marlin 336, 35. or 30/30

[MIK911]

i am going to purchase a marlin 336 rifle soon and i just wanted to know if any of you had a suggestion wether or not to get the .35 or 30/30, and pros and cons with them, thanks for your help :sniper:

[surbat6]

.30-30 ammo is very common, available almost anywhere. It's considered adequate for game up to deer-size.
.35 Remington is less commonly available, but a little more powerful with not much more recoil.
Either is a good deer cartridge for up to 175 yards (range is limited more by the rifle's accuracy than power. If you can keep all your shots on a standard paper plate at longer range, you can stretch the range a little).
I own Marlins for both calibers (among others), and like them both. Which would I pick? Probably my .45-70!

[MIK911]

thanks for ur hepl surbat, anyone else have anything to say

[Old Judge Creek]

I am not a fan of the .35.

For 175 (actually 200) yards or less I prefer the 44 mag over the 30-30 and I have both.

I also am a huge fan of the 45-70. I believe the 45-70 in a Marlin is the best levergun going for anything in North America out to 200 yards.

[MIK911]

thanks old creek, what specific qualities do the 45/70 and the 44. mag have that makes u like them better than .35 and 30/30, if u dont mind giving me some more indept details

[MIK911]

and for anyone, is the 30/30 bullet worth reloading

[surbat6]

Originally posted by MIK911@Sep 1 2004, 11:35 AM
and for anyone, is the 30/30 bullet worth reloading
I reload them myself, so obviously I consider them worth reloading. The only special consideration for this cartridge (after components and charge weight) is that you need to be careful of case length. The rear-locking Winchesters and Marlins allow the case to stretch a little on firing and for consistent crimping, the cases must all be the same length before reloading. I check every fired case for length before reloading (usually, I just use a Lee case trimmer with its shell holder and pilot/cutter on each case for combination length check and trim).

[MIK911]

thanks surbat, ill take that into consideration

[Old Judge Creek]

Surbat knows his stuff.

You bet it's worth reloading. I have reloaded the 30-30 for close to 40 years (40-40 years ?? :lol: )

You asked why I like the 45-70?

In the 60's a gent named Lee Jurras marketed a line of ammunition called Super Vel. Light, hi velocity bullets. They worked and worked well. I killed my first bear with that ammo in a 4" barreled Ruger 357 Blackhawk: 1 shot from 35 yards and 1 dead (heart shot) bear. I was hot for "hot" 357s.

Subsequent to that I had two occasions where I was attacked by a pack of feral dogs (same pack - two weeks apart). The same ammo/gun combo disappointed me.

That same year, I had disappointing results on wild pigs with 30-30.

It was then I discovered the 45-70 and 45ACP and I became a serious fan of the Big Slow Bullet. The American Bison herds were brought to near extinction by ONE SHOT kills made with those same bullets (and .50 caliber).

I don't worry about expansion because I'm already poking an almost 1.2" hole in the critter and I don't worry about jackets. Big lead bullets hold together and penetrate.

The 45-70 is useful out to 225 yards using a mild loading and 405 grain bullet. I've won any number of cowboy long range side matches with 45-70-405 @ 1425 fps (I use 28.0 grains of XMP5744 for the load) and at that range the bullet usually anchors what you hit. That load will take any animal in North America except the big Alaskan bears.

FWIW: I have a 1000 range on my ranch. With my Shiloh Sharps 45-70 I'm deadly accurate out to 600 yards. I shoot that better than I do my 308!!!! Go figure. :unsure:

[MIK911]

thanks for your info old creek, i appreciate it, ill keep it in consideration when im purchasing a rifle, any one else have anything to recommend or tip me on

[surbat6]

Originally posted by Old Judge Creek@Sep 2 2004, 01:02 PM
Surbat knows his stuff.

You bet it's worth reloading. I have reloaded the 30-30 for close to 40 years (40-40 years ?? :lol: )

You asked why I like the 45-70?

It was then I discovered the 45-70 and 45ACP and I became a serious fan of the Big Slow Bullet. The American Bison herds were brought to near extinction by ONE SHOT kills made with those same bullets (and .50 caliber).

I don't worry about expansion because I'm already poking an almost 1.2" hole in the critter and I don't worry about jackets. Big lead bullets hold together and penetrate.

The 45-70 is useful out to 225 yards using a mild loading and 405 grain bullet. I've won any number of cowboy long range side matches with 45-70-405 @ 1425 fps (I use 28.0 grains of XMP5744 for the load) and at that range the bullet usually anchors what you hit. That load will take any animal in North America except the big Alaskan bears.

FWIW: I have a 1000 range on my ranch. With my Shiloh Sharps 45-70 I'm deadly accurate out to 600 yards. I shoot that better than I do my 308!!!! Go figure. :unsure:
Thanks for the kind word, Judge. I've been loading this and that caliber for only about 35 years, myself.
1000 yards! I could only wish about the opportunity to throw a 405 to 500 grain slug that far. In eastern PA, 400 yards is a long shot, usually encountered when hunting woodchucks. There are VERY few target ranges in this area that allow a shot beyond 100 yards.

[MIK911]

thanks u guys, yesterday, i bought a marlin 336w in 30/30 and i cant wait to get to the range and try it, i finally got one :D

[MIK911]

for whitetail deer hunting, i was wondering if anyone knew which grain 150 or 170 was better ====thanks

[surbat6]

Either will suffice for deer. Best thing would be to try both in your rifle and see if either is more accurate (they will probably shoot to different points of impact, so ignore the location of the group on the target, concentrate on the size of the group, then when you pick one or the other, adjust your sights to put the bullets where you want them to go).

[MIK911]

thanks surbat, i am going to the range tomarrow morning, and i picked up some ammo at a gun show in kentucky today, i am going to try out some "longrange 165 gr. cowboy" loads.

[Charlotte22LR]

I live in Georgia and the 30-30 and the .35 are both very popular here and folks generally consider them to be good brush guns. We don't have the long range shots here. It's rare that anyone takes a deer in north GA. at a distance of greater than 40-50 yds. I haven't shot the 30-30, but I do own a 336C in .35 Rem. and it kicks. I've shot black powder 45 and 50 cal. and my .35 recoils quicker, so it feels harder. If you hit ANYTHING with the .35, it's going down. My two complaints about this rifle are the recoil and the cost of ammo. It's about 15 bucks for a box of 20. Put those two things together and you can guess this ain't no plinkin' rifle. I still like mine though and would only get rid of it for a bolt .223

[Old Judge Creek]

I'm a bred and born southerner. I've hunted all over the south, but primarily in Alabama and Georgia. I didn't learn to fully appreciate the 45-70 until I moved west, but I assure you a Marlin Guide gun chambered in 47-70 would be my #1 choice as a brush gun in those areas today. The 405 grain bullet tends to drop an animal where it stands.

Other acceptable (to me) alternatives would be a Trapper length rifle (preferably a Marlin) in 44 mag or, if you reload, goosed up 45 Colt. In fact, the dense woods of the south might be the perfect application for a Trapper in 45 Colt.

[MIK911]

thanks yall, i went to the range again and tried out some more ammo, the rifle is great, i was making many circle eights with the bullet holes with open sights, i love this rifle, but i also would like to get a 45/70 marlin guidegun, about how much do those run new