Old StarPacker

Thanks for all the replies. My mechanical abilities are very limited, but I have been watching a few Youtube videos to see how the 336's bolt is disassembled. I'll give it a go here in the next week or so. I'll give an update afterwards. Thanks again. Old StarPacker

Hi Everyone, I hope the start of the new year has been good for you. I have an issue with my Marlin 336 R.C .35 Remington serial no. K15XXX. I picked this up at a show in Rock Springs, WY when I lived in the Cowboy State. First time I took it to the range 11 out of 20 rounds of Winchester ammo didn’t fire. All the primers showed very light firing pin strikes that looked more like scratches. I tried my reloads with the RCBS 200 grain gas check and the same thing happened (some fired normally; most didn’t). Those rounds that fired normally all had regular looking firing pin strikes. I took the rifle to a Utah gunsmith along with all the ammo that didn’t go off. He kept it for months before telling me he had to replace the hammer spring. Back at the range it was the same old story with both factory and reloads randomly not going off. I packed the rifle up and forgot about it as all my WY hunting was with the .308 and .30-06 due to the long ranges involved. Subsequently, I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee and thought the Marlin would be a perfect woods gun. I took it to the range and again rounds did not fire in a random fashion. This time I added Remington factory ammo to the mix along with my reloads. I took it to a TN gunsmith who kept it for six months along with all the unfired rounds. He said he couldn’t find anything wrong with the rifle or rounds, but told me to quit shooting reloads through a hunting rifle. The rifle is still unreliable and I hesitate to take it bear or hog hunting even though it would be in my opinion the perfect gun. I’m wondering if this could be a headspacing issue? Does anyone know of a qualified gunsmith who can fix my Marlin? Thanks, Old StarPacker