Lever Action...

[Pessimist]

I have owned both Winchesters and Marlins in .30-30. Both great fun to shoot, low recoil, accurate with irons. Marlins are much easier to scope since they eject out the right side. Marlins are also easier to take apart for cleaning - one screw removed, pull lever out and remove bolt to allow cleaning from breach.

If you go with a Marlin, find a nice used one made BEFORE Remington bought Marlin. Stick to guns made before 2008 and you will be completely safe.

There are LOTS of used Marlins and Winchesters for sale on Gun Broker. The marlins tend to be a little more affordable.

[rromeo]

I have Marlins in 22lr, 35 Remington and 444 Marlin. I have a Savage 99 in 30-30, and a Rossi 92 in 45 Colt.
I love my Marlins, but when the Savage opportunity arose, I sold my Marlin Texan 30-30 to jump on the 99. That is such a nice handling rifle, even at 94 years old.

[Brksanman]

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I just hope I can get everything on my list before "sensible gun laws" target lever guns

[golfish]

Shooter..? Pick it up on the 8th. A JM barreled 2006 .44 mag Marlin Lever.

I will probably just send it to Houston Texas for the Short Stroke Kit and .45ACP
Conversion with paint job. Decisions. decisions...

lol, yeah shooter too

New meds, yeah that's it I wish they were working for me.

I meant Shop, how's the new shop?

[RNE228]

My experience is opposite. I find the '94 platform in 30-30 with the light weight and straight stock to have a stout kick considering 30-30 is a relatively mild round.

I like them in pistol cartridges though(Marlin 94C in 357 is tons of fun to shoot).

I have owned both Winchesters and Marlins in .30-30. Both great fun to shoot, low recoil, accurate with irons.

[RNE228]

Parts do not actually fall out of Win-94, but it looks like the guts are going to on Win-94 when you work the action.

Sitting here looking at Marlin 95 in 45/70 and Marlin 94C in 357, and Savage 99 in 300Sav. All three are a much "cleaner" action IMHO.

Win-94 has been around a long time; the action works. Just not my preference. Your mileage may vary. IMHO

Interesting. Ive had quite a few Winchesters since the middle 70s, no parts have fallen out of any of them, and I never felt concern that any would so far.

[stilly]

I have a desire for a lever gun. Never had one. I guess a 30-30 is what I want. It looks like .357 can get expensive. If you have a few minutes, could someone give some advice on what I should look for? Marlin, Winchester? Not sure I want a Henry. I know they are probably great, but I think I want an "old name." As you can see, I haven't a clue. I just know that I want one.
Thanks in advance

Henry is good, Marlin is expensive. Rossi is middle ground and easy on your wallet although maybe not as smooth as MArlin.

Cost of ammo is an issue really? Maybe you should stop in at the reloading forum and get into reloading.

I bought a Deagle in 44 mag in 2010 and it cost me $42.xx for that box of .44 mag (50 shots WWB).

Now I reload with various powder for on the average of about $9.70-$11.xx per box depending on the price I pay for components.

Oh and when I pull the trigger now, hehe. Panty dropper for sure.

Oh and the best part of my shooting about a week ago was while at the range, a family (mom+dad+son) about jumped out of their skin when I shot it next to them. Then the dad was curious and so I let them squeeze off a few rounds and they filmed their son shooting it... I also told him how cheap it was to reload for it and blew away about all the myths he was asking about- hard to shoot, jams all the time, inaccurate...

SO if you are afraid to buy any firearm for ammo prices, just remember to buy about 150+ rounds that are made from BRASS and you have enough to last for a while- and then you will find yourself buying once fired brass and casting and you will get your rounds down to dirt cheap.

I bought lead for .50/lb for about 500 lbs worth, I pay on the average about 1.20 or less per lb delivered to my door.

1 lb = 7000 grains (gr)

cost of .44 mag at HIGHER prices:
plated 240gr round = $62/500 = .12 EACH
Cast lead round 240gr = $1.50/lb = 29.17 boolits from 1 lb of lead at EXPENSIVE price = .05 each
Large pistol primers =$25.00 per 1k = .025 each
Powder hmmm, Blue Dot is about 15gr per round, H-110/Enforcer = 20-24gr per round Let's go with the H-110- H-110 = 23.7gr per round, 1 lb bottle = $23.00 = 295.35 shots per bottle = .08 per round.
Brass = well? You can reuse it- but lets assign 2 values, let's say you buy brass FIRST and then reuse it... First is around $.19/per shell, then free...

SO the price of a round cast or plated:
Brass: .19/0
Powder:.08
Primer: .025
Boolit: .12/.05
---------------
Total: With NEW brass and plated: .42 per round. (Deagle/Lever/Revolver)
With reused brass and plated: .23 per round (Deagle/Lever/Revolver)

Lever guns can use cast or plated or FMJ/TMJ etc.

Total with new brass and CAST boolits: .35 per round. (Lever/Revolver)
With reused brass and CAST boolits: .16 per rd (Lever/Revolver)

And this was EXPENSIVE. If you were to buy powder in an 8 lb bottle, expect to pay around $17-$20 per lb.

The higher quantity you buy at a time typically gets you lower prices. Then getting the Cabellas sale for primers at $19.99 per 1k + free shipping and $20 hazmat- buy 20k+ primers for yourself and friends and you save a ton of money.

So you should not let ammo be a real cost. If you see a gun you like then go for it. Worry about ammo for it later. As long as you buy BOXER primed brass cases you can 9/10 reload for it.

If you need more direction or assistance with reloading, head over to the reloading forum and ASK. We are always willing to help people. Even though that may come across as jerks from time to time, they are willing to help new reloaders out.

.38/.357 is even cheaper AND because you are talking about these rimmed calibers, or rather, being shot out of a lever gun, you do not tend to shoot as fast so you may spend about an hour or two making ammo and you will have about 400+ rds ready to go, spend a little time here and there making a handful each time, it will add up to a large pile quickly...

So go get yourself a Rossi model 92 in whatever caliber you want... :D


Couple of projects I am working on. My Rossi Ranch Hands... (Pistols in .357 & .44)

[ElDub1950]

I have a desire for a lever gun. Never had one. I guess a 30-30 is what I want. It looks like .357 can get expensive. If you have a few minutes, could someone give some advice on what I should look for? Marlin, Winchester? Not sure I want a Henry. I know they are probably great, but I think I want an "old name." As you can see, I haven't a clue. I just know that I want one.
Thanks in advance

357 is around $0.40 and 30-30 is around $1.00 a round. Or are you talking about the gun itself?

[briankk]

New or used?

What's the model of Win that stacks the mag instead of tip to primer?

Lever action is a must have

Winchester 88.

[Deog]

Marlin. Side eject, not tube fed, easy to scope.

[Malamute]

Parts do not actually fall out of Win-94, but it looks like the guts are going to on Win-94 when you work the action.

Sitting here looking at Marlin 95 in 45/70 and Marlin 94C in 357, and Savage 99 in 300Sav. All three are a much "cleaner" action IMHO.

Win-94 has been around a long time; the action works. Just not my preference. Your mileage may vary. IMHO

Yes, its all perspective and personal preference. Its fun to rag back and forth now and then. To me the Winchester looks like a fiendishly clever way to make a very sleek, narrow action, the link drops down forming a lower pivot point for the lever and bolt, making the action capable of functioning with a longer cartridge than may seem otherwise apparent. The Marlin makes do with a permanent pivot point always protruding below the action, making the action heavier and bulkier for the same class of cartridges.

The 92 Winchester had a similar affect as the 94, just accomplished it by using the bottom of the locking bolts as a lowered pivot point.

Winchester 94 with scope. Wow! Looks like it was made that way at the factory!

[Malamute]

Marlin. Side eject, not tube fed, easy to scope.

Not tube fed?

[Epaphroditus]

Winchester 88 gets a bad rap. Mine shoots real nice - box mag (308) so lots of options on ammo.

Rossi 92 are very reasonable. I have 20" octagaonal bbl in 45LC and it is a bit heavy - in retrospect I should have gotten in 454 Casull. I also have 16" bbl 357/38 and that is one sweet handling rifle!

[Deog]

Not tube fed?

Henry is tube fed, no adding ammo on the fly.

[Malamute]

Henry is tube fed, no adding ammo on the fly.

Ah, ok. You mean like 22 removable tubes that load from the front. The general lever action type is considered a tubular magazine rather than a box magazine as most bolt actions and some of the less common lever action types. How it fills is the difference. Kings Patent side loading gate was a real wonder. I wholeheartedly approve of the concept myself.