I'd like to get opinions on something...

I found a newer 336, the guy who owned it said he bought it new in 2001. After last hunting season he used some kind of home brew bore cleaner and never wiped it out, bore is rusted about completely shut but the rest of gun is in good shape aside from very minor scratches on the wood and some bluing wear. I couldn't turn down the deal I got on it and now I'm considering not restoring it back to OEM....not that there's anything wrong with the 30-30 but it's just a little boring. For not a whole lot more cost than a standard replacement barrel, I can get a custom one in .25-35 Winchester. Best I can recall since I don't have my books is that the case head is the same for both the .30-30 & .25-35 so I wouldn't have to change anything but the barrel.

Thing is, this will be a turn-around gun and I'm thinking the .25-35 is going to bring a whole lot more money than the old .30-30 but maybe not???? Then again, I may liquidate my Savage 24V and keep the 336 in its place....I'm still a sucker for a lever gun!

Thoughts, idead, suggestion, all are welcome!

While I'm asking, I'll take opinions on loads for the .25-35 too.

See if you can find a .44 Mag barrel for it.... there are some to be had, occasionally. Been keeping an eye out for a donor gun, myself.

Of course it depends to some extint on you geographic location, in regard to what calibers are in demand, and preferrable for resale. No, no problem exists for rebarreling to .25-35 as indeed the parent case is the same.

Going the other way, you could also convert to .38-55, which also uses the same basic parent case, and result with a much more capable rifle in terms of terminal performance, and a cartridge chambering with lots of public appeal due to the cowboy action shooters. Just a thought. In fact, your existing barrel could be rebored and rerifled thus avoiding the expense of fitting another barrel!

God bless,

Doesn't .375Win use the same case head?

I'd jump through hoops for that combo if it's doable.

MikeW

My line of thinking is you rarely find levers in small bores, .30 on up is the norm. Based on the re-sale possibility, I'm sure the market will be much smaller for the .25-35 but I think it would bring a lot more money from the right buyer.

I can't argue with the .375/38-55, either chambering in a modern gun allows to run the same smokeless or BP loads, I had a win94 in .375 using the 250gr Lee bullets, she was a hard hitter but suffered the vertical loss when you put some range on it. Either of these plus the .32-40 would be a fast seller but at a profit reduction, lots of labor time into profiling & fitting a blank plus reamer rental & re-bluing.

Looking at it from my own position, my physical limitations mean I can go trucking through the palmetto swamps like I used to anymore, nor can I venture too far from the truck unless I got help to get any game out. That means I'm limited to staying around the house or hunting the very limited amount of private land where I can drive to where I'm going to hunt so that means hunting more open pasture lands. Granted, I do prefer hunting with either the front stuffers or BPCR but neither of these lend themselves well to being a "grab & go" gun.

Occasionally, the hogs come around the house too and I like having a rifle with me so as not to pass up a free meal. Scoped gun is no good because they get banged around too much toting them around while working in the yard or leaving it in the truck. I like my 24V savage .222/20ga because it covers the full range of uses but it's in pritine condition so I don't want it getting all buggered up. The M-44 has way too much horsepower, have to consider collateral damages on the livestock. Passing on those that are: too big, too powerful, too heavy, scoped and or too pretty....that leaves me down to the M1 carbine which has been my primary carry rifle. Couple weeks ago, I had to pass on a nice sow choosing not to push my luck stretching the carbine out to 140yds.

So, all this combines to me liking the thoughts of the small bore lever, not too big, not too small. Checked some loading data and I should have no problems running a 115-120gr bullet up around 2300 fps or so from the .25-35. I'll have to make my own mold anyway so I'll probably go with my expanding FN design and run the alloy soft.

More I think about this, the more I'm talking myself into liquidating the others and keeping this one! :rolleyes:

Mike G ..... 44mag? That's even more boring than the .30-30! :D Besided that would go against all that is good and right with the world if I frown upon my sweetheart .45 colt! LOL :D :D

Well, how about 7-30 Waters? 120gr slug, based on 30-30, not nearly as common.

I believe it is another one that you would only need to swap a barrel to get. You may be able to get the barrel swapped by Marlin for less than sending it off for a custom barrel in another caliber.

Just a thought. 25-35 would be nice AND different too.

Don't know if any of them would result in increased value though.

MikeW

.219 zipper? or .225 win if you want small bored levergun. The do make some really nice cast bullets for .22 centerfires, and a few make the heavier round nose jacketed if your inclined. Just one more small bore option.


www.e-gunparts.com have .44 mag bbls for 336 20" round

I don't want to go under .25 cal. No complaints on the 7-30 Waters except that it's "too new". I'm kinda stuck on the .25-35 for no particular reason other than I just like the looks of it.... I think it'll work for me too but that's still over ruled by the fact that it "looks cool".... LOL :) One definite plus is I know a guy with a reamer so I wouldn't have to rent one.

Ya know, I need another project like I need another hole in my head!

Well.... I'd recommend .45 Colt but I've never seen any factory 336 barrels floating around for that :D

.25-35 would be neat, don't get me wrong.

Well.... I'd recommend .45 Colt but I've never seen any factory 336 barrels floating around for that :D

.25-35 would be neat, don't get me wrong.


Just goes to show the bean counters don't have a clue what a "good" round is....only the "magnum marketing" :D LOL

I got myself talked into the .25-35 but it's going to depend one of two things. If I can liquidate one of the other guns to finance this one or find a buyer for it so I can make a few bucks on it. As it stands, most desired calibers seem to be in the order of most inquiries: .375win, .38-55, .30-30 & .32-40

In all honesty, as much as I like the versatility of the Savage 24V, I think I'm willing to give some of those benfits in exchange for the bragging rights of the .25-35 :D

I'm curious to know more about that home brew he used.

Mark, just for grins, how about cleaning the corrosion out of the bore with whatever it takes (maybe a .22 caliber steel brush, followed by a .25?), then fire lapping the barrel?

I know you are less than thrilled with the concept of fire lapping, but in this case, what have you got to loose?

Just a thought. . .

The Old Guy

OldWolf, he claims he can't recall what the mixture was, that was one of the first things I asked him. Could not have been a fume producer because luckily he stored it with the action open and the rust is confined to the bore and crown.

TOG, bore is totally gone. I had drive a solid steel through it, I won't take a chance on re-boring it, there's always the possiblity the structural integrity has been compromised and it's not worth the risks. It'll get recycled into a jack handle.

Well to my thinkin'a 25/35 would be dandy, Winchester was going with it just before the plug got pulled.William Org has written a few on this form about reloading his winnie.

If you bored the old barrel the stamping would not apply to the new bore . A new barrelhas many new possabilites.

Harry, it didn't take long to talk myself into it. I had the bigger bores and I just got the itch to go with a small bore and what makes it better is having it in the lever action.

Perhaps if my geographical location was different, I'd probably go with a big bore but since I have seen any grizzly's wandering around these parts, the .25 is plenty enough for anything I need. And it's just such a cute little cartridge too! :)

I'd like to get opinions on something...

I found a newer 336, the guy who owned it said he bought it new in 2001. After last hunting season he used some kind of home brew bore cleaner and never wiped it out, bore is rusted about completely shut but the rest of gun is in good shape aside from very minor scratches on the wood and some bluing wear. I couldn't turn down the deal I got on it and now I'm considering not restoring it back to OEM....not that there's anything wrong with the 30-30 but it's just a little boring. For not a whole lot more cost than a standard replacement barrel, I can get a custom one in .25-35 Winchester. Best I can recall since I don't have my books is that the case head is the same for both the .30-30 & .25-35 so I wouldn't have to change anything but the barrel.

Thing is, this will be a turn-around gun and I'm thinking the .25-35 is going to bring a whole lot more money than the old .30-30 but maybe not???? Then again, I may liquidate my Savage 24V and keep the 336 in its place....I'm still a sucker for a lever gun!

Thoughts, idead, suggestion, all are welcome! Ever think about rebarreling it to a 7-30 Waters? Just a thought.

I did consider the 7-30 but opted to go with the .25-35 for nostalgia purposes, not that the gun is a classic...yet... but the cartridge is and my buddy just so happens to have a reamer right handy too! (actually, that's what sealed the deal. He said he had the reamer and that's all it took!) LOL

+1 on recommending converting it to 38-55 ..

Hi there!I am buckwalka

if you want some examples of some truly great rifles go to www.6mmbr.com take a look at those that are 'super-customs' and take a look at those that are built on standard Remington actions, even to include that crazy 'J - lock' that they put on the Model 700's! you'll see that they'll discuss issues of both riflesmithing and handloading.......and you'll soon learn that today's gunsmiths put together some Excellent rifles, with Excellent materials.

for a factory rifle 'in the blue' i'd go with a Remington Model 700 or a Weatherby Vanguard. for a factory rifle in stainless i'd go with the Vanguard because of its 710-grade stainless steel. i have owned examples of both (blued) and think that....for tlhe most part......they are actually a better'value', costing less hours at work to own than their older counterparts.

i used to have a Maastricht from 1898 -- i think it was -- with the Beaumont action (using the v-spring in the bolt handle!). it was fitted together in a remarkable manner! the metal-to-metal fit was UNBELIEVABLE! some of you may know what i mean....... but i'll take my rifles of today, all of them having been built since 1980 i would think, with their greatly-improved metallurgy and their synthetic stocks. they just seem to be more functional with less weight involved for me to carry around.

to each his own, i guess.

take care,
buckwalka

I decided to go with the .25-35 on this one, going to keep it for myself. Friend has the reamer, that sealed the deal but it's just a cool little cartridge that will do everything I need to do and it's got the nostalgia attachment for bragging rights too.

If I get some other stuff moving, I got my eye on a win 94 in .30-30 that will likely go the octagon .38-55 route for resale. None of this has anything to do with "super performance" just simply the functional & cool thing. It's all along the lines of I could have bought an H&R .45x2.1 for about 1/8 what it cost for my hi-wall but the nostalgia just wasn't there, nor the fact that my hi-wall is quite capable of cranking up the smokeless load into the .458win mag range yet I've never burned anything but black powder in it. The .338 Lapua is the one true "performance only" rifle I have and I do love it but it doesn't have shred of nostalgia to it.

Hi there!I am buckwalka

if you want some examples of some truly great rifles go to www.6mmbr.com (http://www.6mmbr.com) take a look at those that are 'super-customs' and take a look at those that are built on standard Remington actions, even to include that crazy 'J - lock' that they put on the Model 700's! you'll see that they'll discuss issues of both riflesmithing and handloading.......and you'll soon learn that today's gunsmiths put together some Excellent rifles, with Excellent materials.

for a factory rifle 'in the blue' i'd go with a Remington Model 700 or a Weatherby Vanguard. for a factory rifle in stainless i'd go with the Vanguard because of its 710-grade stainless steel. i have owned examples of both (blued) and think that....for tlhe most part......they are actually a better'value', costing less hours at work to own than their older counterparts.

i used to have a Maastricht from 1898 -- i think it was -- with the Beaumont action (using the v-spring in the bolt handle!). it was fitted together in a remarkable manner! the metal-to-metal fit was UNBELIEVABLE! some of you may know what i mean....... but i'll take my rifles of today, all of them having been built since 1980 i would think, with their greatly-improved metallurgy and their synthetic stocks. they just seem to be more functional with less weight involved for me to carry around.

to each his own, i guess.

take care,
buckwalkaWhat the he11 does that have to do with conversion of a Marlin 336 to .25-35?

markkw, Good luck with your project!

markkw,

+1 for the .25-35! Of course, then you would have to do a .38-55, too!

jackfish, ya' beat me to it....good thing that you did, because I was just about to get myself in trouble.

Dan

Hi there!I am buckwalka

if you go to www.6mmbr.com you'll see in their 'gun of the week' archives a lot of great rifles. one of the most accurate rifles out there was built upon a 'standard-issue' j-lock that turned out to be amazingly accurate. i wish i could remember which week it was, but you 'll see the Rem' actions in that archive used on a number of top-notch shooters.

the j-lock itself is not a problem to accuracy, apparently. i don't see where it is of much concern.

take care and good luck,

buckwakla

markkw,

+1 for the .25-35! Of course, then you would have to do a .38-55, too!

jackfish, ya' beat me to it....good thing that you did, because I was just about to get myself in trouble.

Dan


I do plan on doing a .38-55 but that'll be a resale. If I ever get to it, the next keeper will be a .40-65 Hey, if I'm going with a classic, I'm going all the way with a real black powder burner! :D