Thread: Marlin 3030 accuracy issue

Afternoon all. I have an earlier Marlin 3030 lever action. ( made byMarlin, micro grove ) . When I first got it I put on a cheap 3-9 scope.
With hornady Lever evolution I could shoot 1.5 inch groups at 100. It was good enough to take for a bush type hunt.
Ive an Issue with it now that the groups are inconsistent and 5 inchs in a circle ( if u can call it a group).
Ammo is the same. I’ve tried mounts ,bases, scopes etc. The crown is good. Ive given it a deep clean with bore paste but I still cannot get it to where it used to be.
Ive read a bit about the barrel clamps etc affecting accuracy and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions.
If I could get it to 2 inches Id be rapt but at the moment its not consistent enough to take out.
Thoughts greatly appreciated.

when you say you have tried scopes...I assume you saying you have swapped out the cheapy for another of known quantity and tried it??? wouldnt be the first fella to chase tail due to crap scope.
did groups suddenly go bad or has it crept in over time???
try shooting group with hand on metal of action rather than forestock....

also double check ammuntion IS the same...marlins like shorter overall length than the 94 winchesters.....some projectiles have two cannalures to accomidate this...

Ive tried a vortex diamondback, vx11 2-7 and now a nikon Micky. This first one was an 89 dollar one ( a cheapy give away with a then remington deal).
New base, rings are burris off a remington I had. Ive also tried different ammo ( american whitetail 150s)
Im keen to try a different brand, any suggestions.
Its a neat little gun , short and handy to have. If I could get the first two shots close enough id be happy.

I take it the white tail stuff was crap too???

these days it seems you take what you can get/find....

is first shot...cold barrel going where supposed to???? eg can you shoot good group if barrel rested or is it a heating up issue????

shooting in dark here as never had issues with the old 94 and mates marlin like yours is fine too,and not fussy....

Yeah whitetail was crap too. When I first got it I took it to the handloaders range in Chch. I sighted it in there initially with the cheap scope. That’s when I first shot 1.5 in group. I can’t remember letting it cool much as the bloody queues of people wanting to shoot didnt give you time to bugger around, haha. Ill give it another go with different ammo and let it really cool in between shots. Im off to stewart island in a couple of weeks so it would have been ideal . If I cant get it right I’ll try it with iron sights to eliminate the gun itself from the equation.

The microgroove rifled barrels evidently have a reputation for inconsistent accuracy especially with cast projectiles which is why the ballad style is preferred.
Try a copper cleaner it may be that your rifling is partly clogged due to rapid fire,

also is it a true marlin or a remlin? i.e. when was it built mines a true marlin 1974 and its not that fussy remington corelokts seem best but winchester not far behind subx 4-5 inches low but still good... whitetail not so much but usable ....i did have to put a recoil pad on it to tame it

have you eliminated nut behind the butt from equasion???? eg got someone else to shoot it....do you shoot well with other rifles????

Mine is the same. Jm stamped and minute of fist sized rock at 100 meters with PPU ammo and a leupy 2-7 scope
Ain't nothing I can recommend that Micky hasn't
I would go back in steps starting with the scope, then mounts, rings etc.

I posted before I saw any of the above
If your getting any thing near scotty the I would call it good,

Our JM stamped 30/30 doesn't like the Hornady .
Currently use Winchester 150 gr and it definitely prefers those but have yet to try whitetail .

Its a Genuine earllier Marlin, white line spacers etc not a remington/marlin. Could be the user,though in saying that I shot 3/4 inch with my bergara at the same time ( it is a different kettle of fish tho). I gave it another good clean last nite, Ill get some winchester or remington and try that.
Will let you know what happens. Cheers for your thoughts.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

The microgroove rifled barrels evidently have a reputation for inconsistent accuracy especially with cast projectiles which is why the ballad style is preferred.
Try a copper cleaner it may be that your rifling is partly clogged due to rapid fire,

a 2 minute Google search will find plenty of examples how to use cast in micro groove barrels . . . not sure why this rumour keeps coming back but it just refuses to die.

best fix of the Marlin is remove the front barrel band and attach the mag as in this pic
Status Guns in Invercargill did this work on mine . . worst it will do is 2 inches at 100 with cast, both subsonic and 1600fps . . mostly it shoots a lot better giving a bolt gun a run for its money shooting cast.

rossi.45: what was done to your Marlin by Status Guns to accurize it? The work is not clear from the photo.