[edogg]

As I posted a couple weeks ago, recently I bought a 1951 336A from my friend's dad. Yesterday, I finally got to take it out to the range and put a box of ammo through it.

The rifle worked perfectly. The action was smooth with no misfeeds or misfires. The trigger is a little heavy and requires a deliberate pull but there was no grittiness or anything.

I was sighting in another rifle so I had a spot at the 25 yard targets. At 25 yards, it seemed to hit about 3 inches high. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to try it at the 100 yard spots since they were all taken by the time I was ready to move over to one. But I figure that at 100 yards, that 3 inches should be pretty close to being on target.

All-in-all, it was a great day at the range!

I have a couple of questions, though...

The rifle seemed like it was very difficult to load. I really had to press hard to get the end of the case all the way past the feed ramp. It didn't feel like anything was hanging up or getting stuck but it just required a lot of force to fit the cartridge into the magazine. Is that normal?

After I got back from the range, I field stripped the rifle for cleaning. I just removed the lever, bolt, and ejector. Upon sending the first patch down the bore, I found that the rifle was utterly FILTHY! It wound up taking me over 2 hours of scrubbing with Hoppes and Pro Shot copper solvent to finally have a patch come out clean.

I'm familiar with patches coming out green when using copper solvent. But I had a couple of them come out blue. I've never seen this before so I called my dad and neither had he. Any ideas of what this could be? I can attach a picture if needed.

And my last question...with how dirty the bore, bolt, and lever were, I'm guessing that the rest of the parts like the trigger and feed ramp are also going to be pretty bad. How tough is it to disassemble the entire receiver for a real thorough cleaning (I'm somewhat mechanically inclined but am no mechanic and have no special gunsmithing tools)? Is this something I should leave to a professional?

 

[BUBSDAD]

I dont know about the blue patches but I just completely took apart a newly aquired 336 Saturday night. I found a video on you tube that was made by a fellow Marlin Owner that shows how to completely disassemble a 336. There is really nothing to it. here is a link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI74nINt4MM

Get your screwdrivers out and get at it!

wally

 

[Henry Bowman]

Every 336, Model 1894 and my 2 Winchesters are all hard to load through the feed gate. Push the round in as far as you comfortably can then push it all the way into the magazine tube with the tip of the next round. That makes it a lot easier.

 

[Abel]

But I figure that at 100 yards, that 3 inches should be pretty close to being on target.

I think that it'll be wayyy high at 100 if its 3" high at 25 yards. Check out the trajectory link on this website:

http://www.winchester.com/Products/rifle-ammunition/super-x/silvertip/Pages/X30304.aspx

 

[Plumber]

edogg,
You didn't tell us what your 336 is shooting. Is it a 30-30, with 150 grain bullets. A 35 Remington, with 200 grain bullets. Does it have open sights, or a scope?
When I'm sighting in a gun, new to me. I start at 25 yards, and sight it in 0" to 1/2" low. Then I go to 100 yards and put a large piece of paper behind my target. Most guns don't need the big paper, but just in case you need it, it's there to save time and frustration.

Here's the chart I use.
http://www.biggameinfo.com/index.aspx?page=/balcalc.ascx

Just fill in the boxes and click, calculate.
This is the chart I use, for Remington core-lokt 170 grain factory loads.

 

[edogg]

I dont know about the blue patches but I just completely took apart a newly aquired 336 Saturday night. I found a video on you tube that was made by a fellow Marlin Owner that shows how to completely disassemble a 336. There is really nothing to it. here is a link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI74nINt4MM

Get your screwdrivers out and get at it!

wally

Thanks for the video link, Wally! I just watched it and disassembly doesn't look too bad. I'll give it a whirl when I have a few hours to spend scrubbing.

Every 336, Model 1894 and my 2 Winchesters are all hard to load through the feed gate. Push the round in as far as you comfortably can then push it all the way into the magazine tube with the tip of the next round. That makes it a lot easier.

Thanks Henry. I had a feeling that it might just be the way it is (this is my first lever action rifle). Funny that I did exactly what you suggested. But I wasn't sure if pushing on/next to the primer was a good idea so I resorted back to tearing up my thumb.

I think that it'll be wayyy high at 100 if its 3" high at 25 yards. Check out the trajectory link on this website:

http://www.winchester.com/Products/rifle-ammunition/super-x/silvertip/Pages/X30304.aspx

Oh wow! I thought that the bullet would drop from 25 yards. Thanks for the correction!

edogg,
You didn't tell us what your 336 is shooting. Is it a 30-30, with 150 grain bullets. A 35 Remington, with 200 grain bullets. Does it have open sights, or a scope?
When I'm sighting in a gun, new to me. I start at 25 yards, and sight it in 0" to 1/2" low. Then I go to 100 yards and put a large piece of paper behind my target. Most guns don't need the big paper, but just in case you need it, it's there to save time and frustration.

Here's the chart I use.
http://www.biggameinfo.com/index.aspx?page=/balcalc.ascx

Just fill in the boxes and click, calculate.
This is the chart I use, for Remington core-lokt 170 grain factory loads.

Oops! I keep forgetting that the 336 is chanbered for different rounds. Mine is chambered in 30-30, has the stock iron sights, and I was using Federal 150gr FP ammo (http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=28).

Thanks for the link but that calculator is a little overwhelming...I don't quite understand what I'm looking at. Also, I don't see the coefficient listed on the site for the bullet I was using. Any suggestions on what number to plug in there?

 

[FredT]

Here is my 2 cents worth on a 60 year old gun. First it probably has never been cleaned like what you did in 60 years. The blue is just fresh copper eaten by an aggressive copper cleaner. Keep cleaning until it is all gone, no more blue or green (more copper). Rule of thumb with a scope, a 25 yard zero will pretty much be right on at 100 yards. I find most magazine springs are longer/stronger than need be. It will not hurt to clip 1/2 to 1 inch of the mag spring off to ease loading.

There is a real good sticky on how to do a good trigger job that makes your trigger lighter and creep free. No need to buy any parts. If you can take apart the receiver you can do the trigger job.

Getting a set of Grace screwdrivers for Marlin is money well spent.

Tune that trigger and go back out and shoot some more. A good trigger will make it seem like a new gun.

 

[pls1911]

Fred's right.
I have several guns from 93s, 36s and 336s.
Some hav been nicely kept others have been somewhat neglected.
However every single one of them benefitted form a little TLC.
I usually will refinish a stock appropriate to the period and condition.
While it's apart, the action is stripped and everything soaked in 5 gallon bucket of Ed's Red and scrubbed throughly.
Your problem with loading difficulty could be either a spring which is a bit stiff, or a grit filled tube and follower.
Marlins are very simple mechanically..... certainly no worse than a 1911 Auto.

 

[Plumber]

edogg,
I looked up the ballistic coefficient of the Federal 150 grain bullet. And here is what you put in the boxes.
diameter-------------.308
ballistic coefficient---.218
muzzle velocity------2300
zero range-----------175
range enterval---------25
sight hight (scope)----1.5
sight hight (open)-----.75
You can put in what ever zero range you want. You can measure the height of your sight, above the center of the barrel. Federal lists the muzzle velocity as, 2390 but none of my loading books lists anything over 2300 fps. The 170 grain is not as fast but, in my gun, it's more accurate than the 150.

 

[edogg]

Thanks for the info, guys! I really appreciate it!

When I have a few hours to spend, I'll pull apart the receiver and give it the scrubbing that it deserves. I can nearly field strip a 1911 with my eyes closed (figuratively, of course ) so I'm not too worried about the disassembly/reassembly - especially after watching that video.

The Grace screwdriver set seems a little pupose-built and might not be good for general tasks. I don't really have much of a use for gunsmithing screwdrivers on a regular basis. I've been thinking about getting a set of Wera screwdrivers (http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...vers/wera+6-piece+lasertip+screwdriver+set.do) to replace my hodgepodge of Stanley, Ace, and Craftsman screwdrivers. Think these would do the trick?

Plumber, thanks for the info on the ballistics. I plugged in those numbers you gave me, but I'm still not quite sure how to read the chart it gives me. Is it telling me that at 100 yards, I'll be hitting 3.1 inches high when sighted in for 175 yards?

 

[gewehr]

you should only use hollow ground (gunsmith) screwdrivers on a firearm; otherwise you will definitely "bugger" the screw heads! this investment is one you won't regret

 

[Plumber]

Plumber, thanks for the info on the ballistics. I plugged in those numbers you gave me, but I'm still not quite sure how to read the chart it gives me. Is it telling me that at 100 yards, I'll be hitting 3.1 inches high when sighted in for 175 yards?

Yes, This is only an example of how you may want to sight in your gun for hunting deer, out to 200 yards.

 

[Tatersoup]

I think you can buy a Grace USA set for the same amount of money made specifically for your rifle. I bought a set recently and they are absolutely the highest quality and will save you the frustration of marring scrws since they fit perfectly.