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Trailblazer
05-22-2006, 11:06 PM
Mic McPherson offers the service of modifying the Marlin 336 to cycle longer cartridges. He will modify the Marlin to handle cartridges up to 2.73" in overall length. He will also modify Win 94's but doesn't promise much improvement there.

I took a look at the two actions and frankly, to my simple mind, the Win 94 looked easier to modify than the 336, so I had a go at it with my 356 Winchester. I bought a pre-64 carrier to modify because it is a stronger forging whereas the post 64 carrier is cast. My 356 would cycle a COL of 2.57" which is the length I use for the RCBS 35-200-FN. My two heavyweight loads measure 2.69" with the Saeco 352 and 2.71" with the NEI 290-GC. I therefore cut the lug on top of the carrier back that the bolt catches to raise the carrier and the cartridge stop shoulder on the carrier back .140". The pre-64 carrier is slightly larger in nearly every dimension than the post 64 carrier. I spent about four hours narrowing it and relieving various places so it would move freely inside the receiver. This is a picture of the two carriers with the modified pre-64 carrier in front:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/401321.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=401321&c=500&z=1)

The post-64 carrier screw limits the lever travel and therefore the bolt travel and when Winchester went to the cast carrier they added a bridge to tie the two sides of the carrier together that also limits bolt travel. The bridge and the screw have to be eliminated. This picture shows the open back of the pre-64 carrier and the bridge on the post 64 carrier. It also shows the original screw and the screw I cut down for the left side. I used a roll pin for the right side of the carrier to pivot on:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/401320.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=401320&c=500&z=1)

The little inverted V shaped cam that the carrier spring rides on to hold the carrier up or down as needed is also different pre- and post-64. I spent hours grinding that cam on the pre-64 carrier and trying it in the rifle. I finally got it to work but it weren't easy!

Everything worked as expected to this point and the rifle would cycle the 2.71" ammo as long as I held the lower link up while working the lever. Huh? Yes, if I let the lower link drop all the way the lever would lock when I tried to pull it back to feed a cartridge into the chamber. The post-64 lever has an L shaped slot that the lever pivot pin rides in. When the link dropped the pin would get into the bottom of the L and lock the lever. This photo shows the link at its lowest point where the lever would lock:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/407851.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=407851&c=557&z=1)

There are two lugs on the front of the lower tang that stop the locking bolt's downward travel. Since the lower link hangs on the bottom of the locking bolt I tried building up the two little lugs on the lower tang with weld to limit the locking bolt travel and keep the lower link from dropping to the point where the pivot pin would get into the bottom of the L. Didn't work! It was so close that if I pulled down on the lever it would work, but if I had upward pressure on the lever, which is normal, it would lock. Another thing that happened was that the heat of the welding shrank and distorted the part of the lower tang that the lever detent engages and I had to rework that section also.

After a bit of head scratching I decided to add a piece of metal to the bottom of the lower link that the front of the trigger loop would hit when the lever is all the way forward and thereby push the lower link up. That piece of metal is in the last picture. Worked like a charm! Here it is attached to the lower link and you can see how it pushes the lower link up to keep the pin out of the bottom of the L. You can also see the end of the roll pin in the side of the receiver:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/407852.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=407852&c=557&z=1)

I left out some whys and wherefors in this account. It ain't quite as simple as it looks but this is the gist of it. And it won't be this simple to modify a pre-64. I only went for a COL of 2.71" but I think I can equal Mic's 2.73". It's a measly .020" more.

Four Fingers of Death
05-23-2006, 04:16 AM
Thats amazing! what cartridges can you chamber now?

MT Gianni
05-23-2006, 07:40 AM
That sure beats loading the 352 in front of the crimp groove. Gianni.

klausg
05-23-2006, 09:05 AM
Trailblazer- Heck of nice piece of work; way outside of my comfort zone when it comes to gun-tinkering though. Really very nice!

Trailblazer
05-23-2006, 11:09 AM
This is the three 35 caliber bullets and the loaded rounds:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/407982.jpg (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=407982&c=556&z=1)

Left is the RCBS 35-200-FN, COL=2.57". Middle is the Saeco 352 which drops at 252 grains and is loaded to 2.69". Right is the NEI-290-GC, which drops at 295 grains and is loaded to 2.71".

I have not finished load development with any of these bullets. First loads with the Saeco 352 went 2000 FPS and my first attempt with the NEI-290 went 1900. I used some old BL-C2 that is hotter than it needs to be. I have starting loads with IMR4320, W748 and Varget ready to go when I get to the range. I think I can get 2000 FPS with the NEI and should be able to get close to the factory load with the 250 grainer at 2160 FPS.

I will also try seating them shorter because right now they chamber hard and stick in the bore and pull the bullets part way out when I eject an unfired cartridge. For hunting they need to be a little shorter.

Four Fingers of Death
05-23-2006, 07:59 PM
What cartridge is that? Those heavy 35 cal boolits would make a mess of most anything.

Trailblazer
05-23-2006, 11:27 PM
356 Winchester. I'm thinking a hawg hunt is in order once I get the load development done.

Four Fingers of Death
05-24-2006, 05:52 AM
Cool cartridge, I have always fancied one, only ever saw one in an ad, when I was without funds and I didn't get that one. I have a 375 Win Big Bore and I will save this article and use it if I need a bit more length for longer boolits.

Trailblazer
05-24-2006, 10:34 AM
I wanted one for several years. When Winchester dropped the Big Bore I bought a 444 to rebarrel. Shortly after that, I stumbled on this one on consignment at a hardware store. They didn't think it would sell because of the "odd" caliber and had it priced at $275. It did have a bunch of minor problems which weren't immediately apparent. Broken screws with the screw heads glued in so you couldn't tell they were broken, loose cartridge guide(because of a cross threaded screw), gouged chamber and worn down cartridge stop on the lower link. It also had various scratches and dings so it had been used. All the better for me as I hate to take a nice rifle into the field. After I got all the little problems taken care of it turned into a good rifle. I really like it. It has to be one of the best cartridges ever for a traditional levergun.

Glad the article might be of some use to you. I am going to work on my 30-30 and see how far I can go with the cast carrier. It won't be near as much but probably enough to allow me to load the magazine with some of my cast loads that are a little to long.

Bucks Owin
05-28-2006, 11:14 AM
Cool cartridge, I have always fancied one, only ever saw one in an ad, when I was without funds and I didn't get that one. I have a 375 Win Big Bore and I will save this article and use it if I need a bit more length for longer boolits.

I always wanted one of those .375 94's but.....

How do you like your's?

Dennis