http://www.gunweek.com/2003/feature0301.html

a good article for leverlovers and 358 win lovers...two cults combined...

almost enough to get me interested...rascal!!

Rich
DRSS

It was not my impression that the 336 could handle 308/358 pressure levels safely. True?

i would run reduced loads...

get a new xlr and you could run in the mid 40"s which is all you need.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
http://www.gunweek.com/2003/feature0301.html

a good article for leverlovers and 358 win lovers...two cults combined...

I suppose it is safe enough, but for a high-intensity round like the .358 Win., I much prefer an action that locks up front. If one insists on a lever action, none is better than the BLR in this caliber!

I am intrigued by this idea. There have been a lot of posts on some other forums (esp Campfire) about this. Apparently the action is strong enough, at least by the experts on those forums. I've shot 35's a lot and really like the 356/358 for whitetail hunting, esp with the flat point 225. The problem was that the 94AE is heavy, because of the beefed up receiver. I am curious if any of our members have had this done. Is case sizing and stretching an issue? Do you still twitch when you set off 45-50000 beside your head in a 35-40000 action, or are you satisfied that the bolt face pressure is low enough and the barrel is where the higher pressures are exerted. One more question,if this is OK, why didn't marlin do it a long time ago? Again, I get excited about this, but I know enough metalugy to know that steel lets go over time, and it's my head next to this.
Bfly

Since Marlin DID make the 336 in .356 Winchester, I think I'd go that route instead.
With either a good quality receiver sight or a 2x7 scope, they are the cat's meow for deep timber deer. (Midway has the .356 brass in its April flyer, as we speak, and Graf's pretty much always has it available too.)

I was thinking too, that it was chambered in 356 so why not? The only thing holding me back would be that I have full powered loads for my other two 358s. I don't want someone using them in a 336 after I'm gone. Might be a time bomb of sorts. Maybe the .356 is after all the best policy. I have that article in my saved files. Thanks for bringing it up here. God Bless. Packy

I made a HUGE mistake by not buying a Marlin chambered for a 356Win, with a 4x Leupold in pristine condition. One of the MANY deals I let slip through my fingers over the years.

A local Gun Shop had it inconspicuously setting in the Used Firearms rack. Happened to notice the size of the Bore being larger than the usual small Bores from the back side of the rack. They were asking $300 for it.

I had all kinds of 35cal rifles at that time, so I tried to get some of my buddies interested in it. I must have told six different hunting buddies about it over two weeks, but none of them wanted it.

One day I was sitting at work getting ready to go to lunch and thought about the rifle. Since I did a lot of swapping with the Owner, I thought I could get it for $270. Figured the scope was worth at least $120 and then I'd only have $150 in the rifle, which was selling for right at $300 new back then. It would make a fine Inside-the-Woods Deer rifle, or excellent Trade Bait. So I decided to pick it up at lunch(should have called the Owner).

As I was going in the Gun Shop, I held the door open for a guy coming out with his arms full of stuff. Come to find out, he had just bought it!
---

The 356Win at normal load levels will kill anything in our Southeastern Swamps/Woods, from Bears to Hogs to Deer - with the correct Bullet.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

Took me a few times to get through my head, the phrase; "You snooze, you lose". The trick is to lay on enough "smooze" so your Significant other won't let you "snooze"

My analysis indicates that if the 358 Winchester (SAAMI pressure spec 52,000 CUP) loads can be kept to 45,000 CUP or approximately 50,300 PSI with a 2.57" COL that one would be within the safe operating pressure of that cartridge in a Marlin 336 action. The maximum load with BL-C(2) and many of the Hodgdon starting loads are around or below this point. 2300 fps with the 220 grain Speer flat nose bullet is a definite improvement over the 35 Remington. Of course the SAAMI pressure specification of 33,500 PSI for the 35 Remington is grossly underloaded in deference to many older rifles in circulation. But there is load data that supports the higher pressure for the 358 Winchester in the Marlin 336 while it is scarce for the 35 Remington.

I've read that article and have always felt that not taking the barrel off to rechamber it was a mark of poor quality 'smithing. It is so easy to take the barrel off a Marlin 336, why wouldn't you do it?

I currently have 2 Marlin 336s that have been rechambered by MO 'smith Regan Nonneman. I had a Marlin 336 CS rechambered from 35 Rem to 356 and liked it so much that I sold it and had a 336 SD in 35 rechambered to 356 and a 336 SC rechambered from 30-30 to 307. The Nonneman conversions will work with either rimmed brass, 307 & 356, or rimless brass, 308 & 358. I don't fire 308 or 358 factory ammunition in my rifles, but wouldn't be concerned about the safety of the action if I had to fire 308 or 358 factory ammo in a pinch. I prefer pistol grip stocks to straight grip stocks, so the Winchester 94BB and Browning BLR have never appealed to me, although I have owned a couple of BLRs in 257 Roberts, 284, and 358.

The best thing about the Nonneman conversion is that it is an inexpensive way to get into a 356/358 hunting rifle. I can buy used Marlin 336s for less than $250+/- almost all the time and Nonneman's work is very reasonable, so I could get into a 336 in 307 or 356 for around $350+/-. At $350+/-, I wouldn't worry about scratching or denting it, like I would if I took a 336 ER to the field.

If you have any interest in this issue, I'd suggest that you call Regan Nonneman and discuss it with him, as I would catagorize him as the subject matter expert on Marlin conversions.

Jeff

I have a 35 Remington rechambered to 356/358 Win. It will take a 358 if the COL is not over 2.56. It shoots rimmed or rimless with equal ease. I've had no trouble with the conversion and it shoots 2MOA with factory ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by snowcat:
It was not my impression that the 336 could handle 308/358 pressure levels safely. True?

As a steady diet, I don't believe the 336 should be chambered for .358 Win. It appears that Marlin agrees, since they have refused to chamber it for the .358. IF used with .356 level loads, it should be OK.

I seem to recall that the .356 Marlin was a beefed up version, not an ordinary 336. I'd be very chary of using a 336 action. If I really had the hots for one of these, I'd start with with a .444.

I have the 356 and 307 in the Winchester Big Bore as well as the 375 Winchester Big Bore. I also have a 358 Browning lever. I love those mid bore levers. I also have a 35 Whelen.