Well I just bought my first rifle. A Marlin 336 for $170 with a Simmons 10x44 scope. It's the model 3040 from JC Penny .30-30 WIN. The stock is a little scratched and the scope as well but I can live with that. Maybe a few suggestions to repair the stock would be much appreciated.
Gonna take it out and site it in tomorrow if it needs it. It shoots great, I shot it earlier this week before I bought it.

New guns, better than a new car........
Enjoy

Looks like you did just fine. Refinishing the stock may be a bit of a challenge. The stock is made of hardwood, probably beech. The only way I found to dress up these stocks was to strip it and stain it. Hope this helps. All the best...
Gil

As Bushy would say, nice looking jackhandle.

As Gil said, the stock is not walnut but either beech or birch. The scratches will probably have to be sanded down and if you are going to do that it is easier to do the whole stock than to try to match the stain/finish the factory applied. If you do sand the stock down you can stain it with a water-based stain (oil-based stains don't penetrate hardwoods very well) like Birchwood Casey's or others and finish it with a nice hand-rubbed oil finish. It won't change the stock to walnut, but you can regulate the darkness and help bring out any grain this way.

If there are dents in the wood (as opposed to gouges where the grain is actually broken) they can be raised by placing a moderately damp patch over them and applying heat with a wide-tipped soldering iron (or even your wife's clothes iron). The heat applied will penetrate the dents and cause the grain to raise. Keep at it until the dented area is just slightly higher than the surrounding wood. Now you can sand the area flush with the rest of the stock and finish.

If there are gouges, you can save your sanding dust and mix it with a good epoxy. Fill the area with the mix and let it dry (being sure to leave enough so the area is once more higher than the surrounding wood). Dress it down and finish as above.

If you choose to sand the stock, which I would opt for since your properly applied finish will be more attractive than the factory one, sand carefully around the checkering pattern so you don't ruin it. Use a good lacquer stripper and a toothbrush to clean the old finish out of the grooves. When you apply your oil finish, apply it with a toothbrush and work as much out of the grooves as can to keep the checkering as sharp as possible. While you are at it, now is a good time to make sure that the inletted parts of your stock are thoroughly sealed from moisture too. I personally like to mask off the external areas of the stock and coat the inletted portions (not forgetting the barrel channel and under the butt-plate) with a polyurethane finish designed for exterior use for a really tough seal.

You have a good buy there and a good rifle. Keep us posted as to your progress. Have fun and stay safe!

Thanks SSL. That was interesting about razing dents. I think I will strip it and refinish eventually. I'm going to get some use out of it first and I have to find the time for the repairs any way. I'll be sure to post the progress when I do get started.

Enjoy. There aren't many things as satisfying as restoring a good firearm.

tj, I have had one for years in 35 cal.One of the best brush guns you can have. Hope you enjoy it as i have.

I have found leather dye comes in a wide variety of pleasing shades you can always take the buttplate off and test it

Well I took it out and got it sited in. It was far right when I started but I think it's zeroed in now.

This is seven rounds from about 60 yards.

looks like you have got a good buy there. the scope has me puzzled as 10x seems awfully high for a good brush gun, if you have a lower powered scope you will have a much better field of view, if its a vari power no dramas leave it on lowest power and crank it up for a longer shot. sanding and oiling the stock is great fun and gives a much less shiney finish.

Yeah Elvis it's variable powered scope. 3-10x44. It was a nice view at 60 +/- yards and I think it will do ok at 200/-. I can set it on 3 or so if need be.

I stopped by my grandpa's today and started telling him about my .30-30 and he got his out that I didn't know he had. Turns out his is a Marlin 336 as well and the same year too, 1973. He said he never shot it and it's practically brand new. A little scratch on the stock but a little Old English will take care of that. The only difference is that mine was from JC Penny and the grip has some checkering and inlay and his don't. Oh, and factory sites, no scope.

cool you can sight it in on 10x check that its the same on 3x and your good to go. my 3x9 power scopes live on 3x but get cranked up when a longer shot is on or I have a good rest and time.

Make sure you check the zero at longer ranges too if you plan on using at 200 yards.

If you can find a safe place to shoot with a good backstop set some milk jugs filled with water out at various distances. Great feedback and it will tell you how far you should be shooting at live critters for a one shot kill.

I was a little concerned with how well it was zeroed in at 200y. 60y was about as far as I could go where I took it to last. I only walked that off so I'm thinking it was a little more but not much.