Just received my December American Rifleman - Hornady has an ad in it for the .308 Marlin. Anyone know what this rouind is?

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:
Just received my December American Rifleman - Hornady has an ad in it for the .308 Marlin. Anyone know what this rouind is?

It's the 45/70 necked down to .308

no it is more like the 307 winchester or a rimmed 308 with lower psi

Yup, the failed 307 Winchester all over again. I just do not understand the marketing strategy.

with hornady, marlin with the stronger actions and tighter tollerences and gummy bullets, i think it will be fairly popular...

now we just need to move the shoulder forward and give it a 40 degree shoulder and viola! 308 power

Thanks guys! Just a re-heated .307 WIN.???

308 Marlin Express
http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=481

pdf file: http://www.hornady.com/media/308_Marlin_Express_Ad.pdf

-Bob F.

Looking at the picture,
I see no rim and it looks prety short. Almost like a 300 savage or mabye even a 7.62X39.
With a .336 marlin with a 22 inch barrel and a low power scope, It would really make a nice little deer rifle. The load uses a 160 grain bullet but I think a 140 would be better.
If you could get 2800, and its very acurate
It would be a fast handleing extreemly usfull deer cartridge.
That does,nt mean I plan to buy one , but Even with load thats out it would be a 250 to 300 yard stopper but still be like a 30,30 in the woods...tj3006

Hi
Any case dimension data on this new cartridge? is it a rimless or semi-rimmed like 307 winchester? any reloading data by hornady?
regards
yes

The new issue of Shooting Times has an article on the .308 Marlin. It started out to be simply a .307 Winchester loaded with the Hornady LeveRevolution bullet. However, the new Hornady bullet designed for the round had an ogive that was too long to load in the .307 Winchester case and still fit the LOA limits of the Marlin 336 action, so Hornady moved the shoulder back slightly and shortened the case a bit. Otherwise it is simply a .307 Winchester which will have a bunch of headspace if fired in an original .307 chamber. Despite the short shoulder, it would probably be safe to fire. On the other hand, a .307 would not chamber in a .308 Marlin; of course, Marlin brass could be made from the .307. (Note to the curious: Most .307's will chamber, fire, and extract .308 Winchester just fine -- their extractor claw will grasp the "rimless" rim well enough, and dimensionally they're the same cartridge.)

Is the .308 Marlin pointless? Of course. Rather than "invent" a new case, the newly invented bullet could have had a shorter ogive. But then who would want to re-market the .307? And all of this to achieve marginal bolt-action performance in a hundred-plus year-old lever design (which will always have a stiff trigger).

If there were a market for "bolt action" lever gun performance, then the Winchester 88 and Sako Finnwolf would still be with us. I suspect that lever gun enthusiasts would be much more excited if they were offered some original-type guns in .33 Winchester or .45/75 with tang sights than some synthetic or laminate stocked stainless wonder with a 4-16X Swarovski perched on it.

I'm thinking about this, and perhaps I know info that I don't understand, or the info I thnk I know isn't true. Whichever, here's what I'm thinking. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong about this.

As far as I remember, the Marlin lever action is designed to withstand about 40 to 42 K psi. If that is true, then it would be very foolish indeed for Marlin to chamber their lever gun into which some fool will shoot a 308 or 307 round. The inevitablity is obvious.

Given that tidbit of info - if true - I find it difficult to believe that Marlin or Hornady designed the new case based on some bullet ogive. It seems that Marlin would prefer that the 308/307 not fit into their chamber, which makes perfect sense to me.

This may be the first real improvment over the 30-30 for this class of lever gun. That's a big statement - given that it has taken so long coming. Perhaps we can finally declare the 30-30 obsolete.

If I'm correct about this pressure thing, then this case may be perfect for the G2 Contender also - pistol & rifle. This is progress. I have a nice looking G2 frame and walnut stock, which I have been racking my brain on what barrel to buy or have made. Perhaps Hornady has created perfection.

Does anyone know for sure that this new case is rimmed?

Thanks,
KB

The 30/30 will be obsolete when the cartridge stops killing deer.
...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas Jones:
The 30/30 will be obsolete when the cartridge stops killing deer.
...tj3006

There are plenty of obsolete cartridges that kill deer if used for that purpose, the 30-30s brother the 32 Winchester for example.

The 30-30 was obsolete, technically, a long time ago, just wasn't declared so, and most didn't notice, or care, partially because most people don't handload the 30-30 and just toss the brass.

The 30-30 will be obsolete when people quit using it - and that will be a long time from now. We'll probably run out of deer first. But I'm thinking this new 308 Marlin might make a dent in the 30-30 sales.

Perhaps there are more people like me who never really liked the 30-30, as a handloader and technically as a cartridge, but we liked what it does. Before the Marlin 308, there has not been a viable alternative in that special niche. We shall see, but I think I am one customer.

KB

OK, I read on another forum that the pressure specs for the 308 Marlin are well below the 308 Winchester and the 300 Savage, somewhere in the mid-40s K psi.

The 300 Savage, incidentally, is another obsolete cartridge that kills deer just fine.

So, there are several good reasons that Marlin/Hornady made a new cartridge. SAAMI Pressure specs being first on the list. Since there are no old rifles out there, they can set the specs where they want them. Naturally that is exactly where the Marlin action is as well.

Remember, the 307 was introduced in a beefed up 94 action, and the brass is thicker than regular 308 Win brass, and the SAAMI specs PSI is slightly lower than the 308 Win. Yet the 307 SAAMI psi is much greater than the design specs of the Marlin action.

They clearly don't want people to be using 308 or 307 Win ammo or 300 Savage in the 308 Marlin chamber. Pointy bullets for one prime reason, psi is another prime reason.

This is exactly the same kind of accurate, consistant and logical reasoning that went behind the development of the 450 Marlin. Safety, and practical.

Think about it - it takes a lot of somethingorother (probably money) to go toe to toe with the 30-30 in the market, regardless of how good the innovation is. This is something Winchester tried and failed, even though the 307 was a good idea. They failed partially because the cartridge wouldn't work in the standard 94 action, nor the Marlin action. The 30-30 has held its niche far longer than logic would say. It's because no major company can afford to invest and lose the bet that they can make money. It's certainly wasn't for lack of a better idea. Well Marlin/Hornady have a better idea and they put the money into it too.

Look at all the wildcat Contender cartridges made off the 30-30 brass. Suddenly there is an alternative there too.

So, I wouldn't poo-poo this cartridge just yet.

Please, someone, is this a rimmed cartridge?

KB

OK you slackers, I've found the answer to my question.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/308_marlin_first_look.htm

KB