Hunting Forum

I have a new marlin 336c in .35 rem . I am having trouble getting this rifle to group at 100 yards with the hornady leverevolution ammo . its group tight at 25 yards but at 100 yards its all over the place . has anyone else had any grouping issues with this ammo ? i have checked all screws on rifle and scope nothing is loose . can anyone help with any info ? thanks

I've heard of this problem with that ammo. Have you tried other ammo yet? How does it group?

Welcome to the boards fwrrel04.

You may have to try several different brands and bullet weights to determine what your rifle likes best. It may not like the leverevolution ammunition.

I have one of those guns and it shoots 2 in. group with those bullets.

I have a older 336 that hates them bullets.It was built in 1952 as per the serial number. It does like Remington 200 grainers. I am working up a load with 180 grain bullets. Don't know when I will get back to the range. Getting cold out. You are the first person other than myself That I heard of that is having this problem.
I almost bought one of them scopes from Cabela's that is set up for those bullets.
Glad I did not.
Joe

I have an old 336 in 30-30 and the gun would not shoot those bullets at all,one of them key holed at 100 yards.The bullets were horrible.

I have three different 336's in 30- 30 and reg. flat nose bullets shoot fine out of them . The worst gives me a half inch group at 100 , the other two always cut the first hole .

What does key holed mean???
Joe

i have purchased some other ammo for the rifle from remington winchester and federal all are 200 grain loads except one from remington is a 150 grain . i have yet to get to the range with the rifle to check it out . i sure hope it takes another brand better i will keep everyone posted . thanks

Posted By JoeTermite on 27 Dec 2012 08:39 PM
What does key holed mean???
Joe

Joe,

Key hole is a term for the hole the bullet makes in a paper target when the bullet "tumbles".

Normally a proper bullet hole is round, given the proper twist rate for that particular grain bullet.

 

For Joe T: "keyholes" are the oval or full bullet profile holes in the target paper left by unstable bullets. "Tumbling" is often misunderstood to be the bullet going end over end; this is not the case, except perhaps in the case of a bullet which has stuck something.
When a rotating object, such as a bullet or football does not have enough rotational velocity ("spin") the nose and tail will not line up and start moving in ever enlarging circles. Look closely at a slow motion replay of a football pass coming at the camera and you will often see this happening. If this goes on long enough, the bullet ends up traveling full side-on, resulting in a keyhole shaped perforation in the target. Spinning a quarter on a smooth table top will demonstrate the same thing.
The most common cause of keyholes are a twist that is too slow for the length of the bullet. or a bullet too long for the twist. I have also seen keyholes from badly worn barrels with almost no rifling or cast bullets driven so fast that the rifling has stripped out the driving surface of the bullet.

I have had success with some leverevolution bullets and not others. The 35 cal/200grs have not done well with the 1/16 twists at typical 35Rem velocities, but have worked very well in a 358 Win with a 1/12 twist. so I am inclined to agree that they are just too long.
The 30-30 Leverevolutions are harder to characterize - excellent 1.1" groups in a '60's Marlin 336 and a '80's Winchester 94, Typical 2" in a couple more Marlins and Winchesters and a NEF Handi-Rifle, and dreary 3" plus in a half-dozen more lever guns, Savage340 & Remington 788 bolts and NEF's.

Late to the conversation here, but find the responses interesting. I have a Marlin 336 in .35 rem that seems to love the stuff, in 200 gr FTX bullets anyway. I have had the rifle for quite a number of years, maybe 20-25 years or so, if that may make any difference? When I first got past the higher price and decided to try some out I took it along on an Elk hunting trip to play with in camp one day between hunting outings. When first trying it I did notice a harder recoil/kick to the rifle, and it did so well on targets we set out I thought it might be a fluke, so I had my partner try it out and he had the same results. My first impression was so good, I even wrote Hornady after getting home about it, LOL!
Anyway, I've always liked the rifle and chubby cartridge; my 30-30s hardly get out of the closet anymore, LOL! I dunno'... maybe I got a lucky batch of ammo, or the rifle just shoots different than some others....?

i've got one chambered in 30-30 that doesn't like those bullets either. at 25 yds 3 shots in a dime ths rest of the box at 100 yds 3 ft diameter from sandbag rest all over.remington core-lok 150......100 yds 2 " group all day long from sandbag rest.some guns like different bullets... some ....the leverlution....some the winchester...some remington.....and so on.even if you sight in at 25 yds,50 yds then 100 yds.taking your time,letting the barrel cool betweem shots and all that good stuff,for those who think it doesn't matter what ammo you use as long as you sight it in.....my opinion,of course.