Marlin 336, what tips and tricks do I need?

[Mr_Sheesh]

Looking at a 336 in 30-30, first lever gun I'll have used if it gets here. A 1977 model, full length magazine tube. Thinking this will do for a yard gun for raccoons etc. with reduced loads. Downloaded the manual, need to read that.

What else do I need to learn or know? I'm pretty used to bolt guns, semi autos, and pump shotguns so I'll have to figure out any tricks on the lever assembly when I strip it down, I imagine.

What lube is best used internally?

Flat nosed or RN bullets so as to prevent primers being set off, I know already; Tubular magazine.

Action's already drilled and tapped for a scope, maybe a red dot scope this time as that could do it.

Might put a modded UTG tri-rail on it for a light.

And I have big hands, if the lever's too small for me, what do folks do to get a larger one?

Who is good for parts for the Marlins? In case I need to know :)

Any other questions I should ask or things I should think about?

Microgroove rifling, so I guess .311-.313 or so cast, or j-word bullets, would be indicated.

[dragon813gt]

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/#/

Every question you could ever have has been answered there.

[georgerkahn]

In concert with dragon813gt's post, I will add that: Brownells has tons of Marlin parts. An outfit in Alaska, Wild West Guns, purveys aluminum followers (https://www.wildwestguns.com/product/aluminum-mag-follower/) and large loops (https://www.wildwestguns.com/product/big-loop-lever) -- both products I have on a couple of my 336s. The lever enables use with large as well as gloved hands, and, imho, looks really cool, too :).
'Scopes are a piece of cake, so to speak, as I believe Marlin's were designed FOR their use; I have one on my prime hunting 336.
Casting bullets is NO problem with the micro-groove; that question's been answered a zillion times in other posts, you may research.
Still one more beauty of the Marlin is the ease of which the lever is removed for barrel cleaning. Albeit I exclusively use the Otis style pull thru cleaning (Butch's Bore Shine) system, the Marlin's readily removable lever to enable cleaning surely is a plus -- there is NEVER any need to insert anything into the bore from the muzzle end -- 'specially including cleaning rods.
Good luck on your GREAT new to you firearm!
geo

[jmort]

I believe mine is a 1977
Came with a Leupold scope.
Agree with using a bore snake or Otis style cleaning system from the breech on out the barrel. I use Ballistol for lubrication and cleaning. I am certain many different lubes and potions would work just as well. Congratulations

[MyFlatline]

Ranger Point Precision has the big loop and many other accessories for the 336 Marlin. As much as I dislike the Moderators at MO, there is a bunch of great information to be gained.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Hmmm TY!

[northmn]

When you clean one, you can easily do breach cleaning by taking out the lever screw and removing the lever unit. Then the bolt comes out. Make sure you don't lose the ejector. Trust me on that. They fall out.

The microgroove also probably should use a little harder alloy with cast. Lever actions were relatively tough rifles, load it and shoot it. Another debate but I only hunt with 2 in the mag and one in the chamber. They tend to be hard on bullet noses and such when fully loaded. Also makes for less hassle unloading them. My 38-55 even shows some damage to my softer alloy bullets from deer hunting. Some are also fussy with the Hornady LE's.


DEP

[Dan Cash]

You have a fine rifle. The less you tinker with it, the better it will be. If you wish to have parts on hand for the gun, I would recommend an extractor and an ejector as nothing else gets broken. Every time you clean it, check all the screws as they do work loose and can be lost though replacements are readily available. Micro groove barrel will shoot well with .311 cast bullets or .308 standard jacketed bullets. My shooting partner and I compete with Marlins and use about 1000 rounds a year. A 105 to 115 grain cast bullet sized .311 and propelled by 10.5 grains of Alliant 2400 is a very satisfactory light load for metal targets and yard pests.

Have years of good fun with your new gun and spare it from a large loop lever. That is an un needed modification which makes the lever look like a bull with an infected scrotum.

[pietro]

Looking at a 336 in 30-30, first lever gun I'll have used if it gets here.

A 1977 model

What else do I need to learn or know ?




The owner's manual will show how to take the bolt out for cleaning.

If/when it fails to feed from the magazine, when Marlin 336's get used a lot, the spring tension can go out of the loading gate (the gate is also a leaf spring) allowing the gate to stay slightly "open", jamming the action.

The cure is to install a new loading gate (12 @ Numrich).

As referred to above, when the bolt is removed for cleaning from the rear, the ejector WILL fall out of it's home in the inside LH receiver sidewall.

Just be sure to catch it, then when the bolt is to be re-installed into the receiver, slip the EJ back into it's slot inside the receiver (the little round stud on the back of the EJ goes into the hole in the receiver sidewall, inside the EJ slot).


.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Been running Marlin 336's for over 50 years, not much goes wrong, had an extractor break after 10,000 rounds on one. Extractor, maybe the front firing pin can break, the ejector can be dropped and lost but I haven't had one fail, but really, it is one of the most reliable rifles you can find. It has truly met the test of time. Millions of them have been made though there is a production window where Remington did fail the brand. The 30-30 works well for most game, 100-130 grain flatnose bullets at 1000 fps should be relatively quiet, recoil free and take care of most backyard pests smaller than mountain lion and bear. I would not stay home if a 30-30 Marlin was my only rifle and elk or moose were the game. There is plenty of information on 'tuning' and many folks making aftermarket accessories that may or may not improve the basic rifle, I just like 'em.

[Gtek]

First thing I do when a new one came in is strip, clean, inspect, you don't know if you ain't seen it! Strip/clean bolt and radius and polish extractor, internals edge chamfering at your discretion. A good set of firearm appropriate screwdrivers should already live at your house. I wish you well post first bite of the lever bug, some people recover immediately and some will have life long effects.

[MrWolf]

Last time I checked I had at least half a dozen Marlin levers. Somehow I even have duplicate calibers. Come to think of it may be closer to a dozen. They breed like rabbits.

[dverna]

I was planning on selling mine to reduce inventory and am so glad I did not. They are a good rifle. There is a thread by Larry Gibson on using Leverlution (sp) powder...required reading IMHO for .30/30 owners. The Hornady FTX bullets will let you stretch the range of the old girl.

Like others mentioned, I clean from the breech as it is easy to do on the 336.

[sghart3578]

I have one built in 1956 (I believe). The only change I have made was to add a peep sight from Skinner.

A Lee 150 gr gas check loaded over 25 gr of 3031 does everything I need and is very accurate.

For your yard use I would try the Lee TL314-90-SWC, sized to .311" and lubed with one very light coat of BLL. Load this over 4 to 7 gr of Bullseye.

These rifles are highly under-rated among the so-called "informed" gun crowd. Lever lovers like us here in this forum know their value and appreciate them very much.


Steve in N CA

[dragon813gt]

I have one built in 1956 (I believe). The only change I have made was to add a peep sight from Skinner.

Skinners ride on all of mine. It’s the only thing I do to them. Haven’t found a need to tune them. They run fine out of the box. I did have one converted from 30-30 to 356 Winchester but that’s another story.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4379/36458863492_bc5acdc0df_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4425/36581545246_4ca3933915_b.jpg

[MyFlatline]

I like to tinker so I look for abused Marlins , then bring them to life. I normally start by making them shorter, then they get an all weather finish. The are shooters for sure.

230851
This is 4 of the 5 that have been shortened, also have the same in 20" barrels for most

[DaveM]

Any good gun oil should work just fine, no need to get fancy. If you're frugal, then automatic transmission fluid or Mobil 1 motor oil also make fine gun oils.

About 10 years ago I bought a 1978-vintage Marlin 336. The only modifications I've made were to add studs for a quick detach sling, and to install a Williams receiver sight and fiber optic front sight.

I put together a spare parts kit and made a blog post about it, here (http://survivalpreps.blogspot.com/2008/03/marlin-336-spare-parts-kit.html). It has the Brownell's part numbers. The Brownell's part number should still be good but the prices have gone up in 10 years.

Hope this helps.

[Grmps]

There are some vids on Youtube about disassembly.

Love marlin 32 WS

[Mr_Sheesh]

Dan Cash - I'll only put a larger loop on it if my Yeti hands cannot work the existing lever; I'll hope there is no need. Just don't know yet.

Good info, thanks all :)

[northmn]

While I tend to be able to shoot bare handed, in the Northern cold a larger lever is not all bad an idea if one needs gloves. RPP may have some options as does Brownell's or Midway. They are not inexpensive. They make a larger loop lever smaller than the John Wayne/Chuck Connors loops that looks pretty decent.

DEP

[Dan Cash]

As my profile states, I live in western North Dakota and it gets about as cold as you might want. I know about bundling up and heavy gloves; I do it all winter to feed and break stock tank ice. If the gloves are so bulky that you can not get a finger into the trigger guard, a fat loop lever won't help. When it is that cold, I am in the house or working but not hunting. Try to modify the way you grip and operate the lever before you spring the big bucks for big loopy lever.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I usually need 4XL gloves, I'm concerned about getting my hands in that lever in a usable manner WITHOUT gloves, not even thought of with gloves (but I usually wear fairly thin gloves if any)

[jmort]

Brock Lesner in the UFC required 5 XL gloves, not fake wrestling, unheard of at the time. You got some big mitts

[Mr_Sheesh]

Ayup! Plus side is that no one seems to want to mug me; Down side is hitting my head on things and shoulders on door frames if I am not paying attention etc. :P I can just see how it fits once it arrives I guess!

[jaysouth]

For ease of cleaning from the breech, I install one of these on every Marlin:

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/receiver-parts/takedown-parts/screws/quick-takedown-screw-sku080000559-27019-52672.aspx?sku=080000559

[Mr_Sheesh]

I had seen those, may talk myself into it :) Thanks!

[FergusonTO35]

Ayup! Plus side is that no one seems to want to mug me; Down side is hitting my head on things and shoulders on door frames if I am not paying attention etc. :P I can just see how it fits once it arrives I guess!

I feel ya! Sucks living in a world designed for abnormally small people, huh? While my hands aren't as big as yours, I still can't fit all my fingers comfortably into the lever on any of my rifles. What I do is just stick the middle two fingers into the lever and let the pinky stay outside. Problem solved. Far as the trigger guard part goes, the inside radius of it on a Marlin is pretty thick and could be opened up quite a bit.

[Shawlerbrook]

I’ll second Marlinowners as an encyclopedia of information. The 336 platform is great for shooting and/or projects. I have made a 356W Trapper and a 307 Winchester.