Lever Gun Advice

[Jswiney9]

from another blue ridge mountain boy........ do yourself a favor, dont spend a ton of money on a new lever gun when you can get a good USED marlin 336 .30-30 for around 300 bucks.

Load it up with LEVERevolution 140gr monoflex (we shot them out to 200 yards and kept good groupings) the bullets retain 95% of their weight and boy do they fly.

 

[smith17]

I just got back from taking 3 high school buddies (graduated 36 years ago) hog hunting and we had 3 levers and one semi-auto, taking 11 animals. Two .30-30s, a .357 and one .308 in a Model 100. I thought it was kind of neat to have 3 levers in camp. I forbade .223s.
Ed

 

[Gebe]

I am so AMAZED that this thread hasn't degraded into how TERRIBLE the 30-30 is for deer or for that matter, even a fox! I thank the people here who are in the know!

Yes, more deer have been taken with the 30-30 than any other cartridge!
I continue to be amazed at how gun magazines nowadays consider the venerable 30-30 as nothing much more than a .22 rimfire!

It's always bigger is better and blah, blah, blah. I'm not saying the 30-30 is an ideal round but it's been used for deer, even bear and all sorts of critters for over a century.

It is an ideal brush gun at 50-75 yards but like one said, with the new Hornady LEVERevolution ammo, it can now reach out to 200 yards or better if you know what you're doing.

You would never know it by reading all the gun magazines and listening to responses on internet forums. 30-30's should only be used for rabbits, or at the maximum, maybe the a racoon. That is IF you can find an article on the 30-30!

In the end, I guess we all should all succumb to getting rid of our weak 30-30's and get the next, latest, greatest caliber that the magazine articles tell us to as that's where they're money comes from!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I am so AMAZED that this thread hasn't degraded into how TERRIBLE the 30-30 is for deer or for that matter, even a fox! I thank the people here who are in the know!

Yes, more deer have been taken with the 30-30 than any other cartridge!
I continue to be amazed at how gun magazines nowadays consider the venerable 30-30 as nothing much more than a .22 rimfire!

It's always bigger is better and blah, blah, blah. I'm not saying the 30-30 is an ideal round but it's been used for deer, even bear and all sorts of critters for over a century.

It is an ideal brush gun at 50-75 yards but like one said, with the new Hornady LEVERevolution ammo, it can now reach out to 200 yards or better if you know what you're doing.

You would never know it by reading all the gun magazines and listening to responses on internet forums. 30-30's should only be used for rabbits, or at the maximum, maybe the a racoon. That is IF you can find an article on the 30-30!

In the end, I guess we all should all succumb to getting rid of our weak 30-30's and get the next, latest, greatest caliber that the magazine articles tell us to as that's where they're money comes from!

If you haven't noticed and made the connection yet, the gun magazines feature write-ups on products made by the companies that buy advertising in the magazines. It's all about product promotion, creating buyer demand, and selling products.

Best regards.

 

[NFrameFred]

There is much validity to the notion that the old thutty-thutty gets a bad rap. But I maintain that most gun owners CAN"T SHOOT.

I'm talking about the AVERAGE gun owner who owns a shotgun, a 22 rifle and one or two more and their attitude is "ammo is too expensive and I can't afford to shoot much or I don't have a place to shoot." "Besides, I been a-shootin' fer years and I ain't never needed nothin' fancy and I've kilt hunnerts o' deer !" "No, I don't need to practice - I can do it when I need to". Ad nauseum - we've all heard it.

Yes - in capable hands a 357 or a 44 mag 75 to 100 yards out will do the job. Iron sights will do the job. What the heck - a .22 LR will do the job in the right hands. But for the average, casual shooter, a hard to shoot gun/marginal cartridge/hard to use/inadequate sights, etc . do not help. I worked with a clown that swore by the 30 Carbine as an all around cartridge for anything from mice to moose - he had killed "dozens" of deer with it. But I was around him enough to know that every year he wounded several before finally lucking up and killing one but it was always some bizarre twist of fate that caused it, not him or the gun.

Even the most rabid shooters among us have to admit we know several of these guys and have seen scads more on the range and in the field. And the smug superiority demonstrated by many that their favorite/preferred cartridge is all anyone needs is just ego talking because common sense doesn't abide with them.

An experienced shooter that takes the time to get to know their firearm and can perform reasonably with it before taking the field is more the exception than the rule. And shooting at paper that doesn't move off of the bench or leaning over a fence post is quite different from hitting a small target of vitals on a moving or wary animal under field conditions, bluster, brag and BS aside.

An ethical hunter either fulfills these things on his own if choosing to use less than optimum equipment/methods or uses optics, cartridges, actions, and whatnot that make hitting a live target a more sure and easier proposition.

These threads always deteriorate into the he-men heading toward relating how all they ever use is a slingshot and it does just fine . . . .

 

[retiredtech]

99

Forget all the rest and get a Real Gem, the savage 99 pre mil is far and away the best!

Many great Calibers and super to look at,never hunt with an ugly gun!

 

[Bullseye 2620]

There is much validity to the notion that the old thutty-thutty gets a bad rap. But I maintain that most gun owners CAN"T SHOOT.

I'm talking about the AVERAGE gun owner who owns a shotgun, a 22 rifle and one or two more and their attitude is "ammo is too expensive and I can't afford to shoot much or I don't have a place to shoot." "Besides, I been a-shootin' fer years and I ain't never needed nothin' fancy and I've kilt hunnerts o' deer !" "No, I don't need to practice - I can do it when I need to". Ad nauseum - we've all heard it.

Yes - in capable hands a 357 or a 44 mag 75 to 100 yards out will do the job. Iron sights will do the job. What the heck - a .22 LR will do the job in the right hands. But for the average, casual shooter, a hard to shoot gun/marginal cartridge/hard to use/inadequate sights, etc . do not help. I worked with a clown that swore by the 30 Carbine as an all around cartridge for anything from mice to moose - he had killed "dozens" of deer with it. But I was around him enough to know that every year he wounded several before finally lucking up and killing one but it was always some bizarre twist of fate that caused it, not him or the gun.

Even the most rabid shooters among us have to admit we know several of these guys and have seen scads more on the range and in the field. And the smug superiority demonstrated by many that their favorite/preferred cartridge is all anyone needs is just ego talking because common sense doesn't abide with them.

An experienced shooter that takes the time to get to know their firearm and can perform reasonably with it before taking the field is more the exception than the rule. And shooting at paper that doesn't move off of the bench or leaning over a fence post is quite different from hitting a small target of vitals on a moving or wary animal under field conditions, bluster, brag and BS aside.

An ethical hunter either fulfills these things on his own if choosing to use less than optimum equipment/methods or uses optics, cartridges, actions, and whatnot that make hitting a live target a more sure and easier proposition.

These threads always deteriorate into the he-men heading toward relating how all they ever use is a slingshot and it does just fine . . . .

There is so much truth in this, it needs no further amplification.

I'm looking now for a Marlin 336 in either .30-30 or .35 Remington. There's a guy who advertises on GB who does accuracy jobs on 'em, and has a < 1 MOA guarantee at 100 yards, and a .460 3-shot group with .35 Remington posted. I take the position that you can never have enough inherent accuracy because it makes it easier to diagnose and correct your errors. Pretty pricey, but as the man said, the only interesting guns are accurate guns. Accuracy job, Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7x32mm on top, in .35 Remington, given my skill level, I'd feel comfortable on most shots out to 150 yards, and I have never seen a 150 yard shot in all the years I have lived here.

I continue to be amazed at the depth of experience on this board on virtually any gun issue, and thank everyone for their taking the time to school me.


Bullseye

 

[Snapping Twig]

FWIW, Marlins are capable of bolt action accuracy straight out of the box with proper sized bullets if you use cast. Jackets shoot good w/o any modifications other than load work-up.

 

[DeadAye]

A friend right at made me try out his Winchester 94 in 7-30 Waters to use instead of my usual 357 mag pistol.
After that week I went and bought a 7-30 Waters Carbine barrel for my Contender and it's either that or the 686 for local deer now. I hunt in an area where a 100 yard shot would be pretty unusual though, with 50 being about average.
The 7-30 really does the job and I appreciate like the light weight of the TC, or a pistol, while dragging a deer up and down and through the swamp and up and down to get back to the truck.

 

[ladder13]

get a good USED marlin 336 .30-30 for around 300 bucks.

Load it up with LEVERevolution 140gr monoflex

All one needs out to 200 yards.

 

[walnutred]

Normally I'd heartily agree with the many posters who suggested a Marlin 336 in either 30 or 35 caliber. However since the original poster said they would be willing to go up to $1000 my choice would be different. You can still find a good condition BLR in that price range and a BLR in 308 will easily handle anything East of the Mississippi and most things in the Lower 48.

 

[Jswiney9]

you could always go all out and buy a Marlin 338MXLR its chambered in the new 338 marlin express, look up some of the ballistic charts on it..... the round is great and the gun is absolutely beautiful.

 

[cp1969]

you could always go all out and buy a Marlin 338MXLR its chambered in the new 338 marlin express, look up some of the ballistic charts on it..... the round is great and the gun is absolutely beautiful.

If you can find one. They seem to be scarce.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

FWIW, Marlins are capable of bolt action accuracy straight out of the box with proper sized bullets if you use cast. Jackets shoot good w/o any modifications other than load work-up.

The exception will be noted in Marlin's MicroGroove barrels, which do not generally stabilize cast bullets well at all. Many of the .30-30 Marlins feature the MicroGroove rifling, and perform most excellently with jacketed bullets. The bolt lock-up of the Marlin is generally acknowledged to be superior to anything Winchester ever offered in a lever action (with the possible exception of the Model 88, which is significantly different).

Most of my rifle shooting over the past 30 years has been with cast bullets. As noted by Col. E.H. Harrison in NRA's "Cast Bullets", the MicroGroove barrels are not generally suitable for most cast bullet designs and loads.

My Winchesters have all duplicated factory-load ballistics and accuracy with appropriate cast bullet loads. But I will readily admit that this is a specialized area that requires a great deal of study and work to obtain the performance required.

I continue to load hundreds of rounds of cast bullets in .30-30, .32 Win. Spl., .30-40 Krag, .30-06, .300 Savage .33 Winchester, .45-70, .45-90, and .45 Sharps Express every year. I have taken dozens of game animals with these, as have my sons, and now my grandchildren are hunting with them.

There may come a day when the readily available Marlin 336 rifles will have a demand like the older Winchester models. That remains to be seen. At the present time, I will still recommend investing in the Winchesters (pre-64 whenever possible), thus acquiring an entirely functional hunting rifle that will always appreciate in value.

The OP specified both a purpose and a budget. The stated purpose can be served with a Winchester rifle, that rifle can be readily obtained within the budget, and the investment will be very solid.

The purpose can be equally served with a Marlin, or a Savage, or several others, all within the budget. At present, none of those compare in investment potential.

Best regards.