.35 Remington question

[al336]

hello, all.

newbie, here.

Being a resident of Illinois, I have been forced to deer hunt with shotgun/slug for several years and have never owned a rifle. Even though I switched to a handgun about three years ago (and love it), I've had an itch to get me a lever action rifle for coyote hunting and/or deer hunting in another state.

I recently decided upon the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I know there are several good choices, but I've always liked the look and reputation of this rifle.

If I may, I'd like to pick your brains with a couple of questions.

My preference is to use the sights. If I keep the shots 100-125 yards max, is that unrealistic? Or, should I ruin the ole western look and mount a scope? In time, I expect that I will have to.

(Please don't crucify me if this is a dumb question) Can you shoot .357s through this rifle? If so, does it have to be single shot? If .357 is OK, can you shoot .38s? I don't reload and was asking for plinking purposes.

I plan on using Hornady LeverRevolution soft tips, and I understand they can go 200+ yards (back to the scope), but are the other flat nose lead cartridges much less accurate if kept around 100 yards?

Thanks!

al

[J Miller]

hello, all.

al336, Hello right back and welcome to the forum.

newbie, here.
We all were once

Being a resident of Illinois, I have been forced to deer hunt with shotgun/slug for several years and have never owned a rifle. Even though I switched to a handgun about three years ago (and love it), I've had an itch to get me a lever action rifle for coyote hunting and/or deer hunting in another state.
Lever guns are good. I live in IL too and I have several I can't use here.

I recently decided upon the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I know there are several good choices, but I've always liked the look and reputation of this rifle.
Excellent choice of rifle and caliber.

If I may, I'd like to pick your brains with a couple of questions.
OK, but never mind the dust bunnies and cat fur.

My preference is to use the sights. If I keep the shots 100-125 yards max, is that unrealistic? Or, should I ruin the ole western look and mount a scope? In time, I expect that I will have to.
It is not unrealistic at all to use the factory open sights if your vision will allow it. I personally prefer a side mount receiver sight and a post front and have that set up on two of my lever guns. The others will get it eventually. This is just my opinion, but I do not like scopes to begin with and I will not scope a lever gun. Others disagree with me, but a scope on a lever gun just ruins the handling and carry ability of the rifle.

(Please don't crucify me if this is a dumb question) Can you shoot .357s through this rifle? If so, does it have to be single shot? If .357 is OK, can you shoot .38s? I don't reload and was asking for plinking purposes.
No, you can't. The 35 Remington is a bottle necked rifle cartridge, and the .357 Mag is a much smaller straight walled revolver cartridge. You can if you take up reloading use .357 mag bullets in reduced loads in .35 Rem cases.

I plan on using Hornady LeverRevolution soft tips, and I understand they can go 200+ yards (back to the scope), but are the other flat nose lead cartridges much less accurate if kept around 100 yards?
I have heard some really great and some really bad reports about the Leverevolution ammo. Even in my guns, scope or not, I'd keep it on the conservative side. The 35 Rem is already a very good cartridge, I'm not sure how much better the Hornady stuff can make it.

Thanks!
Any time.

al

Joe

[Hobie]

Good 'un Joe.

[Tycer]

JMiller's answer is perfect.

You do not "need" the leverevolution ammo.

Try as many different factory ammos as you can. See which one gives the best groups. Use that brand.

[C. Cash]

Good 'un Joe.

+1 to Joe's reply and Welcome!

[al336]

awesome feedback, guys.

and quick!


Thanks again.

al

[deerwhacker444]

Welcome..!

Also, try the open sights first. You might be able to hit stuff alot farther than you think you can without the need for a scope.

[2ndovc]

Great rifle /cal. choice.

I just put this one together for our youngest. Now he's constantly bugging me if I've
made any more reloads yet!

I would not hesitate in taking a shot out to 200 yds with the .35 Rem.



jb

[AJMD429]

Try a Williams FP peep sight too. Rugged and many folks can keep 2" groups at 100 yards with one, although I'm not that good with a peep. Scopes are better in low-light conditions, also.

Most any good lever action gun will keep inside 4" at 100 yards, I'd think, which means a clean deer kill at that range.

Some folks are getting under an inch at 100 yards with theirs, although they sometimes have to custom-load their own ammunition (which really isn't that hard, and actually can save money vs. factory ammunition).

Personally, if it were legal to use .35 Remington here on deer, I'd just go with a 200gr soft point (not Leverevolution). You'd likely keep 5 of them in a 4 inch circle at 100 yards fairly easily, and they have PLENTY of power for deer.

Once you shoot your gun a bit, you'll know the hold-over for farther ranges, and could likely shoot 200 yards and cleanly kill a deer if everything else is going right. 150 yards no sweat. 100 piece of cake. (...aside from Murphy's law )

To my dismay, the .45-70 isn't the ONLY Leverevolution ammo with a too-short case; even the .35 Remington cases they use are too short to reload along with regular brass (you could reload it I'm sure, but would have to adjust your seating & crimping dies accordingly).

[JustaJeepGuy]

Joe gave the best welcome I've ever seen to a noob on any forum I've ever seen. Why can't all welcomes be like that?

[William]

I have hunted with the .35 Rem for a number of years now and really like this round. I've found that the Hornady LE is not only cheaper in my area but it is as accurate if not more so than the other roundnose offerings. It shoots higher as well, so you don't want to switch from one to the other in the field. You'll just have to see which ammo your rifle likes the best, and the Core-loct bullet has never let me down in the years before the soft tipped stuff came out. If you are going to use iron sights then you may want to upgrade; I absolutely hate the factory ones. Also, my eyes are at the point that I like a scope atop my .35 Rem levergun, but again it's up to you. I'd recommend a Leupold or Nikon 1X4 or 2X7 in that respect.

Most of all, please post your results.

Links to .35 Rem bullets tests and other info;
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 180.0.html
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 480.0.html
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 773.0.html
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 015.0.html
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 647.0.html

[Chuck 100 yd]

Welcome ! the .35 is a great round. You will enjoy it I am sure.

Mine likes cast loads at lower velocity and is just plain fun to shoot with cast bullet loads.

Have fun!
50 yd.target

[iceman]

Welcome from the great white north. I'm sure you will like it here. Great bunch of people here as you can already see by the quality of the responses.

[O.S.O.K.]

I will only add this: If you plan on hunting in areas where the deer are hunted heavily and tend to hang near the darkness on both ends of the day, then you should go ahead and scope the carbine, because you will see deer at times when the irons will be invisible and therefore, useless.

Here is a pic of a 35 caliber Marlin that I own (.356 Winchester) with what I consider to be about the best scope mount/scope setup:



Leupold base and low rings with a 25mm objective, low power scope (this one's a variable).

Nothing wrong with a scope on a levergun these days - the reality of modern-day deer hunting being what it is...

As far as the ammo, I think you will find standard 200 grain Remington Corelokts to be very satisfactory for deer hunting out to 200 yards.

[El Chivo]

The only downside to the 35 Rem is it won't do much for your tracking skills when all your deer drop right where they're hit.

I had a scope on my 336 (30-30) last season and didn't like the balance. I have to do a lot of climbing and bushwhacking to get into position and the scope would get dirty right away. But mostly I am not so comfortable estimating bullet drop with a scope. I am going to go with tang sights on my 336's because I intend to be lying in wait. Might not be ideal for all situations but they're ok for that.

Since big game is big, and ranges aren't that long, iron sights should do you well. I'm going to save the scopes for critters I can barely see.

One thing helps a little with the low light thing. If you put a globe on the front, you can use a large aperture on the back, and by centering the front ring within the rear circle (and putting the bead on target) you will be just as accurate as if you used a tiny aperture. One other reason for my changing from a scope is, I've noticed I've only seen deer well after first light, usually 7 am to 9 am.

[al336]

I had a chance to take the new Marlin 336 out this weekend and shoot it.

75 yards with the sights - 3 holes within an inch and a half, and a couple outliers.

from around 165 yards I hit a 9 inch target. I would never take a shot that
far out without a scope, but I wanted to see if I could even hit it.

I feel very comfortable that I could drop a deer or coyote from 100-125 yards
with the iron sights. I really like this gun!

I did have several cartridges jam on me. I've read that some blame it on the
Hornady LEVERevolution tips, others that it's new, or slight variances in cartridge
length.

Sometimes, I believe whenever I'm chambering the first round, the bottom of the
second round catches on the Carrier and locks up solid. The lever is fully extended and
locked in place. I have to push the second cartridge (that's still in the magazine tube)
in slightly and everything releases.

I've read comments suggesting don't load 5 or 6 shells, because that may cause
the cartridges to extend out more than if you only load 3 or 4. I tried loading
just 3, but the same thing happened.

Is this something that will work itself out? Should I try loading 6 and let it sit
a while to loosen up the spring? Is this something that I should contact Marlin
about?

Anybody have or know somebody who has had a similar experience? Any ideas?

Thanks again,

al

[Hobie]

Marlin produced a dimpled follower (the cap on the magazine spring at the receiver end) to alleviate some feeding problems.

Frankly, I don't see that the Leverevolution gives such a great advantage but a lot of it is sold!

[2ndovc]

I posted a similar problem with my 450 marlin and the LeverEv. ammunition.

I was told to contact Marlin about the problem as they designed a different carrier to work with the LE ammo.

Just reminded me that I haven't done that yet.

I haven't tried L.E. in the .35 yet but it has been amazingly accurate in my .450 and .444 Marlins.

jb

[jlchucker]

Joe, you were spot on with your reply to the original question. The 35 is not only a good round, it's a great round for what the writer wants. For years it was overlooked in favor of the 30-30, another great round. The Remington 200 grain standard bullets have been around for decades, and have always done the job very well. I agree with the scope thing as well. Leverguns with receiver sights and a big arperture are all that a woods hunter really needs. Scopes at short ranges just make carrying more of a chore.

[mulegunner]

I love the .35 Remington...I shot my very first Deer with a model 14 Remington in that caliber....and Im planning on getting the Marlin336 in a .35 Very Soon! As far as scopes go....1) i agree that a scope takes something away from a lever guns lines and handling. 2) That said....When Deer hunting a scoped rifle offers a great advantage in shot placement, picking holes in the brush, etc....I Mount up a scope on my levers for the deer season and leave them there until I get a deer or the season is over. Then the rest of the year for general range shooting and gun toting hikes I carry em slick!.
Besides mounting the scope each year gives me yet another excuse to spend some time at the range!

[al336]

just to clarify re: the LE ammo:

I'm not ignoring those that suggested it's not necessary, but that is what I had picked
up when I got the rifle, and I need to use it up.

I plan on buying the Remington Core-Lokt, but I've had a hard time finding them.

I've been able to find the bullets, but I don't reload. (yet, anyway. this may cause me to.)

Anybody know of a good place to buy by mail, preferably in bulk?

Thanks!

al