That statement was no more ignorant that you telling a person who has been hunting since 1953 like I have that my post was ignorant!!! Read his friggin post where he says he has no idea what he's doing: "I don't know what to clean, how much to clean, when to clean, any of it." I'll stay wih my post and if he does what you're saying and something bad happens it's on your expert shoulders Sir! I'd stay with what Sheridan and I suggested until he finds someone to give him some hands on help no matter how easy something might seem to you. I'm surprised the OP hasn't come back on and asked what a bore snake is, LOL! Read the other posts and one guy tells him not to take it apart and you tell him if he can't take it apart he shouldn't even be shooting, LOL! Another tells him to clean it from the breech and another tells him the barrel has to be cleaned from the crown end to the breech. All kinds of people here have given him advice that contradicts the others and now you're telling him it's simple to take it apart.

Don't sweat it !! A Marlin 336 is relatively simple to break down into its "major" assembly groups for cleaning. So is the Savage. Got to learn sooner or later anyway. There are also some nice sebsites that go through break-in and cleaning techniques. And I have found almost every instruction needed to properly break down and reassemble every firearm I have ever attempted. Most can be found on-line too. Just take your time breaking down the rifles, and make notes if needed.

I "Googled" Marlin 336 cleaning and found several well done "You Tube" demonstrations on cleaning the Marlin 336.

Second to last line on the original thread:

"I was planning on taking my guns apart tonight"

Obviously the guy believes he is competent enough to pull them apart, he just isn't aware of "how clean is clean". I honestly don't care how long you've been hunting, it makes no difference. Removing ONE screw, and not losing ONE SMALL PART is a very simple job. If the guy can replace a lightbulb, he can clean a Marlin.

As a whole, yes, I'd agree, it is very unwise for new shooters to disassemble leverguns, which is to say I concede that most new shooters will get lost very quickly if they tear apart a toggle link action like a Winchester 94 or 94 clone (henry's, Rossi's, etc etc). If you

But this isn't your average "levergun", it's a Marlin. Marlin actions were made to be easily disassembled, and cleaned from the chamber end.

Only ONE poster said ANYTHING about do not take it apart, and then FIVE of the following posts rebutted this ignorant poster who was obviously not familiar with the Marlin 336 and corrected him that "taking down a marlin for cleaning is actually very easy".

No, I'd NEVER recommend a newbie take apart a Win 94, a Ruger Mini-14, or even a Ruger Mark III pistol, but the difference in technical skill between a Win 94 LEVERACTION and a Marlin 336 LEVERACTION is like the difference between changing your oil and changing your transmission. Anyone can change their oil. Anyone can clean a Marlin 336 (and for the record, my neice is 9 and she cleans her own Marlin 336).

If something happens because this guy takes out the lever pivot screw on a Marlin 336, then it won't be on my shoulders, it will be on Marlin's, because the gun was obviously defective.

Removing the lever pivot screw is EXACTLY how Marlin instructs in their owners manual how to clean the rifle.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/pdfs/m...Centerfire.pdf

Starts on pg6 ends on pg 8, has 6 pictures to depict FOUR SIMPLE STEPS to disassemble and clean your Marlin.

I reiterate, if a shooter is not capable of disassembling a Marlin 336 for cleaning, they SHOULD NOT be shooting it in the first place (and I do point out, that is not a blanket statement I would make for all firearms, which is why I did NOT say "if a shooter can't disassemble their weapon, they shouldn't be shooting it". I specified the Marlin 336 in question, because I honestly would be concerned for the safety of everyone around them if someone that could not remove ONE screw were holding a loaded rifle).

You win! I don't care to get in a pissing match when my intent was only to help a guy that probably doesn't even know what a bore snake is, LOL! There have been so many guys on here that have told him to do just the opposite of what the next guy said, like don't clean the bore, clean the bore from the breech end, clean the bore from the crown end, etc. The poor SOB is probably shaking his head and wondering why the he** he asked and gave up by the time he got to your last post! Whatever, as the kids say nowadays, LOL!!!

So back to the disassembling...

For me YouTube has been a God send. It is not unusual to find multiple videos that a cover disassembly/assembly of popular firearms. Ruger's Tech Tip guy may be kind of dorky but the videos are very helpful. I have downloaded many videos and keep them as part of a reference library.

Be sure to have the manuals and start there. But also check out YouTube, Google videos, etc.

Good luck!

I agree with the statement that if a person cannot field strip a given gun, he has no business shooting it.

The ability to strip is more than a skill needed for cleaning, and as noted cleaning can be done without stripping. What's really important about learning to field strip the gun is that you get familiar with the parts and learn how the thing works. Many accidents are caused by folks not familiar with guns just picking one up and trying to shoot it. Had they taken the time to learn the gun, they may have seen something that would have prevented the accident, like a plugged bore.