smooth up a 336?

[KWK]

The recent discussion on smoothing up the 1894 Winchester brings to mind one obvious question: how well does its main competitor -- the 336 Marlin -- smooth up?

I think the 1894 Marlin is used in Cowboy Action which suggests it must smooth up nicely, and the 336 is just a long version of it. My buddy has a 336 and the .45-70 variant, but neither have enough rounds though them to judge how smooth they'll become.

A side question: how smooth were the square bolt predecessors of the 336 (the 1893 and the 36) in comparison?

[Gary7]

The recent discussion on smoothing up the 1894 Winchester brings to mind one obvious question: how well does its main competitor -- the 336 Marlin -- smooth up?

I think the 1894 Marlin is used in Cowboy Action which suggests it must smooth up nicely, and the 336 is just a long version of it. My buddy has a 336 and the .45-70 variant, but neither have enough rounds though them to judge how smooth they'll become.

A side question: how smooth were the square bolt predecessors of the 336 (the 1893 and the 36) in comparison?

What a coincidence that you would post this since I just "smoothed up" my new 336 this past weekend. I used 1000 grit sandpaper and polished the end of the lever that goes into the bolt, the part of the lever that locks into the locking lug, and I polished out and smoothed the channel that the ejector rides in on the bolt. Made a big difference. The action is vastly smoother now.

To test the effectiveness of what I intended to do I tried a little experiment before I began polishing: I propped the rifle butt down on my leg, barrel pointing straight up and holding it only with my right hand I tried to cycle the action with that hand. I couldn't. When I tried to work the lever, rather than unlocking the action I would just lift the rifle off my leg. After the polish job I can easily cycle the action and the gun stays planted on my leg.

[marlinman93]

The 1893's and 93's were probably a little smoother when new, and with 100 yrs. of use they are usually glassy smooth if they're in good working order. The 336 can be helped emensely with just proper oiling with the right lube. The top of the hammer where the bolt rides over to cock the 336 is an area that most people neglect to lube when oiling a 336. That's critical juncture and a little quality lube in the groove on the bottom of the bolt will make a huge difference in the feel. Likewise to the body of the bolt and the notch that the lever fits into.

[Old Savage]

Thanks for the reminders. The ones from 79 and 80 were very smooth. Might be interesting to know what those boys were doing back then.

[Pisgah]

It seems to me that 93s, 36s, and early 336s are smoother than later 336s. It's hard to say whether they were just fitted a bit better -- I think they were -- or whether they've just been "worn in" through use. I suspect that in most cases it's both.

Although a little judicious polishing of friction points can help in a hurry with a particularly rough action, to me the best way to smooth up a typical 336 is to lube it well and spend a couple of evenings working the action while watching TV. After cycling that action a thousand or three times, it'll be smooth.

[Old Savage]

I have two from the 79/80 period that were "new" and they came smooth and another in 375 that is the same way but no telling how much it had been shot. Most of those were not shot that much.