A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Stoney » 08 Jan 2019, 7:30 pm

in2anity wrote:It also likes 2207 on the hotter side exiting at 1780fps:

21gr_2207.jpg


And the 1800fps 25gr 2206H load grouped well again, even with a piping-hot barrel:

25gr_2206H.jpg


Interestingly the XLR does not seem to like mild loads of TB and AP70N - it only seems to tighten up when encroaching on 2000fps.



2207 looks the goods mate
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Shootermick » 26 Jan 2019, 7:51 am

Nice rifle and good review mate. Just wondering, where the mag tube dovetails to the under side of the barrel, is there any movement in the mag tube? And where it comes out of the forend? I’ve got a 336 BL and you can move the mag tube just a bit, the dovetail itself is tight, but the screw that goes through the end of the mag tube seems like it could be tighter, but I can’t get any more out of it. On the other hand, some people have said that this is normal.?
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 26 Jan 2019, 9:15 am

Shootermick wrote:Nice rifle and good review mate. Just wondering, where the mag tube dovetails to the under side of the barrel, is there any movement in the mag tube? And where it comes out of the forend? I’ve got a 336 BL and you can move the mag tube just a bit, the dovetail itself is tight, but the screw that goes through the end of the mag tube seems like it could be tighter, but I can’t get any more out of it. On the other hand, some people have said that this is normal.?


Having a bit of slop in the mag tube is fine - in fact, when accurizing 336s, one of your objectives is to relieve the tensions in the forend and tube. For barrel-banded 336 your band screws should not be tight. I’ve got a 30AS coming which I plan to pillar-bed the tang and glass+rtv bed the forend, I’m going to write a blog post about it - this concept will be exactly applicable to the 336 BL.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Shootermick » 26 Jan 2019, 9:23 am

Cool, thanks for that bit of confirmation. I put some XS ghost rings on it last night and I’m about to take it out to zero it on. Factory rear sight was drifted way out to one side, which didn’t matter too much as I was waiting on my new sights anyway. First impressions of the ghost rings are good, hope they perform.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Wm.Traynor » 26 Jan 2019, 11:23 am

Looking forward to your blog post in2anity about bedding your 336 :thumbsup:
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 26 Jan 2019, 2:17 pm

Wm.Traynor wrote:Looking forward to your blog post in2anity about bedding your 336 :thumbsup:


I just hope I don’t turn a good shooter into a average one lol. I want to do the XLR336 and the 30AS basically at the same time as a comparison - I’m just waiting on some bits and bobs and a copy of McPherson’s (out of print) “Accurizing the factor rifle” coming from the states - paid an arm and a leg for that book :shock: The article won’t come for a while but the wheels are in motion. :drinks:
Last edited by in2anity on 26 Jan 2019, 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 26 Jan 2019, 2:45 pm

Shootermick wrote:Cool, thanks for that bit of confirmation. I put some XS ghost rings on it last night and I’m about to take it out to zero it on. Factory rear sight was drifted way out to one side, which didn’t matter too much as I was waiting on my new sights anyway. First impressions of the ghost rings are good, hope they perform.


Mate any sort of arpeture receiver will be a huge step up from the factory buckhorn glhf
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Wm.Traynor » 26 Jan 2019, 6:56 pm

in2anity wrote:
Wm.Traynor wrote:Looking forward to your blog post in2anity about bedding your 336 :thumbsup:


I just hope I don’t turn a good shooter into a average one lol. I want to do the XLR336 and the 30AS basically at the same time as a comparison - I’m just waiting on some bits and bobs and a copy of McPherson’s (out of print) “Accurizing the factor rifle” coming from the states - paid an arm and a leg for that book :shock: The article won’t come for a while but the wheels are in motion. :drinks:


Onya mate :) :thumbsup:
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Tank » 27 Jan 2020, 7:34 pm

Hey in2anity,
Cracker review bloke!
How’s this project today?
Apologies for necro ing an old thread....but I’m interested to know your thoughts on the FTX proje for 30-30?
I’m waiting on a 336 Dark Series and plan on having it do double duty on the range and field.
The Dark runs Microgroove and 1:10” twist....I’ll post some results with commercial hardcast projes once run in is done and dusted.
Glad I ran across this thread in my search!
Cheers,
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 27 Jan 2020, 9:07 pm

Tank wrote:Hey in2anity,
Cracker review bloke!
How’s this project today?
Apologies for necro ing an old thread....but I’m interested to know your thoughts on the FTX proje for 30-30?
I’m waiting on a 336 Dark Series and plan on having it do double duty on the range and field.
The Dark runs Microgroove and 1:10” twist....I’ll post some results with commercial hardcast projes once run in is done and dusted.
Glad I ran across this thread in my search!
Cheers,
Tank.


Thanks Tank - glad to see this old thread still has a little life in it! WRT to your question - it's a bit of a tricky one to measure and critique levers, because the gun itself has such a profound impact on groups. We don't have the luxury of "free floating, glass-bedded" barrels and actions, where consumables is the main focus.

Honestly though - those FTX pills over standard, mid-burning, extruded ADI powder doesn't seem to offer much. Not worth the extra money IMHO. It’s a bit of a hunch but I reckon to get factory-like groups out of those FTX pills demands a ball powder (not the extruded stuff). And you also need to drive them real hard (just like the factory stuff). I was somewhat able to replicate the factory "Leverevolution" by pairing the FTX pill with the Hodgdon Leverevolution powder. But it recoils hard, and beyond 5 shots my groups really start to string vertically.

Also Winchester powders are becoming hard to get in Australia. Nonetheless, that LVE powder isn't popular here in OZ as far as I can tell, so I'm sure if you ring around, you'll still find some gathering some dust on a shelf somewhere.

The trouble with lever guns is the tightly fitted forend and two-piece stock - the gun warps and changes as things heat, so don't expect to be plinking steel all day long at extended distances. Levers are for close-range offhand kind of stuff, or perhaps the odd hunting shot out bush when the barrel is nice and cold.

If you want to learn a bit more about the harmonics of a lever, check out this post I made viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11991 about how RTV bedding a lever's forend can help with consistency.

GL & HF mate :drinks:
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Tank » 28 Jan 2020, 5:54 am

Cheers bloke!
Appreciate the advice.
Looking forward to having a play with it hunting and for some range time.
I’ll post up some results once I’ve spent some time on it.
Regs,
Tank
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 28 Jan 2020, 8:07 am

Tank wrote:Cheers bloke!
Appreciate the advice.
Looking forward to having a play with it hunting and for some range time.
I’ll post up some results once I’ve spent some time on it.
Regs,
Tank


YW. Just remember, when one chases the pointy end of the ballistic coefficient spectrum, the presumption is made the gun itself is already a highly tuned tack driver, not to mention the mug actuating the trigger. It's a 3-part equation; user/gun/ammo (probably in that order of importance). Shooters get too caught up on cartridge specs, when the solution to their problems probably lie elsewhere.

My moto with a lever - load em as cool as you can get away with, and stick to a bullet that your gun seems to like :drinks:
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by Tank » 29 Jan 2020, 10:36 pm

Thanks in2anity!
I have a selection of jacketed and cast (commercial and range trash home cast) projes and a goodly supply of Trailboss, 2207 and 2208. Sage advice bloke! :thumbsup: I’m not expecting to reinvent the wheel but it’s great to have a place to start and realistic expectations.
I’m hoping the FTX’s might ‘carry up’ a little better than the regular cooking model FP’s....but I’m certainly not looking to push the envelope with any of them.
Hoping to close in on 2,100fps with the 160’s....(?) but not important. Extraction of every last drop doesn’t interest me.
Looking forward to a handy, relatively hard hitting little rifle that I can enjoy in equal parts lobbing cast projes at below 1,400fps (pistol club velocity limit) on the range.
Have you experimented with Trailboss much in2anity?
Regs,
Tank.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by pomemax » 30 Jan 2020, 12:12 am

Shootermick wrote:Nice rifle and good review mate. Just wondering, where the mag tube dovetails to the under side of the barrel, is there any movement in the mag tube? And where it comes out of the forend? I’ve got a 336 BL and you can move the mag tube just a bit, the dovetail itself is tight, but the screw that goes through the end of the mag tube seems like it could be tighter, but I can’t get any more out of it. On the other hand, some people have said that this is normal.?

Mine is the same
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 30 Jan 2020, 7:43 am

Tank wrote:Have you experimented with Trailboss much in2anity?
Regs,
Tank.


Yeah mainly under commercially bought (hard) cast lead projectiles - but I have never "cast my own". With the Marlins (and their microgrooves) I never got peak accuracy out of TB. Accuracy was adequate, and fine for offhand shooting (such as practicing for lever metallic silhoutte), but I always got better groups using a comparitively slower powder, like a reduced charge of AR2207 (in the case of the 30/30).

My 1892 Winnie 32-20 just loves Trail Boss however - it groups best with it.

There might be a link between the ballard cut rifling and TB... I've never researched that line of thought. Bladeracer might be able to offer some insights here as he has a lot of experience with levers also...
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by marcus_pearce07 » 20 Feb 2020, 6:23 pm

Looks like its a really, really nice gun. i've been researching a bit but i cant find and sturdy price range, do you reckon you could tell me the price range for the 30-30. was also just wondering if you know if the dark series affected performance at all, or just changes the look. be a great help if you know. :D
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 26 Feb 2020, 11:23 am

marcus_pearce07 wrote:Looks like its a really, really nice gun. i've been researching a bit but i cant find and sturdy price range, do you reckon you could tell me the price range for the 30-30. was also just wondering if you know if the dark series affected performance at all, or just changes the look. be a great help if you know. :D

They are overpriced at around $1700AUD RRP. Look for a second-hand one as they depreciate faster than most other guns; you often see near new ones under a grand.

Yes I'd be willing to bet the Black Edition would group well due to the lack of barrel bands.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by StraightWhiteMale » 26 Feb 2020, 11:26 pm

I want that Marlin mate but in a 45-70!!!
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by wrenchman » 27 Feb 2020, 12:44 am

when the marlin xlr come out i had read that it was made with the hornady flex round in mind and that is one of the hi end guns and it does seem to shooting well for you
i have a old 336 that was gifted to a freind it was in the rafters down in the basement of a guys grandfather rust all over it i got it tore down soaking in oil for him.
i dont think it has seen day light in 30 years that is one thing you wont have to worry about with that ss that is a nice looking gun
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 27 Feb 2020, 6:56 am

wrenchman wrote:when the marlin xlr come out i had read that it was made with the hornady flex round in mind and that is one of the hi end guns and it does seem to shooting well for you
i have a old 336 that was gifted to a freind it was in the rafters down in the basement of a guys grandfather rust all over it i got it tore down soaking in oil for him.
i dont think it has seen day light in 30 years that is one thing you wont have to worry about with that ss that is a nice looking gun


I've bubbad it a bit now TBH :P I free floated, then RTV bedded the forend. Helps with consistency over longer strings.

Right now I've also got a JM 30AS that received the same RTV treatement; at closer distances that gun is just as accurate. However the XLR is a superior open-sighted gun - better for comp.
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by marcus_pearce07 » 27 Feb 2020, 6:33 pm

hey in2anity

i was just wondering how you can get that sort of bluey-grey design on your stock. everything i've searched up just shows the default brown wood design

thanks
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 27 Feb 2020, 7:08 pm

marcus_pearce07 wrote:hey in2anity

i was just wondering how you can get that sort of bluey-grey design on your stock. everything i've searched up just shows the default brown wood design

thanks


A mixture of horse semen and gold dust panned from the Macquarie river... nah jokes mate - that’s just how it came from the factory :thumbsup:
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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by solarpak » 01 May 2020, 11:07 pm

All the second hand ones i have seen are around the 1200-1500 price point ........you would be very lucky to score a VGC or better unit for under $1K.
A good mate has a XLR in 3030 and its his go-to goat hunting rifle and had taken many stinkies with it over the years. I was looking for one but opted for a Howa Mini in 7.62x39 - ballistically very similar to the 3030 . My mate with the XLR also bought a Mini Action in the Russian calibre and for ammo, we sourced a crate of 1200 steel cased Norinco ammo, pulled the projies and reseated 123 gr Hornady ZMax and 125 gr Sierras. Both loads shoot under an inch for three shots all day in both Mini Actions......and i dare say we have enough ammo to see us out a while.

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Re: A Marlin XLR 30/30 Review

Post by in2anity » 02 May 2020, 9:53 am

solarpak my Marlin 3030 was my goto hunter for years. And indeed they won't let you down. However Marlins are a little weighty by modern standards - notably heavier than a whippy sporter wearing plastic. And cartridges like the 762x39 and 300bo do essentially the same thing, just in a smaller package. 762x39 is awesome - we have a club Lee-Enfield 762x39 conversion that holds its own even on the 200m mound. Meanwhile, these days I use a little 16" Ruger 300bo out in the paddocks. Extremely light and pointable, and hits pretty much the same as the old 3030. It's also more consistent than a lever - my handloads will consistently group into close to a minute. Best part about the 300bo is I can reanimate my expired 223 comp brass into the 300bo! That and I consume the uber-cheap, Speer .308” light hunting bullets which do great!

625B8C1C-1421-40FD-8FFE-CC3CF5DFA40F.jpeg
Compact 16” Ruger 300bo - very good hunting package
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