Lever action madness!

Slim to None

Slim to None

Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
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A couple quick questions for all of my fellow gun nuts. I'm looking into getting a lever action. What are everyone's preferences for manufacturer, caliber, etc? I've been eyeing marlins but I'm not too picky. The only caveat I'm going to add is no pistol calibers please, I'd like to be able to buy my own ammo immediately (I'm 21 next january).
 
IMO Marlins and Savages beat the Winchesters all the way because they are better made and can be scoped. There are a lot of caliber choices. For woods and field hunting of medium sized deer/game out to about 150 yards the 30-30 is a good choice. For hunting medium to heavy game out to 200 yards the 30-40 can't be beat though the cartridges are expensive and recoil is stout. I have a Marlin in 30-40 and both a Marlin 336 and a Win 94 in 30-30 and like the Marlins the best. Study, ask questions and then actually shoot and handle the rifles if you can before making a choice.

Good luck.

Ice
 
Gun Tests just did a review and preferred the Marlin (i think) 336 over the Winchester. Can't remember all the details, but just the result. I'm biased, since I own a .30-30 Marlin and except for a little heavy trigger its a great gun. Either one can be found used at reasonable prices.

I'm sure you know that with the Win. and Marlin, you have to use round nose bullets because of the tube magazine. The old Savage 99 (again, i think) is a fine lever action that uses a different magazine and was available in more calibers with more bullets. The Savage will be more difficult to find but you probably can find one.
 
My first gun was a Marlin Lever Action in 30-30.
My Grandpa used to say that a 30-30 would kill anything alive.
He was no gun expert, but I bet he was right.
As long as you aim right, a 30-30 should be plenty of power for almost anything.
 
I have a marlin .35 and Ms. Hollowdweller has a Marlin .44 carbine. I saw a nice one in the gun store last weekend. It was a Marlin .44 lever rifle with an octagon barrell. Felt great.
 
Made by Rossi. Cheap, reliable, reasonably accurate and real handy. I picked it up from CDNN Investments. It will take the higher pressure loaded colt ammo from Corbon and really put a smack on whatever you're shooting it with.
About the only upgrade I'd get is improved sights.
 
If I were going to buy a new Lever Rifle it would be the Marlin Guide Gun 1895G in .45-70 of course. The guys here have convinced me of it being the best all around rifle for any and all American large game animals, including man.;) :D :p
And with the assortment of ammo for it good enough for many African Safari hunts as well.:cool:
There is just NO way to go wrong that I can see.:D :cool: :D
 
Theres a thread about winning the lottery running today. If I won it, I'd buy a lever action from Jim West at wild west guns. www.wildwestguns.com (can I post that, since I'm not selling anything or affiliated in any way with him? If not sorry, take it down).

He sells all kinds of high tech lever actions, including ones for 500 Alaskan, 500 S&W 454 Causell, etc. as well as 45-70 guide gun styles.
 
Another vote for the guide gun if I was buying a lever gun in a rifle caliber. Also, the wild sest guns look awesome, the co-pilot take down is way cool. Too bad about the age thing because I think a lever gun chambered in 44mag is a great all around light package, huntable, tactical, fun to shoot. Oh well you can get one of those next year;-)>
 
If you've got about $600 lying around, Henry makes a .44 called the Big Boy that is propbably the next gun I'll get. Solid brass receiver, walnut furniture, adn an octagonal barrel. Gorgeous rifle, take a look at one if you get a chance. If that's a bit much, you won't be doissapointed with a Marlin in .30-.30 either, and you'll save nearly $3-400 over the Henry if you can pick one up used.
 
Ah, your not looking for a .22, but the Henry .22 lever guns are great, and a great value. Something like $130 as opposed to Marlin 39A's $600 (IIRC). The Marlin's sweet, so too the Browning & others- but for the money, the little Henry is a pleasant surprise. Smooth feeding & accurate beyond what you should expect.


Ad Astra
 
Oh man. The Marlin 1895 Ltd is sweet. Expensive now though. There's a 26" barrel Marlin (9 round tube) 45-70 on gunbroker...
 
I have a .444 Marlin that I really like; 22" barrel and the old smooth stock (pre-checkering.) Installed a thick rubber recoil pad, a Brownells competitor + sling and a Williams FP (Fool-Proof) receiver sight with a Merit adj. disk aperture. Nice rig. It was bought way before the current .45-70 craze that started a few years ago. At the time the .45-70 was considered dead, and the .444 was available with a 265 gr. loading that was pretty good. Of course that disappeared leaving only a lousy 240 gr. loading, and then the .45-70 took off.

There are now custom loadings of 300 gr. bullets that make the .444 much more viable, and it holds one more round than the equivalent .45-70 and has a flatter trajectory to boot.

That said, if I had the bread I would probably get a Marlin Guide gun with the new ballard rifling in either .444 Marlin or .45-70. Both will do a good job on big game.

Norm
 
cliff355 said:
The action opens quickly with strong ejection, and the best part is the brass flies to the side or overhead rather than up your nostril as with a Ruger #1 or Browning Highwall. Then, the empty chamber gapes as wide open as any singleshot and is just as quickly loaded. In addition, a sticky round can be "assisted" into this chamber by the bolt/lever with much more force than can be applied by one's thumb in a typical singleshot.

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I know BAE isn't seriously considering single shot rifles, but the one comment by Cliff I couldn't let pass. The Ruger #1 does come from the factory with strong extraction and ejection, but is easily modified by the owner by the simple expedient of removing the forend (1 screw) and then turning the ejector strength screw. 1/4 turn gives gentle ejection; 1/2 turn extracts and pops empty cartridge case back about 1/2 to an inch for easy removal by handloaders. I've had eight of these in various calibers starting back around 1976 (a 200th year Liberty 375 H&H) and only two didn't meet my personal accuracy standards. Two others went to 2 of 3 sons, leaving me with two 1-A's in .270 and .45-70, the .375 1-H, and a 1-B in .223. All but the 45-70 shoot inside an inch at 100 yards, day in, day out. The 45-70 is persnickity. Most factory ammo goes 1 1/4 to 1 3/4, But Garrett ammo regularly gives cloverleafs....I don't reload for this one rifle for obvious reasons. The Number 1 was Bill Ruger's baby, and it shows. I'm currently saving for another, or maybe a replacement for the Weatherby that left last week with one of my sons.... :D

BY the way, don't be afraid of used Number 1's at gun shows, they are almost never shot a lot, and usually represent a lack of commitment on the part of the previous owner to making one shot count. Usually well taken care of, they can often be picked up for half of suggested retail.
 
jurassicnarc44 said:
I know AIE isn't seriously considering single shot rifles, but the one comment by Cliff I couldn't let pass. The Ruger #1 does come from the factory with strong extraction and ejection, but is easily modified by the owner by the simple expedient of removing the forend (1 screw) and then turning the ejector strength screw. 1/4 turn gives gentle ejection; 1/2 turn extracts and pops empty cartridge case back about 1/2 to an inch for easy removal by handloaders. I've had eight of these in various calibers starting back around 1976 (a 200th year Liberty 375 H&H) and only two didn't meet my personal accuracy standards. Two others went to 2 of 3 sons, leaving me with two 1-A's in .270 and .45-70, the .375 1-H, and a 1-B in .223. All but the 45-70 shoot inside an inch at 100 yards, day in, day out. The 45-70 is persnickity. Most factory ammo goes 1 1/4 to 1 3/4, But Garrett ammo regularly gives cloverleafs....I don't reload for this one rifle for obvious reasons. The Number 1 was Bill Ruger's baby, and it shows. I'm currently saving for another, or maybe a replacement for the Weatherby that left last week with one of my sons.... :D
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Oh, man, I have wanted a #1 for so long. I always wanted a #1 International with the full length stock, and was actually close to getting one in 1989, but it fell through. Don't know if you have had one of those? I understand the wood under the barrel can give some accuracy problems. (?)

Everyone was bad-mouthing the accuracy of the #1's for a while, but I think it was because they didn't know how to tweak it. The falling block action is super strong and the single shot appeals to me. I shot one in .375 H&H and it put them right where I aimed and I was very impressed. This friend of mine had the gun engraved by a person we knew up in Sonoma County,and then reblued. She did a beautiful job and he ended up taking it to Africa on a hunt in the early 90's. ($30 grand! Ouch!) Doubt if I will ever get to do something like that, but it was fun to shoot anyway. He ended up getting a Kudu and a Zebra with it, that I know of, but think he took something heavier (and a little faster to reload) when he went hunting buffalo!

Norm
 
Svashtar said:
Oh, man, I have wanted a #1 for so long. I always wanted a #1 International with the full length stock, and was actually close to getting one in 1989, but it fell through. Don't know if you have had one of those? I understand the wood under the barrel can give some accuracy problems. (?)


Norm
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One of the two Ruger #1's that I got rid of for persistent accuracy problems was an RSI wood to muzzle in .270 Win. I consider myself fairly good at tweaking for accuracy, but failed there miserably. I strongly suggest you consider any #1 with the Alexander Henry forend...and don't be afraid of used #1's.
 
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