The old Marlin makes meat

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Sarge
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The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

After seeing about 30 deer and no great bucks, I decided to shoot doe for the pot. 15 minutes after sundown this two year old, with four others and a half dozen spring deer, entered my hayfield from the west at about 230 yards. They kept herding up, but moving closer. With fading light, this one stepped out and eyed the treeline where I was hidden. It was a 130 yard shot across the hayfield, quartering in and I held on the near shoulder hoping to miss the guts.

She rolled at the shot & stumbled 20 yards before piling up. Entrance is visible at the front of the right shoulder. The bullet wrecked that shoulder, took all the plumbing off the top of the heart and exited halfway down the ribcage on the off side. There was a very short and very heavy blood trail.

Pictured rifle is my 1955 Ballard rifled Marlin 336 RC ‘Texan’ in 35 Remington. The handload used is a 200 grain Sierra with enough H4895 to start it at 2150 fps.

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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by AJMD429 »

Good shot, nice deer, and awesome rifle.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Excellent work! I love the classic Marlin as well.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Oldncrusty »

Nice shootin. No way I could take one that far without a scope.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by BenT »

Got to like the 35 Rem.
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Sarge
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

Thank you all for the kind comments. No way I would have taken that shot with buckhorns and a fat bead. These old Marlins came with the flat top rear sight, I shoot best. When the OEM bead loosened up I replaced it with a finer, 1/16" Marbles, brass bead.

I sight all my centerfire rifles in carefully at 200 yards, whether they have scopes or irons and I shoot them to 300-325 for giggles. Most of that is done on the same ground I hunt on. It sure takes the guesswork out of intermediate range game shots.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by M. M. Wright »

Sounds exactly like my situation Sarge. I have a little 4 x 4 house where I can shoot over a bottom next to a big creek. In the past I planted it in Beans or Milo but it has mostly clover in it now and only a horse and a goat to graze it. Max range is 350 but seldom do I need to shoot that far. Good shootin' by the way.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sixgun »

You have good eyes and a steady hold.

That's a healthy looking deer. Well done Sarge----006
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Just really pleased for you, Sarge. Have to love an old Marlin in .35 Remington. I think your system of sighting all your guns to 200, and then playing with them at longer ranges makes a tremendous amount of sense. You are truly a rifleman.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by .45colt »

Good Shootin! Enjoy. :D
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by RIHMFIRE »

congrats....whens the BBQ?... :wink:
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marlinman93
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by marlinman93 »

Congratulations! Great gun, and good meat for the table!
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by gamekeeper »

Real good shooting, congratulations.. :D
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by JOG »

That's a beautiful Marlin RC Texan!
You don't see many Texans for sale these days!
You're a fine marksman!
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Scrumbag »

Excellent
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by hfcable »

really nice rifle, really great shooting ! this is the way it should be .
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Sarge
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

You guys are great and I can't thank you enough.

I have another doe tag so I stepped behind a cedar tree and watched the field for a few after feeding the horse & mule today. We have a storm blowing in tonight, so it's cloudy and windy as heck. I watched as another doe came in to get a drink from our little pond, not much than a waterhole, about 75 yards. Of course it was about dark. I put the bead on her shoulders as she leaned down to get a drink, then lowered the hammer. With my luck, she'd have used her last good jump to land smack in the water.

Good thing too because the downpour came 30 seconds later. Me and the old Marlin got wet but I had a good laugh, so it was worth it.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by gamekeeper »

A good call, that's what hunting is all about, I really appreciate your attitude sir... :D
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

My wife is pretty crafty. My new favorite coffee cup ;)

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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Oldncrusty »

Excellent! I need one.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

Thank you. I'll ask, crusty.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Pitchy »

8) 8) :) :)
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

Momma says 20 bucks shipped on the Texan coffee cups with some wait time while she reorders supplies. PM if interested.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by pricedo »

Looking at that superb rifle causes me to kick myself in the backside once again. :(
Like an idiot I sold my JM stamped 336C in 35 Rem a few years back.
Not only did it drop deer and moose with aplomb I had the advantage of hand loading a plethora of 38/.357 cal handgun bullets for on the cheap small game hunting, target practice & plinking.
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by FLINT »

Sarge wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:06 pm
Pictured rifle is my 1955 Ballard rifled Marlin 336 RC ‘Texan’ in 35 Remington. The handload used is a 200 grain Sierra with enough H4895 to start it at 2150 fps.

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Great shot! How do you like those Sierra bullets in the 35?
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

Thank you Flint.

I really like the Sierra 200 grain Pro Hunter in this old Texan. I've used the Pro Hunter line in the American 30s (30-30, 308 and 30-06) with excellent accuracy and game performance. I have such faith in them I would use them to evaluate a finicky rifle. If a rifle won't group with Sierra bullets and H4895, I'd kick it to the curb.

But back to the 35 bullet, which is the Sierra 2800. Five water jugs, 20 paces, 2155 fps-

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200 yards, two water filled 5 gallon hydraulic fluid jugs. Fragged bullets cut the edge of one or both buckets, intact bullet centered both, penetrated both and was caught in an old Brownells catalog-

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Typical 3 shot, 200 yard group with the Sierra 2800 on steel while checking sights before deer season. I've had a couple better, depending on how well I could see the irons on a given day. Yeah, I like this bullet.

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Sarge
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

pricedo wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 2:30 pm Looking at that superb rifle causes me to kick myself in the backside once again. :(
Like an idiot I sold my JM stamped 336C in 35 Rem a few years back.
Not only did it drop deer and moose with aplomb I had the advantage of hand loading a plethora of 38/.357 cal handgun bullets for on the cheap small game hunting, target practice & plinking.
I'm sorry it's gone Pricedo. I've let a couple of good ones get away too, and probably ruined a knee kicking myself in the butt over them. To ease our collective pain, please tell us a 35 Remington moose story.
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pricedo
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by pricedo »

Sarge wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:02 pm
pricedo wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 2:30 pm Looking at that superb rifle causes me to kick myself in the backside once again. :(
Like an idiot I sold my JM stamped 336C in 35 Rem a few years back.
Not only did it drop deer and moose with aplomb I had the advantage of hand loading a plethora of 38/.357 cal handgun bullets for on the cheap small game hunting, target practice & plinking.
I'm sorry it's gone Pricedo. I've let a couple of good ones get away too, and probably ruined a knee kicking myself in the butt over them. To ease our collective pain, please tell us a 35 Remington moose story.
The last 35 Rem moose kill I can recall was in northern Ontario Canada.
I called a 52" bull out to a ground blind I had built the summer before on the edge of a big swamp and shot it 40 yds away.
It was a simple 200 gr Core-Lokt Remington factory load that did the deed.
The bull dropped and died about 25 yds from where it was shot and thank goodness it didn't head back into the swamp.
52" while barely legal for an AK moose is a respectable size for an Ontario moose.
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Sarge
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Re: The old Marlin makes meat

Post by Sarge »

pricedo wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 11:57 am
Sarge wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:02 pm
pricedo wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 2:30 pm Looking at that superb rifle causes me to kick myself in the backside once again. :(
Like an idiot I sold my JM stamped 336C in 35 Rem a few years back.
Not only did it drop deer and moose with aplomb I had the advantage of hand loading a plethora of 38/.357 cal handgun bullets for on the cheap small game hunting, target practice & plinking.
I'm sorry it's gone Pricedo. I've let a couple of good ones get away too, and probably ruined a knee kicking myself in the butt over them. To ease our collective pain, please tell us a 35 Remington moose story.
The last 35 Rem moose kill I can recall was in northern Ontario Canada.
I called a 52" bull out to a ground blind I had built the summer before on the edge of a big swamp and shot it 40 yds away.
It was a simple 200 gr Core-Lokt Remington factory load that did the deed.
The bull dropped and died about 25 yds from where it was shot and thank goodness it didn't head back into the swamp.
52" while barely legal for an AK moose is a respectable size for an Ontario moose.
Thank you. You can't ask more of the old 35 Remington than that.

Some years back I centered and shredded a 130-140 pound doe's heart from about 125 yards using a Sierra 150 grain Pro Hunter starting just shy of 3000 fps. She sauntered off 20 yards, jumped a four-strand fence and hit the ground like a wet blanket on the other side. The bullet clipped the elbow going in and it was the biggest exit I ever saw on a deer. Sometimes they will travel few yards, no matter what you hit them with.
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