A while back I asked and received many good responses about the Marlin 30/30. Well after looking around more, I cannot decide between the 30/30, the .357 (I have a revolver in that caliber already), the .44 mag, the 45/70, etc.

I would like this gun to be a versatile defense/hunting rifle. Used primarily in Georgia for deer.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I'd get a .44 mag or a 45-70. The 357 really isnt powerful enough for deer.

30/30 has been used to take down deer by so many people it isnt even funny, its defenetly a good proven deer round. But if you want some true power to take out deer, hogs, and bear, go for the 45/70, its a old round but it sure packs one hell of a punch.

Go with the .450 Marlin. It is truely what the 45-70 should be.

Ditto on the .450

If you get a .357 mag or a .44 mag don't run specials through it.  I once hung up a .44 mag Marlin badly doing this, it took tools and 10 minutes to clear it.

I would go with the .357 since you already have the revolver in matching caliber. I've got a buddy that has used my .44 mag 1894 in the past on deer with great success. But the .357 with proper shot placement will do just as well and it works great having the revolver and the rifle in the same caliber. Of course you could get the .44 and then have an excuse to get another revolver.[;)]

Chairborne, I've used specials in mine and know several people that do that in theirs for CAS with no trouble. I wonder if it was the result of an ammo problem instead of the gun. Mine did this to me once because of a bullet jumping forward in a Blazer cartridge. I know what you mean about having to fight the damn thing to clear it. Arrrrrgggggggg!

30-30 and keep it under 150 yards.

I have been using a Guide Gun( 45-70) for quite a while now, I am very pleased with it. If I lived in your area I would consider a .444 Marlin as you probably won't run into a 10Ft. Brown anytime in the immediate future, but if you just have to have a .45 I would stay with the 45-70 if you reload if not you may prefer the 450 Marlin. Hope you like your Lever Gun as much as I like mine.
Rabon...

45-70 government.  You have so many choises of loads from low pressure rounds meant for 100+ year old weapons to the new "absolutely knock-em down" loads from [url]www.garrettcartridges.com[/url].  415 grains at 1730 fps, wow.  Because it's a lever action, you don't have to worry about too light of a load not cycling the action or too heavy of a load pounding the bolt into the receiver because you don't have the right recoil spring.  If you're going to shoot 450 Marlin, you're probably going to reload because of the cost of the ammo.  If you're going to reload anyway, why not just use the standard 45-70?  After all, if the 45-70 didn't work so well, it would have died-out when the army dropped it (the same month my father was born) in 1898.  Can you tell I want one myself?

The 357 would be nice for you, because you could share ammo.  That's a nice old-time, cowboy feature.  Also, the rifle would hold more rounds of 357 than 30/30 or 45-70.  That might not matter for deer hunting, but for home defense or SHTF, it's useful.

im gonna sat 30/30. i have one, i love it. pleanty of killability for anything you wanna hunt, unless your a bear man. its fairly accurate aout to about 100 yds or so. its main advantage over say 45/70 is ammo is very common, its cheaper and you can but it anywhere that sells rifle rounds.

I don't have one yet, but I'm going with the guide gun in 45/70. A 300gr. bullet would knock the stuffin' out of any deer. Or, as stated above, you can get hot loads that will drop anything that walks. But, a Marlin in 30-30, or better yet, 35 Rem, would also work nicely. All three of these calibers are proven killers. I don't know much about the .450, other than it's new.


Mach1

Go for the 45/70, especially if you reload. It will kill anything and has style to boot.
In case you didn't know, a 450 Marlin is nothing more than a hot loaded and belted 45/70, which will prevent folks from stuffing one in the old Trapdoor and blowing it up. You can easily duplicate it in a 45/70 round. Watch the recoil, though, if you put a scope on it.
I have a sore right eyebrow from bench shooting a  405 gr bullet "Grizzly" load from mine a couple days ago.

Does that mean if you can see it, it'll kill ya?

turdy turdy. Cheap and plentiful.

Again, thanks for the advice. I don't plan on doing any reloading in the future. I am leaning toward the 30/30 or the pistol calibers....357 or .44 mag.  Are the 1894's as reliable as the 336's?  30/30 (336) is $259.00  and .357 (1894) is $349.00.

Does anyone have experience with the Marlin 336 Cowboy in 38-55?  What is the recoil like with this round?  There aren't many commercial loads for it and like most old cartridges, it seems to drop like a rock after about 90 yards.

Paco Kelly did a write up on this combo a while back on Sixgunner.com, said it's worth while.

With the factory load recoil should be mild and ballistics unimpressive. However there are a couple of other things to keep in mind.

The Lyman reloading manual sitting next to me lists a 38-55 load for Winchester 94's and Stevens 441/2 (old guns) with a 255 grain bullet at 1800 fps. That is 500 fps more impressive than the factory load. Also, the .375 Winchester is a .38-55 with a shorter case and heavier side walls. A .375 Winchester will chamber and fire in the Marlin 38-55. You may recall back around 1983 Marlin made a short run of their Model 375 in 375 Winchester. It was a basic Model 336 with no modifications other than caliber. So according to Paco, you can shoot .375 Winchester equivalent loads in the new Marlin. Lyman shows the .375 Winchster with 220 grains at 2260 fps and 255 grains at 2000. Not too shabby. Of course this comes with all the appropriate disclaimers, but I think the combo is neat.

If I didn't already have a 30-30 and 45-70, I'd think hard about this one.

BTW: I got absolutely MISERABLE accuracy from 3 different factory loads in a 44mag version of the Marlin. This happened with another 44 earlier. The 30-30 will be way more accurate..

I am surprised no one mentioned the .444 Marlin.  This was a proprietary cartridgge developed by Marlin back in the late 60's or early 70's I think.

Anyhow, the carbine I have is the .444P and is the ported 18.5" version.

The new .450 is a refined 45-70 which is legendary in and of itself.  The .444 does almsot everything the 45-70 does except it does it better accuracy and better down range power.

Recoil is substantial but expected in such a light carbine.

Any are fine but it is .444 for me.

I have "2" one in 35 remington and one in 30/30 winchester both are plenty powerful enough for the whitetail! 4 power scopes and see through rings its all you need.