Old rumors about .356 or .307 ?

[deerhunter]

I remember hearing that Marlin might chamber them again a while back.  Did anything ever come out of that?

I think these were a couple of the best lever action calibers ever.  They were good for 250 yards on deer  anyways.

[Coyote Hunter]

Marlin built about 3,000 .356's, IIRC,  but never got around to building any .307.

Too bad, I would have loved a .307, still would.  I Think they are missing the boat by not building a 7mm, too, either a 7-30 Waters or a 7mm STE.

A .25 Marlin would be pretty cool, too.

[Prince of Wales]

Coote Hunter wrote a"a 25 Marlin would be pretty cool too".
 Boy you can say that again. A rimmed 25 based on the 307 case would be a very good blacktail round.
 You probably know already that there used to be a 25/36 Marlin cartrige. Sort of the competitor to the 25/35 Winchester.
 There is a well known wildcat that is called the 25 Souper (correct spelling). Its a 25/08 and a good one too. Bet the 25/07 would be a rimmed version of that.
 Of all the Ackley Improved cartriges the 25/25 AI is said to be one of the best because it gains a greater percentage than most. I`ve often thought about having my 336 chambered to it.  Cheers. POW

[Chuck Smith]

The Marlin 336ER in .356 Winchester is a great rifle. I have owned one for several years and have been most pleased with it. I'm not sure if Marlin will ever re-introduce this caliber, but I learned long ago to never say never:-} Mine is equipped with Ashley sights front and rear, as well as a Ashley scout scope base that holds a Leupold 2.5X scout scope in Weaver steel QD rings. It is an accurate levergun that has accounted for a lot of game. Good Shootin'

[NYH1]

I have a Winchester model 94 in 356 Win. I would much rather have it in a Marlin !!!

[Chuck from arkansaw]

I have exchanged emails with a person who built a .250 Savage on a 336 action.  He said that it made a great shooter.  loaded it with flat point bullets and it was a great combo deer and varming lever action.

[Lone Star]

That's the problem of course - FN bullets are scarce in .257".  Sure there's the 60-grain Hornady and the 75-grain Speer, but they're too soft to take advantage of a big-case .25's velocity, and they are too light for game.  The ancient 117 RN Hornady works, but it does nothing for the longer range potential of the rifle.  We need a modern FN bullet of 100-grain weight to really make a lever .25 sing.  

[spinafish]

For anyone interested J.D. Jones at SSK says he would rechamber .35 Rem. 336 Marlins to .356 Winchester for $220..beats waiting on Marlin to come around..

[darrell8937]

I looked for a long time for a 336ER and went to a Pawn shop that suposodly had one. I was drooling on the way over. Turns out the guy was not a informed gun owner and just plain Stupid, I was a 1894 in .357.. Close enough he said. WOW..  see ya..Yea a .416 Rigby is the same as a .41 mag. Oh well.. same cal bullet  right..

[dwl]

I recall reading two articles that apply to this subject.  In the first Mr. Francis (can't recall first name) rechambered a Marlin in a 25-35 improved that he called the 25 Tomcat.  It shot 117 round nose jacketed bullets to 2500 or 2600 fps if I remember correctly.  A very nice setup that I've wanted to try for years.

The second article was a rechambering of a Marlin from 35 Remington to 356 Rimless.  In this case the only change to the gun was rechambering the barrel.  Author stated that no alteration to the bolt or reciever were required.  The necked up 308 case fit on the bolt face and the cartridge fed through the action just fine.

I always thought that those two modified Marlins were the most sesnable and appealing; low cost - good performance.  For sheer fun I'd like a 40-70 or a 416 Barnes.  Anyone have any experience with those?

[ajj]

dwl, I believe that 25 Tomcat article was by Francis Sell and that I've got a copy somewhere. PM me if you want me to find it and mail it. Regards,

[Lloyd Smale]

I love my .356 win and would take a marlin in both 307 and .25 in a heartbeat.