.35 Remington in Marlin 336

Bullwhip

Bullwhip

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Very sorry, this likely has come up before, but search didn't bring up anything in particular for the .35 Rem and I am looking for opinions and experiences to pass along.

I have a friend who is wanting to get into deer hunting and wants a lever as his first gun.

He was thinking 30-30 but has a line on a .35 Remington Marlin 336 that caught his eye.

In general, any thing good or bad with .35 Rem in the 336?

An appreciable difference in performance versus a regular 30-30?

Those with one, have you been happy with the round and the rifle for deer?
 
The .35 Remington like the .30-30 Winchester is a good short range deer rifle.I know a few guys who use the .35 Remington each year to bag their deer with.
 
I bought my husband one of these last year. He had been using a 30-30 previously, but likes the 35 Rem a little more.
 
The 35 Remington is a fine round for deer and most game in North America. The effective range is comparable to the 30-30, which means that it's not a super long range round, but completely adequate within most hunter's shooting abilities.

Although I like the 35 Rem very much (I have two Marlins), I don't think I'd recommend it as a "first rifle" when given the alternative of the 30-30. The reason is that if your friend is just starting out, he/she probably doesn't reload and would probably want to practice quite a bit to become proficient. For this reason, 30-30 wins in my book because ammunition is so much more available. I believe most factory 35 Rem is not manufactured year-round, so it can sometimes be hard to find and probably $7.50-$15 more a box than 30-30.

Now, if you're friend wants to buy the 35 Rem and a 30-30, then that's a no brainer... go ahead. But there are lots of 30-30's on the market for very good prices. I just picked up another Marlin 30-30 for $340 shipped off of the EE.

My only other advice would be to encourage your friend to put a peep sight on the rifle (or a scope). A lever action is a great first deer rifle and an excellent vehicle for learning how to shoot with iron sights. Personally, I found peep sights to be much more to my liking than the stock buckhorn sites, and they don't detract from the balance or handiness of the rifle.
 
My 35 Remington has killed quite a few moose over the years, albeit by a previous owner who I know quite well. I have yet to try it myself yet for hunting, but it is great fun at the range. The only dray back as mentioned above is ammo availability, none to be found in my neck of the woods, and when it is available its 40+ $ for a box of 20.

I reload for the gun and the 200 grain barnes x bullet gives 2 inch groups out to 100 yards or so, for cheap plinking I load it up with inexpensive .357 pistol bullets which I usually have lots of kicking around.
 
My 760 in 35 Rem is deadly on deer.....it seems to favor bucks :D. I have shot remington 200 gr round nose and Leverevolution in it and they both do a great job at downing deer. Marlins are solid levers and i would jump on it....If he doesn't tell me where it is and I may buy it :).
 
I like 35Rem a little better too - with 200gr loads it anchors big game better IMO. Not everyone believes that but I do. Last century it was common among Maine guides - even for moose. I own both calibres in question in Marlin 336s. I started with 30-30, which BTW is a fine round. I added recently a 35Rem to upgrade for more knock down thump on deer and bear and even moose if the occasion would arise. I will always grab my 35 Rem for hunting before my 30-30 - but I like them both.

That said, if you want to shoot alot and are buying factory ammo then the 30-30 won't put you in the poor house as fast. The 30-30 is a fine deer round. I would recommend taking up reloading as soon as possible if a 35Rem were purchased. Initially buy a few boxes of factory and save the brass for that.

Both are woods hunting rounds - meaning shots out to 150yds or so.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/35_remington.htm
 
Tell him to go ahead and get the 35. If he doesn't like it, I would be quite surprised.

As well, if in that event he offered it for sale, it would be gone in a day! :D

Ted
 
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Thanks everyone for the feedback.

It isn't used he's looking at, its new at a local shop; so sorry can't pass any used deals on if he doesn't take it.

Not having any experience with either the cartridge or the gun I was just concerned he was getting a good set up for hunting and not a combo that had problems.

If anything with this exercise, I too am finding the .35 Rem a bit intriguing and might have to pick one up in the more distant future if I tire of the .308 bolt I have, or want to try something different.

Cheers!
 
I have had both 30-30 and 35rem ( I still have the 35rem) .Like people have said both cal are good but the 35rem is just alittle bit better in my books
 
I've heard the the 35 has a good reputation for accuracy in general. I sighted in one for a friend and was amazed at how well it shot for a lever. If I remember correctly is was just around an inch with factory loads so I was asking if that was normal and apparently they are very good.
 
I used a marlin 336 and a Rem 14 in 35 on deer. makes a much bigger hole than a 30-30. I find the federal factory ammo very good. Bought it on sale once.

Nice bonus if you handload is that you can load cheap pistol bullets for plinking.
 
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