which 30-30
 

my girlfriend got me a marlin model 336 for x-mas and i was curious if that is a good lever action 30-30 or is there something better:eek:

RE: which 30-30
 

I live in West Virginia and i have used alot of different firearms but i currently use a 336 myself a older one from early 70's wouldn't take nothing for it cant beat a 30-30 in my book and they dont make a better one than you just got so kiss your girlfriend and your rifle now you have two sweethearts.:)

RE: which 30-30
 

yup neither r to bad i guess Thanx JONES!!!!!!!

RE: which 30-30
 

The Marlin 336 is superior to the Winchester M94.Your GF made a good choice.Another fine LA is the Browning BLR.I've never been a fan of a lever action. If I were to get one it would either be the Marlin 336 or a Browning BLR.

Ruger Redhawk

RE: which 30-30
 

thanx 4 the input redhawk

RE: which 30-30
 

IMHO, nope, there is no better 30-30 than the good 'ol Marlin 336. :D
I've owned a couple Marlins (30-30 & 45-70), and they've been very reliable, accurate firearms. Tried a Win.94 one time - sloppy action, and not near as accurate as the
Marlins. Your GF done good! ;)

RE: which 30-30
 

The Marlin 336 can't be beat. If I could only keep one rifle, this would be it !

RE: which 30-30
 

Ya if I had to get a lever it would be a Marlin, personally tho I prefer my Contender carbine in 30-30 ;)

RE: which 30-30
 

oops double tap

RE: which 30-30
 

The Marlin 30-30 by far a lot better than Winchester. The Marlin is a lot more rugged built and has side ejection. Winchester 94's have top ejection - and while they are wonderful rifles in their own right, they're not as strong as Marlin.

I have a Marlin 30AS (a cheaper version of the 336A) and love it. It is a sweet shooter and dead on accurate to 150 yards or so.

Your girlfriend made a great choice, getting you the Marlin! Merry Christmas!! :D

Butch A.

RE: which 30-30
 

i've got a marlin 30-30 that i've had since i was 12, i'm mid 40's now and the gun is still a sweet shooter as it was that x-mas day some 30+ years ago, your girlfriend did good;)

RE: which 30-30
 

Your girlfriend made a good choice.

Ask her why she picked the Marlin. Might give you some insight--if she gives you the same answers as you got here, marry the girl.

If she says, "It was the cheapest one in the pawn shop," marry her, because she knows how to bargain-hunt.

If she says, "I only bought it because I couldn't find a Winchester," dump her.

RE: which 30-30
 

Butch-- FYI...Winchester 94's made after 2002 (I think) have been modified by Winchester to have side ejection and receivers drilled and tapped. I have one that works great with my scope mounted.

RE: which 30-30
 

Really? Hmmm... Honest, I didn't know that. I thought all Winchester 94's were top eject. .....Learn something new everyday! ;)

Butch A.

RE: which 30-30
 

That Marlin 336 is a very good gun. But I prefer the good ol Winchester, simply because they are lighter and handier to me. Btw, that 30-30 is a good gun for just about anything, now it aint no Elephant Gun 375 Magnum etc. like most of the ppl on here carry or swear by, but she will get the job done. It has a good heavy bullet, and is good for 100-200 yard shots, which is the range that most ppl kill deer. Congrats on the new lever gun;)

RE: which 30-30
 

They are top eject. Winchester machined off a piece of the upper right reciever & moved the ejector to make it an angle eject.
Me, I like Marlins better than Winchesters 94. You hold that Marlin & your holding a design that first saw light n 1889. All Marlins lever guns are made on this design & even with its round bolt the 336 is closer to an 1889 than a Modern Win 94 is to the orginal designed by John Browning.

You can scope a Winchester if you like but it still wont be a Marlin. They both have pro's & cons but if you want to put a scope on it I'd skip the Win.

Your girl did you good. ;)

RE: which 30-30
 

For a lever action rifle you can't beat a Marlin. I have a 336 30-30, 336 .35 Remington, and a 1895 .450 Marlin. All of them are very accurate and very dependable. The 30-30 has been dropped down the side of a mountain when somebody borrowed it and it was picked up and still shot dead on.

RE: which 30-30
 

I love my 336 , taken quiet a few hogs with it . Its very accurate out to around 100 yards , has'nt failed me yet .

RE: which 30-30
 

Really and trully, I personally wouldnt scope a levergun, it just loses its appeal to me
when you have a scope on a levergun. I like to use them open-sighted, just the way they were
made. Besides, most people take their deer at 100 yards, maybe a bit more. IMHO, you cant
beat the good looks and sweetness of a good levergun, they are just cool to me.;)

I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

I brought home one of these type rifles today. It is my 1st rifle stronger than my old Remington 512 and Im looking to find out when this gun was made. It is identical to this one;

Ive been looking for a deer rifle and a friend put it up for sale.I didnt deal on the price due to her needing money.It was 150.00 total. The help Im needing is a site that can help me find more info on how to find the guns age.

RE: I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

I have a WIN 94 that was purchased in 1985 that was angle eject and have had a scope on it since then. :) It is a sweet shooting gun and has taken 69 deer so far. ;) I've never shot a Marlin, but I hear they are just as good. As for being dropped, bounced around on the back of a 4wheeler, dropped in the creek (tree I was walking on broke....LOL[:o] ), and all kinds of othe little mishaps, I don't think any other gun would take such a beating!! Just my opinion tho...:)

RE: I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

You can try the marlin firearms website. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/FAQs/index.php

RE: I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

A Marlin 336 .30-30 is a great lever gun, and if I were going to scope a .30-30, that would be the one I would use. Its action has withstood the test of time.

Having said that, and having read all the negatives about the Winchester Model 94 .30 WCF, I feel I must speak up in defense of what (IMHO) is THE definitive lever-action rifle made today. I finally purchased a Model 94 a few years ago, after a lifetime of bolt-actions. I wanted a little carbine that was handy to tote in the woods, but also, something that was a pleasure to hold and to hunt with. I did not want a scope, simply because putting a scope on a lever-action takes away from the qualities that make lever-actions perfect woods rifles. Instead, I installed a Williams receiver sight (a peep sight if you are unfamiliar with the Williams), and I was rewarded with 2-1/2" groups @ 100 yards with factory 150 grain cartridges. I have worked up handloads with 150 grain Speer bullets, but haven't had the time to test them. Regardless, 2-1/2" groups with factory fodder is A-Ok in my book.

I really like that slab-sided receiver, which is exactly where the center of balance is located, so carrying the little carbine is both easy and enjoyable. No sling studs, please. This rifle looks too good in the hand to be wearing a sling-it's meant to be carried at the ready.

Now none of this is meant to take anything away from the Marlin. As I said, the 336 is a darn fine rifle. But if I was going to hunt with a .30-30, I would opt for the Winchester, hands-down.

Brian

RE: I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

Winchester has a bigger name as far as lever actions,but I like the marlin actions more than the winchester.The only thing that I can think of that may bother some people is the micro groove rifling in the marlin barrels.But thats it,and really it doesnt bother me.Your girlfriend made a great choice.

RE: which 30-30
 

I'm no gunsmith so I won't argue. But I've looked at end of the 19th century Marlins and end of the 19th century Winchester '94's and it doesn't look to me like the '94's have changed much (this is compared to my 1947 made '94 though).

I own both. If I seriously go deer hunting with one of them, I take the 336. If I throw in an extra gun in case I see a coyote while pheasant hunting, I take the '94. I shoot the 336 far more accurately then the '94. Not sure why. The 336 just seems a lot steadier.

RE: which 30-30
 

it is a great gun. my favorite is the winchester model 94 ranger

RE: which 30-30
 

The Winchesters might look the same but theyre not. Yours made in 47 is but in the last 15 years or so they ruined it IMO. They machined away the reciever to achieve angle eject, they altered the action to a rebounding hammer wth no half cock & a couple other things. Cant say theyre bad guns as they sure sell alot of them but they lost apeal to me.
Guess I'm a traditionalist so to speak. Theyre way more complex than a Marlin as well. Its a snap to take the bolt out of a marlin for cleaning from the breech & total disassembly is also very simple, not so with John Browning designed lever guns.

Somebody asked about finding the age of their gun. If its a Marlin you should check out Marlinowners.com or the Marlin collectors site. If its a Winchester I suggest you pose your question on Leverguns.com.

RE: which 30-30
 

I have the exact gun. It's the best I've ever had. Patterns in a nickel at 50 yards. I shot a buck that died instantly. Without a scope I was in a 2inch circle. If you mount a scope get the see through mounts. Awesome gun for an incredible price.
Chuck

RE: I just purchesed one of these..help!!
 

I have a 336 in .35 and i love it... the only problem i have is finding factory ammo in .35... tuff to find a good variety. I'm seriously thinking about getting annother in 30/30.

RE: which 30-30
 

Shot a deer this weekend with my 1962 open-sight Model 94 at 87 yds. Two steps was all that it was able to muster. This rifle has downed around 30 deer since I bought it in 1974. I try to take it out at least once a year to keep the 'luck' charged up. Marlins are nice but I have not seen any reason to switch.

RE: which 30-30
 

I just plain love the ole 30-30 cartridge no matter what rifle you own. Being a southpaw led me to the lever or pump actions early on in my life. I have 30-30's in several older style Winchesters (standard & trapper model but neither the newer angle eject), two Marlins, a Savage pump they only made for 10 years, and even two barrels of different lengths for my T/C contender. I always seem to hunt where my shots are 100 yards or less so that ole 30-30 cartridge does me just fine. They don't make my old Savage pump anymore so basically your choices are between the Winchester & Marlin. Either rifle can be scoped whether it is the older top eject or newer side eject Winchester as they have made some type of scope mount for either of them. However, it is easier to scope a Marlin and their bases are available just about everywhere. As someone said earlier, the Winchester is lighter so if weight is a concern, consider the Winchester. I prefer a slightly heavier rifle so I have used my Marlins more before I came across that old Savage pump at a local gun show years ago. But I guess you can't go wrong with either the Marlin or Winchester so it'll just come down to your particular taste.

RE: which 30-30
 

I like the Marlins better myself mine is a .35 rem. i did sell my win. 94 .30/30 but it was forlack of use . It was a very fine rifle , as for the marlin being stronger i was told by the local gunsmith that the winchester actions were stronger. then the marlins, and as for top ejection i dont know if they still produce them mine was an angle aject , they have been angle aject for many years now. As for strong actions look at the puma 92 i beleive its the only lever action rifle chambered in 454 which generates 50,000 psi.

RE: which 30-30
 

Hello LASTBOYSCOUT,
Have you shot it? Take it to the range and see what you can do with it,give it a chance and see how it feels.About 11lb recoil
thats nothing...
Where are you going to hunt? Montana,Colorado,Wyoming-----bad choice. Depends what your plans are.
Good choice in close cover.......give a chance. Maybe the barrel is washed-out. Only you will know.
Try it you might like it.



KEEP ON ROTTING!!!!!

RE: which 30-30
 

marlin 336 is all you would need in lever action. Mainly cuz of the side ejection port. you can use a scope effectivily if you want.