Get-er-Done .35 Remington

It is that time of year again, and I have been going to the range a lot lately, checking the zero on several rifles. This morning I went out and fired exactly (4) shots out of my Marlin Model 336 lever action in .35 Remington. I just wanted to check the point of impact as I have not shot the rifle since last season.

Tha targets below show one shot each at 25, 75, and 150 yards. The gun is on the money at 25 yards, 1 3/4 inches high at 75 yards and on the money again at 150 yards. My load is the factory Federal 200 grain Power Shok. I thought seriously of making the switch over to the Hornady Leverevolution ammo, however when something shoots as well as the Federal Power Shoks out of this gun, I decided to leave well enough alone. The other issue was some reported feeding problems with the Hornady loads and one range test indicated an approximate 11 inch difference in point of impact from a standard 200 grain load like the Federal or the Remington Corelokts. I LOVE the Leverevolution ammo in my 45-70, however for now, I will stay with the Federal ammo for now in the .35 Rem.

For 95% of all the hunting I do, I could sell all my other rifles and hunt whitetails, black bear, hogs, and even moose within a reasonable range and not look back. Will I be doing that anytime soon? NOT likely. I enjoy all of my guns, however I particularly like carrying and shooting the Marlin .35 Rem. I guess it is partly because I grew up with TV Characters like "The Duke" with his Winchester, "Josh Randall" in "Wanted Dead Or Alive, and of course Chuck Connors as "The Rifleman." For older TV buff's (Steve McQueen) as Josh Randall, carried  an 1892 Winchester carbine in 44/40 nicknamed, "Mare's Laig" Steve had that lean hungry look and was just plain COOL. The Duke carried a Winchester Model 1892 big loop lever action in both the True Grit and Stagecoach movies. Chuck Connors also carried a Winchester model 1892 in 44/40 for his TV series, "The Rifleman". Paul Fix who played sherrif "Micah" often referred to Lucas McCain as, "Lucas Boy". I loved all those shows and wish they would make a come back. Sometimes I get just a little tired of all the special effects today's action movies.
As mentioned in another post, my Marlin wears a Simmons Master Series 1.5X5X32 shotgun scope with extended eye relief and an illuminated battery operated reticle. For the money if you can still find one, I consider it a best buy. The optics are clear, the scope has Simmon's version of rainguard on it and the illuminated reticle works well in the deep woods.

As a kid growing up during that era, we did not have cell phones, computers, video games, and all the technology that keeps most of our youth fascinated today. I spent a LOT of time outdoors growing up, and as a youngster we played a lot of cowboys and indians and recreating scenes from the latest shootout in the T.V. westerns of the day.

I know that a few years ago Hilary Clinton expressed that, "Kids and guns should never be used in the same sentence", however it had no ill effect on my generation. I wandered the back forty with a Mossberg bolt action .22 rifle and took  my share of woodchucks with that gun. There was always a loaded .22 rifle in the barn on the farms I worked on growing up, and I cannot recall a single farm accident involving guns from those days. Guns were just part of growing up. We learned how to shoot them, how to clean them and learned respect for them. Guns were fun, plain and simple.

Guns and hunting were a natural part of growing up and I cannot recall a single kid from those days ever robbing a liquor store.

Dan

Proverbs 23:15-16 "My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. (16) Yea my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things"