Page Three



                          Tuning The Marlin 336 Leveraction
                                    By: Lyndon Combs

                    


  Tuning the action of a Marlin is easy, and well worth the trouble. I have tuned many Marlins, and it is a great deal easier than working the action on a Winchester design. The rifle in the picture is one that I worked on recently for a friend. It is a Marlin 30AW which is a 336 without the Walnut stock, but still a hardwood stock. This type of work can be done on all Marlin rifles. They are still a nice looking little rifle the picture doesn't do it justice.
  The first thing to do is decide what you want to use the rifle for hunting,Cowboy Action Shooting, plinking, or all around work gun. For this project I am working to tune for hunting.
  The first thing that I did was to shoot the gun to see what needed to be done. The ejection was weak, the empty cases just kinda flopped out of the receiver instead of flying clear. Next I am guessing that it will need a change in hammer spring to make for faster steady follow up shots. This will also help with the change to a stiffer elector. The owner wanted to be able to hunt hillside as well as strip job so I decided that we needed to add a good scope. Everything else seemed fine with the gun so any other changes would be my standard changes that I would normally do with a Marlin.
  First the ejector- The ejector in the Marlin is a two piece design(pictured) that works good, but they wear easy in my opinion. So I like to change to a one piece ejector for hunting that is made by Wild West Guns -they refer to as "Bear Proof". Removing the ejector is easy on a Marlin as anyone who has cleaned one will know it just flops loose when you remove the bolt. Then you simply replace with the new one. Now with the Wild West ejector some fitting may be needed if you want it to be as smooth as with the two piece ejector. For hunting I usually don't do much sanding on the part.
  Second- Changing the hammer spring to a reduced tension spring to allow for the hammer to be cocked with less effort. This make it easier to stay on target when going for a second shot. It also allows for a smoother action. When changing springs you can get a kit that comes with a reduced hammer spring as well as a plunger spring. Now for hunting I usually don't change the plunger spring because it allows the lever to unlock easier, and in the field I like the lever to stay put. Now if you want to Cowboy shoot you need to change both out to be quicker. For this one I am just using a Wolf Reduced Hammer Spring(pictured) to the right. To change the hammer spring you must first take the butt stock off. Now since we have the butt stock I usually like to do a Luwig job on the safety, but that is up to the owner. If not then I simply pull the retaining guide to the side, and slide off one spring then slide on the new spring. Now there is more that could be done, like a trigger sear change out, and other little tricks but I wouldn't do them unless you have worked on guns in the past, and have the experience. Just slide the guide back in place, and put the butt stock back on the gun.
  Third- We need to get a scope for the gun, and in this case I found a good Weaver 3-9x40 scope that was made in the late 80's that is in great shape, so it is going to go on the gun. I picked up a set of Simmons rings, and a Weaver base. Now this is fairly easy to do, but there are some things that will help to insure that the job is done right. When installing the base use a little Hoppe's lock tite on the screws to keep them in place. Make sure to use a level when seating the scope, and make sure the rings fit the scope in a uniform manor so not to stress the scope. Then bore site to get on paper.
  Fourth- Now another thing I like to do is replace the magazine follower from plastic to metal. You have two options on this part either Aluminum, or Stainless Steel. I prefer the Steel ones they are simply the best. This is done by removing the tube cap retaining screw, and the cap(careful the spring can fly out)remove the spring, and the plastic follower then switch out with the metal on, and you put the amgazine pack together.
  Now your ready for some serious hunting, and you have a good gun that has been tweaked to be even better. I usually like to replace the firing pins of the Marlin to a one piece firing pin, but on this one well they didn't want that option. If you are interested in this type of tuning, and need help feel free to contact me. If you don't want to do it yourself I can do it locally. Just email me at LyndonCombs@venompublishing.net

                     "Christmas For Kids" A Holiday Highlight"
                                  BY: Preston Mc Lain

  The Harlan Co. Ridge Runners ATV Club held our 4th annual Christmas toy give away rencently at the Evarts Trail Head. This was not a riding event, and we had many from out of state and out of county to attend as well. The club has handed out over 2500 toys since the event began four years ago, and hope to see it grow even bigger each year. This is what I call, " The Flip Side of Adventure Tourism", and our way to give back to the community and make sure some kids will wake up with a smile on there face come Christmas Morning.
  One of our long distance members that hails from Glassgow, Ky and has made over 100 trips to our trail head, pitched right in as if they had known these kids all their life. And plan to come back and take part next year.
Santa and Mrs. Clause made a grand entrance...Ridge Runner Style on a 4 wheeler much to the delight of all the kids.
  Many of the kids that came thru the line were shy you could tell, but after getting two wrapped gifts, one selected gift, crayons, coloring book, stocking, hot chocolate, candy, cake, snacks of all kinds, the smile on their faces said it all. When I see this it makes my chest swell with pride for all our club members that pitch in and make this happen each year. Want to be a part of this or see what is happening in all of E.Ky as Adventure Tourism expands, then log onto www.ridgerunnersnation.com or email bellman30@alltel.net.