The .308 Marlin Express is a
cartridge developed in 2007 by
Marlin Firearms
Marlin Firearms Co. is an American manufacturer of semi-automatic, lever-action, and bolt-action rifles. In the past, the company, now based in Madison, North Carolina, and formerly based in North Haven, Connecticut, made shotguns, derringer ...
and
Hornady
Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.
History
The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took ov ...
. It is based on the
.307 Winchester with a goal to duplicate
.308 Winchester performance. The cartridge uses a slightly shorter,
semi-rimmed case similar to that of the
.220 Swift to function in
lever-action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...
rifles. As introduced in Hornady's LEVERevolution line of cartridges, it is the highest velocity production cartridge designed for lever action rifles with tubular
magazines
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combina ...
. It is chambered in Marlin's Model 308MX and 308MXLR rifles using the
Marlin Model 336 action.
Comparison
The .308 Marlin Express was designed to produce performance similar to the .308 Winchester. This would give lever-action hunters improved performance over their
.30-30 Winchester rounds. The table below shows how the rounds compare. Note that reloading data for bullets for some of the cartridges is not available. This round was designed with an elastomer tip, so that the .308 designed would be safe for the tubular magazine of lever action rifles. This softer tip eliminates the hazards of stacking pointed rounds end to end in a tubular magazine.
Ammunition availability
As of 2010, Hornady and Remington remain the only two manufacturers of loaded ammunition in .308 Marlin Express.
See also
*
.308 Winchester
*
.307 Winchester
*
.300 Savage
*
.30-30 Winchester
*
.338 Marlin Express
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
References
The Marlin Express by Rick Hacker in Guns&Ammo
308 Marlin Express Reload Data by Hornady
External links
review of the .308 Marlin Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:308 Marlin Express
Pistol and rifle cartridges