How do you tell what year a Marlin 336 30-30 was made?

[hometheaterman]

So I was at a yard sale today and the older gentleman having the yard sale had a few guns for sale. One of them was a Marlin 336 30-30 in like new shape. I know the older ones are more desirable, and I've heard they had a special production one for Walmart and I didn't want that one. The wood looked almost like the one at Walmart instead of shiny, but I'm not sure if they are all like that are not. Anyway, he was asking $250 and I was very tempted, but I decided to pass not knowing enough about them. I asked him if he knew how old it was and he told me he had no idea that he'd never shot it. He said over the years he had bought guns from people when they needed money and just put them in the closet. He explained that he gave the ones his kids wanted to them, and was selling the rest.

 

[jr45]

You can try this sight or call Marlin. If I remember correctly, the older models did not have a safety.

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php

 

[TIMC]

Look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_336

 

[ssyoumans]

From the Marlin 336 wiki:

The following table can be used to date the year of manufacture of a Marlin 336. It is also valid for determining most other Marlin firearm build dates from 1946 to the present.

Marlin year of manufacture maybe determined from the following table of letter/numeral prefixs to the serial number:

Date Prefix(s)
1946 C
1947 D
1948 E
1949 F
1950 G
1951 H
1952 J
1953 K
1954 L
1955 M
1956 N
1957 P
1958 R
1959 S
1960 T
1961 U
1962 V
1963 W
1964 Y, Z
1965 AA
1966 AB
1967 AC
1968 AD, 68
1969 69
1970 70
1971 71
1972 72
Starting in 1973, the year of manufacture can be determined by subtracting the first two digits of the serial number from 100: Example: SN 2512345 would have been made in 1975 [100 - 25 = 75].

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[hometheaterman]

Thanks, I kind of wish I had picked up that Marlin as $250 seemed like a decent price compared to what I see online, but at the same time I didn't want to get ripped off. That's why I want to find out more info in case I ever run across another one.

 

[AStone]

$250 for a 336 in like new condition is a steal. If you ever find another one, grab it even if you don't want it. You could turn it over here for a profit.

In the interim, drop by our 336 club and hang out.
No need to read the entire thread unless you're just really interested.

Just click on "levers" in my sig line, and you'll be magically transported there.

Nem