My take on the Marlin 336SS - essentially complete :)
- Thread starter Claven2
- Start date
Lonesome Donkey
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Alberta
I'm a blued steel and walnut guy myself, but I really like this rifle. It maintains a classic stock appearance, despite the synthetic stocks.
I owned a JM Marlin 1894 .44 magnum stainless carbine that I really liked. It had very pleasing looks and accuracy.
I would have stuck to the receiver sights, because I just don't like a scope on a lever gun.
But, to each his own. A very nice rifle.
I owned a JM Marlin 1894 .44 magnum stainless carbine that I really liked. It had very pleasing looks and accuracy.
I would have stuck to the receiver sights, because I just don't like a scope on a lever gun.
But, to each his own. A very nice rifle.
Another issue I started encountering in REP-marked Marlin 336's and late production JM guns relates to the locking block being a casting. Not sure if they are MIM or investment cast, but they are not machined from a forging like the old ones were.
The issue is that the hook on the bottom of the block that the lever pulls on to pull the locking block out of the way of the bolt when cycling the action is dimensionally wrong, perhaps due to casting shrinkage. The end effect isn't noticeable if you shoot your gun the way it's supposed to be held and at typical above-freezing temperatures, but when it's cold out or if you tilt your gun to the side or upside-down, the lever lets go of the block before it is out of the way of the bolt and the action jams up.
This only happens intermittently because normally gravity helps the block fall out of the way once the lever starts pulling on it. But when oiled and it's cold outside, it doesn't fall out of the way fast enough and jams the bolt against the locking block with a cartridge half-way onto the elevator. In other orientations of the gun, gravity is not helping and the lever lets go too soon, same result - a jam. A bad one.
You can test this on your marlin. Hold it upside down with the lever closed. It doesn't matter if the hammer is cocked or not. Start slowly opening the lever and jiggle it a little as you do. Before the lever get past a half inch of throw the gun will jam if you have this issue. If you use the gun in really cold temperatures, you're going to be prone to intermittent jams when cycling the lever.
When doing the test, after it jams, close the lever again (hard) and the jam will go away, but if the gun was loaded, a cartridge will be jammed half-way onto the elevator and closing the lever won't fix the jam. You'll have to partially disassemble the gun. In the field, your hunt would be over.
This is not a remington issue, Marlin switched the castings well before Remington took over and it's all been downhill from there. I now do this test to ALL Marlins before I buy.
The fix is to locate a vintage machined locking block and swap them. In all my guns that had this issue, swapping in a vintage used locking block fixed the issue completely. I did the swap on the above rifle and it made it a much more reliable gun.
This is a fixable issue, but finding an older locking block is not alway easy or affordable for everyone. Another fix would be to weld up the locking block hook and re-shape it to be correct dimensionally, but that would be even pricier and need a good smith's skills.
The issue is that the hook on the bottom of the block that the lever pulls on to pull the locking block out of the way of the bolt when cycling the action is dimensionally wrong, perhaps due to casting shrinkage. The end effect isn't noticeable if you shoot your gun the way it's supposed to be held and at typical above-freezing temperatures, but when it's cold out or if you tilt your gun to the side or upside-down, the lever lets go of the block before it is out of the way of the bolt and the action jams up.
This only happens intermittently because normally gravity helps the block fall out of the way once the lever starts pulling on it. But when oiled and it's cold outside, it doesn't fall out of the way fast enough and jams the bolt against the locking block with a cartridge half-way onto the elevator. In other orientations of the gun, gravity is not helping and the lever lets go too soon, same result - a jam. A bad one.
You can test this on your marlin. Hold it upside down with the lever closed. It doesn't matter if the hammer is cocked or not. Start slowly opening the lever and jiggle it a little as you do. Before the lever get past a half inch of throw the gun will jam if you have this issue. If you use the gun in really cold temperatures, you're going to be prone to intermittent jams when cycling the lever.
When doing the test, after it jams, close the lever again (hard) and the jam will go away, but if the gun was loaded, a cartridge will be jammed half-way onto the elevator and closing the lever won't fix the jam. You'll have to partially disassemble the gun. In the field, your hunt would be over.
This is not a remington issue, Marlin switched the castings well before Remington took over and it's all been downhill from there. I now do this test to ALL Marlins before I buy.
The fix is to locate a vintage machined locking block and swap them. In all my guns that had this issue, swapping in a vintage used locking block fixed the issue completely. I did the swap on the above rifle and it made it a much more reliable gun.
This is a fixable issue, but finding an older locking block is not alway easy or affordable for everyone. Another fix would be to weld up the locking block hook and re-shape it to be correct dimensionally, but that would be even pricier and need a good smith's skills.
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading the updates Claven2, and post 43 about the locking block is a hell of a good tip!
Have you harvested anything with the rifle after all your modifications & improvements? How does it group with the scope?
Cheers
Jay
Have you harvested anything with the rifle after all your modifications & improvements? How does it group with the scope?
Cheers
Jay
The FX-II ultralight is my new favorite leupold. Don't even waste time thinking about it, just do it. I leave all my variables on 2.5 anyhow for eastern Ontario hunting. But this scope is trim, very light, mounts low and has VX3-grade glass in it. It's a no brainer.
Also, Leupold no longer offers the German no1 reticle, but Korth Group still has some in stock. If, like me, you love the no1 reticle, now is the time to get a conversion done. Soon enough it will no longer be possible.
Well I think you convinced me to stick this Lyman 2.5 with No1 post on my new 336...seems like a good match.
Totally. But I'd use rings that don't look awful. Those old Weaver rings are very functional, but I throw up a little in my mouth looking at them. The low versions are MUCH better than see-through rings though! lol.
The combo I like is Millet 2-piece turn-in bases and Leupold super low rings. The perfect combo for a 336. Or use Talley rings. I have that on another marlin and they're awesome, but also VERY expensive by comparison.
Most 336 bases are either aluminum weaver 1-piece bases (yuck! please don't use one!) or Weaver turn-in one piece bases, which are good, but heavy. I have one here if you need a weaver turn-in base and want to use it. It's much better than any other 1 piece base, but all these are too heavy IMHO.
Nobody makes 2 piece turn-in bases anymore. Millet discontinued them and were the last manufacturer if I recall. Buy you can still find them NOS on e-bay easily, which is what I did. They are trim and a LOT lighter than a one-piece base.
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Update:
I've made a few changes to the gun in the original post.
First of all, I did not end up liking XS Sights setup. It was great for shooting within about 30 yards or so, but at 100m, the sights were far too coarse and I averaged around 6" groups at that distance. I was actually able to shoot better with the OEM sights.
So I've gone another route, I phoned Korth and and ordered an FX-II Leupold 2.5X UltraLight scope with a custom-installed German No.1 reticle. I hunted around and found a set of older NOS US-made Milled 2-piece bases (not the late production mexican junk) and a set of (now hard to find) Leupold super-low rings.
I like it. It's about perfect now.
That is a shame you didn't have someone show you how to use those XS sights. Most accurate opens I have ever used. When at range on a smaller target, treat them like target sights on a pistol. Bullet hits top of front blade dead centre. I could easily hit clays at 100 yards, which coincidentally is the distance I sight all lever actions at. Had my 1895 SBL slide and whack the scope really hard in my truck when I hit the brakes. Removed the scope(that was shooting high). XS sights are still good to go and I fired three shots at a rock across the river. Three shots all touching each other at 100 yards. I am using a 2.5 leupold scout on it simply to see better through brush, but damn I love how fast those XS sights are. I have been looking at the 2.5 compact like you have for my cz 98 in 7x57. Beautiful scopes.
