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Lever Action What Caliber

Coyote33 said:
The Lever Action

Ruger 96/44M
ruger_96-44.jpg
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Really slick action on these. But I haven't seen many for sale and when they do pop up, they aren't cheap. Same with the 22 version.
 
I've been looking for one of those Rugers for years! That said, I grew up shooting my fathers Winchester model 88 carbine. And now am always on the hunt for one. (Nudge nudge acme). But in the meantime. I'm pretty happy with my marlin 1895G.
 
.35 Remington is my favorite New England and Eastern Canada deer gun. It blows a big hole through both sides of a deer and makes tracking easy. That is if tracking is even needed. I have an old Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I have see through scope mounts and a Williams Twilight 3X9 scope on it. I have a lot of high end hunting rifles, but, this is my go to meat gun. It has never failed to put a deer down.

Besides, I'm old, and that's what the old timers, (when I wasn't old), in Maine used to swear by.
 
.35 Remington is my favorite New England and Eastern Canada deer gun. It blows a big hole through both sides of a deer and makes tracking easy. That is if tracking is even needed. I have an old Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I have see through scope mounts and a Williams Twilight 3X9 scope on it. I have a lot of high end hunting rifles, but, this is my go to meat gun. It has never failed to put a deer down.

Besides, I'm old, and that's what the old timers, (when I wasn't old), in Maine used to swear by.


Jarhead you and I must have learned from the same old timer's.
 
What is the selection like for the 35 Rem (cartridges) I know 30-30 has a 150-170grain on the shelves is 35 rem limited? I am still tempted to go big like the 45/70 but ammo cost and recoil have my left side of the brain saying "go with a 30-30" but the right side is telling me how much fun the 45-70 would be to shoot, I would like the .44mag but they really are not that common so finding one used isn't working so far
 
35 also comes in the Leverevolution rounds as well also 200 grains. I think there are better extended range rounds than a 35 or 30-30. Its a fun round, but I really think you'd be better served with a 44. They are out there, but those of us who have them hold onto em.
 
jarhead66 said:
.35 Remington is my favorite New England and Eastern Canada deer gun. It blows a big hole through both sides of a deer and makes tracking easy. That is if tracking is even needed. I have an old Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. I have see through scope mounts and a Williams Twilight 3X9 scope on it. I have a lot of high end hunting rifles, but, this is my go to meat gun. It has never failed to put a deer down.

Besides, I'm old, and that's what the old timers, (when I wasn't old), in Maine used to swear by.
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My family has a Model 8 Remington in .35 that we call "Knock 'Em Stiff" because it drops deer in their tracks. My great grandfather, grandfather, father and I have all shot deer with this gun and very rarely have I seen a deer move more than 50 feet after taking one of those big, slow, heavy rounds. I saw my father take a deer at about 120 yard with it, but honestly I think that was a bit of luck combined with the old man's excellent shooting. Love that gun. Need to have my boy get a deer with it.

Back to the topic at hand, I would go with a 30-30 if you're thinking of possibly hunting deer. Handgun calibers are handgun calibers, not hunting calibers, IMO. Yes, you can get by with a .357, but why would you if you didn't need to? I don't like to shoot a deer and wonder if it's going down.

Personally, I love my pre-64 Model 94. Super fun to shoot and through all of the shortages and madness, it's the only ammo I have been able to find almost every time I go to the store.

Here's mine:
2012-08-29_09-10-38_519.jpg
 
Boghog1 said:
I am still tempted to go big like the 45/70 but ammo cost and recoil have my left side of the brain saying "go with a 30-30" but the right side is telling me how much fun the 45-70 would be to shoot...
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I started a thread about large caliber lever guns a couple years ago and ended up with a Marlin 1895 GBL in .45/70. I love the gun and I love the .45/70. If you don't reload then I would stay away from the .45/70 because of the cost. I load it heavy because I like the way it thumps on both ends. That said, .30-30 is likely the most sensible deer round for the lever gun. I understand that more deer have been brought down with the .30-30 than any other round and also more deer have been wounded with the .30-30 than any other round.
 
I have an old Pre-64 Winchester 94 30-30 from 1951 or 54?? I forget.

It's still in really good condition, and I love it. I also want an older Marlin in 44mag.
 
Everyone seems to love the 30-30. Im in the same boat myself as far as wanting a Levergun really bad. Finally sold the wife on it and she will essentially let me pick up whatever I want as long as its under 700. I was up at IDC in Clinton yesterday and saw the Rossi .357. Nearly bought it but didnt like that its top ejecting instead of angled ejecting. I kinda want a general purpose brush gun that I can throw on my back and go through the bush with and maybe throw a scope on to do some hunting. Been torn between .357, .44 and 30-30, 45-70 and am starting to lean towards 30-30 especially after I saw this video of a guy taking down an Alaskan Bull Moose with one. Who knows..

Trophy Quest Hunts Moose In Alaska With 30-30: Episode 1160 - YouTube
 
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TheKingNothing said:
Everyone seems to love the 30-30. Im in the same boat myself as far as wanting a Levergun really bad. Finally sold the wife on it and she will essentially let me pick up whatever I want as long as its under 700. I was up at IDC in Clinton yesterday and saw the Rossi .357. Nearly bought it but didnt like that its top ejecting instead of angled ejecting.
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The Rossi guns are based on JMB's Winchester model 92 design.
If you want side eject, get a Marlin or a Henry.
 
TheKingNothing said:
Everyone seems to love the 30-30. Im in the same boat myself as far as wanting a Levergun really bad. Finally sold the wife on it and she will essentially let me pick up whatever I want as long as its under 700. I was up at IDC in Clinton yesterday and saw the Rossi .357. Nearly bought it but didnt like that its top ejecting instead of angled ejecting. I kinda want a general purpose brush gun that I can throw on my back and go through the bush with and maybe throw a scope on to do some hunting. Been torn between .357, .44 and 30-30, 45-70 and am starting to lean towards 30-30 especially after I saw this video of a guy taking down an Alaskan Bull Moose with one. Who knows..
Click to expand...

If you keep your eyes open you should be able to find a nice used Marlin for short money. Last year I scored a Marlin 336c that was 25 plus years old that only had 20 rounds through it. It sat in a safe for 25 years. I bought it of an NES member who didn't even know that his dad owned it. He threw in a box of 20 - Winchester .30-.30 that still had the price tag on it from Woolworths - $4.95 for a box of 20.

That little Marlin is a handy rifle. Shorter and lighter than my Henry Golden Boy .22 and it packs a whallop. I don't know if it is the blunt nose of the .30-.30 or what, but that round has a reputation for dropping critters.

I paid $300 bucks for the rifle. That leaves you plenty for a nice sling and some ammo
 
I ended up picking up a new Marlin 336W 30-30 ( its the new Remlin, Marlington whatever ). It was 400 bucks and came with a bunch of extra stuff. Seemed like a decent deal for the money. The 30-30 is a proven cartridge and Im just going to go with that. Plus the good news is, it means I can save up again and buy a different caliber lever for myself for Christmas! :)
 
I think I will be ending up with a 30-30 unless that .44 mag is sitting on the shelf Ballistic wise the .44 packs more punch under 100 yards than the 30-30 and of all the deer I have shot there was only one over 100 yards
 
Boghog1 said:
I think I will be ending up with a 30-30 unless that .44 mag is sitting on the shelf Ballistic wise the .44 packs more punch under 100 yards than the 30-30 and of all the deer I have shot there was only one over 100 yards
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dixidawg said:
Use a rifle caliber if the gun is going to be used as a hunting rifle. 30-30 all the way.
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Boghog, We have one here if you want to see it in person. http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...01788-acme-inventory-updates.html#post3206134
 
The OP indicated a 200 yard requirement and I question a .357 or .44 for anything anything outside of 50 yards. Sure it will do it but dang it you gotta KNOCK them down.
If money is no object get a Browning and if you want traditional pick yourself out a nice 30/30. I may have missed it but pointed bullets in a tubular magazine have changes the old rounds performance dramatically. ( or so I hear ).
I sure would like a nice little .22 lever just for the yuk of it.
 

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