Marlin v Winchester

[Dantankerous]

30-30 rifles that is. 

 

Just curious what you have and whatever you prefer. Pre 64's, pre crossbolt safeties, later builds, the new Ruger made Marlin or Miroku Winchesters...

 

Obviously not competition lever guns, but just good old hunting rifles. 

 

Myself I have only Marlins. Probably need to rectify that with a pre-64 Winchester or two. Maybe it's my geographical area, but I find used Marlins all the time for sale and never a Winchester. Pre covid I picked up a older Marlin 336, pre crossbolt safety for a great price. Excellent bluing and the wood was fantastic. Had it out of the safe the other day and I just started wondering about leverguns. 

 

My preference is to not put a scope on a lever action but I understand its utility. I do however really like the Skinner Sight rear aperture peep that is being offered on the new Marlins. Quite useful. 

[Pat Riot]

I had a Winchester 94 Carbine and a Marlin 336 in 30-30 and I preferred the Marlin over the Winchester. 
It was easier to load.

The action was smooth with no hitches. This make cycling the action and loading a new cartridge with the gun mounted to my shoulder a breeze. 
With my hand loads the Marlin was more precise and accurate at 100 yards. 
With Federal and Winchester factory ammo the Marlin was more accurate than the Winchester. 
The only thing I couldn’t do with the Marlin that I could with the Winchester is fire lead bullets. 
 

Marlin 336 = Winner

 

Oh, the Winchester looked sexier, but looks aren’t everything. 
 

[Alpo]

I have Winchesters. Some made by Winchester, somebody by Rossi, and some made by Miroku. Also one made by Uberti, but I'm not a big fan of Mr Henry's design. Mr Browning's designs, on the other hand, I like greatly.

 

I have two Marlins - a Model 39A, and an 1889 in 38 Winchester. But I just don't like the Marlin. Something about it just does not feel right to me.

 

I don't really understand that, because it's heavier so it should have less recoil. And that's a good thing because I don't like recoil. But I still prefer my Winchesters.

[Hashknife Cowboy]

Been hunting with one of these since about 1969, Marlin 336 Texan 30-30.  Maybe its a nostalgia thing, but I always come back to it.  Its going to come down to what suits your fancy, all are excellent. 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I have owned three Winchester 94s  first was a pre-WW!! carbine. the second a pre-64 carbine, and currently a 1920-something 26" octagonal barrel rifle.  I'll keep this one.  

 

I had two Marlins (don't know what model) which were very nice guns but (and some of you can relate to this) they simple didn't feel right, didn't fit me somehow.

 

I currently looking for a Savage 99E with the cartridge counter, no scope or tang sights, and aP plain-jane" un-checkered stock.  I wan.t one in .30-30.  I never had one and never fired one in .30-30, but have shot a few other caibiers.

 

I like lever guns.  Had a second model Evans once that I sold because the kids were hungry.  I also had a Whitney Burgess and a Whitney Scharf.  Both were stolen.

[Henry T Harrison]

I’m probably the odd one because I prefer the cross bolt safety.1 hunt with mine and I was always uncomfortable with lowering the hammer with frozen fingers 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I had always been a Winchester guy, partly because I shoot rifles left handed.   That is one of the reasons I will not even consider a Post 83 Winchester.   The angle eject just ruined the gun for me.   And then they made it worse with the crossbolt safety.   The tang safety is "better" than the crossbolt, but it's still wrong.  What was wrong with the half cock notch on the hammer?  

In case you can't tell, I loathe post 83 Winchester 94's.

But, I do have a very nice pre-83 in my collection.  It's a Sears Ted Williams Model 100, but it's really nice.  A run of the mill 94 of the era, but these Sears guns had a feature that I think was better than the one actually branded as Winchesters; the front sight.   The front sight on the Sears model is a traditional blade front sight, not the hooded, ramped one that Winchester was so enamored with at the time that I personally find very ugly.   Now, there are exceptions, there are pre-83 Winchesters with the traditional front sight, and I'd not hesitate to get another one if I found one in a configuration I wanted.

I also have a pre-64 Winchester is .32 Winchester Special.   (This cartridge is so similar to the .30-30 that you wonder why it was ever made.)  Anyway, this gun is very nice, and is clearly of better quality than the post-64 but still pre-83 models.    If I really wanted another 94 in .30-30, I'd more than likely look for one of these with a 24" octagon barrel, as both of my other 94's are saddle ring carbines with round barrels.

Oh, I also have a pre-83 94 in .44 Magnum.  It's a lot better than its reputation.

All of that being said, I recently acquired a Sears JC Higgins Model 45 (AKA the Marin 336C) in .30-30.   It has no stupid safeties.   I have to admit that the action is much smoother than even my pre-64 94.  I have not fired it yet, but I will eventually.  I might have to admit that it's the better gun, but if I had to choose between the Winchester and the Marlin, well, I'd still go with the Winchester, for personal preferences reasons.

So when it comes to getting a .30-30, Marlin vs Winchester is very much a "what do you prefer" type decision.  If you wanna go for quality, go with a pre-64 Winchester or a pre-safety Marlin 336.   If wanna go for price, a pre-83 Winchester is probably the best way to go.   A pre-safety Marlin in an alternative, but they tend to be more expensive on the used market for whatever reason.

Would not touch a new production one of either.

[Alpo]

1 hour ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

.32 Winchester Special.   (This cartridge is so similar to the .30-30 that you wonder why it was ever made.) 

I wasn't using them back then. This is just the reason that I found, years ago, explaining why the 32 Winchester special.

 

In 1895, when the 30 WCF was released, it was smokeless powder. It has never been factory loaded with black powder - always smokeless. But most people were used to loading with black powder. That was what they had on hand. That's what was in most of the stores. And that's what they knew how to use.

 

And the shape of the case of the 30 Winchester - it did not like black powder.

 

So they came up with the 32 Winchester special, which had a different shoulder angle and apparently liked black powder. It also was factory loaded with smokeless, but if you then reloaded your empty brass with black it worked just as good.

 

Because back then people realized that intelligent people did not throw their brass away but instead reloaded it. So ammunition makers designed cartridges that could be reloaded easily. Easily, with the available components.

[Stump Water]

Outside of CAS I'm a bolt gun guy.  The only lever gun in rifle caliber that I've owned was a a 336 in .35 Rem that was the twin of the pic Hashknife posted.  Nothing wrong with the gun, but I just could not come up with a load it liked.  It shot factory ammo well enough, but I don't shoot factory.  Sold it.

 

A coworker bought a new 336 in thutty-thutty.  I think it was during the Remlin period.  Both the butt stock and forearm were way oversized which made it feel very clunky and ill-handling.  No idea if they were all that way or just his.  

[Pat Riot]

6 hours ago, Hashknife Cowboy said:

Been hunting with one of these since about 1969, Marlin 336 Texan 30-30.  Maybe its a nostalgia thing, but I always come back to it.  Its going to come down to what suits your fancy, all are excellent. 

 

My Marlin was also a straight stocked model. 
 

 

I have never liked lever guns with the so-called “pistol grip” stock. 

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I have always been a Winchester man myself. 

I have Owen's several Marlins over the years .

Marlin's are like tanks and our utility rifles .

Winchester's are just beautiful &  sexy ,

They both work.

 

[Texas Maverick]

I am not prejudice on my rifles. I have Winchester 94 from 1969 in 30-30 that is the Golden Spike Special Edition, my 2 Uberti 73's for my match rifles in 357, another Uberti from 2017 that is the 73 John Wayne Special Edition in 45 LC and a 2017 1895G 45-70 Marlin. I have the Henry Golden Boy in 22 for side matches as well. Like Stump Water said, I like bolt action for hunting and have a number of them from 17hmr, 22lr, 243, 30-06, 6.5 and 7mm Mag. then a couple of AR's and AK's. Too bad I lost all of them in the river when trying to cross it to a friends island one day.

 

TM

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

7 hours ago, Henry T Harrison said:

I’m probably the odd one because I prefer the cross bolt safety.1 hunt with mine and I was always uncomfortable with lowering the hammer with frozen fingers 

Understandable

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

Im have two Glenfields. 
Both the same model (30). Each has the shorter five round tube, and honestly, this is a great improvement in balance, weight and point-ability. 
One is in its original stock, has skinner peep sight set, and is in its original 30-30 chambering. I love a load of IMR 3031 under a 170 grain Sierra RN. It hits hard, goes through and through and kills effectively. The 150 grain Sierra FP works very well too.
 

The other Glenfield has an XS peep sight set , a Boyds walnut stock set and I had it bored out and rechambered to 375 Winchester. I did this project to scratch an itch a few years back with black bear in mind. It really does little more than a 35 Remington, except maybe offer the heavier 250 grain bullet option and a marginal amount of more thump and energy.  Some bullets and powders were inconsistent to find at that time I went down this rabbit hole. I settled on Fury and Hawk bullets when Barnes and Sierra proved difficult to acquire. Hornady discontinued their 220 grain interlock specifically designed for this chambering years ago. That,  the Sierra 200 and Barnes 250 seem to be the ones folks most prefer and many rave over the Volker bullets designed for this chambering with its lumbering velocity in mind but he never has any when I look. But Hawk and Fury have proven just fine, though I have yet to test on game. I had several good powders already: A1680, Imr3031, H4895 and H4198. Reloder 7 has always been highly regarded for this caliber but hard to get for a while there, and A1680 is accurate enough and simply outperforms Reloder 7 by a good margin in the velocity department. 200 grain with a max velocity over 2500+ fps, and the 220 grain clocking at over 2300+ fps per Accurates published data.
Ive not chronied my loads yet. 

A Fury 220 grain flat point over a load of A1680 is just about the right balance of power and speed I settled on to hunt bear with though a 200 grain Fury (or Sierra) is awesome enough to knock the hell out of any game I regularly cross. My 170 grain loads in 30-30 already does that sort of knocking. I expect the 200 or 220 grain load in my 375 to do it in spades.

 

I loaded  250 grain Hawks (again, the Barnes originals in 375 diameter never seem available) over a load of H4198. It would be a slobber knocker and I think I would love to dump a couple into a moose at close range if given an opportunity again. Load manuals indicate 1800-1900 fps with H4198..

[watab kid]

i dont have a 3930 , i live in the land of 3030s tho , i see both this time of years , pre-deer season sight in period , its started here , season is a couple months off but its started our normal days activity at the range doubled two weeks ago and doubled again this past weekend , we shall see what happens next weekend , after that im taking a week off - in october our range gets so busy there will be lines behind some of our fiourty shooting positions waiting to use them , then after the november opener it will get quieter till christmas when we close for the winter couple months - reopen mid march for the high school trap shooters 

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

You can feel the Soul in a Winchester  !

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/2ge--A64XcY?si=hczo5dSNvS6-DuZd

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 9/15/2025 at 2:51 PM, Texas Maverick said:

I am not prejudice on my rifles. I have Winchester 94 from 1969 in 30-30 that is the Golden Spike Special Edition, my 2 Uberti 73's for my match rifles in 357, another Uberti from 2017 that is the 73 John Wayne Special Edition in 45 LC and a 2017 1895G 45-70 Marlin. I have the Henry Golden Boy in 22 for side matches as well. Like Stump Water said, I like bolt action for hunting and have a number of them from 17hmr, 22lr, 243, 30-06, 6.5 and 7mm Mag. then a couple of AR's and AK's. Too bad I lost all of them in the river when trying to cross it to a friends island one day.

 

TM

I got out of the Army in August of 1960 and moved to Brigham City, Utah a few miles from Promontory Point (and about 25-30 miles form my home town of Logan).  I missed the actual ceremony by a few months.  In June we moved to Illinois, but before I left I bought a Golden Spike Centennial carbine and a Colt Scout Centennial .22 pistol from a local Skaggs (?) store. for $150.00 for the pair.  

 

They almost couldn't give them away because they flooded northern Utah with them.  I sold them when I quit Caterpillar and couldn't find a job right away......but I better than doubled what I had in them.

[Texas Maverick]

15 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I got out of the Army in August of 1960 and moved to Brigham City, Utah a few miles from Promontory Point (and about 25-30 miles form my home town of Logan).  I missed the actual ceremony by a few months.  In June we moved to Illinois, but before I left I bought a Golden Spike Centennial carbine and a Colt Scout Centennial .22 pistol from a local Skaggs (?) store. for $150.00 for the pair.  

 

They almost couldn't give them away because they flooded northern Utah with them.  I sold them when I quit Caterpillar and couldn't find a job right away......but I better than doubled what I had in them.

I was offered $900 for mine last year but decided not to sell it. It and the John Wayne Edition just sit in the safe and hopefully appreciate some more. I gave $450 for it I believe. They are both still new and I have the boxes that go with them.

 

TM

[Jeff, #21334]

I don't know if it's just me.But it seems like the marlin forearms are way fatter than the winchesters.The winchester seems nice and slim

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

41 minutes ago, Jeff, #21334 said:

I don't know if it's just me.But it seems like the marlin forearms are way fatter than the winchesters.The winchester seems nice and slim

The Marlin is fatter and I like that way, which is what makes the world go ‘round. It would be quite boring otherwise if we all liked the same. 
 

I’ve enjoyed a lot of Winchesters, especially Trapper carbines. (Do you know a 10 year old boy’s arm ain’t long enough to spin cock a ‘94 Trapper, even with a big lever loop?  Got the scar in my armpit to prove it. Dad almost wet himself laughing. Mom just shook her head.)

 

Anyway, I am biased to pre-safety Marlins. As others have said, they just feel right. Currently have a 39A, a Marlin 94 in 44mag, a 336 in 30-30, and a whatever-you-want-to-call-it in 45-70.  
 

The 44mag was AMAZING when stoked with Goex under a 200gr boolit from Springfield Slim. called it my 44 Extra Long Russian. 

 

Have bought and sold a few other Marlins in various variations over the years. Most I now regret their departure. 

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

I have only had one. Marlin 336 I bought in college. Gal I dated called me asking if I wanted to buy a deer rifle. Folks were broke needing money. I bought a semi beat up 336 for $75 circa 1984. The action was still stiff, used to watch TV and work the action to smooth it up. Mounted a Tasco 1.5-5x variable and never looked back. It would group about 1.5 inches at 100. Hunted with it many years at short range. It is batting 1.000. I've killed 5 deer with 5 rounds. Hunt at longer range now but still have it, one of the last rifles I would part with 🥰

[WD Farren]

I have a Remlin in 1894 and a Uberti in 1873

Both are entirely satisfactory.

[Timothy]

If ruger had re introduced the 336 and 1894 without the cross bolt safety it would have added much appeal to the 1000 dollar price tag imo. I bet most of us would love a trip back to 1982 and levergunners will typically pay for tradition and nostalgia.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

1 hour ago, Timothy said:

If ruger had re introduced the 336 and 1894 without the cross bolt safety it would have added much appeal to the 1000 dollar price tag imo. I bet most of us would love a trip back to 1982 and levergunners will typically pay for tradition and nostalgia.

 

I missed opportunity, to be sure.   And I'd assert that it's not impossible.   S&W just got rid of the lock.

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

On 9/15/2025 at 9:38 AM, Henry T Harrison said:

I’m probably the odd one because I prefer the cross bolt safety.1 hunt with mine and I was always uncomfortable with lowering the hammer with frozen fingers 

I've only had 1 or 2 Marlins with that and they immediately got castrated. 

JHC

[Tom Bullweed]

My lever guns are split pretty evenly for Win vs Marlins.  If I still hunted, I would want to try the old trick of loading spire points in the .30/30 for improved trajectory and simply hunt with one in the chamber, one in the mag.  Plenty for hunting.

 

[Tye Riverman, SASS #41433]

I have both in 30-30.  The marlin wears a scout scope and the winchesters have open sights.  Both have their place, but the winchesters are just sexier.  My go to is the AE trapper.  

 

YMMV

Tye