38-55 vs 35 Remington

[Kentucky-roughrider]

I was thinking and buying a 336 in 35 Rem. but someone here suggested I could have one in 38-55. I believe ammo would be easier to find in 35 Rem. but any other details, or suggestions. This rifle would be used for elk, if I ever get an Kentucky elk tag, but would more likely be used as a heavy deer gun?

 

[fastbike]

Did you look at the Marlin website?

I don't find any 336's in 38-55. You can get one in 35 Rem. If those are your choices, I'd go w/ 35 Rem. While not common, it's stilla lot easier to get than 38-55. Even if you reload, components for 38-55 are scarce and expensive.

If you want old timey, how 'bout 45/70?

 

[Levergun]

35 Rem. packs a better whallop and less expensive to get than 38-55. I reload and cast my own bullets so my Marlin 93 in 38-55 is not expensive to reload for.

I bought a box of 20 38-55's and it cost me $36 bucks. I bought a set of dies at the same time.

I just got two orders for Butt stock covers on Marlin 336's in 35 Rem. To my knowledge 38-55 was never chambered in a 336.

 

[MMCSRET]

The only way to make a 38-55 perform is to cast and handload. I have a custom built Winchester 94 built to my specs in 38-55 and it is pure wonderment!!!!! how good it shoots. But 35 Rem makes more sense in a production gun especially if you hand load. I find 200 gr. Remington corlok'ts to be very good, and cheaper than any other bullet on the market, unless you cast.

 

[woof]

.35 Rem is a relatively short range gun IMO. I would want more for elk unless at 100 yds or less. If it has to be a traditional lever, maybe a .444.

 

[MCgunner]

Just get a BLR in ..338 and be done with it, or maybe .325 WSM.

I would just use my .308. Ain't no elk THAT tough. Use the right bullet and put it in the right place. Helluva lot more gun than a .35 Remington. If that elk's inside 300, it's mine.

 

[Kentucky-roughrider]

I know that, the thought was send a 336C to marlin and have them rechamber it for 38-55

45/70 is on my to get list.

 

[bonza]

I know that, the thought was send a 336C to marlin and have them rechamber it for 38-55

While the .38/55 is one of my all-time favorites, you might as well go with a .375 Winchester. It is basically the same as the .38/55 just a slightly shorter case with a thicker web & uses standard .375" diameter bullets rather than the .38/55's larger .377"-.380".

 

[MMCSRET]

A 38-55 really needs a 24/26" barrel to perform and even then its not that much better than a 35. Mine shoots best with Lyman 375449 cast and gaschecked and sized to .379 over Reloder 7. 1800 FPS at 10' from muzzle with 265 gr. bullet from a 26" barrel and tang sights will do inside 3" off hand all day@ 200 yards. Good gun , good cartridge but it took a long time to work it out.

 

[Matt-man]

Marlin did make the 336 Cowboy in 38-55 a few years back. They had octagon barrels, 24" if I remember right. They're out there if you don't want to have to rebarrel a rifle. I saw one last weekend in the used rack at the Cabela's in Reno, as a matter of fact.

 

[mainmech48]

I've owned my old 336 in .35 Rem. for about 30 yrs now. I've taken several whitetails with it, including one buck which field dressed at 203#.

All of my hunting with it has been in medium-to-dense hardwood forests and the longest shot was about 130 long paces, likely something on the order of 90-105 yds.

The .35 is a fine old cartridge, IMO, and would certainly be easier to find factory ammo for than the .38-55 anywhere I've hunted.

At ranges under 150 yds and game up to about 300 lbs, it'd do fine given the right projectile and proper placement, IMO.

But I'd rather have my Savage 99F in .308 if I hunted in more open country or the game might be heavier than maybe 250 lbs OTH.

IMO, if Wapiti was included and the rifle had to be a lever action then a Savage 99 or Browning BLR in .308 or even .358 Win. would be a more all-around practical choice.

 

[ArmedBear]

.35 Remington.

Leverevolution ammo performs quite well in a 336, and I've seen some groups at the range that impressed the hell out of me.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

130 long paces, likely something on the order of 90-105 yds.

Hmmmm. For me that'd be about 135-140 yards, and I'm only 5'8".

Agree that if you do re-barrel, it makes more sense to go with .375 win (or for that matter .358 Win).

NEF / H&R I believe still offers their Buffalo Gun single shot in .38-55 from the factory, as well as .45-70.

 

[ArmedBear]

Hmmmm. For me that'd be about 135-140 yards, and I'm only 5'8".

Depends on your stride.

 

[foghornl]

If you don't 'roll your own' ammo, then I would say the .35Rem.

Not the most popular round, but a lot easier to find 'locally on the shelf' than .38-55.

 

[lonewolf5347]

my 38.55 from the bench with iron peep sight.
I load cast bullet using the sarco #738 mould at .379 255 grain soft lead with a BHN of 12 and IMR 3031 32 grains
The rifle the newer model buffalo classic 2007 model.
I like the 38-55 really a fun gun to shoot won't kill the shoulder and still get the job done out to 125 yards
I think this cal. is more for the re loader because store ammo can get expensive

 

[Shawnee]

I doubt if there would be anything at all wrong with the .35 Remington and Levevolution ammo but the .358 Winchester would certainly be a fun round to play with. You can make brass out of .308 cases too.

 

[mainmech48]

Don't know about yours, but for me "long paces" in rugged, brushy woods country tend to end up averaging something a good bit short of 24" and might meander a bit from a straight line-of-sight. I had to divert a good deal of my concentration from getting directly to where he fell to getting there without tripping over something and breaking my fool neck.

After all these years, I'd still say that it was most likely to have been about 90 yds, perhaps a bit less. Almost certainly no more than 100 or so.

 

[Shawnee]

FWIW - I'm 5'9" and have just average length legs. 100 of my steps on more or less flat, open ground is almost exactly 80yds. so 130 of my steps would be 104yds.

 

[georgeky]

Hi guys. My first post here on THR. I couldn't help myself. Just had to voice my opnion. The .35 Rem is a fine old round that has been killing most everything in NA since it came out more 100 years ago.

Now for the 38-55. Marlin did make the 336 Cowboy in 38-55 from the late 90's until about 2004. I have 2 of them and love them. It was also available in 30-30. 24 inch octagon barrel and both are real shooters. The 30-30 shoots great with most factory ammo. The 38-55 on the other hand is a bit tricky.

Marlin 336 CB rifles are chambered to original 38-55 specs. The available factory ammo is the problem. Most shoot fairly well with Winchester 255 grain ammo. This ammo uses a .376 jacketed bullet. The bore of the Marlin will measure .379 to .380 as original 38-55's do(even 94 Win's). Best accuracy will be obtained by shooting cast bullets sized from .379 to .381 depending on your rifle. Some bullet manufactures are now making cast bullets that fit these rifes or you can cast your own.

The brass was changed over the years and most does NOT fit the 38-55 rifles. Like everything else it is mass produced and most is nearly the same as .375 Win brass. This means it is a tad short for 38-55 chambers. It is also has a slightly thicker case wall. This causes chambering problems in some rifles when loading the .380 or larger bullets to use in 38-55's. Reaming the chamber is not required. Starline is making original spec brass to cure this problem and it works very well.

Now as for elk hunting here in old KY. The 38-55 properly loaded with the right bullet, and charge is more than capable of taking deer, black bear, hogs, and yes even elk and moose out to 150 yards. It has done it since 1893 in Marlin leverguns, and prior to that in Ballard rifles. The 38-55 is an old target round and is still shot by long range target shooters today to ranges of 600 yards at some events.

It is about hunting and good shot placement and not the latest, greatest 600 yard magnum caliber out there. I have seen many of these come and go and the old stanbys are still here. 30-30, 30-06 .35 Rem. 45-70, and yes even the 38-55. The 38-55 can be loaded to almost mimic the .375 Win in Marlin 336 rifles.

Thanks for your time and take a kid hunting.

 

[joneb]

georgeky,
I really liked your first post and welcome to the High Road.

 

[35 Whelen]

bonza hit the nail on the head; you may as well find a Marlin 375. I've had one for about 20 years and in my experience they kill way out of proportion to their paper ballistics. I've shot a hog and a few deer with my 220 gr. handloads @ 2100-2200 fps and the internal damage caused by this bullet is amazing. Plus, it runs the 220 gr. bullet a little faster than the 35 Rem. runs the 200 gr. bullet.
35W

 

[georgeky]

Thanks jibjab. Was just reading a bit when I ran across this thread. Had to sign on to voice MHO of both of these fine old rounds. I do have a bit of experience with both calibers and Marlin rifles.

Here are a few of mine. From top to bottom.

Marlin 336 Cowboy in 38-55 with a Lyman 66 peep sight.
Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in .45 Colt with a Lyman tang sight(peep).
Marlin 39A .22
Marlin 1894 44 mag
Marlin 30TK 30-30




Next from left to right.
Marlin 336 Texan .35 Rem
Marlin 336 Texan SRC 30-30
Marlin 336C .35 Rem.

 

[PTK]

I love my single-shot .38-55 made by NEF. Reloads like a dream, and it's clover-leaf accurate out to two hundred yards with my iron peep sights.


Here it is with the big brother .45-70.

 

[MMCSRET]

Ditto's on the 38-55, but it takes time to develop. Its 120 years old and becoming more impressive every year. I love mine and it is built on a '94 angle eject receiver with 26" 1/2 round,1/2 octagon with tang sights. .3775 bore using .379 sized Lyman 375449 bullets over Reloader 7. As for the 375 Winchester, I am looking for a Savage 99 in 375, not many were made and I foolishly passed on the first 2 I saw.