Did I hear a lever action?

Generally speaking, I think most people don't regard the lever action rifles as being accurate. Right or wrong, I think most shooters regard the bolt action rifles as being the most accurate. That being said, I searched long and hard for my Savage 99c chambered in .308 Winchester (my favorite center fire cartridge). My Savage 99 is incredibly accurate, and I have taken quite a few feral hogs and deer with it. If I wasn't trying to simplify my gun collection, I'd gladly add additional Savage 99s in different calibers. You can still find used Savage 99s on sale on line, but the prices are starting to creep up.

I also own a Marlin 1894 chambered in .357 Magnum that is an absolute joy to shoot. I often carry it into the field along with a .357 Magnum revolver (Ruger Security Six). and have taken several deer and feral hogs with the little Marlin.

Regards,

Dave

I would agree with the 336 for serious hunting. Strong and can mount a scope. I tend to be weird...

You want a new rifle, right? Every rifle (new) I've handled just doesn't have the smooth action like they used to; at least the ones I've played with. I did have a Henry in my hands not too far back and it was smooth as silk. I'm sorry but I don't know what caliber it was. I've always hunted with a 30-30 Marlin 336. Good gun, but it was made in the '40s. Marlin has some newer "tacticool" Black lever action. $900 for an all-black rifle. I'd go with Henry 30-30. Good luck. Oh, BTW, those revolver caliber rifles may be the way to go, as mentioned above.

My first large caliber hunting rifle was a Marlin 336, iron sights. Still have it. As mentioned the older guns are more refined vs today’s offerings. If a 30-30 is your thing I’d buy used. JM older version if it were my money.

I have a Henry .44. Great shooter, slick action. I once bought an older Henry .22 and realized going in it needed work and knew I could get the parts. I forget now what the issue was but I called Henry customer service to order. No parts, but I received a shipping label in short order and a rebuilt rifle quickly. I bought the 44 shortly afterwards.

I think a 44 can do everything a 30-30 can Mount a rail and a red dot. Shoot it for fun and hunt Good luck with your choice.

You've now seen various replies and recommendations based on owner preference, representing a price range between $800 and $2,800 (Big Horn Armory), and an assortment of calibers.

Makes it kind of difficult to decide doesn't it?

In my opinion, the .30-30 has done the job for 125 years. It was mentioned previously that the 30-30 "has accounted for more wounded animals than any other caliber"... that I would attribute to being more a fault of the shooter, than the ammo, trying to make the .30-30 perform beyond it's effective range or poor shooting.

With the uncertainty of Remington's bankruptcy (who owns Marlin), I would be reluctant about buying a new Marlin for the time being until more is known about the future of Marlin and product support.

Henry has the best customer service and warranty, they go out of their way to make things right if/when a problem is encountered.

And I'm speaking from experience with a Henry Golden Boy .22LR that I bought as a Christmas gift to myself . I sent an email to Henry's top dog, Anthony Imperato, expressing my total disappointment with the horrible finish quality of the outer receiver cover on my new Christmas rifle, and included a pic of the receiver. I quickly got an email reply from him with an apology for the quality, said that it should have never left the factory and we will make it right. A new receiver cover was in my hands a few days later.

Henry's have been been fiercely criticized for having the non traditional tube feed magazine instead of the traditional lever gun loading gate... and I've been critical too, but not for the looks, but the lack of an quick reload. But with the new Henry Side Gate model, I feel you get the best of both worlds.

If they come out with a Side Gate in .327 Federal, I'll be on it like stink on a Skunk.

The Henry internals are based on the Marlin design, so they are not that much different in that department... reliable.

Henry's are heavier than Marlins, scope mounting is basically the same on both.

Pistol caliber rifles have been suggested, if you might be thinking of that route, you need to check what your state's hunting laws are for what's allowed, some places do not allow .357 Magnum.

I'd say for a 1st time lever gun, you can't go wrong with a .30-30 Henry.

.30-30 ammo is more commonly available, and the potent loads now available from Hornady, Barnes and Federal, you'll not need to apologize for having a .30-30.

Me, I like this one.

Winchester(made by Miroku) 1886 .45-70.



Just ignore the C96.

I would strongly advise against buying a Marlin. Unless you have a time machine to buy one back in the 50's the quality is not just poor its abysmal. You want lots of unclearable jams, buy a Rossi and save yourself some money, Remington bought out Marlin and they've made nothing but garbage since, and certainly nothing that you should ever consider paying a premium for. I think the common term is Remlin.


Instead I would suggest the Mossberg 464. It only comes in 30-30 without nearly as many questions of quality.

Cellar Hound said:

IPlease share your thoughts.

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I'm a levergeek so I'd love to. First of all, welcome to the "club." I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I second the above recommendation to consider a lever gun in handgun calibers...namely .357 and .44 mag. In addition to matching the caliber of your wheelgun, this will give "high capacity" and the long barrel with properly tailored loads will approach rifle-like muzzle energies. IMHO .30-30 is decent, but I've never really seen the benefit of handicapping a bottleneck cartridge with blunted bullets, carbine length barrels etc. Save the bottlenecks for a scope wearing bolt-action. I also second the recommendations on the Marlin design, but they're all good. If you want inexpensive, the Rossi 1892 is a real bargain if you are willing to do a little post purchase tweaking by polishing and fine-tuning the action. They also clean up quite nicely if you want to clean up the wood furniture. You'll have a really nice gun for not much $$ invested.

Marlin 1894 shares ammo with my S&W revolver, easily takes deer within 100 yards. Leupold 1.5 - 5 extended eye relief (Scout) scope is the perfect optic for the Lever Gun. This is also the perfect rifle to introduce to a new shooter. With 38 specials....there is no recoil...and with the suppressor there is no muzzle blast. It is the perfect formula for fun, inexpensive shooting in a center fire cartridge.

I know you say you want to buy new, but by far the best value in a levergun today is a Marlin 336 in .30-30 from the era before they added the cross-bolt safety, 1949 thru 1970's vintage. Even the Glenfield and "store-brand" versions (less expensive because they have "hardwood" stocks instead of walnut, but otherwise identical to the Marlin-marked ones) are of superior quality as compared to anything sold today, and depending on where you live it's still easy to find them. Around here, if I wanted to buy one today I could visit a couple of pawn shops and come away with a nice one for around $350 or so within a couple of hours. Well-built of quality materials, smooth-operating, accurate, and dead simple to strip right down to the basics without standing on your head and using three hands, and its flattop receiver is easy to mount a scope to if you want one.

I have two. A Henry 22 octagon barrel I use as a gallery gun (club has a motorized shooting gallery). It's a little bit muzzle heavy but otherwise OK.
Second is a "Remlin" 1894 44 mag. It's a "working gun" at an affordable price. Only change I've made is a taller rear sight. Had to learn the quirks of handloading for a rifle vs. handgun but once that's figured out it's plenty accurate and powerful for a 100 yd deer gun.
Zillions of Michigan deer have been taken with the 30-30. 35 Remington has a big following too. What's popular with the younger hunters? 7mm/08 the LGS says.

Even though I don't own a 30-30 (I don't hunt) I would strongly consider one for your first lever action. Although I can't really recommend anything new I would first consider your use of optics before recommending a gun. A marlin with its side load and eject will take a scope easier than say a winchester 1894. If I was not going for optics I would find a used win 94 and call it a day. Even the older ones seem to be plentiful and cheap.

I just got my first Henry and I have no complaints about it. The only thing I would do is get a new one with the side loading gate. If you can find one that is.

I'm not a fan of the Henry rifles. I've seen a lot of quality control problems. I'd vote Marlin. Of course the Remington made Marlins had terrible quality control problems as well for several years, but they seem to have gotten better. I'd look for a nice used JM Marlin or buy a new one and look it over carefully.

Dieseltech56 said:

Even though I don't own a 30-30 (I don't hunt) I would strongly consider one for your first lever action. Although I can't really recommend anything new I would first consider your use of optics before recommending a gun. A marlin with its side load and eject will take a scope easier than say a winchester 1894. If I was not going for optics I would find a used win 94 and call it a day. Even the older ones seem to be plentiful and cheap.

I just got my first Henry and I have no complaints about it. The only thing I would do is get a new one with the side loading gate. If you can find one that is.

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Scope mounting isn't an issue with the angle eject Winchester 94's. It's only the older top eject that can create issues.

A Marlin with a scope is awesome . The iron sights on them is poorly aligned . I had a Marlin 336 that I had to adjust the rear sight as far as it would go to the right with a " hammer " . It was " JUST " enough adjustment . My sister has a newer one , same problem . I just watched Paul Harrell do a video using a Marlin 336 in 30-30 and he complained about the same problem . If you mount a scope on the Marlin 336 , then it makes a rifle worth having . My favorite is an older Winchester (Pre 64) in either 30-30 or 32 special . Ammo in 30-30 is definitely more available .
As far as the caliber getting the award for the most wounded animals I would definitely give it to the 270 . Regards Paul

Look for a used but not abused Savage 99, many calibers to choose from, some are expensive some not so much. I have a 25-35(formerly a 22HP) 30-30, 303, 243, and a 300 sage, all shoot really nice, recoil is minimal and what a great design.

New, I would have to buy Henry. I have culled my Henry levers to 3....22lr, .30-30 and .223. All great guns.

Did someone say lever actions:

From top to bottom, either #1, #4, or #5 will take deer to 100 yards plus. #2 and #3 will do so out to 75 humanely.

Cellar Hound said:

I am currently in the process of looking at lever action rifles. I’ve never owned one in the past. I have only had bolt action rifles. My primary purpose would be for target shooting and for hunting deer. Accurate with open sights to a range of 100-125 yards. I know that some of the best guns were made in the past but in this case I would like to buy new.

I am looking for recommendations on brand as well as caliber. My research has indicated that I may want to consider a Henry in 30-30. However, now I want to turn it over to the experts.

Please share your thoughts.

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I think you are correct on the caliber. A lever gun should be 30-30 but I can't give an opinion on a new lever gun other than I would get an older used M94 Winchester. Since you state you are going to use iron sights the top eject won't be a problem and I've never saw one that was worn out so I would think a used one will outlast you.
If you want a Henry I say go for it. People that have them give them good reports. Larry

I have very little experience with Henry. Never cared for their tube magazine loading though.
Marlin makes a fine rifle, I can't knock it. But they always felt kinda chunky to me.
I'm a Winchester guy all the way. Smooth, sleek and quick to handle. Got about a half dozen of them, of which two are clones of older designs, ranging in calibers from .22LR to .45-70. I love 'em!
I also agree that used is definitely the way to go. Go out and find yourself a good used rifle. It'll be a better gun and probably cost less.
A good used Winchester 94 in .30-30 is just what you need.

BTW: to me, putting a scope on a lever gun amounts to blasphemy. Just don't.