History of the Marlin 336
While the Model 336 is heavier than its Winchester competitors, this enables the use of larger cartridges. Big game hunters, in particular, love this rifle because it allows for wildcat caliber conversions. This is especially useful for those who might encounter grizzly bears while hunting in the West or in Alaska. Marlins have always been known for great hunting rifles. Actually, their first ever lever action was celebrated by frontiersmen. One advertisement from the 1880s read, “These are THE Buffalo Gun.”
With a flat top receiver and side ejection, the Model 336 is much better for optics than original Winchesters. This design plus the increased use of scopes lead to a strong hold in that sector of the firearms market. In fact, in the 1980s, the Model 336 was second in all-time American sales of high-powered sporting rifles. The Winchester Model 1894 came in first. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the AR-15 has already surpassed these numbers.
Marlin 336 History
In 1863, John Marlin started his own firearms company after working for Colt during the Civil War, but it wasn’t until the 1880s that Marlin Firearms began producing lever action repeating rifles. His biggest competition was Winchester, but he saw a hole in the market—Marlin found that Winchester hadn’t designed a lever action repeating rifle in .45-70. This caliber was standard for single shot rifles in the U.S. Army at the time and was also common among civilians exploring the West.
By Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) - https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/11368, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87490723
In collaboration with Andrew Burgess, Marlin released the Model 1881 in .45-70. Though some thought the design was more advanced than Browning’s 1886 Winchester, Marlin ceased production in 1892 because Browning’s 1886 became more popular.
With the help of L.L. Hepburn, Marlin produced the flat top receiver with side ejections in 1889—the first ever of its kind. Again, it is this design that makes these lever action optic friendly.
Marlin died in 1901 but his sons continued the business. World War One diverted the company’s focus to developing machine guns for foot soldiers and planes. They became one of the largest producers of machine guns for the Allied forces during this time period. In fact, Marlin Firearms was responsible for building the M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun.
In 1948, Marlin released the Model 336 lever action rifle. The gun’s design was based on the Model 1893 and the Model 36 lever action rifles—both of which were designed by L.L. Hepburn. But it also included design changes and innovations from Thomas R. Robinson Junior such as a new breech bolt, carrier, extractor, and springs.
Later, in 1956, Marlin added their proprietary “Microgroove” rifling to the Model 336. This new rifling design increased the number of rifling grooves and provided improvements in accuracy for some cartridges, made it easier to clean, and also enabled higher velocity while keeping chamber pressure low. Another bonus was that it increased the rate at which Marlin could manufacture the barrels.
Over time, several customers complained that microgroove rifling wouldn’t shoot cast bullets accurately. While there’s much contention and debate on this matter, Marlin’s design began to come under scrutiny. In the 1990s, there was a resurgence of popularity of cowboy guns with a demand for historical accuracy—including ballard rifling. Between the rumors of inaccuracy and the demand for historical accuracy in cowboy guns, Marlin decided to scrap their microgroove rifling from many of their lever action rifles in the late 1990s.
In January 2008, Remington finalized their purchase of Marlin. Though owned by Remington, they continue to produce guns under the Marlin brand. Surely Remington will carry on the Marlin tradition of high quality lever action rifles for hunters. We know this customer appreciates the flat top design for his newly custom-made scope rail!
Sources
https://www.historynet.com/challenge-repeated-1881-marlin-rifle.htm
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_336
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Firearms
