Oops. That should say nosler not bowler. Autocorrect!

 

Depend on your use of the rifle. Neither are going to offer you many bullets for lever guns.

 

you might look at cast bullet offerings to help you decide.... :hmmmm:

 

I should probably buy some of those nosler bullets to see as they could also be tried in my son's ruger 223. My daughter has shot a couple of Turkeys with the 219 zipper and if I build a marlin in either that or 25-35 it would be hers basically. I should probably see if I can figure out if the magazine in the savage can be made to work as it shoots 50 grain sp hornady bullets quite well.

 

On a soft point with an exposed lead tip, you can always file the tip down to a wider meta plate.

 

Yeah, that would add quite a few possibilities. And if some kind of jig could be made, it might not take too long to do a batch. The zipper has so little recoil, it might not take a very wide point.

 

I think Michael hit the nail on the head. If you are looking for a deer rifle the 25 35 and if a varmint rifle the Zipper. I would use pointy bullets and use it as a 2 shooter. They both are fun, old rounds.

 

Welcome to MO from SW Ohio.

Before you make the investment on a new barrel, you may want to check which caliber is likely to feed best through your 336 action. Also, if the bolt face would need modification and whether the lifter would need to be replaced.

I havent checked the dimensions, but I doubt the case diameter or the COL is the same as for the 30-30.

 

The 25s are fairly versatile rifles and can be used with both varmint bullets and deer bullets. Also some cast bullets are available. For me it would be hands down 25-35 but you have to look at your uses. I really don't use the 22s much at all anymore. I don't know if it is fairly easy to pull the plastic noses out of some of the varmint bullets or not to accommodate the tubular magazines.

DEP

 

The rapid taper of the 25-35 would not let the ctgs. line up primer to bullet, put some loaded rounds in a clear tube and you will see it is nose to rim. Not sure on the 219 with less taper.

 

Thanks for the comments folks. They are based on the same case so the bolt face on a 30-30 shouldnt need to be changed. The 219 zipper OAL is about a quarter inch shorter than the other two and you are right, checking with the action would be wise.

 

The 25-35 is a fine deer rifle and also makes a pretty good varmint rifle with some unconventional handloads. I loaded the 75 grain sierra HP past 2900 fps with Lever Evolution powder. Years ago I got a 99 Savage rebarreled to 25/35 as a varmint rifle exclusively and potted several rock chucks with it. I eventually parted with that one only because it was quite heavy to carry in the thin air above timberline where marmots hang out.

 

For varmints one could load a tube with one shot and one In the magazine. That would work with a Marlin or Winchester. I have been attracted to the 23-35 but not enough to pay for wha tone would cost me.

DEP

 

Ive wanted a winnie 94 in 25.35 for years. why. well for some strange reason I like the cal. and now Hornady makes a great 100 gr bullet!

 

The Hornady 100gr RN is what I use in 25/35 94 Win. Good bullet for deer. I'm also using it in 99 Sav in 250/3000. Haven't shot anything but paper with it yet.

 

I have a pair of Marlin 336 Zippers and use some old Remington 46 gr HP bullets. There are some interesting youtube videos of people trying to set off pointy bullet rounds in tubular magazines and they don't have much success in doing do.
In a low recoiling rifle like a 219, I think you would be OK with most plastic tipped bullets. That said, why risk having something going bad.

With the new Hornady 110 gr. FTX bullets now available, I'd go with a 25-35 Win or even a 25-36 Marlin for your project.

 

I like the Hornady XTX 110 grain in the Winchester 94 but I'd not be concerned about pointed bullets in the 25/35 either. Mag tube detonation is mainly a matter of bullet weight and recoil. When the rifle recoils inertia causes the rounds in the mag to remain stationary as the tube moves rearward so that in effect the cartridges move toward the front, compressing the magazine spring. When rearward movement of the gun stops the mag spring then drives the cartridges to the rear until they slam into the cartridge stop.
Heavy bullets are a triple threat. Heavy bullet loads generally create more recoil and more recoil causes the cartridges to slide farther up the tube. Also, heavy bullets have more inertia holding them stationary so again, they slide farther up the tube further compressing the mag spring. And then, when the spring overcomes inertia and drives the cartridges to the rear, heavier bullets have more impact against the primer when they slam to a halt.
A mild recoiling cartridge like the 25/35 with 60-120 grain soft points have neither the recoil nor the inertia to be a problem. Besides, as others have mentioned it would be very unlikely that with such a tapered case one bullet would align with another primer. And, worse case scenario, a cartridge detonation in the tube with smokeless powder would be not much more than a pop fizzle event, it might damage the magazine tube and split the forend at worst. Black powder would be a different matter of course.

 

If you do a .219 why not a Donaldson Wasp? Better case life and performance.

 

For me, I would go with the zipper as I already have a bunch of cases and I have the dies already since I have a savage 99 on 219 zipper. Otherwise the 219 Donaldson makes sense.

 

The Zipper has a cult following for pushing a little tiny 46 Gr. bullet at about 3000 FPS...............I'm not familiar with the 25-35, but the 218 BEE (Mashburn chambered in my case) will push that very same little bullet to almost 3200 FPS.............with pretty good accuracy

Brass for either one is somewhat hard to find and pricey, but it can be found...........

I own both, but the 218 makes better use of propellants than the Zipper.........So, I'll choose the 218 BEE...........

But, if I was only interested velocity, I'd have kept a little Martini action rifle chambered in 17-218 BEE.............That little cartridge would push a little hollow nosed spire point to almost 4000 FPS........the only problem with it was that the bullet seems to expand somewhere on the "down range" side of Woodchucks.......Pin hole in, Pin hole out..............

Tom

 

I imagine the 218 bee is sweet to shoot and I wish I had purchased a new ruger no. 1 that was in a local gun shop back when the prices were $700. It is efficient as its case has quite a bit less capacity than the zipper. More relevant to me is that I am thinking of rebarreling a 336 and I dont know how a bolt for a 30-30 would work for the 218 bee case. Again, thanks to everyone for their comments. I will check today to see if either or both the 25-35 and 219 zipper cycle through my 336.

 

Mike,

You should have NO problem cycling a 219 Zipper thru your 30-30.............The case head is the same size for both rounds, and the carrier in your rifle should work fine............

Sorry I took your thread off topic and sideways with the 218 BEE...........

Tom

 

No problem at all Tom! If i do this i will need to look for a used 336 as my 30-30 is really accurate and there is no way i would use it for a donor. If this thread goes on a little longer i think I will feel like I have entered a social contract and will be obligated to proceed!

 

NO obligation at all, but If I were you..................I'd look for the "boniest", most beat up 336W 30-30 I could find...........just to get the receiver, lever and innards.. (for the most part)

Send it out for re-lining or re barreling ........and get the whole thing re-finished at the same time...........When you get it back, refinish the wood, or look for new wood...........

If you decide to re-barrel it ( my 1st choice) I'd choose a heavy contour barrel in 22" or 24", and fit your forearm to it............

The stock length Mag tube will work fine with a longer barrel length, but I'd NOT use a Barrel Band config............I'd hang the tube from a tenon and plan for a capped forearm........

Good Luck in your endeavor..........

Tom

 

I have had two .30-30 336s rebarreled, one to .25-35 and one to .219 Zipper. I've had the .25-35 for close to 40 years. I've had the Zipper for a few years.

I use the factory 117 gr soft point in the .25-35. I've killed one deer and a couple coyotes with it. I took it to Africa about 14 years ago. I shot a Steinbok (20 antelope) and a springbok (small pronghorn size antelope). All one shot kills. A buddy used it for predator control on his farm. He likes it; "It hits where you aim it." With a no name 6x scope from a rest I can hit the 12" gong at 200 yards with it. The rounds all cycle without a problem.

I'm just getting the Zipper going in the next week. I have 33 grain HP, 55 grain HP, and 60 grain that I'll be working with. Several years ago I bought 100 new .25-35 cases. I resized 20 to the Zipper. (I have 4 boxes of factory ammo but I'm not shooting those.)

 

Another vote for the 219 Donaldson Wasp. The Donaldson Wasp will give you higher performance than the Zipper and can replicate 22 Savage Hi-Power ballistics with 70 grain bullets.

I'm pretty sure your Savage 99 in 219 Zipper is already a re-bore so boring it out for the 25-35 will not reduce value.

T.S.