.308 Marlin Express

The .308 Marlin Express is a cartridge developed in 2007 by Marlin Firearms and Hornady. 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 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. It is chambered in Marlin's Model 308MX and 308MXLR rifles using the Marlin Model 336 action.[2]

.308 Marlin Express
.308 Winchester (left), with .308 Marlin Express (center), and .338 Marlin Express (right)
TypeRifle
Place of originUSA
Production history
DesignerMarlin / Hornady
Designed2007
ManufacturerHornady
Produced2007–present
Specifications
Parent case.307 Winchester
Case typeSemi-rimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.308 in (7.8 mm)
Neck diameter.344 in (8.7 mm)
Shoulder diameter.454 in (11.5 mm)
Base diameter.470 in (11.9 mm)
Rim diameter.508 in (12.9 mm)
Rim thickness.063 in (1.6 mm)
Case length1.910 in (48.5 mm)
Overall length2.600 in (66.0 mm)
Primer typeLarge rifle
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
140 gr (9 g) MonoFlex Tip (Hornady Expanding) 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 2,437 ft⋅lbf (3,304 J)
160 gr (10 g) FTX (Hornady Flex Tip Expanding) 2,660 ft/s (810 m/s) 2,513 ft⋅lbf (3,407 J)
Test barrel length: 24 inch
Source(s): 308 Marlin Express LEVERevolution at Hornady web site and C.I.P Data [1]

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 160-grain (10 g) 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.

.308 Marlin Express comparison
CartridgeMassMuzzle velocityMuzzle energy
.308 Marlin Express160 grains (10 g)2,660 ft/s (810 m/s)2,513 ft⋅lbf (3,407 N⋅m) [3]
.30-30 Winchester160 grains (10 g)2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)1,880 ft⋅lbf (2,550 N⋅m) [4]
.307 Winchester150 grains (9.7 g)2,693 ft/s (821 m/s)2,416 ft⋅lbf (3,276 N⋅m) [5]
.307 Winchester160 grains (10 g)2,675 ft/s (815 m/s)2,540 ft⋅lbf (3,440 N⋅m) [6]
.307 Winchester170 grains (11 g)2,570 ft/s (780 m/s)2,494 ft⋅lbf (3,381 N⋅m) [5]
.308 Winchester150 grains (9.7 g)2,809 ft/s (856 m/s)2,629 ft⋅lbf (3,564 N⋅m) [7]
.308 Winchester160 grains (10 g)2,770 ft/s (840 m/s)2,720 ft⋅lbf (3,690 N⋅m) [8]
.308 Winchester168 grains (10.9 g)2,712 ft/s (827 m/s)2,744 ft⋅lbf (3,720 N⋅m) [7]
.300 Savage150 grains (9.7 g)2,765 ft/s (843 m/s)2,547 ft⋅lbf (3,453 N⋅m) [9]
.300 Savage160 grains (10 g)2,505 ft/s (764 m/s)2,230 ft⋅lbf (3,020 N⋅m) [10]
.300 Savage170 grains (11 g)2,676 ft/s (816 m/s)2,624 ft⋅lbf (3,558 N⋅m) [9]

Ammunition availability

As of 2010, Hornady and Remington remain the only two manufacturers of loaded ammunition in .308 Marlin Express.

See also

References
  1. C.I.P. 308 Marlin Express (online-PDF 39,5 KB))
  2. "308 Marlin Express at Marlin web site". Archived from the original on 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  3. "308 Marlin Express LEVERevolution at Hornady web site". Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  4. the .30-30 Winchester by Chuck Hawks
  5. ".307 Winchester reload data by Accurate Powder" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. Accuload III Reloading Software - .307 Winchester with 160 gr (10 g) bullet, 44.4 grains (2.88 g) Varget, 20-inch (510 mm) barrel - AEM Enterprises
  7. ".308 Winchester reload data by Accurate" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  8. Accuload III Reloading Software - .308 Winchester with 160 gr (10 g) bullet, 45.9 grains (2.97 g) Reloder 15, 20-inch (510 mm) barrel - AEM Enterprises
  9. ".300 Savage reload data by Accurate Powder" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  10. Accuload III Reloading Software - .300 Savage with 160 gr (10 g) bullet, 39.1 grains (2.53 g) Varget, 20-inch (510 mm) barrel - AEM Enterprises
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