jerry d

I have the Marlin 336 in .35 rem.I like it but like Sheridan said the ammo,at least where I live is getting harder to find,and when you do find it it's $28 a box compared to $17 for the 30 30.

Centaur 1

For what you are looking for, it's hard to beat the 30-30. Marlin makes a great gun and the 336 is my favorite. I hunted for over 35 years with a Rem 700 in 30-06, and only once did I get a shot that was over 200 yards. I know a lot of guys here will think that I'm a wuss, but I got tired of the recoil, especially here in Florida where we hunt in t-shirts instead of winter jackets. Last year I finally broke down and bought a Marlin 336SS, they were out of the blued rifles and my wife told me to go ahead and spend the extra $100 for the stainless. I put a Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7X32mm scope on it and with the Leverevolution ammo it's good out to 250 yards. I just started reloading for it also. I'm trying to work up a good plinking round that uses only 8 or 9 grains of Unique powder and a 150 grain cast bullet. I can make 1000 rounds of ammo for under $50 when I cast my own bullets.

podunk kennels

The 30-30 while not in a tack driving platform is perfectly capable of killing anything in the lower 48 at reasonable distances.

Bernie P.

From what I've read folks that have both 30-30 and .35 Rem most always say they prefer the .35.Factory ammo costs more but if you reload there's not much of a difference.As to the bigun's 45-70 all the way.

rifle_man

Go with the 338 Marlin express

121553

You'll own a 30-30 at sometime in your life, you might as well get one now. My marlin has Williams peep sight on it and its deadly out to 175, maybe more. 45-70 is kinda an over kill and more pricier to shoot.

Bobby

IndyHunter83

Honestly, a 30 30 will kill a deer just as dead as a 4570. If you were going to be going for bigger game then I would suggest on of the larger. However for what you have suggested you're going to be doing I would suggest stickin with a 3030 because thats what it was made to do.

weldit

Thanks for all the help. I ended up getting a Marlin 336 30-30 and I am very happy with it. The recoil is negligable, It's fun to shoot. I bought the gun with the scope and sling new for $370.00 plus I am getting a $30 rebate. I also picked up a very nice Mossberg 479 brush gun, It was too cheap to pass up. I am really liking these leverguns.
Can't wait for rifle season to start.

HEAD0001

If I could only have one lever action rifle it would be a 45 Colt. If I bought factory ammo it would be the 44 magnum.

Both cartridges are very effective at any woods range(plus). Low recoil. And inexpesive to shoot. As well as extremely efective on any game at thos distances.

If I wanted it scoped it would be a Marlin 1894. No scope then i would go with an 1894 or 1892 Winchester. Prefer the 1892.

But my favorite lever action is a Winchester 1885(Low Wall) in 45 Colt. Tom.

UncleNorby

If you want to buy a Marlin XLR, get the 308 Express over the 30/30.