308 marlin

[Bob Mc Alice]

Whoa...dont give up. This ain't over yet.

I just got off the phone with Lee Oneil. He is a silhouette committee member that lives here in CO. He is familiar with the .308 Marlin cartridge and sees no reason it can not be used in CLA. It is nothing more that a shortened version of the.307 Winchester which is allowed under the current rules. It meets all definitions of a rimmed cartridge. There are a bunch of cartridges that meet the definition of the rules, some not nearly powerful enough to get the job done, but legal just the same. The rules as written are easy to understand. Lever action...tube magazine...round or flatnose bullets...RIMMED case...25 caliber or larger. The only thing that may become an issue states: Any cartridge that causes target damage may be banned. So, you have to handload legal ammo anyway, load lighter on the CPT. Why wouldn't the factory loaded Hornady ammo be legal ? That flexible tip was designed for safe use in tube magazines...per rule statement "bullets suitable for magazine use".

Mr.Conner does not know squat about this cartridge saying it does not have a rim.

Do what Tony Tello suggested . Provide him and his group with as much info on the .308 Marlin as possible. The rules will have to be re written to exclude it use in CLA.

I do not shoot CLA in the NRA approved version, but have competed in a few unsantioned matches here in CO with my early 60's 336 SRC in .30-30. It is alot of fun, but I cant find enough time to go in whole hog. Follow thru with this issue....dont give up.

On the other hand...there is no issue....It's LEGAL.

[glen ring]

I'm glad I played it safe and bought a 30-30.

[Bob Mc Alice]

Hey Kitty......I have a Oct. 83 handloader magazine with an article written by Layne Simpson on the then new .307 Win. Quote from a sentence outlining dimensions of the chamber on the Winchester Angle Eject lever rifle: "It could be that chamber length tolerances with the new cartridge are a bit more generous, since headspace is controlled by the rim".

I guess the same would apply to the .308 Marlin.

[jneihouse]

Good find Bob....I'd agree with the folks that say "provide documentation to Greg and co.." Send him the mechanical drawing along with a piece of the brass along with an outline of why it should be allowed, citing the .307 as an example...would be a good starting point anyway....I hate to see anything banned for no real reason...target damage is a factor, but you have to take that as a case by case (no pun intended) situation...

Kitty

[timfinle]

The cartridge is legal unless they want to specificly rule it out, which, as Bob said would require a rule change. As for the bullet it's self, I can see why they would disallow it even if the rules don't say they should. The bullet would give a distinct advantage to the 308 shooter due to the BC being that much better than the round and flat nose bullets used by most lever guns. Although, hornady is coming out with more and more pointed bullets for reloading other cartridge sizes. I believe they now have lever evolution bullets for the 30-30 and 44 mag plus many others.

[Bob Mc Alice]

I got a follow up call from Lee O. this morning concerning the use of Hornady flex tip bullets in CLA. In his native Colorado rancher way of talking he said ..."We ruled against that bullet awhile back. Cowboys did not use pointy bullets in lever guns back in the day. It was a matter of keeping with tradition". ..."Dont look for that ruling to ever change".

Lee is a cool guy to know. He is active in all three types of lever gun silhouette. I asked him what his choice of rifle was in CLA. "I shoot several, an original octogon 94, other newer 94's, two Marlins." And his choice of cartridges? "Thirty- thirty...all of them...I like the mild recoil. And it's traditional".

[Bob259]

................Cowboys did not use pointy bullets in lever guns back in the day. It was a matter of keeping with tradition". ..."Dont look for that ruling to ever change"........... And it's traditional".

Nice to say that but 'back in the day' they didn't have tube feed semi auto .22's either but you can't shoot a 18XX Winchester .22 single shot which would make more sense and in the 'tradition' than a semi auto... I struggle with some of the logic used in rules.

[Bob Mc Alice]

The bullet would give a distinct advantage to the 308 shooter due to the BC being that much better than the round and flat nose bullets used by most lever guns.

This reminds me of shooting .30-30 bullets out of my M788 a couple of years ago when it was a .308. Picked up a few boxes of 150 gr. Speer Hot Core Flat nose lever gun bullets for about $5.00 per box. Just used them with the same powder charge as any 150 spitzer. Even with that dismal BC it only took 3 minutes more correction to land them on the pigs.The accuracy was outstanding, though, much like a MK! The whole bunch were fired on C & P's.

[timfinle]

Bob,

Don't you just wish you still had about 1000 of those laying around about now.