308 or 338 Marlin Express???

[Goat]

Truth be told I need another rifle like I need additional holes in my head...but when has that stopped me? I want to get a levergun with a little more reach(flatter trajectory) than the 30-30,35 Remington, 375 or 38/55. I had pretty much made up my mind that I wanted the 338 until I thought about it for too long. The thing is I already have a BLR-81 in 358. The only thing the 338MX could do for me is shoot a little flatter. But, I do not hunt where longer shots but very rarely happen. I am VERY happy with the way the 358 works on deer. So...I'm thinking about the 308MX again. I had one a couple of years ago and let my brother borrow it. He killed a couple of deer with it and then bought it from me. He has now killed six or eight with it and they have all been one shot affairs and I think all have dropped in their tracks. Plus there are far more bullet choices if I want to load my own. There is only one fly in this ointment... I kinda want a 300 Savage. I have a 1972 or 73 Savage 99A saddle gun with the 20" barrel and the straight stock in 250 Savage caliber. I think I want to sell or trade it for the same rifle in 300 Savage caliber. Trouble is I am a Marlin man at heart, Yet I love the handling of the little 99A. If you only hunted deer and would likely only use the above rifles occasionally which one would you get and why? Help me think this out, please.
Goat

[AJMD429]

Man, you've got it, bad...

And you're asking a bunch of enablers for a cure...?

[COSteve]

Of the two, I'd go for the 338 because it's the flattest shooting of the two and that's what you're buying it for anyway. In addition, it's a rimmed case developed specifically for a levergun so I'd guess that it would be easier extracting in that action.

[brno602]

I would get the 99!
For one thing you already have a 358 BLR you can find bullets to load or even factory ammo most places and are not limited to .338 Flat or Flex tip or only Hornady ammo. I can only buy one bullet for my 86 Win in .33/.338 for a tube fed gun thats the Hornady Flextip.
I stocked up on their old 200gr Flat point good thing I did.
Anyway if your only hunting Deer, not a Deer that Walks that can not be killed with your .250.
But If you just need to buy another gun, like many of us do I would go with the .30 Cal as you will have lot's of bullets to pick from. Not many bullets out there for the .338 other than Spitzers.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I own and love both. My .308MX is blued and my .338MX is stainless.
They are both great shooters and very accurate.
Both are rimed cartridges. They look like they are rimless but the rim is larger than the body by .015 +.
Buy BOTH !!

[Joel]

There is a beautiful WIn Model 88 .243 at the local store. 5 digit serial #. better than 95%.

Said he would take $800 for it. Two magazines. Leupold scope, rings and bases. I would love to see a lever gunner get it.

[iceman]

I would go for the 300 sav, but I 'm partial to the mod 99. I am just wondering if the 308 and 338 mx will hang around or become another 307/356 win.

[Bigahh]

I wasn't going to get into this, but I am in the same boat pretty much you are in. My .02 cents isn't probably worth half that, but here it is anyway. I also have been thinking about a 338 MX, but unlike you I do not need the extra reach it gives over a .35 Rem. That being said I plan on a 35 this summer. I walked through a local Gun Shop today, and they had a n.i.b. Marlin 336 in 35 for a 500 dollar bill. They also had a 336 in 30-30 with an absolute Beautiful set of wood on it. I need another 30-30 probably as much as most of you, but the 35 is KNAWING at me real bad. I have 2 low power Leupold's just aching to sit on rifles. I would suggest the 338 for you as you mentioned the possible need for more reach, and you would also have the bases covered for something bigger if you ever decide on that.

[madman4570]

Get the 338MX and tell bro "you have the better gun"

[Thunder50]

Bigahh, Zanders wholesale has the 35 Rem XLR's on sale for about $490. Don't know what your dealer would charge for shipping/profit on it. If that 35 Rem in the shop is a XLR, it is a smokin' deal. I think a blued 338 is about $440 wholesale now, little cheaper than the stainless XLR

Love to see the 338 necked down to 7mm. Have a spare 7mm barrel blank out in the shop--Hmmm

[brno602]

I would go for the 300 sav, but I 'm partial to the mod 99. I am just wondering if the 308 and 338 mx will hang around or become another 307/356 win.

Thats what I am thinking too, but we are in Canada so things are a bit different for us. I climbed to the top of a mountain once and found a old .300 savage case made me think did this guy shoot a Elk down below or take a bighorn.I can still find .307 win brass here though, I load it for a friend but just getting or finding any of the Hornady cals is a pain in the butt!

[edsguns]

Of the two, I'd go for the 338 because it's the flattest shooting of the two and that's what you're buying it for anyway. In addition, it's a rimmed case developed specifically for a levergun so I'd guess that it would be easier extracting in that action.

Not quite sure what you're trying to say here. Both cases were specifically designed by Marlin (and Hornady) for the 336 type Marlin rifles. The cases are not at all related. And, the .308ME has a longer MPBR (+/- 3") than the .338ME, thus for all intents and purposes would be described as flatter shooting in any practical hunting scenario. With the same 3" high sight-in at 100 yds the .308ME drops 23.5" at 400 yds vs 25.9" for the .338 at 400 yds. The .308ME has a MPBR of 261 yds vs 254 for the .338.

[tman]

i have a 99a in 308wcf.

[dgr416]

I thought about getting a 338 marlin for a while then I thought about this ammo and brass shortage we just went through.In 10 years will there be any 338 marlin ammo or brass probally not after marlin turns into a junk gun only maker.You cant make the 338 or 308 marlin from any other brass.The cool gun would be a blr in 338 federal or a 338-06 which brass is easy to find.I have three calibers that the ammo is very hard to find or expensive the 375 win,357 rem maxium and the 338-378 weatherby .I reload for all of them.If you can buy 500 pcs of brass and that many bullets I would say yes.Otherwise i would just pick a better bullet for your 358 winchester .The new caliber of the day bunchis a bunch of hype to buy a new better gun most of the time.The Remington short mags are an example they flopped quick and there is no brass and hardly any ammo to be found.If you stich to a standard case and go up or down in caliber your safe.I do this with my Winchester 264 win mags.I neck down 7 mm rem mag brass and reload and have good loads for half the cost of factory or less.

[Old Savage]

I would keep the 250. I have been looking for one of those for years.