Marlin 336ER rifling????

spurgon · Post by **spurgon** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:30 pm

I just got my Marlin 336 ER .356 and it has ballard rifling not "Microove-Barrel" like is stamped in the barrel. What gives?

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 9:13 am

Spurgon;

According to the Marlin catalogs of the time ( I looked at the 1984 catalog), the Model 336 ER was made with "...modified Micro-Groove rifling." The 1987 catalog states the "Micro-Groove rifling has 12 grooves", whereas most of the regular Micro-Groove rifling was 16 and 20 grooves.
It would appear Marlin was still trying to promote the Micro-Groove rifling, while using a rifling style that actually worked on the bigger calibers. One other thing that might explain things is that the roll dies used were expensive to make, and so they used what they had on hand. They may of figured regular Micro-Groove rifling was going to work, made the roll die to stamp the barrel, but when in testing it, the Micro-Groove rifling did not work, changed the rifling but not the marking.
I hope this helps.

spurgon · Post by **spurgon** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:15 pm

Regnier,
Thanks for the information. Do you think that the micro-groove rifling didn't work well in all Marlin .35 calibers and larger or just the .356
thanks,
spurgon

spurgon · Post by **spurgon** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 1:03 pm

Regnier,
The barrel on my 336ER does not have a "JM" stamped into the barrel foward of the receiver on the left side like other Marlin barrels leading some I've talked to about this issue to say that they think that the barrel may not have been made by Marlin. Any thoughts on why Marlin would have left off this stamping. Also, some others with 336ER's say that theirs does have microgroove rifling. Do you think that theirs may have been produced before the switch over to the ballard style rifling that mine has? Mine has a serial number of 1501xxxx. Can you tell me when it was made?
thanks,
spurgon

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 4:30 pm

Spurgon;

By the serial number, your Marlin Model 336 ER was made in 1985. Brophy states that the Model 336 ER was made from 1983 to 1986. But, I show it in the 1987 catalog. Making me believe that they must have been selling out the left overs that year.
As to the "JM" marking, sometimes that stamp is located on the bottom of the barrel. You might take the forearm off to see if it is there.
I do not believe Marlin ever had problems with all .35 caliber rifles. The .35 Remington in the Model 336 has been around since 1953 using the Micro-Groove rifling and is still being made today. It may be just the heavier loads that needed the different rifling.
Check with the other owners of the 336 ER's that have the Micro-Groove rifling to see when they were made. Early guns may have the Micro-Groove rifling while later guns have "modified Micro-Groove" rifling.
I hope this helps.

spurgon · Post by **spurgon** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 6:22 pm

Regnier, You're the man.

Fiftybelow · Post by **Fiftybelow** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:32 pm

I have a 336ER .365 Win. sn#17150XXX . It says micro-groove and it has the JM stamp on the bbl.. The rifling appears to have 12 grooves in it .Can someone tell me when this rifle was made?
This is my first post. I found this site yesterday when researching this rifle I bought earlier in the day. Boy was I suprised when I saw the values of these guns. I would rate this gun in exelent condition . It came with a nice older leather sling , a box of shells with three shot(brass was saved), a hammer extension, and a williams sight mounted in the first scope hole. I looked at it at a local gun shop then went home to research the ammo to see if it was still avalible, went back to buy it . He was asking 260 then he came down to 240 after we talked for a moment because he said it was an "odd ball caliber" . I purchased it then came home to do more research on the gun and thats when i found out there were only 2441 made and somewhere on this site I saw the price was 800 to 1800.
Can you tell that I am very excited. I look foreward to learning about these guns from your fine forum.
Thanks,
Chris
gagunguy@yahoo.com

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:26 pm

Fiftybelow;

Your Marlin Model 336 ER was manufactured in 1983.
Really, you should not be excited about buying that gun for $240.00, you should feel ashamed as you "stole" it. Just kidding.....great buy!! It just goes to show, that there are still good buys out there. Have fun with it.
I hope this helps.

Fiftybelow · Post by **Fiftybelow** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 5:46 pm

Thanks for the info, do the serial numbers jump around because the other guys # is a 150XXXXX number and mine is a 171xxxxx number and mine is older than his. Also where do you get the serial number info to tell the year of manufacture. It would be neat to have one big book that covered most all guns ang gave info like dates and quanity produced.
Thanks,
Chris
gagunguy@yahoo.com

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:31 pm

Chris;

There is one big book available that will tell you just about everything you ever wanted to know about Marlins. It is William S. Brophy's book, MARLIN FIREARMS, A History of the Guns and the Company that made them.
The reason for the difference in the serial numbers is Marlin's system of serializing their guns. You subtract the first two digits from 100 to get the year of manufacture. (i.e. 100 - 15 = 85 or 1985 and 100 - 17 = 83 or 1983) Marlin started using this system in 1973.
I hope this helps.

Fiftybelow · Post by **Fiftybelow** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:33 pm

Thanks for the info Regnier, I appreciate the help.
Chris

Marlin Firearms Collectors Association

Marlin 336ER rifling????

Marlin 336ER rifling????

.356

thanks Regnier