.308 Marlin express

[leeloader]

Has anyone had any experience with this round in the model 336 marlin? I want to buy a new rifle in .308 but I want a lever gun. I'm getting older and the long range and super mags are fading fast! P.S. I do reload.

[Pisgah]

I certainly have nothing against the.308 Marlin. But since you are not a handloader, and the Marlin round is one of those new things that could be a flash in the pan, AND since you'll likely play the devil trying to find ammo in convenient places, I would suggest finding either a BLR or a nice used Savage 99A in .308 Winchester. Big variety of loads available at just about any place that sells ammo, and it'll do anything the Marlin round will do, then some.

[buckeyeshooter]

I bought an XLR last year and took 2 deer with it to 'break it in'. the gun is very,very accurate shooting 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups with factory ammo all day long. the only way to match the factory velocity of 2600 fps is to go with 150's. the 170's shoot about 1 inch in my rifle, but they are slow. The gun is a bit heavy at 8.25 pounds but handles well. I would say that it is very suitable for any situation where you would use a lever action.
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm16 ... 668381.jpg

[O.S.O.K.]

Its a great caliber - think "300 Savage" or "307 Winchester" from a great rifle platform!

Good for anything under brown bear with good bullets and of course proper placement.

[Leverdude]

Has anyone had any experience with this round in the model 336 marlin? I want to buy a new rifle in .308 but I want a lever gun. I'm getting older and the long range and super mags are fading fast! P.S. I do reload.

I have one, havent shot it alot but I like it. I blew by 2500fps easy with 150 grain bullets & h335 before I got distracted. When I get back to it I want to try & hit 2600 or so with an acurate load and call it quits for the hunting load.
Then I'll try & work up a cast load.

[Bruce]

As of this last hunting season, I had one blued and one stainless. Both shot very well and I killed one deer with the stainless and it performed exactly as you would want it too. As of today, I do not have either one. My son took the stainless along with the case of ammo and I traded in the blued one. I would not hesitate to own either, but I did have one problem with both of them. The chambers were rough and had to be honed out or you had a empty round stuck in the chamber. Others have had the same problem. My reason for getting rid of the blued is that I decided my herd would all be one caliber and as of now that choice is 30-06. I went with the BLR.

[Chuck 100 yd]

They are a very nice rifle.I have the .308MX and the
.338 MXLR .
The .308 is a great deer caliber IMHO. Very accurate as others have said.

The first 3 shots after sight in. 100yd.


Shoots cast good to!!


Have fun!!
Note that the Trail Boss loads bullets are not fully stable and make egg shaped holes. That is about as slow as this twist rate will hold a good group. Did not "clock" it so cant say how fast they are.

[blackhawk44]

Before buying, I'd check ammo availability, the .308 Marlin has not been that common on store shelves. My vote-BLR.

[6pt-sika]

Before buying, I'd check ammo availability, the .308 Marlin has not been that common on store shelves. My vote-BLR.

Nothing is that common on store shelves now !

I've had a pair of Marlin's in 308 Express for a couple years now and have had no problems getting ammo !

Also have a pair of Marlin's in 338 Express and although when I first got them ammo was a bit difficult to get it isn't that hard to lay your hands on now !

[Streetstar]

If you can locate 100 pieces of brass, you should be OK for a long long time if you reload, regardless of the ammo situation on the shelves

[BenT]

I like my BLR but you will get sticker shock if look at what they want for a new one these days. The Marlin is more affordable.