same barrel shank size, and will usually be indexed properly they used the same shank diameter, thread, and thread indexing.

Jedman

[john.k]

A bulge 1/2" from the rim will be inside the reciever ring,which is very thin where the mag tube is.So maybe the ring is also bulged,making removal of the barrel problematic.....I might investigate the possibility of rechambering for 44-40,which should remove the bulge.........but the rims will be a bit larger............maybe its one for GB.

[Texas by God]

If a 44-40 Reamer would clean it up that's what I'd do if a barrel search proves fruitless.

[John 242]

Thanks for the response guys. You all have definitely given me some good ideas. I didn't think about sleeving the barrel or rechambering it. Good stuff and I appreciate it.

The fired case measures .464 at the widest part, about .400 to .500 forward of the rim An unfired loaded round measures about .451 in the same location. It also measures about .460 about .200 forward of the rim. The fired case drops back down to .457 about .200 from the case mouth. I don't have specs on the .44-40 handy, but I'll check and see whether rechambering is a possibility.

This is not a rush job, so I have a little bit of time to check and see if I can turn up a barrel. I didn't think about whether the bulge in the chamber affected the receiver. I haven't pulled the barrel, yet, so I have no idea how that will turn out.

I'm intrigued by the idea of sleeving the chamber, but haven't done that before. Fear of the unknown... know what I mean?

[pietro]

I'm intrigued by the idea of sleeving the chamber, but haven't done that before. Fear of the unknown... know what I mean?



I may be preaching to the choir, but...…….

I sleeve a chamber via boring out the damaged chamber slightly oversize, being mindful of the barrel OD inside the front of the receiver(ring).

I then turn the outside of a steel slug ( or a section of a scrap barrel that's thick enough) to that same diameter & cut to length.

Bore the center of the resulting "sleeve" to a diameter just under cartridge diameter, solder it in place & finish with chambering reamer(s), being careful about the rim recess (which controls headspace).


.

[KenH]

I just removed a 30-30 barrel from an old 336 receiver - boy was that sucker tight! I wound up soaking the receiver/barrel in a dry ice/alcohol slurry which brings the receiver/barrel down to -95F, quickly clamp in barrel vise and play propane torch over receiver ring to warm it. That allows the receiver ring to expand which tends to make removing barrel a tad easier. I used this technique on a Ruger MkII pistol to remove the barrel a few months back. I think the 336 was harder to remove than the Ruger MkII barrel was.

Good luck - sleeving the chamber sounds good to me, or rechambering "IF" you can get the barrel removed from receiver. OR - can the barrel be rebored/rechambered with receiver still on barrel?

Ken H>

[john.k]

I have sleeved chambers in a number of guns,.....but.....a Marlin is already scary thin at the chamber,the reciever is beyond scary thin,and sleeving would be a risk I would not take ...........further more,all of these small tenon,high pressure barrels get the threads swaged together ,and if the threads are in the least sloppy,a chamber bulge will form within a few shots......

[Blackwater]

Might these be an option for you???

http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/lever-action-rifle-barrels/

[nekshot]

Would sleeve it with your knowledge and tools it should be a breese. That Loctite 620 glue is nuts tough to seperate. The worst you can do is screw it up and then you are back to where you are now!

[nekshot]

Might these be an option for you???

http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/lever-action-rifle-barrels/

One thing with GM and others' they forgot some guys shoot 44 caliber guns also that have a .430 bore! I think douglas has a nice profilled 44 caliber but you would have to thread and chamber.

[John 242]

Might these be an option for you???

http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/lever-action-rifle-barrels/

Definitely an option. I was trying to avoid turning a barrel from a blank, but that may be the what's going to have to happen. I'm still thinking about the sleeving option, but understand risks involved with the thin barrel and receiver.


Would sleeve it with your knowledge and tools it should be a breese. That Loctite 620 glue is nuts tough to seperate. The worst you can do is screw it up and then you are back to where you are now!
Thanks for the confidence boost, I appreciate it! Yeah, the pressure is off since this barrel is already messed up.


I may be preaching to the choir, but...…….
No, not at all. I've never sleeved a barrel before and I appreciate you taking the time to share that information. I have a quite a few barrel stubs from blanks that would probably be perfect for this. Even if I don't sleeve this particular gun, it's good info and I am thankful for it.

[Pig cooker]

You looking a round or octagon barrel? I have a 1894 octagon barrel in 44 mag..was going to install on a 336 action..been thinking about sticking with 30-30.. This is my 1st post here..been looking for years..lots of smart people..

[Moleman-]

It's sounding like the 1894 44mag barrel then replace the forearm and hardware if needed is going to be the easiest way to go.

[John Taylor]

Green Mountain has a couple 44 cal. barrels for rifle. I have a few on the shelf, one is octagon the right size for a 92 Winchester and would work for a 94 or 336 Marlin. A chamber bulge is a bit scary, means there was way to much pressure. I have seen several that usually result in a crack where the barrel is the thinest at the mag tube cut. I have done more than a few chamber sleeves and like to thread the sleeve to keep it from moving. I have had to do a few over when the sleeve moved back when not threaded. A 336 barrel is a little thin to sleeve and it might be better to set the barrel back or replace it. The 44 mag factory loads are at 36,000 psi which is less than a 30-30 at 42,000. Bulge was probably cause by an overload and the shooter was lucky that the gun held together.

[John 242]

You looking a round or octagon barrel? I have a 1894 octagon barrel in 44 mag..was going to install on a 336 action..been thinking about sticking with 30-30.. This is my 1st post here..been looking for years..lots of smart people..

Pig cooker, I'm looking for a round barrel. Thanks for the offer though.

John Taylor, I appreciate you taking the time to post. I especially appreciate the information on sleeving and recommendation on not sleeving the barrel.
I'm considering a Green Mountain round barrel blank. At $110 it's not significantly more than what Numrich lists take off barrels for (out of stock), except for all the machining. I was trying to avoid using a blank but I didn't realize that barrels for these guns are pretty scarce. That's alright, seems like a straight forward enough operation, other than the square threads and weird barrel shank.
When (or if) I get the barrel off, I'll take your advise and check out the area between the barrel and mag tube, looking for cracks.

Kind of a convoluted story about the gun. The current owner tried to recently shoot the gun and couldn't get the bolt to close. I found about a third of a broke case stuck in the chamber. Got that out with cerosafe and discovered a dark ring in the chamber. No obvious damage to the receiver, barrel or internal parts. Current owner says that he bought the gun off a buddy, owned it for years and never tried to shoot it. Said he got the gun for a song. Those guys do a lot of gun trading, so there's no telling when this gun was last fired. The owner is cool with putting a barrel on it. He's less enthusiastic about rechambering it to .44-40, even if that were possible, because ammo is hard to find.

[rockrat]

You might get a 30-30 barrel and have JES rebore it to 44 cal. I am sure he could also fit it to the action.