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Marlin 336A Rifle .35 Rem Caliber Questions

8K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  backtobethel 
#1 ·
Hey all,

I just picked up a Marlin that looks to date to 1950 (First letter of serial number is G). Paco Kelly's date calculator says it should have a "solid-type lever". I've never heard of that. Does anybody know what that refers to?

Just love the rifle. It so happens, I own the companion 336RC carbine from 1948 (first year) that I inherited. These guns just feel so good in the hand with their extra-thick wood that the early ones had. Nothing I own shoulders as well either. Of course, being an early 336, it has the "waffle top" grooves on the receiver and is not drilled/tapped for a scope.

As I recall, only the first two years of production got the waffle top and the thicker wood.

What are my odds of finding a correct sight hood for this one? I'm guessing not so good based on how I ended up giving up on finding the rear sight elevator for my 336RC.

I'll post pix soon. This 336A has surprisingly nice wood grain.

I still haven't shot a .35 Remington. I completely forgot to bring my Marlin Texan in .35 Rem with me to the cabin to sight it in because I was so excited about the vintage Winchester Model 70 I just bought. I was planning to use the Texan as my back up rifle for the upcoming deer season. Now it's the Winchester. So, I've had the Texan for over six months and still haven't tried it out, Leupold half-scope and all.
 
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#2 ·
Congratulations on what sounds like a nice vintage Model 336.
I am unfamiliar with "Paco Kelly's date calculator"* and I have no answer concerning the "solid lever" description. I do recall seeing subtly differing Model 336 lever configurations. (This having nothing to do with straight grip vs pistol grip lever configurations.) I just thumbed rapidly through Doug Murray's book on the Model 336 and I don't see the lever exemplars there. Perhaps it was in Col. Brophy's book on Marlin rifles, which I don't have in front of me. I have provided a few photos below of my "G" SN prefix "Waffle Top" model 336A rifle including one showing the action & lever a bit closer. The "G" prefix does signify 1950 production and that was the introductory year of the 35 Remington chambering. I believe that the waffle top configuration shown in a photo below was transitioned out during 1953. As to the lever situation, unless your rifle presents some evidence suggesting a replacement lever, it seems highly unlikely that it is not original. I too would like to have a few original vintage Marlin sight hoods! I have more than a few Models 336 and none have the hoods.
Largely from memory...
My take

*A Website address reference specific to the calculator would be appreciated.
 

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#5 ·
*A Website address reference specific to the calculator would be appreciated.
http://oldguns.net/sn_php/marlinlookup.php

I'm not sure if this was "Paco Kelly's" site or not. I probably tried a few. I'm not too worried about the little particulars actually. Interesting, but not essential info.

Have you ever picked up a rifle that felt better in your hands? There's just something about that "fat wood". I also noticed that the express sights are some of the best I've seen for acquiring a running deer. Not so great for far away though.
 
#3 ·
The older Marlins are great rifles, far superior to the new Remlins, which seem to have major quality control issues. My uncle hunts deer with a 336A in .35 Remington and loves it. My dad has a Remington 760 pump in .35 and has shot enough deer to fill a boxcar with it since 1955 when he purchased it. The .35 Remington is one of the best woods rounds ever designed in my opinion. That fat 200 grain bullet hits hard at moderate ranges and will wade a lot of meat as well. You should try your Texan out, you might find that it moves from backup rifle to "go to" gun.
 
#4 ·
Believe me, I want to try the Texan. I basically stopped using the local range when I built my cabin a few years ago. The cabin is a 4-1/2 hour drive so I don't get there every weekend. I screwed up my back in June which pretty much shot the summer for the cabin (3-months). Then, I forgot the Texan last time. I don't see how. I only brought eight guns with me!

I've heard great things about the .35 Rem. "The king of the woodlands cartridges". This might be perfect for me since I'm an old .30-30 guy who likes the small and intermediate cartridges in general and generally pass on magnums.

Cripes, I saw yet another 336RC in .35 Rem for 249.00 at the local Gander yesterday. Nice shape, too. I thought, "This is getting ridiculous. I've never even shot one and now I could own three??!!

I inherited a 1948 336RC in .30-30 from my uncle. I'm more of a Winchester guy by persuasion, but I guess I'd say I love Winchesters and I respect Marlins.

A friend and I have been discussing the .35 Rem. I remarked how the cartridge as been essentially "hanging around" for a hundred years; never dominant and only appreciated by a few it seems.

I won't get a chance to try the Texan or the 336A rifle out before the upcoming deer season, but I will bring with me when I go. Last year I was lucky enough to limit fairly early which gave me several days of target shooting and bird hunting fun. I hope for the same this year. I hunt near the Boundary Waters in Ely, MN so maybe you can see some of the reasons for my cartridge preferences. It is "carbine country".
 
#6 ·
Believe me, I want to try the Texan. I basically stopped using the local range when I built my cabin a few years ago. The cabin is a 4-1/2 hour drive so I don't get there every weekend. I screwed up my back in June which pretty much shot the summer for the cabin (3-months). Then, I forgot the Texan last time. I don't see how. I only brought eight guns with me!

I've heard great things about the .35 Rem. "The king of the woodlands cartridges". This might be perfect for me since I'm an old .30-30 guy who likes the small and intermediate cartridges in general and generally pass on magnums.

Cripes, I saw yet another 336RC in .35 Rem for 249.00 at the local Gander yesterday. Nice shape, too. I thought, "This is getting ridiculous. I've never even shot one and now I could own three??!!

I inherited a 1948 336RC in .30-30 from my uncle. I'm more of a Winchester guy by persuasion, but I guess I'd say I love Winchesters and I respect Marlins.

A friend and I have been discussing the .35 Rem. I remarked how the cartridge as been essentially "hanging around" for a hundred years; never dominant and only appreciated by a few it seems.

I won't get a chance to try the Texan or the 336A rifle out before the upcoming deer season, but I will bring with me when I go. Last year I was lucky enough to limit fairly early which gave me several days of target shooting and bird hunting fun. I hope for the same this year. I hunt near the Boundary Waters in Ely, MN so maybe you can see some of the reasons for my cartridge preferences. It is "carbine country".
It might be worth considering just WHY the 35 Rem has been "hanging around" for a century, and is still being sold. It lacks glamour, true - but what was that about the boxcar full of deer somebody harvested with one? At the usual ranges deer are taken at, it is very effective, and hard to beat.
 
#7 ·
Regarding the sight hood; I wonder if a modern "wide view" Marlin sight hood would fit? Anybody know when Marlin went to the "Wide View" approximately? It's not my favorite style of sight hood to be honest, but if it was correct I'd pop one on. I personally think rifles, especially European ones, look so much better with their hoods.
 
#8 ·
I have a Marlin catalogue from 1975 and the wide front hoods are mentioned in it. It doesn't say, "New for this year", but it sounded like a recent inovation. Personally if I am hunting with open sights, off comes the hood, sights are much easier to see in low light without it.
 
#9 ·
Check. I'm thinking about letting the sight hood issue go and find something else to worry about. Thanks for the info on the sight hoods.

I just ordered a Marlin Bullseye for the stock. It must have fallen out. They guys at the store thought the hole was from a missing sling stud that had been incorrectly located too far forward. So, I imagine they paid less and charged less because of this. I knew better and I knew just how cheap and easy of a fix this will be. Fun!
 
#10 ·
Another question: I guess I was unfamiliar with the Model 336A. When I do searches, I come up with the modern 336A which denotes a budget Model 336 with a hardwood stock. What did 336A mean in 1950? Was there a more deluxe model with checkering?
 
#11 ·
The 336A model had a 24 inch barrel and half magazine. I have seen photos of a 336A Deluxe with checkered stock and I think it had a monte carlo stock if I remember right, it was a while ago. If you get get hold of some old Shooters Bibles from the 50's and early sixties you will get a better idea of models available. From what I see in the used gun market they didn't sell a whole lot of deluxe 336 models, at least in my neck of the woods.
 
#12 ·
when you get the bullseye insert, if its the long one,you can slice in two and have a extra one for maybe future use. just use a filler in the hole, i just use j&b weld and fill the hole to the level that will let me insert the bullseye level with the stock. i got a marlin 44 mag sporter made in 1973 that someone took the bullseye out and put a sling stud in the hole and put the front sling stud on the magizine tube, so it was easy to return it to factory spect,s by taking off the front stud and removing the rear stud and inserting the bullseye. eastbank.
 
#13 ·
These 336 rifles are kind of a new thing to me. Heck, I didn't know about the Marlin Texans until I bought one six months ago.

Great tip on the bullseye. I will save the other half.

I understand that lots of people have the misconception that the bullseye marks the place for inserting the stud. I guess I knew that one for awhile now.
 
#14 ·
Ah, the bullseye thing was a snap. I think I already lost the other half of the bullseye though. Thanks for the help. A fun little project. I just wish my bathroom project was going half as well... Let's see--wrenched my back which cost me half the summer after yanking out an heavy old bathtub. Lumps all over my head this Sunday because I kept forgetting about a small cupboard above me. Yeesh.
 
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