Marlin 336 R.C. .35 Rem Accuracy?

[ErikT]

I'm sighting in an older 336, maybe an early 1970's model, shooting factory Remington Express 200grn round nose core-lokt bullets. The scope is an old Weaver 2.5x  compact with heavy t-post crosshairs. The going has been kind of tough at 100 yards shooting around 6-8 inches. It is clover leafing at 25 yards. Any remarks on accuracy with these guns?

I just remounted the scope with new ring screws and I'm cleaning the bore.  The crosshairs are very heavy and at only 2.5x they really cover the bull at 100 yards. Any other suggestions?

[jvs]

Start with tightening every screw you can find, except the Barrel Band around the front of the tube and barrel.   That one gets lightly tightened, then backed off about 1/8 turn.

6 to 8 inches at 100 yds is bad.  A check at the gunsmith for rifling may be in your future.  

On the other hand, I watched a guy last year at the range with a 30-30 and he had alot of problems.  Turns out his trigger pull was extreme and he was flinching pretty bad because of it.

Marlin loves those Lawyer Proof triggers, even though an RC would predate that.

[EDG]

Do you know if the rifle has been shot enough to break in the bore? Some of the microgroove barrels are rough enough that they foul a good bit until they have had about 200 round fired through them. You might be sure you barrel is not fouled with copper. Next try another brand of 200 grain ammo. There is nothing wrong with Remington ammo but sometimes
a rifle will perform differently with different loads. If you can get some GOOD handloads you might see a difference too. Handloading is a big issue for accuracy. Most non-handloaders rarely shoot enough to get a centerfire broken in. I have put 60 rounds through my .375 Marlin so far and it looks like it will take another 60 to 100 rounds to stop most of the fouling.  
Ed

[papajohn428]

My Gun is a late 90's production model, but it shoots the 200-Core-Lokt into a shade over an inch at 100 yards.  But that was also with a 3X9 scope that later came unglued from the recoil.  I'm currently using a 4X handgun scope, mounted way out front, and groups are around two inches.  What I really want is a pair of Scout Scopes in 2X7 flavor, one for the 35 Remington and the other for my stainless 44 mag.  Anybody know where I can get those kinda scopes at a decent price?

I don't think your gun is inaccurate, I'm betting it's just in need of some better optics.  The better you can see the target, the closer you can hold.

Papajohn

[ErikT]

Well, after replacing the scope screws and tightening all of the action screws and cleaning the bore I got it shooting 2" at 100 yards. Not bad as far as I'm concerned!

[big medicine]

That isnt too bad at all. That will kill a deer.

[44 Man]

PapaJohn,  I have a 336 in 35 rem.  It has an AO big appature rear sight and a williams fire sight front and a scout mount.  I expected to be able to use one of my extra pistol scopes on the scout mount but they need to be mounted even farther out than it allows.  I ended up putting on a 1 x 4 Bushnell with 5" of eye relief.  I mounted it with quick detatch rings and it just clears the AO rear sight and has a great field of view.  I'm much happier with this araingement than the scout scopes I have tried.  I think you will like it too.  44 Man