That is a bold statement, but I did not come defenseless. The numbers I am about to present come from the Shooter's Bible (SB) and various reloading books (I had to look up the powder weight to enter into the recoil calculator found on this website). We are going to look at knock down power (I don't like to blood trail deer) and recoil (The less recoil, the better people shoot.) Let's compare numbers.

300 Winchester mag., 150 grain bullet at 3290 ft/sec (SB)
Knock down - 22 rating. Recoil - 36 lbs.

444 Marlin, 240 grain bullet at 2350 ft/sec (SB)
Knock down - 25 rating. Recoil - 25 lbs.

35 Marlin, 200 grain bullet at 2224 ft/sec (My reload)
Knock down - 23 rating. Recoil 16 lbs.

The 35 Marlin beats the 300 Winchester mag in knock down with less than half the recoil and the 35 Marlin is only rated 2 less knock down than the 444 Marlin, but has 36% less recoil.

Obviously, past 200 yards, the 300 Winchester mag will blow the 444 Marlin or the 35 Marlin out of the water, but at close range, less recoil is good. Want more knock down with less recoil when hunting thickets, try a 35 Marlin and try reloading.

I never heard of the 35 Marlin. Is it an old, extinct cartridge, or a brand new thing? I guess you're not talking about the 35 Remington?

Assuming you are talking about the 35 Remington, I agree that it is a good deer cartridge to 150 yards. However, I don't believe in any kind of "knockdown" power and even less in any kind of formula to calculate it. I've seen deer drop immediately from a 243 and run after a hit with a 30-06, and vice-versa. I've seen elk run after a hit with a 416 Rigby. There is no cartridge that just knocks game down every single time.

I am talking about a model 336 Marlin in 35 Remington. My reloads run 2224 ft/sec on average, but some people reload to a higher speed.

For close work (100 yards or less), another good rifle is a 44 mag with BTB 250 grain gas check bullets. Regardless of angle, don't expect to recover the bullet unless there is a big tree on the other side of the deer. Too many people get carried away with magnums or the newest hot rod cartridge and they forget about the buffalo hunters. The buffalo hunters used slow moving (by today's standard) heavy large diameter cast bullets to kill bulls that sometimes ran 1500 pounds or more.

Thats a bold statement with cool numbers. The 35 remington(in a marlin lever is what you mean) is a good cartridge to a 150yds but there are a lot of good 150yd cartridges. The perfect cartridge will field-dress and drag your deer to the truck then load it up.

Yup, works great. Done in a number of deer, hogs, varmits galore, and it just flat out kills stuff!!!!

The 35 Remington is a perfect 150 yard rifle as well as my 444 Marlin and my 30-30 Marlin. Lots of perfect guns out there. Thats why I own so many.

Oh yea, my wife is perfect too. Just ask her.

Using the soft tipped bullets makes the .35 Rem even better, in my experience at least.

( 35 remington ) is a great caliber? one of my favorits for north eastern PA white tail deer hunting.

The 35 Remington is a perfect 150 yard rifle as well as my 444 Marlin and my 30-30 Marlin. Lots of perfect guns out there. Thats why I own so many.

Oh yea, my wife is perfect too. Just ask her. LOL! I hope for your sake she doesn't read this forum.

Hey Taylor you can call it a 35 Marlin or Marlin 35. I'll know what you're talking about. It's like the guy in the above post referring to 30-30 Marlin. Enjoy your 35 Marlin or Marlin 35.

(Sorry about the name calling - I got carried away)

EDip

Well, I think you're all sadly mistaken and under informed. The 35 Marlin, aka. the 35 remington, is a legitmate 178 yard rifle. I would provide two witnesses, northwest missouri 8 pointers, but they is dead and have been consumed. Both "victims" got the old thru and thru, interesting part was big hole in, bigger hole out. 200 grain core-loct was on duty both times. So, now what do we do for fun?? Try 179 yards??

Let's keep it civil folks. Calling your fellow hunters idiots isn't a good deal here.

I do think there are lots of good 150 yard deer guns and keep in mind Taylor there are lots of folks whom simply don't mind recoil of the bigger guns. In fact I can't ever remember even feeling the recoil of my 8mm Rem mag when I shoot game with it.

I've never owned a 35 Remington, but a friend of mine has killed a pile of elk and deer with a 35 Whelen, but I think he shoots further than 150 yards with it.

Thats a real bold statement! I have a .35 Remington (Marlin 336C) It was my grandfathers and its put lots and lots of meat in his fridgeratior and some in mine. I can definately say it is a realy good 150yrd gun. The best though? With mildly loaded 300g JHP or 400+g hardcast my Marlin 1895G and a square shoulder hit has dropped everything i have shot at under 175 yards. Deer behind the shoulders into the ribs rairly make it over 30 yards or so and the furthest to date was about 50 yards. Secondly I dont like numbers What is the Taylor knock down value of a 300 Winchester magnum with 165g, 180g, 200g or heavier bullets. A 405g pill Slugging along at 1250fps rates 33 on the Taylor knock down value. With a recoil of 13lbs. 10 points higher on the KO value and 3 ft pounds of energy less. Also the numbers never take into concideration modern bullets. Ive witnessed .30-06 balistic tiped something or another 165g pill at about 155 yards drop a big northern whitetale it looked like a grenade went off inside the deer and the exit whole was the size of a golf ball. Thats the last time my hunting partner used balistic tipped ammo and a shoulder shot there was a lot of meat dammage! I dont know if Id want to see that same bullet from a .300 winchester magnum going 200fps faster. I do like the .35 remington it is my second choice my first is my Marlin 1895G Dont know why but the from the first trigger pull ive fell in love with it.

Hey, faucettb. If you were refering to my post, I',m sorry. My post was an attempt to put some humor in the conversation. Didn't mean to offend anyone. I just feel the 35 Rem is totally under-rated, and I for one sure do not know it's legitmate range capacity, cause my personal shooting skills are the limitiing factor. Again sorry if I offended anyone.

"... am talking about a model 336 Marlin in 35 Remington. "

I've lived long enough to get passed magnumitus and long range rifles, thank God.

I hunt. If the shot is more than 200 yards or a bit less, I get closer, no matter the cartridge and rifle. I don't bush-wack deer across bean fields or from one mountain side to another, etc.

I have several bolt deer rifles now and have had more, NONE of them suit the needs of a HUNTER as well as a 336/.35. When mine stays home - rare - I carry my pedestrian old 700/30-06. There are no magnums left in my gun safe, never needed them and don't even like them anymore.

Long live the .35 lever gun, it's a man's rifle and cartridge!

Well put. Love my .35!

I'm NOT OFFENDED. 35 has taken much game throughout Canada. Those 200 grain bullets pack a lot more punch than paper charts would suggest.

A custom ammo maker offers the 180 grain flat nose Speer as loaded ammo. This bullet actually out performs Remington 200 grain factory ammo. By out perform I mean to say that it shoots flatter and penetrates deeper.

check this site: www.pcammunition.com

TR

Perfect? I dunno, but it's pretty great. We're only talking 150 yards and only talking deer. I think it makes a pretty good 150 yards deer/black bear/hog/cougar/coyote/speed goat rifle. And with Speer 220 grainers maybe even an acceptable moose/elk gun.

I think the Swedish hunters might suggest the 6.5x55 SE and bump that range up a bit (like to 3-400 yards), but the .35 Rem in a levergun is pretty alright.

Well put. Love my .35!

+1 for the .35 Remington in a Marlin 336. I like a 180g Speer at 2400 fps in mine. I'll be at the 200 yard range with it soon.

The 35 Remington in a Marlin is a great deer cartridge to 150 yards and beyond under the right conditions. I have one and I like it.

I also like my .444 Marlin. Since I got the .444 Marlin I have not hunted the .35 Remington. To me the extra recoil of the .444 is not a problem for the few shots taken during hunting season. Out to 200 yards (my personal limit for both these guns) trajectory is similar and the .444 carries a little more mustard. I like the extra edge the .444 gives me.

I took one antelope and one fork horn mule deer with the .35 in 2003. With the .444 I have taken one antelope, one 5x5 mule deer, and two elk in two seasons (2006 & 2007). That said, my only shot with either of these cartridges beyond 100 yards was the fork horn at close to 200 and the .35 Remington was entirely adequate for the task.

My "go to" guns this year are Remington 700 Classics in 6.5X55 (one antelope so far) and .35 Whelen.

...So many good deer rifles, so little time!!

At the risk of causing great gnashing of teeth and pounding of chests from the long range crowd...been there and done that!
There is no doubt the the .35 Remington is a famous meat maker...but why?
The simple fact is that the Remigton 200 gr roundnose CL was/is a perfect mate to the Marlin 336 and with mild recoil...and adequate accuracy for the range it was intended for. Now there is work being done on other bullet designs in the 35 Remigton indeed. But it all returns to bullet performance!...and to recap...accuracy for its intended use!
I am playing with a NEF that was rechambered to .357 Max. Again, the velocity in the strong rifle action can push as fast as the .35 Remigton.....but again the Reminton 200 gr Round nose CL really shines!
I have no doubt that the combonation of the 200 gr roundnose bullet will work well out to 150 yards, but what made the Marlin 336/35 Remingtom famous was it being a perfect brush gun.
Many,many years ago..I played/hunted with a 14" TC in 357 Herrett...again with the Remington round nose CL....deadly! Of course when the 35 Remigton came out in the gun, the 35 Herrett died.
The life span to-date fo the .35 Remington has seen the death of many hot-shot cartridges indeed...and will still be making meat when lots more die off. Why?...because we keep coming back the the fact that the cartridge - bullet design - rifle is a perfect balance for its intended use!..really quite simple and easy to understand!
Regards, James

While the .35 Rem is a perfectly fine round for deer at 150 yards, it is in no way more powerful than a .300 Win. Calculations of "killing power" of various theoretical types have been tried many times, and the Knock Down calculations (I think Taylor started that trend) are seriously flawed as measures of anything real in the world. I am not aware of ANY such calculations that don't result in some silly conclusions and comparisons.

There is undoubtedly a trend to more power and speed in modern hunters, a trend that is often seriously misinformed, and is too often driven by the need for compensating for something that any psychologist would understand. I see more hunters carrying rifles and cartridges that they can't use and don't need every year. But, at the same time, I would never suggest the .35 Rem is the ballistic equal of the .300 Mag no matter what loading is compared.

The fact that so many deer have been killed with the .35 proves it is completely adequate for such hunting. It also proves you don't actually need anything more at less than 150 yards. It doesn't prove the .35 is the equal of the .300 Win.

Yes, the .35 is a perfect example of how mating the bullet to the cartridge (velocity, really) is what gives the opportunity for success in the game fields. Actually - you could easily come up with bullet combinations for the .300 Win Mag that were less effective for deer hunting - bullets that didn't expand, expanded too easily, etc.

In terms of 'equal,' I would say that in fact you could state that the .35 is equal in terms of results to pretty much anything carried in the field for deer hunting in the sub-200 yard range. Why? Because all of our favorite deer cartridges are completely capable of killing a deer with correct bullets.

And let's face it, a deer may run with a fatal wound from any of them. Put your list together - just to state a few things I have dragged through the hunting fields: .35 Rem, .250 Savage, .280 Rem, .30-06, .338 Win Mag, .444 Marlin, .458 Win Mag - will all of these kill a deer or hog? Yes, of course. Could a deer or hog run upwards of a hundred yards with a fatal wound from any of these? Yes, of course.

It isn't until we go beyond 200 yards that the lever gun and straight walled cartridges start to suffer by comparison. Either they are getting to the range the bullets don't expand at, or trajectory / wind drift gets to be a concern, or both.

I do know that Ranch Dog has taken some animals beyond 200 yards with his .444, but with cast bullets. That takes the expansion out of the equation and leaves trajectory / drift as the issue.

So in that sense I would state that the .35 is fully the equal of the rest of the list. It does the same job within the usual hunting ranges. And being cast bullet friendly helps too. Can't recall the last time I shot a jacketed bullet at a game animal through mine, but it's been a few years at least.

What a great forum! And you can read much of the same at MarlinOwners.com. I am referring to the voice of experience and common sense that is heard so often here. It is a refreshing break from the marketing hype, chest thumping, and testosterone frenzy of so much of the print media and some other WWW sites.

A few seasons of field experience is all it takes for a thoughful person to realize that the various power factors, knock-down scores, etc. make for good press but are of little practical significance. Let me share one example.

Ten days ago I shot a doe antelope at a range of 75 yards or less with 140 gr. Hornady SP bullet from my 6.5X55 Swede. The bullet carried through both lungs just behind the heart breaking a rib entering and another exiting. That doe was facing a fence about 5 feet in front of her and ready to go under it. At the shot she blasted under the fence and out of sight in an instant. I found her dead about 60 yards beyond the fence. By many criteria I made a "perfect shot," the bullet fully penetrated leaving over a 1" exit wound, yet the so-called "fragile, thin-skinned" animal went under the fence and traveled half a football field.

At approximately 200 yards I had the same experience with a forkhorn mule deer shot with the 200 gr. C-L .35 Remington ammo. He stayed on his feet about the same length of time but traveled much farther with assistance of gravity as he careened down a steep slope. Oops, that was two examples...sorry.

So much for power factors and knockdown values in the real world.

Finally, darn you folks for giving me the itch to break out my Marlin .35 Rem. when I already had my mind made up to hunt with other rifles this year! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sometimes I hunt with my Mod94, sometimes my .270. But when there is no tracking snow on the ground, I often take the .300 Win. I believe there is less hunting after the shot with the .300 than with my 30-30. Blood trails (if there is any need) are almost always massive. There is no doubt in my mind that the .300 overwhelms deer in a way that just doesn't happen with even the .270, and fewer deer move, and those that do run travel fewer yards after a decent hit.

The .35 Rem will is all you need, certainly at less than 150 yards. It is not equal to either the .270 or the .300 Win. You can go for a quart of milk in either a Focus or a Porche. Specific end results can not always be the final measure of "equal".

I want to repeat, however, that for the specific result of killing deer at less than 150 yards, the .35 is actually all you need.

Well, I agree the .35 Rem is not the equal or the .270 or .300 win mag. It is a woods carbine rifle with a lever, and even better with iron sights for that type of work. That means fast acquisition, good accuracy for those shorter shots, and fast follow up shots, if necessary. In fact, it is much like a shotgun in terms of speed for close cover work when that deer may only pause for a second. If however, you have the time, it will still do well as most Marlins are quite accurate - yes, even keeping pace with the bolt guns.

The equal for woods hunting? I don't think so. ;)

I thought more power always equalled a shorter recovery of the animal, till the day I shot a small hog with a .458 Win Mag and it ran off!!!! :eek: Blood / parts trail that a blind man could have followed, yet it did.

Sometimes they run. I don't think you can predict 100% in advance if they will, or how far, till you break enough bones and / or disrupt the nervous system.

Funny thing is I've had them go much shorter distances with 'lesser' cartridges?

At the range today my .35 kept all shots inside a 2 inch zone at 100 yards using the Hornady LeverEvolution ammo, despite a 12 mph crosswind. I consider that close to perfect for any hunting I am liable to do, and the Leupold VXII 2X7 was exactly what my eyes were needing to keep them in a good group. I do think that the LE is the perfect round for the .35, and I am even more impressed with it when considering how well it did with the cross wind.

Perfect 150 yards deer rifle? Close enough for me! :D

The 35 Remington in a Marlin is a great deer cartridge to 150 yards and beyond under the right conditions. I have one and I like it.

I hunted with one a couple weeks ago (didn't shoot at anything). Good rifle, almost as good as my 30-30, except for ammo costs more.

I love these debates!!

As long as I hunt in thick woods, the .35 Remington is the right cartridge for me.

PERFECT only exists in the minds of the beholder. There is no such thing in reality. To each his own. I personally prefer the 7mm-08 for deer.;)

I just recently got a Marlin in 35 Rem. though I've had and loaded for Marlins in .30-30 and a BLR in .358 Win. for quite awhile. I don't know about perfect but it sure is better than acceptable! My only real gripe with the .35 Rem. is that brass isn't as easy to come by. My .30 cal. carbines and rifles have always been perfectly reliable on deer but I usually shot jacketed bullets at deer from them. I haven't bought any jacketed bullets in a few years and, at the prices of them, doubt I will. I prefer to hunt with the .358 and 220 gr. FN cast from ACWW at 2150 FPS. I've been shooting the 35 Rem. with a 180 and 220 FP and find that reasonable accuracy with cast at basically full power levels came easy and with very minimal load development. Below are groups with 2 different powders at full power and a reduced load with Herco for plinking and small game. The full power loads shoot 2" - 2.5" higher than the reduced loads at 50 yds. I like that. I haven't taken any deer with it yet but expect to during out long late doe season.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/Antietamgw/LEE%20360-180/35Rem360-180006-1.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/Antietamgw/LEE%20360-180/35Rem360-180005.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/Antietamgw/LEE%20360-180/360180Marlin35Rem001.jpg

Unless the projectile has 4 or more tires on it "knock down power" is mostly a myth. A .460 Weatherby mag with solids has more "knockdown power" than a 30-06 with 150 grain softpoints but the '06 is much better for anchoring white tail size game. You need the right bullet, caliber, velocity combination for the game, distance situation. "Knockdown power" can be almost totally wasted if there is little energy transferred to the target.

Kudu40

I think Ranger 335V has trouble with his masculinity when he has to put people down who shoot further than he likes to. He has to refer to "his" choice of weapons as a "mans" gun. I own over a hundred different guns and they are ALL "mans guns".

Kudu40

I own over a hundred different guns and they are ALL "mans guns". Kudu40

You know I think it all depends on where you hunt and the shots you take. I'm a pretty active shooter, reloader and gunsmith and have always held about the same idea - no magnums for me, I don't have the need. Guess that's not true, I do have a custom .404 Jeffrey for fun. Anyway, my .30-06 would handle the longest shot on game that I needed to make. A .257 Roberts, .30-30, 358 Win or most any mild chambering would suit me fine -until just recently, like the last 3 weeks... My sons and I hunt some crop ground that consists of large bean and corn fields. Our doe season runs thru March and we use alot of venison. This particular place can only be hunted very late in the season due to other activities in the area and we NEED to get rid of some does. The problem is that the bedding areas on the edge of the fields can not be hunted. Prevailing wind and visability make it almost impossible to approach. The way we have to hunt this is to sneak in and crawl. What results is that a 200 yard shot is a very close one and most shots are very well over 300 yards in failing light. The boys have shot at over 400 yards and been successful without losing any game. I'm surprised at the terminal performance at these extended ranges. That's about twice the distance of any game shot I've ever taken though I often plink at 300-400 yards. My sons' use .270 and .280's and are used to long shots. Time for a new sight setting for my '06 I guess. A magnum wouldn't be out of place here. More important are good optics and good range estimation. We know the range since we farm this ground so that makes it a little easier if you can read the wind. Harris bipods and experience shooting from them help the boys. I shoot over a little padded rest I take along. It works good as a padded rest for rifle or butt, depending on which is needed. So, coming from a gun who doesn't hunt with a magnum - I now see the purpose of one when used by someone who can shoot it. And coming from a guy who could use a magnum, I wish I could just get closer and use my popguns.

Guys keep it civil.

You know, it's kind of funny that a rifle chambered for .35 Rem, 30-30 and other similar calibers are 150 yard "Brush" guns, but chamber the same cartridges in a Contender or Encore and they magically become 250 yard cartridges. It just seems kind of odd to me !!!

Here are some targets from the 35 Remington using Hornady LE bullets and H-4198.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/katz_n_jamer/Shooting%20Pics/35RemLE-4Shots1in.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/katz_n_jamer/Shooting%20Pics/35LE-5shots.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/katz_n_jamer/Shooting%20Pics/35RemLE-3Shots.jpg

Handload vs factory LE. I have since seated the bullet a tad deeper.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/katz_n_jamer/Shooting%20Pics/P1010123.jpg

I also like the .35 Remington and have one in Marlin mdl 336 with a 1.5X5X32 Swift scope aboard. I have always used the Remington plan jane vanilla flavored corelokts and it is a joy to carry and to shoot. Most deer in my part of the country are killed under 150 yards and the .35 Rem shines in this department. One can combine a little nostalgia carrying the gun and it does the job when you touch it off. Dan guns&optics.blogspot.com

You guys are all wet! Everyone knows the .375 Winchester is the "perfect" deer cartridge!:D

For many years I hunted with either my 300 Win Mag or my 270 Win. I think I had one shot during 20 years of hunting that was over 100 yards. I also have a Rem 760 pump in 35 Rem which I began using 3 years ago. I have since sold my 300 Win Mag as I find that I really don't need that kind of power anymore,( never really did anyway). I have been very successful with 35 Rem and still have not had a shot over 100 yards. The 35 is a great cartridge for whitetail and does the job for me. I kept my 270 but have not done anything with it except targets. Long live the 35 Rem.