lanber

I am new to rifles, and rifles are the only thing I don't have. What should I look for in a lever action rifle? It seems to me that the 30-30 is less expensive for some reason. I am thinking deer, etc. I had thought of a pistol caliber, but the .357 seems to be a little short for some rifles, thus causing a few problems. I suppose I would like to know about quality issues, costs, and calibers, etc. Any info would be welcome before I take the plunge. Thanks.

lanber

I'm sorry. I just realized that I posted this in the wrong section, I believe.

Bozack

I would suggest for you the Marlin 336 in 30-30. It is a fine gun and very popular and accurate. It can be scoped easily and is not to heavy. It is an excelent woods range gun, anything out to 150 to 175 yards. You can even find these used and in good shape in most gun shops.
For longer ranges an inexspensive bolt gun like a Savage chambered for 7mm 08 would be good.

lanber

Thank you, Mr. Bozack. I have been doing some searching on the internet, and I have found that you definitely know what you are talking about. Thanks very much.

Bozack

Your welcome.

LyndonCombs

Check out one of the new Marlin .308 express rifles. I am currently working with one, and it is a great rifle. Other then that a Marlin 336, or a Winchester 94 will do the job.

Mr Al

I have an 1894C in 357, the 336 in 30-30 and a Rossi Puma 92 in 45LC. The 357 is not short in the 1894C, it was designed for revolver cartridges, but flat pointed cartridges and especially wad cutters can cause problems. The sharper edges tend to catch on edges that a round nose would slide over. In the 357 I like 158gr LRN, hard cast not just to solve feeding issues but also for better penetration. I believe that while deer hunting with revolver loads you need to worry more about penetration than shock. I have used the Hornady XTP HPs and that profile feeds well in my gun.
The little carbines are a plearure to carry in the woods. They point well and come up quick. I actually hit a clay target with the 45LC one time. 1 try, 1 target, 1 hit, I'm 100% on airiel targets with a rifle. A 250 gr LRN at 1100fps will turn a clay target into powder. If you kill a deer you can just slide it under your belt and your hands are free to drag the deer.
I've killed 8 of my 17 deer with the 30-30, but it was my first deer rifle so I have hunted with it much more. My hunting slowed down quite a bit after getting married. The 30-30 and 357 are both over 25 years old and no problems. I've never killed a deer with 357 or 45LC, but I don't think that they would have a problem out to 100 yds. I know of two kills with with the 30-30 out past 200 yds, but I think that is uncommon.

AJMD

My favorite 'deer' rifles are

1. Ruger 96/44 .44 Mag - removable magazine helps when I cross country roads to stay legal
2. Marlin 1894 SS .44 Mag - stainless so less worry about weather
3. Marlin 1894 .357 Mag - lighter weight but good on deer to 100 yards with decent bullets.

For the .44 Mags, 240gr factory Win softpoints drop them easily out to 150 yards

Lots of other cartridges will do the job, but few are legal or considered safe in semi-rural areas other than the 'pistol' chamberings, and I see no shortcomings of the .44 Mag for deer.

kiwihunter

I agree with AJMD absolutely .44 mag inside 150yds is an outstanding deer killer and is safe to use in semi rural areas ,so really you need to know where you are going to be hunting in what sort of terrain and what type of deer species before you make an informed choice on what calibre and rifle to choose.I have a deerfield carbine in .44 mag for the woods and a savage weather warrior for everything else here in NZ we have a few different species of deer and i find my weather warrior in .223 ideal for the smaller fallow and Sika deer and .308 for the reds and bigger wapati etc.Once you sort out where you are shooting and what species handle a few rifles at your local gun store and pick what fits you best,dont compromise on optics as they are as important as your rifle and choose a main stream calibre for choice and ready availability of ammo ie 44 mag,.270,.308,30-30,.243,.223.....beware deer stalking is an addictive habit that leads to many weekends away and "you never take me anywhere anymore from the other half"...but lol hell its fun !!!!!! cheers mate hope this helps.

terry_p

Lanber:

My vision of Oklahoma hunting is flat, open and big bucks. How long a shot might you run into? A good scoped bolt action will increase your range by quite a bit. A standard caliber like 25-06, 7mm-08, 270 or 30-06 will give you good range and the ammo is readily available, or at least it used to be. The magnums like 7MM mag or some of the short mags will extend your range even farther.

The 30-30 has killed a lot of deer, probably more than any other caliber but even with the leverolution it's range is limited and if you are sitting over a food plot of 300-400 yards across you may not be able to take/make the shot you need to.

RNorris

I live and hunt in Michigan....farmlands, some swamps, some big woods....and the Marlin 336 is my favorite lever gun. A 30-30 is a great choice, but my favorite caliber is .35 Remington. It knocks whitetails deader than dead.

gqucool

lanber, you have recieved alot of great information. The first thing I would ask you is just deer going to be your main game animal you are going to hunt? If so then a Marlin 336 in 30/30 would be a great choice. You can improve your ballistics a bit by using the new Hornady Levrolution ammo. It is available in 30/30, .357 mag .44 mag 444 Marlin 45/70 450 Marlin etc. Another option is to reload. Nothing wrong with going with a pistol cartridge in a rifle for your deer hunting but I would limit your range to 100yds and deer sized game. Another option you could consider is the Ext Range Ctgs by Marlin as listed the .308 Marlin etc. But if it were me and you want more power then I would consider a Browning BLR Browning Lever Action Rifle that gun you can get anything from a .223 Remington clear up to a .300 Winchester Magnum and possibly even a .338 . But anything in between such as a 308 Winchester, 243 Winchester. .270, 30/06 the list goes on. Well in a modern lever action if you want to shoot pointed spire point bullets I would suggest going with the Browning. But nothing wrong with the Marlin, I feel the Marlin is a stronger and smoother action compared to a Win. Model 94. Personally I wouldn't mess with the 308. Marlin nice cartridge but the .308 Winchester is better. The Rossi varients of the Model 92 Winchester are nice little guns, but I would try for a older version the safety on the newer rifles suck! Not trying to confuse you here because I really like Lever Actions Rifles myself....I have a Marlin 1894 CB rifle in .357 magnum that hopefully someday I can use to hunt deer with. My problem is the DWR here in Utah can't seem to manage their deer herd worth a hoot!!!! But oh well my 2 cents worth!

RugerOwner

I would recommend the Marlin 336 in .30-30. GunGellery has one with a short barrel (only 500 made) in stainless steel. I have one and it makes a great brush gun.

And be sure to use Hornady LeverRevolution 160-grain ammo. Great ballistics.

WyrTwister

The Marlin .30-30 can usually be found cheaper than the lever actions in hand gun calibers .

A .357 will probably be cheaper to shoot than the .30-30 . Unless , like many of us that shoot home cast lead bullets .

What distance will you be shooting ?

God bless
Wyr

BearTaylor

I really like lever guns. Even though I like shooting my bolt action and semiauto rifes I take special pleasure working with my lever guns. It probably has a lot to do with my western heritage.