I blame Tripplebeards thread

[NyFirefighter357]

I've been toying with the idea of digging out my Marlin 336's in 35Rem and picking one to dedicate to shooting cast bullets. I have 3 and have shot one of them but it was 35 years ago. They are safe queens as I can't hunt with them here and rarely get out target shooting and when I did my go to was .22lr. I first wanted a .357 lever because I watch & read all the fun everyone was having shooting them. I couldn't justify in my mind buying another gun for the occasional target session. Then I came across some posts about shooting pistol bullets in the 35 Rem & decided I'd go that route instead. All my target shooting is done 100yrds or less, usually under 50yrds.
About a 3 weeks ago Tripplebeards started posting questions about casting for his 336 in 35 Rem, then a question about scope mounts, then he was looking for 35 Rem brass, then a question about OAL, then about trigger pull weight & working on the trigger. Just taunting me, every day I'd see replies or new threads about a 336. I went digging and found the brass I got last year, mixed once shot mostly RP. Then I dug out some cast .357 bullets to see what I had on hand. Then went looking to see what powder I had might work. Only to be seen once a year for their annual cleaning and oiling & placed back in order of use, they rarely see light. Armed with a flashlight, a rope and determination, I dove into the safe looking for the rifles. I searched deep in the murky depths to retrieve them. Boy are they pretty, I didn't know how old they were I knew one had a scope and the lesser of the 3 is a Sears model 45 that spent many years hanging in the gun rack in my room as a kid. Like most of my guns they belonged to close family members before they were mine, they like the rest of my guns bring back old memories of my loved ones.
I think this is a project I'll put on the front burner thanks to Tripplebeard's threads, thank you Tripplebeard.

Front to back 1957 I know it was the most used of the 3 not by the age or wear but my mother's uncle hunted more than his brother my grandfather but mostly used a shotgun. The middle one is the Sears 1964 it was my fathers, he didn't hunt much & when he did he mostly used a different rifle or shotgun. The rear one a 1965, was my mother's father's he really didn't like to hunt but would go with his brother for companionship & mostly brought his shotgun.

https://i.imgur.com/gJCiJ2r.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/c3Cafmo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IBISX1V.jpg

Any recommendations on which bullet I should start with? What size do these Micro- Grooves like?

[fcvan]

I did not know that they used microgrooves back in the late 50s to mid 60s. I guess I never thought about it. I have one lever gun, a 30 year ol Marlin chambered in 41M, my wife has a mid 60s Winchester 30-30, so that won’t help, her Marlin is a a late 1880s 32-40, so that won’t help either. I have a pre-remlin (whatever the company that bought Remington and Marlin and Harrington and Richards) H&R 1871 Buffalo Classic Carbine in 45 Colt. It shoots every cast boolit I have cast for the caliber. My personal favorite is 454 round ball over 3 grains of bullseye. Quiet, accurate, and 900 FPS.

Any boolit that fits your bore and feeds well (most any bottle necked cartridges do) and shoots accurately should do. If you are worried about leading, shoot gas checked boolits or try ASBBPC ( air soft bb powder coating, otherwise called shake and bake) to avoid leading.

If it were me, I would be dying to try 35 RB (000 buckshot is .360) and mouse fart loads. You get to shoot inexpensive loads that can be accurate. Not knowing the rate of twist on the Marlins you have, I don’t know, but I would still try for kicks and giggles. BTW, the 45 RN loads I tried were tumble lubed with Lee liquid alox with no leading. Today, my RB loads would be ASBBPCd as I have shot at 2450 FPS with plain based boolits.

Folks have shot 00 buckshot trough 30 caliber rifles for many years, with great success. For 35 caliber, not mouse fart loads, I would load 180-200 grain boolits, powder coated, at 1900-2000 FPS. Easy to cast, lethal on game. For plinking, a 125 at those same velocities would be like shooting a 357 M carbine but with more velocity for the most part. If you already cast 358 boolits, try those. I’d try the round ball, it will kill tin cans. I hate tin cans, yes, it is my obsession :)

Edited for new information. Your marlin rifles all are microgroove, and have been since 1953. Back in 1880, rifles started being rifled with Ballard rifling, what we now call microgroove. The only difference is the width and depth of the lands and grooves can vary. Your barrels are one in 16 inch, the same as my marlin 1894. You should pretty much be able to shoot any 38/357 boolit. I still recommend the round ball :-)

[W.R.Buchanan]

Micro Groove came out in 1958. My 336 is a 1958 model and that was the first year to have it. It shoots everything just fine.

3B is easy to blame for a variety of things. I've been doing it for months.

Randy

[Mk42gunner]

Now guys, you shouldn't single out one member-- after all this whole board is just chock full of enablers.

Seems like .359 or .360" was what I decided to use for my first .35 Rem 336, the other one is a 1950 336A that has standard rifling.

Robert