Yes, I'm aware that haters gonna hate and some guys will not see this for the tool it is. I'm a blued steel and walnut guy myself, but not for guns I use to waterfowl or to hunt with on really dirty days with heavy rain or snow. I was on the lookout for the handiest little lever gun that could fit that bill and still kill anything in Southern Ontario out to about 150 yards or so that didn't need heavy or cumbersome optics.
So I started with a new 2014 Marlin 336SS in .30-30. The gun was fundamentally OK (barrel on straight and action cycled reliably), but needed work to be really right. I bought it on sale at the local gun shop (That Hunting and Fishing Store in Richmond, ON) as it was the only one I could find in stock anywhere, despite it's "issues".
The issues:
- The action was full of machining chips that should have been cleaned out at the factory. Therefore the action cycled like it had sand in it.
- The internals were either "as cast", complete with flashing from the moulds, or were covered in burrs from machining.
- The lever plunger was way too tight and you needed the strength of hercules to open it.
- The floor plate at the front of the receiver wasn't tightened down all the way due to chips trapped between it and the receiver ledge when they contoured the action. After cleaning out the chips, when I tightened the screws, it seated too deeply leaving sharp edges on the receiver sides.
- While not confined to this gun, the new matte finish wood Marlin is using with laser checkering is not too my taste.
- Cross bolt safety. 'nuff said.
- plastic follower. Not terribly confidence-inspiring.
So I tore the gun completely down, polished all the sliding or bearing surfaces on the internals to 600 grit and de-burred everything. Filed off and polished away all casting flash. Complete cleaning too. the lever plunger spring was shortened 1.5 coils and the tip of the plunger given a 1mm radius (vs. the knife-edge it was). The receiver was filed along the bottom to blend perfectly with the floor plate and that area was re-polished to 200 grit to match the rest of the rifle's finish. The cross-bolt safety was replaced with a Beartooth Mercantile dummy-safety that is alway locked in the "FIRE" position and cosmetically looks like a screw with a slot on both sides. No more frustration of hearing the hammer hit an accidentally-left-on safety and scaring game away. The follower was replaced with a stainless leverevolution-compatible follower, also from Beartooth Mercantile.
Next, the rear front and sights were removed and the rear was replaced with a stainless Marbles blank. I installed XS ghost ring sights using the smaller aperture. The walnut stock was replaced with a much slimmer Champion Target synthetic stock from Dowdle Sports. HUGE improvement over the stoke walnut for a SS dirty weather gun. Also much much lighter than the OEM furniture. I swapped the blued rear swivel stud with the original stainless one off my walnut stock set. Looks great IMHO.
Everything now cycles smoothly and reliably, the fit and finish of the metal now about perfect and the trigger breaks like glass at about 4.5lbs. It cycles Leverevolution ammo reliably and there is not fiddly cross-bolt safety to contend with any longer.
I'm pretty happy with this one, and it's not even a JM gun
In fact, I think it now cycles smoother than my 1952 JM 336RC in .35 Rem It points and carries REALLY well with the slimmer Win94 style fore stock.
It's really too bad Remlin (or Marlington?) isn't offering this gun already set up similarly to this. I doubt I'm the only one who buys a 336SS for lightweight foul weather performance.
So I started with a new 2014 Marlin 336SS in .30-30. The gun was fundamentally OK (barrel on straight and action cycled reliably), but needed work to be really right. I bought it on sale at the local gun shop (That Hunting and Fishing Store in Richmond, ON) as it was the only one I could find in stock anywhere, despite it's "issues".
The issues:
- The action was full of machining chips that should have been cleaned out at the factory. Therefore the action cycled like it had sand in it.
- The internals were either "as cast", complete with flashing from the moulds, or were covered in burrs from machining.
- The lever plunger was way too tight and you needed the strength of hercules to open it.
- The floor plate at the front of the receiver wasn't tightened down all the way due to chips trapped between it and the receiver ledge when they contoured the action. After cleaning out the chips, when I tightened the screws, it seated too deeply leaving sharp edges on the receiver sides.
- While not confined to this gun, the new matte finish wood Marlin is using with laser checkering is not too my taste.
- Cross bolt safety. 'nuff said.
- plastic follower. Not terribly confidence-inspiring.
So I tore the gun completely down, polished all the sliding or bearing surfaces on the internals to 600 grit and de-burred everything. Filed off and polished away all casting flash. Complete cleaning too. the lever plunger spring was shortened 1.5 coils and the tip of the plunger given a 1mm radius (vs. the knife-edge it was). The receiver was filed along the bottom to blend perfectly with the floor plate and that area was re-polished to 200 grit to match the rest of the rifle's finish. The cross-bolt safety was replaced with a Beartooth Mercantile dummy-safety that is alway locked in the "FIRE" position and cosmetically looks like a screw with a slot on both sides. No more frustration of hearing the hammer hit an accidentally-left-on safety and scaring game away. The follower was replaced with a stainless leverevolution-compatible follower, also from Beartooth Mercantile.
Next, the rear front and sights were removed and the rear was replaced with a stainless Marbles blank. I installed XS ghost ring sights using the smaller aperture. The walnut stock was replaced with a much slimmer Champion Target synthetic stock from Dowdle Sports. HUGE improvement over the stoke walnut for a SS dirty weather gun. Also much much lighter than the OEM furniture. I swapped the blued rear swivel stud with the original stainless one off my walnut stock set. Looks great IMHO.
Everything now cycles smoothly and reliably, the fit and finish of the metal now about perfect and the trigger breaks like glass at about 4.5lbs. It cycles Leverevolution ammo reliably and there is not fiddly cross-bolt safety to contend with any longer.
I'm pretty happy with this one, and it's not even a JM gun
In fact, I think it now cycles smoother than my 1952 JM 336RC in .35 Rem It points and carries REALLY well with the slimmer Win94 style fore stock.It's really too bad Remlin (or Marlington?) isn't offering this gun already set up similarly to this. I doubt I'm the only one who buys a 336SS for lightweight foul weather performance.
