You scared me.....I just checked on the .22, .38/357 and .44mag and I'm glad to say that all 3 Marlins are still breathing!!

My daughter decided she wanted to take up deer hunting last fall, so I got her up to speed on the .357 Rossi Trapper.

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Georgia On My Mind

I've always had a passion for lever guns. I've had a Marlin 336 30-30 as my deer rifle for 35 years. Still my deer rifle. My client gave my son a Marlin 39a .22 several years ago. I was amazed as that was the gun Ialways wanted. When I teach my sons friends how to shoot, they choose between a Ruger 10/22 or the Marlin lever. They always choose the Marlin.

Here my deer gun this past season.

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A couple of months ago an old friend asked me to help her dispose of a collection that she had gotten in a divorce several years ago. The guns had been locked in her son's safe for many years but now she needed to dispose of them.

The collection of about 20-25 guns consisted mostly of Winchester lever action rifles and Winchester shotguns. There were about a dozen or more rifles (M1876, M1892, M 1894, M1895, etc.) and all grades and gauges of M12/42 shotguns.

I knew that a friend who has a huge collection (in excess of 2000 guns...I'll post some pictures sometime!) would be interested so I called him.

I was in a sensitive place since I wanted the owner to receive a fair price for her guns and I didn't want the buyer, also a friend, to take advantage of her. I arranged to display the guns at my home and have the owner, her son, and the potential buyer over to meet each other. After an appropriate examination and discussion he did purchase all of the guns at a fair value and she was excited to get the extra cash.

It fit the description of a good "horse trade" where both parties are happy!

Bob

I don't think the 30-30 is a very good sniper rifle.

But, if I got shot in the head with one, I might change my mind.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

OMG, where to start, #1 for me is that unless you own a savage or blr in a long range capable caliber like 308, putting a scope on a lever , especially a big 3x9 is blasphemy, but to each his own. like putting a trailer hitch on a race car imo. due to their being expensive to make they loose the price war with cheapo Wal-Mart specials. and while not dead they may smell a little gamey. Winchester is making them again but they are big bucks, so if you like 1500$ truck guns go for it. as for the comment "they have the ballistics of a 7.62x39" is BS as anyone that knows ANYTHING knows they come in calibers from 22 lr to 45-70 and up. and in thick brush the light wt easy carrying/fast handling characteristics may make them the VERY BEST choice for hunting.

Who is Marlin Love? And why don't you shoot them yourself?

First to answer your question, I sure hope not.... I have long said if it ever really does hit the fan the guys with the AR's will loose out to the guys with the 30-30's..... but that's just my opinion.

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always trust your cape...

Imashooter, I own a 1952 336sc and hope that you realize they are waffletops (those squiggly lines etched into the top of the receiver), and collectable, unless Bubba drills and taps holes thru them. the resale value lost by doing that is very likely more than the cost of a non remlin 336sc that is already d&t'd by the factory. I got mine for 250$ cuz some Bubba got his hands on it and ruined it's worth.

I hope lever guns aren't dead because one is on my short list. Hopefully one day an 1894 model, my favorite.

The lever action is an American icon. When I was 13, my dad handed me his Model 94 30-30 deer rifle, and said it was mine. Dad shot plenty of whitetail with that Winchester, and so have I over the years. That model 94 was my first gun, and it will stay in my family when I'm gone. It's more than a gun--it's a legacy.

I have and enjoy both.

Me too. I appreciate both for very different reasons.

I just purchased a Winchester 1892 (new) in .357 a few weeks ago. It's not been shot yet, but it handles really well. And I like the fact that I can carry the same ammunition for it as well as for my 686 and 27. They may not be cutting-edge technology, but there's a place for them.

I can promise you that would change your mind. Permanently and not in the way you might be thinking.

I stole one of those from Cabelas a few years ago for $300 in mint condition.

Dead you say?! Not by a long shot!
I've played with a the hi speed low drag ARs and AKs and some very nice HKs in my past, even keep a preferred semi-auto for HD use.
That said I have a huge soft spot for lever guns, my first was a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun, and now a beater of a Win. 94 in 30/30. The fast handling, sure accuracy, and dead reliable operation is what I like about them. That and they have a certain something that just makes ya grin!
Won't be sellin mine anytime soon, but fully intend to get more, especially now that everybody else is grabbin ARs like hot cakes at IHOP.
As for the semi auto I mentioned, its only an M1 Carbine, and we all know how dead that gallant little carbine is. Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

Just picked up a Henry in 357 Mag. while on vacation can't wait to shoot it!

I've bought and handed down lever guns to all my kids and grandkids, 22s, 250-3000s 32 spec. an 1895 30-40. and a couple of others. don't know the future of these guns, but hope they still have them when their days are over.

Provider of many dinners

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Pace

Nope, shot mine today. Marlin 30-30 circa 1967. Everyone else was shooting AR's though.

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Dave

It is my opinion that the lever gun is alive and well, although the same cannot be said for these piggies...

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My winchester mod1886 in 45-70 is my favorite hunting rifle.

There will always be room for blued steel and walnut bottom strokers.

Wife and I each have 1 for CAS. Somehow, another dozen or so ended up in the safe. The Savage in 308, along with my 71 in 348, do duty as camping guns. Might get out one of these days after elk using the '86 in 45-90, or even the '95 in .30-40.

I'd like to have a newer 94 Winnie-mine is a 32 spl from 1906. A ported Guide Gun might be nice for fishing in grizzly country.

I see fewer and fewer every year.

Love my '94s in 30-30, 25-35, original Marlin 30-30 take down rifle and a grail gun I picked up last year, a nice deluxe long tang 71.

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Cheers, Charles
SWCA #2442

Shot my first and second deer with my model 94 and still have it. It is a pre-64 and has no bluing left on it but it still shoots straight and with open sights there just isn't much to worry about screwing up. Good gun for when the lights all go out.

Movies like Zombieland are helping to keep them alive. The Rossi Ranch Hand/Mares Leg, is featured prominently there.
I had a Savage M99 myself, in .308 Winchester. I thought to myself, "This thing could stop a bear! And anything else in the Lower 48!"
That helped to sell it for me, and I have always liked the lines of a lever action. I was multi-tasking and didn't even know it.

All a matter of perspective... In 1951 that waffle top collectable was just another rifle and adding a scope improved it.

I modify any and all of my firearms such that they make me happy. Some future collector may wring his hands at the travesty of cutting a 5 inch half lug HiViz for moons. Let him. A few more dollars in my estate will not make up for a lifetime of pleasures lost.

Dang it. I can't like that more than once.

It's mine. I'll do whatever I want to it, to make it better or more appealing to me. Why? Because it's mine.

And if some collector, down the line, is upset because my 19 has been Robared, or because my 28 has been converted to another caliber, oh well. He'll either get over it, or die of dehydration from his crying.

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I always take precautions

I have an 11.5, soon to be 14.5 upper, 18" and assigned to me from work a 16" AR.

I just dug out a rough Win post 64 Model 94 for a Scout project. I originally wanted to cut it down to a Trapper Model but will likely keep it a 20".

I put a Win large loop on it in the 90s, I will probably return the original loop.

So I might be ARed, but I still like the lever gun platform.

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if you're gonna be a bear...

No you are not the only one.

My trusty 300 Sav is still a good gun. There's nothing wrong with lever actions.

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This one is doing just fine along with my 1904 vintage Model 92 .32-20 and my 1953 Model 94 .30-30.



CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

Good Lord! This thread is two years old and I never posted in it? Jeez, I'm gettin' old.

Count me in as another lever lover. I've got about a half dozen of 'em taking up space in my safe. Ranging from .22LR up to .45-70. I've got a special fondness for the trapper length rifles in wheelgun calibers. Light, fast and handy. Can't ask for anything better.

Found a couple weeks ago in the used rack of a big box store. A true one owner 1948 Marlin 39a in about 95%. If only I could find Marlin model 1894 in .357 used next....

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Don't fear, a lot of NY'ers and California residents will be buying leverguns.

They are the new NY-legal Assault Rifles.

Anybody know where I could get a casket for this old thing?
Walmart doesn't even carry 303 Savage ammunition!

22 lr, 25-20, 30-30, 307, 308, 32-20, 357 mag, 375 win, 44 mag, 444 Marlin and 45-70.

Have taken special liking to 16 in Win Trapper with youth stock. Might try and super tac it by taking off the rear sight.

Really like levers for up close, but if needing 300-500 yard rapid accuracy, it' back to the RR 308. Just different tools.

I shot my first deer with a 95 Winchester. IIRC I was 15 and the year was 1964. We also had a 94 but nobody in the family wanted to hunt with it as there were several other rifles that that had better range. In the SW range was a big deal. My nephew borrowed my rifle when I was in the Navy and I never got it back. I didn't make a big deal out of it as I had a model 70 which I prefered to hunt with anyway.

So you could say I cut my teeth on lever guns but never had the desire to have another. The first time I shot a model 70 I knew I had found the perfect gun and I've been a bolt action guy ever since. Funny how you know some things are made just for you. Lever guns are for somebody else but there seems to be plenty of those folks around.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I picked up two Marlin 336 C's in .35 Remington in the last couple of month's. Far from being dead, for me ,they've just come alive. Also have a Winchester in .44 Magnum...........Wood and steel will never go out of style.

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OGCA Member.

I'll echo the Marlin 336 30-30. Have one from the 50's and it's my sentimental favorite.

I've only got 4 leverguns. Two Winchesters in .30-30, one Marlin in .44 Mag, and one Browning in .243.

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No good deed goes unpunished.

I own a Henry 44spl./44mag. I love shooting it. I am no longer a hunter, when I did hunt I hunted with the Remington model 700 bolt action. as a kid I used a 410 shotgun loaded with 44-40 rounds. I bought the 44 after I got the golden boy 22lr. I liked the way the 22 shot so I went to larger lever gun. I did replace the dove tail sight with a peep sight it improved my shooting.

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Carpriver.

A couple of years ago I picked up a nice, used all original 1894
Winchester pre-64 in .32 Winchester Special. I like the way it
kicks the s**t out of me every time I take it to the range.