Lever Action What Caliber

Boghog1

Boghog1

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So I am going to pick up a lever action and can't decide what caliber to get. I own a Model 29 so .44mag seems like it would be a good idea, but 30-30 is common and can be found readily, but 45/70 sounds like fun but so does 35 rem. I would like to use this as my primary new england deer rifle so ranges should be under 200yards and more than likely under 100 yards. plus it would be nice to take to pumpkin shoots. so what are your thoughts?
 
Do you reload for 44? If so go for it. I really like my 44 leverguns, they are total pussycats, the wife like hers. If you don't 30/30 is your best bet, the rifles are everywhere used and cheap. You can usually pick a box of ammo up for 10 bucks in the fall. 35rem is surprisingly hard to find in comparison and double the price. Not to say it doesn't work, but on a pure price basis your better off with 30-30. Nothing wrong with a 45/70, I think its over kill on our deer around here. But easy to load for, expensive if you don't.
I've got a 35 and a 45-70 both in guide gun, 3 44mags, all but 1 are Marlins and the odd ball of the group is a Browning. I had put down the 30-30 as too common for years, but I grabbed a Savage 170 pump in 30-30, and I have to say for hunting around here its a great cartridge.
 
You are welcome to try out our pair of 336's in .35 Rem. Mine was shortened and wears ghost rings with a safari sling and Adam put a scope on his...nice variety of flavors. I like it...a pleasant *little* thumper. Did a nice job on the pumpkins. :) Send us a PM if you want to try them.

We will always stock .35 Rem - that's how we get our ammo! ;)
 
All great suggestions so far. Watch out for Marlins with microgroove barrels. No first hand experience, but I've read of more than one microgrooved barrel having a problem with cast bullets.

My vote would be whatever you are already set up to reload. .44 mag would probably be it. You'll probably find that you will shoot something with a straight walled cartridge more, too. Much less time consuming to reload.
 
.30-30 or bust. Quintessential lever action round IMO.

Plus I just bought a 45-70 Trapdoor, and while its damn fun, i dont reload and most commercial ammo is over $2 a round. It's essentially like firing a cup of coffee out of my gun every round. The saving grace is that the kick is so substantial, after 10-15 rounds, your shoulder has had enough.
 
I don't reload yet so all my shooting will be commercially available. .357 would be fun, I would love to get another 686 someday but is 357 enough for deer out to 100+ yards?
 
Boghog1 said:
I don't reload yet so all my shooting will be commercially available. .357 would be fun, I would love to get another 686 someday but is 357 enough for deer out to 100+ yards?
Click to expand...
Not sure on that...BUT I know the longer barrel on the Marlin accelerates the round more.
 
Boghog1 said:
I don't reload yet so all my shooting will be commercially available. .357 would be fun, I would love to get another 686 someday but is 357 enough for deer out to 100+ yards?
Click to expand...
If you don't reload, .30-30. Ammo is common and cheap enough.

357 loads off the shelf - I don't know if they would be considered enough to take a deer at 100+ yards. I don't know enough about them. Guys on cast boolits are getting deer using a 170 gr boolit at 1750 fps or so, practically .30-30 territory (vs 1100-1300 in a revolver). The longer barrel of the rifle really adds to muzzle velocity as Napoleon says. The action of a 357 mag lever gun (or .44 mag or .45 LC) would be a lot faster than the long throw of a .30-30 or .45-70 too.
 
Lever guns are great I have a winchester model 94 in 30-30 and a marlin model 1895 guide gun in 45-70. The marlin is a lot more fun to shoot and is a tack driver but the hornady leverevolution is $1.50 -$2.00 a shot
 
My dream lever gun would be a Winchester '94 with a CCH reciever and octo barrel in .30-30. A bit heavy for deer hunting, but a beastly weapon.
 
Pre 64 model 94 30/30 here. One of my favorites to shoot. I reload, but I love the fact that any shop worth a dam is going to have ammo in stock. Normally that is...
 
i have a 30-30 marlin one of my favorite rifles and i always see reasonable priced ammo for it everywhere.
 
Oh, also, we have a lever chambered in .444 Marlin. Overkill for deer, but you're welcome to test that too and see if it floats your boat. :)
 
If it's for deer out to and over 100 yds, I wouldn't go for a handgun caliber. .30-30 would be my choice,
using a WIN 94 w/ 24" octagon barrel. You'll appreciate the additional weight vs a shorter version when
shooting full loads. My full load is a 170 grs flat nose before 29.2 grs of VV N140 (max. load).
Per Vihtavuori data this should be @ 2,000 fps out of a 20" barrel. Haven't chrono'd it out of the 24",
but would expect it to be a bit faster.

- - - Updated - - -

Nicole said:
Oh, also, we have a lever chambered in .444 Marlin. Overkill for deer, ....
Click to expand...

The hunters' saying over here is "boar can show up to the party anytime". The .444 would be perfect for that.
 
For commercial .357mag for levers, there's Buffalo Bore. Serious stuff. Off the regular store shelf, the Winchester Silver Tip runs 145gr over 1700fps out of a carbine, too. Over 100y I think the SD (which isn't as good as a 30-30) starts to really matter, so keep it for a brush gun/100y deer rifle.
 
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444 is wicked fun, especially out of a short barrel. My brother's 444P, is like shooting a cannon, plenty of noise and muzzle blast. Recoil isn't bad. But it eats enough powder when I reload the shells, I'd hate to have to feed it commerical ammo.
If you want economy the 357 would be the way to go. Boxes of 50 38special is cheap compared to a box of any rifle ammo. Used to be you could walk into any gunstore after hunting season and pick from a pile of used 30-30s. The market has leveled out from the spike when Winchester stopped making model 94s. There is a reasons its so popular, it does work great around here. I've killed 3 deer with 4 rounds, and I completely missed the extra shot.
 
Just got myself one, short, 16in barrel in 38/357 and its a lot of fun. I however, am shooting paper at 100 yrds, not deer.
 
I want to know where everyone get reasonably price 30-30. I sold my 336 because it was too pricy to shoot as much as I like to shoot.

I love my .357, but I have several other firearms in the same caliber, so I have plenty of the ammo. If you already have a .44, why not keep with that so you are not stocking another caliber.
 

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