Lever Action recommendations needed

[jhagberg88]

looking for some advice and recommendation on makes and models for lever action guns. Caliber doesn’t matter as I reload and would do so for this rifle. Main purpose would be target shooting but looking to get into hunting in the next few years. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[grizquad]

Can't go wrong with a Henry Rifle. Made in America, great company, all calibers, fancy or not. Look at their website!

 

[DW357]

I just got a Henry all weather 44 magnum rifle for deer hunting in Maine. Sooo friggin slick. Everything is industrially hard chromed except for the bolt and one other part. Walnut stock with industrial grade polyurethane over the wood.

 

[jpm]

Vintage Marlins can't be beat, second would be vintage Winchesters.

 

[mousegunguy]

1894c in .357.

 

[Parker Duofold]

I have a 1951 Winchester 94 in 30-30 and a "new" Henry in the same caliber. This round gets down range pretty fast. Although I'm not a hunter, this is a pretty standard hunting round for a long time. The .44 magnum that Andrew has, I agree, would be a good choice. The pistol round is easier to reload isn't it?

 

[headednorth]

I have a 1951 Winchester 94 in 30-30 and a "new" Henry in the same caliber. This round gets down range pretty fast. Although I'm not a hunter, this is a pretty standard hunting round for a long time. The .44 magnum that Andrew has, I agree, would be a good choice. The pistol round is easier to reload isn't it?
View attachment 214663View attachment 214664

Thats a nice looking gun. Very simple look to it.

 

[NavelOfficer]

The .30-30 is likely capable of handling most game in New England (I don't hunt, mind you). All of the major lever gun manufacturers have this caliber covered. My desire is for a .35 Remington, however. As a reloader, ammo should never be an issue; brass isn't as common as it used to be, but how many thousand do you really need?
If you cast bullets and/or reload .38 Special/.357 Magnum, you can use many of these bullets in the .35 Remington. Some as light plinkers/varmint loads (~125g), others as full-power heavyweights (~158g to 220g). I like the Lee 356-120TC, a 9mm bullet that drops large enough to be sized at .358" dia., among others. A great bullet/load (work up some light pistol powder loads) for economical plinking at water-filled cans, paper etc.

 

[22lr]

+1 for Marlins, pre Freedom group and ideally pre cross bolt safety.

 

[Sparkey]

Browning BLR

 

[jhagberg88]

I have a 1951 Winchester 94 in 30-30 and a "new" Henry in the same caliber. This round gets down range pretty fast. Although I'm not a hunter, this is a pretty standard hunting round for a long time. The .44 magnum that Andrew has, I agree, would be a good choice. The pistol round is easier to reload isn't it?
View attachment 214663View attachment 214664

God that thing is beautiful

 

[DW357]

44 mag is perfect for the distances I’d be shooting deer at in Maine (25-50 yards). I’d say it’s effective out to 125-150 yards. Beyond that it’s dropping and slowing down fast.

If you’re shooting 150-300 yards then 44 mag is definitely not the caliber to use.

 

[SJan]

Vintage Marlins can't be beat, second would be vintage Winchesters.

1894c in .357.

+1 for Marlins, pre Freedom group and ideally pre cross bolt safety.

Personally I don't like the load from the front of the tube thing on the Henry rifles. I prefer a loading gate, like on the Jm marked Marlin 1894c, 357 magnum that I have. The JM marking is pre-remington takeover, when quality and quality control was great.

 

[mousegunguy]

I have had a newer marlin 1894c with the cross bolt safety for a few years. The trigger is a little ‘wiggly’ when not under the pressure of your finger. It’s a nice a trigger pull and a decent break but the wiggliness bugs me. Other than that it’s given me no reason to complain.

 

[Tim_McD]

I have a Rossi 92 in .357 (Interarms era) and it is slick, fires 38 spl and .357 flawlessly. I also shoot my Dad’s 1970s era Marlin lever (.44 mag), but I like the Rossi best.

If money wasn’t an issue, I would pick up one of the Uberti lever actions - they are gorgeous

 

[mikey98e]

A Sako Finwolf is an accurate rifle. I have one in 243 and it is a tack driver. I used to chuck hunt in PA with it. I believe they also came in 308.
-mike

 

[fencer]

I have a older Marlin and two older Winchesters and a newer Winchester, all in 30-30. I also have a Henry. I would say the Henry is the smoothest cycling of the bunch if you don't mind the tube magazine.
They say more deer have been taken with 30-30 than any other caliber. However, I have been hankering for a lever gun in a pistol caliber.

Zappa is the unofficial lever gun expert. Maybe he will chime in.

 

[ToddDubya]

I've had a hard on for a Henry Big Boy carbine in .44Mag for awhile now. I almost went out and looked for one today but it was a much needed lazy day instead.

 

[71montess]

I've got an '82 marlin and a 49 Winchester in 30-30. The Winchester fits my hands like a glove, it's a classic.

 

[whacko]

Henry based on your desire to hunt with it eventually. The big "thing" your going to hear guys discuss is loading gate vs tube on lever actions. As a hunter I actually prefer the tube mag like henry uses and I own and hunt with 2 henry guns. Yes you have to remove the whole tube and drop in the rounds then put the tube back when loading. The "benefit" to this system is when you get back to the truck you can slide the tube up and dump the unfired rounds into your hand. With a loading gate system you have to rack the lever until the gun is empty then pick everything up off the ground. Less safe IMO and more of a pain in the ass. The die hard loading gate fans are going to bitch about the tube on a henry because they say its faster to reload a loading gate. Well......I hunt ALOT......and I've never been in a "rush" to reload! If you are in a rush to reload you are a shitty hunter and should stay out of the f***ing woods.

 

[Coyote33]

Get a Henry or Ruger .22.

It will be tons of fun, and no need to worry about reloading or chasing brass.


That said, my Dad had an old Winchester 30-30 my brother somehow wound up with, and has loaned out to a friend to hunt with. I need to figure out a delicate way to get that "back in the family". It was a beautiful piece of machinery. My father hunted for many many years with a Remington 742 in 30-06, but when he got this later on in his life, he said he wishes he had done it way sooner. He said it was so much lighter and easier to carry (gun magazines call this "pointable", I think). Anyhow, keeping my eyes open for one... some day. How do Marlins and others or even modern Winchesters compare?

 

[BrianWilson]

I have both the 357 and 30/30 Marlin. The 30/30 is way beyond expectations accurate with a 170 Sierra FN and max load of Leverevolution powder, and gets you about 100 fps over the standard powders on my chrono. Factory ammo is cheap and plentiful enough to be a good source for your brass. In fact the Rem 170 Corelokt factory ammo shoots pretty darn well, and no doubt you could pick up a box over the counter at the local convenience store in East BF Maine at 2:00 AM, needs be.

The 357 its a real good range/ plinking gun, great handling, quite pretty and real cheap to shoot. "They" say the 357 is plenty for whitetail at northeast woods ranges, but I'm not sure it should be anyone's first pick for a deer gun. Just going by shoulder feel the 30/30 seems to have much more horsepower, IMHO. 158 cast over 2400 seems to ring that 100 yard gong OK.

 

[rocket500]

This is easy- a Henry 30-30. Very high quality! Great deer caliber. Widely available and cost effective ammo (including components like brass). Comes with a nice peep sight. Can’t beat it.

Runner up would be a old Remington 94 but a nice one will cost more than the Henry.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

I love my Uberti 1873 but it’s a bit heavy for woods work. I’m sure the round barrel trapper is much lighter but I like full octagon.

I also love my Marlin 1894C. 357 Super fast handling light gun.

They can be had in 44 mag but the 357 is discontinued and a bitch to find.
As far as cartridge if you’re going to be primarily plinking the pistol cartridge would be best. Reloading mitigates most of the cost but if you like to blow through a couple hundreds rounds at the range which is both super fun and super easy to do then dealing with lubing and trimming rifle brass is annoying.
So take into consideration how much you shoot in a range trip.

The 357 or the 44 or 45 are no slouches in a rifle.
The 357 gains about 400 FPS in a carbine. You can move a 160ish grain bullet at 1800 FPS.
That’s not far off from the 30/30, but in a smaller handier package that’s going to see mostly target shooting with 38s. Same goes for the 44 and if you have a gun with a strong action the 45 can take Ruger only loads turning it into a big game rifle.

My vote is for a pistol caliber rifle in whatever model you fancy from the different manufacturers. If you feel it’s not good enough for your hunting needs don’t worry, you’re going to want more lever guns and it’s a good excuse to buy another one.

 

[BrianWilson]

The 357 gains about 400 FPS in a carbine. You can move a 160ish grain bullet at 1800 FPS.

Add to this that Hornady makes (2) 158 XTPs, and the flat nose is designed for these velocities, as opposed to the hollow point , which is optimized for handgun velocities.

 

[Ryan.S]

Anyone here with a recent Marlin 1894? Looking to pick one up in the next few days, articles say the quality has vastly improved, looking for confirmation.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Anyone here with a recent Marlin 1894? Looking to pick one up in the next few days, articles say the quality has vastly improved, looking for confirmation.

I’ve read the same thing.
Shooting supply in Westport has a couple marlins on hand if you’re in driving distance.
39 in 22
336 in 30/30
336 in 35 Remington
1894 in 44
1895 cowboy in 45/70

 

[Mountain]

Given your interest in both target shooting and hunting, I'm going to strongly recommend something in .30 cal. Lots of good choices, but one to consider is the Winchester 94AE. The angle eject works well for larger calibers with a scope if you so desire.

I have one in .307 Winchester, which is ballistically identical to the .308 Winchester- perhaps the most common tactical / target caliber. I could single load Sierra Matchking bullets if I so desired, though Hornady makes some soft tip projectiles with about the highest ballistic coefficient you can safely load up in a tubular magazine. You can use the same projectiles in a 30-30, though at a lower velocity.

 

[bubajoe]

Anyone here with a recent Marlin 1894? Looking to pick one up in the next few days, articles say the quality has vastly improved, looking for confirmation.

I had a 45-70 in my hands the other week at Cabela's and found the edges sharp on the lever. The fit and finish wasn't there compared to the JM's I own.

 

[BrianWilson]

Thanks for opening this thread. Had to go the club this afternoon, so I rooted around in the safe, dug out the Ol' 1894, scratched up what I had left over for .357's and took it with me. Probably hadn't shot it in a year. All I can say is , buy it. Buy it now. Things really are just a hoot to shoot.