Comments on: The 308 Marlin Express – New 400 Yard Lever Rifle?

By: rifleman

rifleman — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:31:17 +0000

I purchased and shot my .308 Marlin Express MXLR. I put a Nikon 2.5x10x42 Monarch on it. Very nice lever gun. Solid as is my Marlin 1894 .44mag. This scope works very well on the .308. I don’t reload yet, but I did purchase 6 boxes of ammo online, 3 Remington 150 grain core Lokt (new end of 2009) and 3 Hornady 160 grain. Sighted with Hornady. 1st shot at 100 yds. Bullseye,(however started at 25yds to 1″ low) sand bags only, with a sled I am sure 2 would touch (I am older and less stable!) Have not shot Remington yet but would anticipate slightly less recoil. Very nice Gun Scope Combo, Hunting buddies really like how it looks and feels. I own a TC .308 Icon with 3x9x40 Nikon with BDC 2 shots 2 deer, 155 yds and 100yds also nice combo. Lever gun jumps a little more than bolt gun, but very smooth! will not part with! Can imagine a hunt in Rockies with .308 lever gun on horseback, whitetail,or elk. This gun rocks. I would get one before they disappear which I am sure they will. This is a .307 win cartridge necked up to a .308 it is .115″ shorter than standard .308. Specialty cartridges usually don’t last long in retail especially with 1 gun manufacturer now owned by Remington (they bought Marlin in 2008)However Remington did come out with the 150 grain cartridge in end of 2009. Hold your breath!

By: Almtnman

Almtnman — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:18:07 +0000

I have a 308 Marlin Express rifle and it’s really an accurate rifle. I was disappointed at first that I couldn’t get the flex tip bullets for reloading, but that’s no longer a problem. I bought a couple of boxes of 160 grain flex tip bullets and reloaded about 60 rounds so far. The sporting goods store seems to have a good supply of bullets now since Hornady released them for reloading your own.

I installed a XS receiver peep sight and an XS front sight on my rifle. I zeroed it in at 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards and get a nice tight little group that seems to be consistent. It’s a great rifle and very accurate caliber!

By: Dan Dayton

Dan Dayton — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:07:27 +0000

I do not want to be a spoiler guys, but all this uproar about the Marlin Express, is making this “Old Schooler” alittle ill. I recently purchase a lever action rifle in standard .308 Win/7.62×51 NATO cal, not a rimmed .308 variant, for a rifle made only by Marlin. The rifle is a Mdl 99 Savage. Most calibers offered are now obsolescent, however .243/.308 Winchester & .257 Roberts are still available. The Savage 99 was the first successful lever action made to handle modern, smokeless, high pressure, spitzer ammo.Nuff said!

By: Philip W Martin

Philip W Martin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:54:18 +0000

I have a 308 Marlin Express and I can only say that it is one of the best shooting Lever action weapons that I have ever owned. I have shot and taken down four Whitetail’s with this weapon and with only one shot. It will put them down hard. I would like to see a 150gr Flex tip bullet soon. Here in Texas were I hunt. The 160gr is a little large. But it work’s. Maybe Hornady will come out with one real soon. Anyone looking to buy one should. They are worth the Money.

By: jay

jay — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:56:40 +0000

I am 41 and have hunted since I was 12. I have a wonderful 30-06 bolt and have taken moose and deer with. But I always loved my first rife a 3o-3o marlin. When it come to deer hunting in Pa. The 30-30 is all I ever needed and still use. I always liked how the lever action rifle shouldered and how quick I could get on target. I am thrilled with this new .308 marlin. I like the extra umph!

By: G Heng

G Heng — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:51:15 +0000

I have shot and hunted for many years, I say many years because I started hunting when I was 12. I am now 45 and have had the opportunity over the years to hunt and shoot many different rounds. I have to say that Hornady has never failed me. I recently bought a marlin 308 MX and I know that
Hornady is one of the only oneas to make ammo for this gun, however I am not worried one bit,because I know that Hornady is a top notch ammo maker and I can count on them to produce quality no matter what

By: Joe G.

Joe G. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:16:23 +0000

I think the manufacturing of ammo today is very different than in the past. The machines are probably much more flexible and easier to change over than ever before. This has probably been a major contributing factor to the development of these new rounds. Hornady has been pumping out new rounds every year, and yes they probably dont reinvent the wheel but they offer consumers a vast array of unique cartriges. The old rounds are truly awesome (.270, .308, 30-06.) but not everyone wants what Greatgrampa, Grampa and Dad shot.

By: eric

eric — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:54:03 +0000

I just bought the 308 mxlr an to be honest i love it. its the best shooting gun i own.

By: HillBillieJohn

HillBillieJohn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:29:52 +0000

308 refers to the bullet’s diameter in inches, i.e. the “projectile” itself is .308 inches in diameter. This is also reffered to as Caliber. The brass is the casing itself which the bullet rides in and comes in many different designs per caliber bullet. i.e. 30-06 uses a .308″ bullet, 308 uses a .308″ bullet, however the 30-06 is a much longer cartridge vs the shorter 308. Look at all the 22 caliber rifles you can buy. 22 caliber rifles come in all sorts of chamberings.

This Marlin 308mx is a rifle chambered for a special 308. Meaning it uses a true .308 caliber bullet, but because it is lever action and stores the rounds in a tubular magazine where the tip of one round touches the primer of the next, the rounds have special rubber tips so they don’t set each other off while in the magazine and explode the rifle. They also made a special brass casing for the rifle, therefore no other 308 caliber amunition will work in the rifle.

This is why I am reluctant to own one myself.

By: North Dakota

North Dakota — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:07:49 +0000

The .308 Marlin is based on a new case, not a necked-down version of any previous case, although it is very similar to a .307 Win. case with the shoulder set back .0998″

I would not use anything else other than 308MX ammo.
You won’t be disappointed either, I’ve killed several whitetails with this ammo.

Happy hunting, shoot straight.