Just before the 2018 hunting season I had a hankering for a short barreled .30-30 lever gun so I bought a new Marlin 336Y in .30-30 with a 16 1/4 inch barrel. After adding a factory large loop and installing a safety delete kit it's been a handy gun to have around the deer camp and I've taken a couple of whitetail deer with it.

Following this most recent hunting season I got a wild hair about wanting to convert my little Marlin .30-30 into a takedown. I did some internet research and found that Lee Hadaway, owner of The Arms Room in Trinidad, Colorado, specialized in converting lever guns to takedowns and Marlin's in particular. I reached out to Lee and after we talked I decided to ship it to him with instructions on what I wanted done.

After just over four months he contacted me and said the rifle was on it's way back to Arkansas. The brown truck delivered it today and I gotta say I am quite pleased with the work that Lee did to the rifle which included the takedown conversion, refinish the rifle, action job, and sighting in.

He also provided a custom leather case that a saddle maker friend of his makes for Lee's takedown rifles. It has three compartments; two padded compartments for the two sections of the rifle and a middle compartment for ammo and other gear.

While I was waiting on the work to be done on my rifle, I had Buffalo Brand Leather make a custom stock sleeve for it as well.

Attached Images

Marlin 336Y Takedown (13).jpg (173.7 KB, 652 views)

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That is the way a take down should look

But Darn

Now I have to go looking for a nice leather roll like that one for my rifle


This one is chambered in 45 Long Colt

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"Acta non verba"

Both are gorgeous rifles!


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I have several older Marlins. .22LR .22Mag .218 bee. .22lr Mountie..357
I just could never abide the cheesy stamped checkering on the newer offerings. Older model with real, cut, checkering, yes Perhaps offering a plain stock would be a good idea.

Ischia

Being a big fan of lever action rifles, all I can say is, WOW!!! Beautiful job!

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Stellar rifles!

Really nice sir, I have an 1895sbl in .45-70 I would like converted into a take down I just dont use it that much any more

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This is the way....

Sweeet....... going to put my Winchester Trapper and my 10/22 take-down in the safe together ......... maybe get a cooool offspring!

Wow, that came out really nice. The whole package is very sweet. Enjoy!!

Holy crow, I’m impressed. Outstanding package there. Well done!

I agree with Wow. Very nice setup and I've heard of Lee Hadaway's work on takedown conversions and his reputation is top notch.

Marlin could be missing out on not making limited run of these factory direct. I saw on the Winchester website that they DO currently offer a model 94 factory takedown.

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Live long and prosper

That just turned out great and created a very nice package for transporting. I have my fathers Winchester Model 55 which was a take-down version with the canvas case that he kept it in. Lots of memories of that rifle. When we would go deer hunting in Northern Michigan together, I carried a Model 94 Deluxe rifle and we would split a box of shells. My rifle with the 26" barrel would hold 12 shells where his held four if I remember correctly. Wonderful days.

That is a great outfit.

The case sort of reminds me of the weapons roll Lee Van Cleef had attached to his saddle in an old cowboy movie.

I like it. I like it. I like it.

Congratulations on getting your Marlin turned into a "Take Down".
That Leather Case is a Classy Touch.

I've always liked the "Take Downs". The Creativity, Manufacture, and
Mechanics has always intrigued me.

Sorry no picture, but Inherited my Great Uncle's Winchester Model 12
Shotgun that has the "Take Down". Push Pin, Lift Magazine, and Twist apart.

Thank you for sharing your Story and Pictures.

My Marlin 39A TDS 22lr 16"Bbl. Trapper Model.

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WIN_20200417_09_42_19_Pro.jpg (95.7 KB, 134 views)

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SD social distanc'n since 1889

Very nice looking, all of it.

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Jorge

Congratulations beautiful pieces you both show.

My takedown is a Savage 99 in 250-3000 Savage made in 1926. Still shooting like a champ

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"lets be careful out there"

That’s nice!


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Nice looking package! Range report requested.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Not a fan of the barbecue grill matte black finish.

Whatever happened to the polished mirror blue of my youth?

Great set up, very handy, and I love the case!

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NRA Life Member

I specifically requested the matte black finish, I wanted something more durable than polished blue and I have plenty of other shiny guns.

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I guess I'll ask the rude question. How much did it cost for the take down conversion and how much for the gun roll? I have a blue Guide Gun I would like to have done, but the last guy I saw was almost $900 plus you supplied the gun. (he called it an Alaska bush plane gun)

Ivan

Ha, I don't know that the question is rude, but it is a question we don't want to bring up in polite company if my wife is around. If I wanted Mrs. Faulkner to know how much I spent I would not have used my hidie hole money I saved up from selling off one of the USGI M1 carbines from my collection, then slipped down in the middle of the week with cash in hand to get my buddy at the bank to write up a cashier's check to send to the gunsmith.

Having the conversion done, for me, had nothing to do with an actual need nor can I justify the cost to convert an off the shelf rifle. I've passed up spending money on many things I wanted through the years because I didn't really need it and couldn't really justify spending the money on it. In this case I just did it. I wanted a short compact .30-30 takedown lever gun that I can hunt with for a few years then later hand down to my grandson who just turned 5. I'm thinking when he's about 16 years old he'll think the rifle is pretty cool and I will have long forgotten how much it cost.

Here's the link to The Arms Room if you want to negotiate something with Lee Hadaway. He did me a great job and was also great to deal with.

Takedown Lever Actions

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It isn't cheap, that's for sure. You will never get your money back out of it if you sell it. I have a pre-safety Marlin 1894C that has seen better days. I am considering sending it to Lee for similar treatment.

Faulkner, I think this would be an awesome gun to pass down to your grandson when he's older. I have one of my grandfather's handguns he personally passed down to me (he's still with us) and it's one of my most cherished possessions.

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Live long and prosper

That is a good looking lever action Marlin 30-30 take down rifle.

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Life is short,live it fully.

Ivan,
The conversion started with Wild West Guns in Alaska.

The Gun Smith that conceived of it periodically holds classes to teach other gunsmith how to do the conversion

One of gun smiths in my buddy's shop was sent to the class and then we all built takedowns for ourselves.

Some of the gun smiths that have learned the technique charge between $1,000 and $1,400 on your supplied firearm

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"Acta non verba"

Jay,
After all the work, the firearm has to be refinished.

On ours, since the mating piece that has to be created for the barrel side of the take down was made from stainless steel (probably no reason why it could not have been carbon steel), a matched blue finish was out of the question.

We had the firearms cerecoated in the matte black

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"Acta non verba"

A lot of the take downs I've seen had the full threads. That seems to have interrupted threads which is much easier. Handy package.

The threads on this style of conversion are continuous and the barrel side has to be rotated ten or twelve times to get it all the way on, it is not like one of those twist lock 1/4 turn rifles that they use in the TV and Movies

There is a ball detent lockup at the bottom of the receiver, then the magazine tube slides into the action and provides further additional lockup to keep the barrel aligned properly

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"Acta non verba"

I can't have an original thought better than that one!!!

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Come and take it!!

Very nice. I think it needs a suppressor.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

You know, suppressors on lever guns are becoming more popular. I've been considering it.

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How did I miss this thread before now? That is one really COOL package! Thanks for sharing.
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Looks like square threads, if my memory is working this morning, they are more properly called Buttress threads.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I decided I wanted the stock a bit darker so I took it down and applied several hand rubbed applications of boiled linseed oil cut with mineral spirits. I then buffed it up to a nice sheen to my liking. I've got the sights fine tuned to 75 yards so I think I'm good to go for deer season.

Attached Images

Marlin 336Y Takedown (26).jpg (55.5 KB, 620 views)

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I agree that it looks better darker. Are you hunting whitetail?
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Yep, I've taken dozens of whitetail through the years and can only recall shooting one that was over a hundred yards. Most all the rest were in the 30 to 60 yard range.

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Every time I see this rifle, I like it more and more.

Very sharp little package, very well executed.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

You inspired me to send Lee a rather rough but unique 336 for the treatment. It is a saddle ring carbine made in 1968. It has plenty of cosmetic issues so I'm not worried about collector value. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I can't wait to see it. If I were to send him another one I'd have him finish it in "Texas Tea".

I recommend the leather case too, I really like mine.

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Just wondering if Shark Bait got his finished rifle back yet . . . .

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Ditto!!!!!!! And ditto again!!!!!!!

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Come and take it!!

I can dig that! I would love one in .35 Rem.

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213th FBINA

Wild West Guns has been doing take down conversions for years and they make their own, too. I've met those guys a time or two at the annual Dallas Safari Club Expo. They used to have an interesting TV show.

The reason they call it a bush plane gun is because some of those planes used to fly hunters deep into the bush in remote hunting camps are not very large and a take down fits into the plane's storage or passenger area much easier than a longer rifle.

This is their website - you'll see some expensive toys there:

Wild West Guns

© 2014 Wild West Guns.

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Come and take it!!

Dadgum you guy's.
Good thing all the kids are out and on their own.
I'll be shipping an old Marlin 30-30 to Lee to work his magic on next week.
Those look neat.

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Some men, you just can't reach

I have a Winchester model 1894 rifle in take down configuration made in 1920, pretty clean two.

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	Winchester takedown 002.jpg (103.2 KB, 46 views)
	Winchester takedown 001.jpg (104.9 KB, 42 views)

Hopefully he'll have it back to you before deer season.

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I took a nice doe with my Marlin 336Y Takedown the first time I took it out last deer season. One round of Remington 150 grain Core-Lokt at 60 yards and it was DRT.

Attached Images

Marlin 336Y Takedown (43).jpg (270.8 KB, 270 views)

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