Marlin 30AS (336-ish) prices

[morcey2]

I'm in the market for a lever-action 30-30, just because I think I need one. Ok, I don't really need one, but I want one. I know that some consider it blasphemy, but I want one with a pistol grip, a-la the standard Marlin 336's, Savage 99, et al. Because of a little bit of limited rotation (supination) in my right wrist, pistol gripped rifles are much easier for me to shoot for extended periods of time. I rescued an RA 1903 into a C-stock, just so it would be easier on me. That said, I have more mosins, all w/ straight stocks, than any other type of gun. But that's not important. Fun, but not important.

I've found a Marlin 30AS locally for just under $300 and it looks like it's in really good shape. I haven't gotten a really good look at the bore, but everything else on it looks and feels good. The 336s around here seem to go for somewhat more than that, which makes me think this would be a good deal and make a nice utility gun. It's not like I need it for hunting with a 7x57, 8x57, 30-06, and a soon-to-be-finished 257 bob at my disposal.

Is there anything I need to watch out for? I'm not very familiar w/ lever actions, but went over the owners manual online before I went to check it out. The crossbolt safety works, half-cock seems to work. I check the headspace on all of the milsurps that I buy before shooting them, but I don't have a 30-30 gauge and I don't know if it would even be an issue on this one. I need to pick up some snap caps and check out the trigger.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Abel]

Under $300 is a great price for a Marlin 30-30 in my area. Just check to see if any of the screw heads have been boogered up by someone with the wrong screwdrivers trying to take it apart. Check to see if it will cycle ammo good. You already made sure that the hammer will sit at half-cock and click into full-cock. Then there's the bore of course. A couple of small blemishes in the bore isn't a deal breaker.

 

[kyletx1911]

I paid 287.00 otd for mine i am very happy

 

[RPRNY]

Under $300, even for a post-crossbolt safety, in good shape is not bad. I paid $325 for a '68 Texan 2 years ago and just took a bath last week for $315 on a Glenfield 30 - very similar to the 336AS. Remember, it's a beech stock, not walnut, but I'm a fan of the nosecap and while I have no proof whatsoever to base this wild-a5s assertion on, I think they are slightly more accurate than the barrel band models.