336 Marlin, .35 Rem. Accuracy?

[reynolds357]

I just bought a new 336 Marlin in .35 Remington. The rifle is new production. It has none of the horror issues I have read about in the "Remlin" rifles. I quit shooting lever actions over 20 years ago. I have a Winchester 94 in .30-30 that shoots about 3" at 100. A 94 7-30 Waters that shoots 1.5" at 100. A Marlin .30-30 that shoots about 2" at 100. A .444 Marlin that shoots 1" at 100. a Marlin .45-70 that shoots 1.5" at 100. (Well, that's what my dope book says they shot 20+ years ago when I put them in the safe.)
The new 336 shoots 4" at 100 with Remington 150 Interlocks and about 3" at 100 with 200 Leveroution. Have not handloaded yet because I have to get enough brass. My question: Is this accuracy typical for the new "Remlins"? Should spend a lot of time hunting a pet load, send it back to Marlin, or just say oh well this is typical of what the current production of rifles is doing?

 

[stagpanther]

Bore staying clean? I had a couple of new lever guns recently that would heavily foul with copper from jaketed bullets after just a few shots

 

[FrankenMauser]

The Remington barrels on new-production Remlins are generally pretty decent.

But, overall quality of the Remlins is rather piss-poor. They aren't machining or heat-treating internal parts the same way that Marlin did prior to the Remington/Cerberus buyout. So internal issues are frequent and very problematic. (Check the MarlinOwners forums for more horror stories.)
The average, new Marlin only clocks about 100 to 150 rounds down the barrel, before it has to go back for major repair.


My personal opinion:
That's about as much as you can expect from Remington.
Live with it, or demand a refund.
(And don't buy a Remlin! Hit the used racks for real Marlins.)

 

[eastbank]

my marlin 1895 45-70 that i bought at walmart about a month and a half ago at a close out for 299.99 plus a 50.00 rebate from marlin, must only have about 30 shots left in it before i have to send it back. i have been working up a load for it for deer hunting and so far 50grs H-4198 with the 300gr HP hornady gets the nod with 1-1.5" groups at 100yrds with a leupold 3x M-8 scope. i have had no problems with FTE-FTF, but i,ll be on the look out for them in the future. eastbank.

 

[g.willikers]

Once a manufacturer earns a reputation, good or bad, it's hard to reverse.
Especially with the forums and internet communications these days.
But that reputation isn't always an indication of what an single purchase might be like.
For example, my recently new van has had six recalls, and that's just the official ones.
Yet, my van has had none of the problems and passed all inspections without fault.
No doubt the current Marlins might be similar.
If there's a quality control problem at Marlin, there's no guarantee any single of their guns will be either one of the bad ones or one of the good ones.
So, asking others how theirs are might not mean much.
It would be a shame to pass up a deal like eastbank's assuming the worst.

 

[NoSecondBest]

A couple of questions here: is the gun scoped? What sights does the gun have on it? The fact of the matter is that most lever guns really don't typically shoot better than three inches at 100yds for five shot groups off a bench. I know that everyone likes to get on here and say they get 1moa or less "all day long", but that's the internet talking. I've been shooting for almost sixty years now and I shot major competition for many, many years with handgun, rifle, and shotgun and did very well at all three. I've owned a LOT of guns. I've had some lever guns that would shoot an honest to God five shot group at 100yds that was sub 2moa and those were the good guns I've owned. Most lever guns, due to their design and short comings of that design, don't shoot as well as we'd really like them to shoot. I'd bet that with some hand load development you can get that gun to shoot better than it's shooting now by an inch or an inch and a half. That being said, that might be all you'll ever get out of it and I'd suggest that on average, that's about all anyone can expect to get with the "average" lever gun. That's reality, not the internet talking. I'd do some reloading if you like the gun and caliber and see where it takes you. Good luck.

 

[reynolds357]

It has a meopta meopro 3-9 on it. DNZ one piece mounts, lapped to 90+ percent contact. I am guessing this accuracy will be about par for current production.

 

[NoSecondBest]

I'd think that if you're getting 3" groups with the LeveRevolutions, you're about where you should be. That's really not all that bad for a deer rifle lever gun. Handloading might tighten it up a tad. Good luck.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Once a manufacturer earns a reputation, good or bad, it's hard to reverse.
Especially with the forums and internet communications these days.
But that reputation isn't always an indication of what an single purchase might be like.
For example, my recently new van has had six recalls, and that's just the official ones.
Yet, my van has had none of the problems and passed all inspections without fault.
No doubt the current Marlins might be similar.
If there's a quality control problem at Marlin, there's no guarantee any single of their guns will be either one of the bad ones or one of the good ones.
So, asking others how theirs are might not mean much.
It would be a shame to pass up a deal like eastbank's assuming the worst.

I understand and somewhat agree.

But... the lack of hardening of critical action parts is a huge problem for me. Even the 'vintage' parts that were properly machined, checked, and heat-treated by Marlin tend to wear with used and/or even bend/deform with misuse. Remington's lack of heat-treating means that some parts, like cartridge carriers and locking bolts, are completely toast in less than 100 rounds -- and in more than one example shared on the MarlinOwners forums, the carrier was bent simply from cycling the action quickly (cartridge snagging in mag tube). That should not happen. Ever!
Yet, every Marlin lever action that Remington is shipping, now has a receiver populated with soft, useless parts that are engineered to fail - soon!


I keep a very close eye on the world of Marlins.
I'm am not a "JM or bust" fanboy.
I just like me a whole bunch o' Marlins and always want a dozen more.
And I'm not against Remington, either.
If they can put out a good Marlin, I'll buy it.
But as long as they are shipping rifles that look pretty and might initially function well, but are essentially made of playdoh and chewing gum... I'm out. I want nothing to do with the Remlins until Remington starts building them correctly again.


The current state of those rifles is about like spending 90 years building a fantastic reputation for, say, the Small Block Chevy V8 (SBC). Then, one day, the company gets bought out and the new overlords want to continue selling vehicles with the SBC, but they hedge their bets on the great reputation and maximize profit by using cream cheese pistons and string cheese connecting rods. Looks the same on the outside, but it was already suffering from organ failure the day it was born.

 

[GarandTd]

My son was gifted a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. I didn't have a proper range or sighting targets, but at 85 yards with iron sights and Remington Core-Lokt 200gr sp, I turned a 1/2 cinderblock to dust with my 1st 3 shots. Not very scientific, I know, but I was impressed. It is not a new production. Pre-safety model. I've heard good things about the Hornady lever-evolution and have some, but haven't tried it in the Marlin.

 

[1stmar]

If you try reloads. My original jm 35 rem 336 likes 36gr 4064 Sierra 200g pro hunter. 5 shots right at 1".

 

[reynolds357]

Locking has always been a problem. My 25 year old Marlin 45-70 has been repaired twice for unlocking when fired, and darn near breaking my fingers.

 

[reynolds357]

Thanks 1stmar
Will try.