Howdy, Foax! Lemme apologize first to those friends who’ve hunted successfully for years and simply slap solvented patches and bore brushes through their barrels ‘til they’re reasonably clean and adequate for the next season – I know most all about that, have done it for 50 years, and if there’s any more for me to learn, I’m sorry but I don’t care! So fair warnin’ to young threadstealers who wanna boast about the basics -- this post prob’ly ain’t for you. I’m lookin’ for guidance from y’all obsessive-compulsive tack drivers who scour your rifle barrels down to the pores and are only rarely satisfied!


I’ve recently acquired a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington but have no idea of the condition of the bore. I’m planning to apply Outers’ Foul Out 3 and scrub ‘er down ‘til the shine melts the borelight, but because it’s a lever rifle, I’m unsure of “best practices.” For example, as a Marlin microgroove, I hesitate to muscle a bronze brush through the bore on a fixed, one-piece rod – should I follow the twist with a rotating rod and handle (such as V-Stik’s Bore Tech), and in one direction only? (I know that sounds obvious, but if you can't or don't remove the bolt, you WILL have to scrub the bore both ways, unless you can figure out how to unscrew and remove a bore brush through the rifle's ejection port.) If I completely field strip the puppy, I s'pose I can clean it from the breech, but if so, will it require a bore guide? If not, what about them thar flexible rods, such as Otis’?


Experienced guidance will be much appreciated, not only by me, but by generations of OC lever scrubbers to come!

Best always, Walt

When I clean a 336 I remove the screw for the lever, pull the lever amd remove the bolt. Takes about a minute and allows you to properly clean the bolt and reciever along with the barrel. You could use a bore guide but it really isn't neccessary-these aint precision target rifles. You will find the barrels clean up fairly quickly since these aren't they aren't high pressure or high velocity rounds. Keep in mind more barrels are damaged from excessive cleaning than from shooting wear.

Same as above. Take the bolt out and clean it like you would any bolt action gun.

__________________
MikeG

x3 here on removing the bolt..

Now, just a tad bit more info for ya.

As for HOW to remove the bolt, there a few things to know.

First, open the bolt about half way, then take out the screw it pivots on and set aside.

Second, pull the lever straight down and it will come right out. Might have to wiggle a bit as you do it. Look inside to see where it fits into the bolt and note how much bolt is sticking out the back for reference when reinstalling.

Third, lay the rifle down on it's left side or hold it laid over to the left in your hands. Now, grab the back end of the bolt and pull it out the back.

You are now more or less done except for one fairly important thing. The ejector spring is a small leaf type spring that lays in a groove on the left side of the receiver. If you look inside from the rear, you should see a small tab sticking up. Note how it lays in there then reach n with your finger and take it out or turn the rifle over and shake it and it should fall out if not gummed in place with old crud.

That's it. installation is the reverse or removal.

If you google Marlin rifle disassembly, you should find all sorts of good, detailed info. they are really amazingly simple and rugged rifles yet the smoothness is quality all the way.