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336 A

3K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Bman 
#1 ·
Does anybody know what "A" means on this model. Over the weekend I bought one these used. This gun is a 30-30 with a 24" barrel, walnut stock, no checkering and no safety on the receiver. The first 2 letters on the serial number is 20 so I assume it is a 1980 model. The bluing on this gun is about 98% and the stock and bore is excellent. The used marlin 30-30s you see around here are usually carbines, I've never seen this model before.
 
#3 ·
35 Hunter thanks for the info on this gun. Do you know if 1980 is the correct date of manufacture? This gun come with a cheapo 3x9 bushnell scope and the pawn shop I bought it from through in a soft gun case. I paid $159.00 plus tax for the gun, I hope I didn't pay too much.
 
#4 ·
You paid way too much!!! I tell you what though just to help you out I'll buy it for what you have in it. :lol: I paid 218.00 for a refinished chipped stock version from the '40s. It is my favorite gun. I'd put mine around 80% or so and wouldn't take nothing for it.

I was on the fence and asked a buddy of mine who knows a little about leverguns. His response was if the bore ain't hurt and the action is tight I'd buy it for 200-250 all day long.

Value on these things is fairly regional, in some places much over 100.00 is overpriced and other places same gun would go upwards to the price of a new one.

I really like the A model, mine has an older recoil pad on it which lengthens the pull for my long arms. Also having the 24" barrel you should be getting much closer to advertised velocity both factory and reload data.

On mine I am using the sights the previous owner put on it. A marbles front with smaller bead and some type of replacement rear. With these sights the right loads and a good day out I have shot some sub 1" 3 shot groups off a bench. Less junk on the barrel and a longer radius help a lot for this.

Bottom line you did real well and if for some reason you decide a long tube 30-30 ain't for you someone 'round here will buy it, I'm sure.
 
#5 ·
Bman you made me feel a little better about buying this gun. I felt a little quilty because I have no self control when it comes to buying lever guns. This is the third one in the last three weeks. In the area where I live if you spend some time shopping the pawn shops you can find used marlins for cheap. Most of the people around here like the long range bolt guns.
 
#6 ·
The 336A was reintroduced 1974 or 75 and was made until approx. 1980. 30-30 only.I've got one made in 1979 and love it,I just like the longer barrels, you got a GREAT buy on that one, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
 
#8 ·
Pastorp, I live in Utah in a town about 25 miles north of Salt lake City, and by the way it has been raining and snowing here since october it seems like. In some of the mountains around here we have had three to four hundred inches of snow already. Anyway, pawn shops are abundant around here and alot of people in this area seem to think marlin lever actions are cheap guns and they just don't sell very well. Good for us marlin fans though.
 
#9 ·
Wyatt said:
Pastorp, I live in Utah in a town about 25 miles north of Salt lake City. Anyway, pawn shops are abundant around here and alot of people in this area seem to think marlin lever actions are cheap guns and they just don't sell very well. Good for us marlin fans though.
How much would it cost us to have you go by every once in a while and post a few goodies that are priced right? I figure with a phone call and a signed FFL from my dealer in the mail, maybe we can share some of the booty???? :shock:

Shum8
 
#10 ·
Shum8 I will keep looking and let you know what I find. I just come back from ogden, ut. and I stopped in one of the oldest pawn shops in town and they have what appears to be an old 336 30-30 carbine. This gun looks really old but it is in real good condition except the bullseye is missing and someone installed a sling swivel stud in the stock. The serial # is w1585 but I can't figure out what date it was manufactured. This gun has a wide unusual shaped forearm on it.
 
#16 ·
Bman looks like you have a good shooter there, I'll give that load a try. Right after I bought this gun I just could'nt wait to shoot it so I took it apart, cleaned the action and run a few patches down the barrel but the barrel wasn't cleaned real good and then off to the range I went. I shot some various loads I had on hand with 150 gr. sierras and it shot okay, groups were 2"to 4" at 100 yards. When I got home I scrubbed the barrel good with a brush and then let it sit overnight. The next day I run a patch down the barrel and all kinds of black crud come out of it. Looks like the previous owner shot a few hundred rounds out of this gun and never cleaned the barrel. I'm going to shoot it again this weekend and see if it shoots better with a clean barrel.
 
#17 ·
Wyatt,
In most cases I don't disclaim any of my load info. Simply because I don't give out questionable data, even if I use some questionable loads in my guns. That particular load came straight frome Lee's Modern Reloading 1st ed. Hodgdon currently recomends 30 gr as a max load. Incidentally the 30 gr load shoots a little more accurately in that same gun. Again that 24" barrel and top velocities. :D So safe max loads more effective over thier carbine brethern. I have had no problems using that load and according to Hodgdons pressure data supplied by Lee it runs 40,900 CUP.

In that same gun using I forget how many grains of H4895 and 150 gr Winchester bulk bullets my groups were much larger. So mine really seems to prefer the heavier bullet. Wasn't huge but the 150's grouped on average an inch larger. By the time 150's would shoot flatter enough to make a difference over the 170's the accuracy difference would be an issue. Not to mention at the ranges involved to gain much 150gr v. 170gr trajectory wise are much greater than I am able to shoot any opensighted rifle, even if I could see that far in the woods here in the SE.

Also somewhere along the line in order to clean up an old milsurp I built a 'foul out' machine and used it on all my guns. In my A the accuracy has dropped off a bit. I did however switch from the Sierra 170 to the Rem CL 170 about the same time. Right now I am not sure if it is because I switched bullets Sierra to Rem or if my bore is 'too' clean. My .35 shoots much better with a slightly dirty bore.

Well all that stuff is different from gun to gun. The upside is you have to shoot each one a good bit to find these things out.

Try some heavier bullets and see what that does to your groups. But then I have always been a heavier bullet fan.

Keep us posted.

B.
 
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