Best All Around

[Good Cheer]

Well, that's a mighty big title to put on a thread.

I am beginning to think that the best all around lever gun going is just an old .300 Savage. It's got a big enough case capacity to take any game I'll run upon unless the company went plumb crazy and sent me somewhere very different. It's small enough that it's pretty easy to load like a 32-20, 30 carbine, 30-30. I'd really prefer a longer case neck but I can live with it. I've made the cases from 270 and 243 range brass.
It works. It's pretty well unspectacular but it works.

[cf_coder]

35 Remington hands down. Bigger hole = more deader. Plus you can plink using cheaper 158 grain lead projos designed for the 38/357 and a reduced load of powder (like 10 grains Unique).

[Lead Fred]

Best all around....

Id go old school with a 44 mag, and a matching handgun

[Firebricker]

I think Lead Freds got it right .44 combo hard to beat. FB

[starmac]

I think I will side with Good Cheer on this one, if bigger is needed the 358 came in the M99 too, but for all around the 300 is a good platform.

[TXGunNut]

Dunno why I bothered to reply, still trying to find a levergun I don't like.

[Bret4207]

300, 35, 358, 308 250......kinda a tough choice. I like all of them.

[Lonegun1894]

I'm going to vote .357 combo of rifle and handgun. Cheap to shoot as far as lead and powder go, and still enough steam to go after anything if you're willing to hunt instead of just shoot em way out there.

[starmac]

300, 35, 358, 308 250......kinda a tough choice. I like all of them.

Then throw in the few 284s, 375s, and 4.10s.
I would still say for all around the 300 or 308 is hard to beat. I personally like the 300 better, only because I like the feel of the older rifles with the slimmer forearm.

[Catshooter]

You guys ?!? How can you possibly forget the 30-30, the mighty 38-55 or the 45? What are you thinking? :)

For me, the best all around rifle could be either a Winchester 94 in 45 Colt or 30-30. Hard to pick between 'em.


Cat

[Lonegun1894]

Catshooter,
I agree on the .30-30 and the .45 Colt, but can't speak for the .38-55 (yet). The only thing i disagree with you on is the Winchester '94 for the .45. It is a GREAT rifle chambered in .30-30, but not so much in .45 Colt. I have the '94 in both calibers, and both the praise (for the .30-30) and the criticism (for the .45) are based on experience. Now if we can compromise and stick with the .30-30 in the '94, but move the .45 to the Winchester '92 action, then I will completely agree with your choices. Agreed? :drinks:

[larryp]

While some purists don't like them my favorite lever gun of all time is the Browning BLR in .308. Lightweight, accurate and plenty of power. Here's a pick of mine with a coyote I shot at 200 yards.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/lwrnc1963/coyote002.jpg

[Combat Diver]

Good all around rifle can be a Winchester/Browning 1895 in 30-06'. I do miss mine but my only lever in the house right now is a Marlin 1894S in .41 Mag as a compaion to my .41 pistols.

CD

[winchester85]

best ALL around?
for me, where i hunt things weighing up to 900 pounds, i would like something larger than a 357 or 44. i once shot prairie dogs with my 338, punishing to the shoulder but got the job done. i would have to go for something with some power.
one of my favorites is a 270 bolt rifle.

[hickfu]

For me its the Marlin 45-70SBL made into a Co-Pilot at Wild West guns.
Next is the 44Magnum

http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s344/VenturaMeanie/CoPilot9.jpg
http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s344/VenturaMeanie/CoPilot4.jpg

Doc

[Lloyd Smale]

Id pick the 444. It can be downloaded to do anything a 44 mag will do and loaded up to beat factory 4570 loads on the top end. It doesnt seem to share the accuracy problems that most 44 marlins do and Its about as flat shooing as a 3030 or 35 rem. It can shoot about any 44 pistol bullet for plinking and even with top end loads recoil isnt near what top end 4570 loads can be. If i had to keep only one lever gun it would be either my 444 outiftter or my 356 big bore.

[WinMike]

My first lever gun was an old octagon-barreled '94 in 32 Special....alas, it went to pay for college expenses.

As a graduation present, I bought myself a new Winchester 88 in .308 Win. Very accurate, even with a terrible trigger. Shot several deer, 2 elk, and shot out the barrel shooting "liberated" 7.62 Nato military ammo on prairie dogs. When it stopped being accurate, I traded it for.....

....a Winchester '71 (.348), which was a little much for deer, but knocked down several elk and a moose, one shot each. Because of the expense and limited supply of factory cartridges, that's the gun that got me into reloading and into cast bullets.

After a fling with bolt actions.....

....I acquired a 1970-production Mdl 94 in 30-30 as part of a trade. Post-64 '94's have such a poor reputation I intended to keep it only until I could trade it off, but it's so handy, as well as accurate, I still have it today.

I watched a friend's 444 Marlin "elk" cartridges blow up on the shoulder of a nice cow elk. Twice. We finished her off with one shot of my .348. He bought my .348 on the spot and had to be restrained from throwing the .444 over a cliff. When I was convinced to sell the '71, I bought a Marlin 45-70 guide gun, took it to Alaska, but alas, the biggest critter it's blooded is a caribou.

My latest lever is a Uberti Win '73 (my avatar is Jimmy Stewart in the movie of the same name) in .357 Mag. It's so much fun to load for and shoot it should be illegal.

Back to the OP's original statement. I've never owned a Sav. 99 and consider it one of my character faults. The 300 Savage is theoretically "weaker" than a .308 which in turn doesn't enjoy the ballistic benefits of the 30-06, which is more anemic than a 300 H&H, which is "inferior" to a 300 Win Mag, etc., etc.

Yet my very unscientific research shows these 3 firearms are in great abundance in Alaska: 45-70 Marlin 1895G/GS, 12-gauge pump shotguns, and Savage 99/300 Savage. All are very effective, none have scopes, are easy to carry and trusted as reliable.

go figure

[koehlerrk]

I have but one levergun (forgive me for my sins) and it's a Marlin 1894C in 38/357 and it does everything I'd need a rifle to do. Loaded with 38s it's a light plinker and small game rifle, but I can crank it up with full-house 357s and it turns into a whole 'nother animal, kind of Jekyl and Hyde if you will.

So, it may be my only levergun, but God help anyone who tries to get it away from me.

[Good Cheer]

My daddy's .300 Savage took elk and deer. He called it Ol' Never Miss. I'd like to try it with wheel weights on some squirrel. Probably a lot easier to make squirrel head accurate than a .32 flintlock is.

[Good Cheer]

I have but one levergun (forgive me for my sins) and it's a Marlin 1894C in 38/357 and it does everything I'd need a rifle to do. Loaded with 38s it's a light plinker and small game rifle, but I can crank it up with full-house 357s and it turns into a whole 'nother animal, kind of Jekyl and Hyde if you will.

So, it may be my only levergun, but God help anyone who tries to get it away from me.

Got a Rossi .357 in about '80 and kept it fed with the 358156 and 296. One day a squirrel was up on a bent over pine sapling chewing on pine cone seeds and I had to give him a try. Just as I squeezed off he dropped the pine cone and started forwards. Well, that didn't work out too good but it was pretty impressive. Later that year was in Utah chasing jack rabbits and it did well. Later was using it for jacks down north of Del Rio loaded with just enough quick burning powder to get the boolit out of the barrel. Amazing how accurate they were dotting the i. Great cartridge!

[runfiverun]

all around to me means squirells through moose
and paper included.
so it would have to be a 35 cal rifle.
either the 358 win,358x57, or the whelen.
i'd go with the x57 with a 14 twist and a 4x16 scope, then i could sling boolits/bullets from 85 grs to 250 grs.
from 900 fps through 2500 or more fps,
that better cover everything.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
As much as I favor caliber 41 mag I will have to say my choice is 45-70. I can load round ball for mouse loads and a 450 grainer for anything walking this planet. $5 Colt would be second but I would hessitate about hunting Water Buffs and Packy-Derms with it.. not that I will get the opportunity soon. But 45 Colt will do anything the old BP 45-70 loadas did and they did it all handsomely. But that 45-70 450 grainer at 1700 fps + is going to handle anything out there.
MIke in Peru

[northmn]

All around depends on conditions. For me the 35 Remington or 30-30 is as good as any. I tend to shy away from pistol cartridges as they start to fizzle at longer ranges. Saying that, the 300 Savage cartridge is hard to beat. I have an old 300 Savage, but shoot left handed and do not like the safety or the trigger pull, but I made one of the prettiest shots on a deer with it, snaking the bullet through an opening in brush at over 100 yards. My daughter has shot a few deer with a 300 Savage bolt action and it has performed quite well. My son and I ahve taken a few deer with the old 303 Brit whcih is a similar cartridge. One of the beauties of the caliber is that plain old bullets work well and there is little need to buy the more expensive ones that are designed to hold together at magnum velocites. As the 308 Marlin is a similar cartridge and using the plastic tipped bullets would give similar performance.
With cast bullets only, the 30-30 is very economical, as much so as any pistol cartridge as 30 cal molds are in abundance. I can load a 150 Lee flatnose down to squirrel velocities and up to factory deer killers. For jacketed I would go with a 300 Savage, but for cast only the 30-30 would win hands down.

DP

[Slam'n Salmon]

All round would need to include larger than deer use so I lean more to a 356win or 38/55 in a Marlin so you can load warmer when needed

[Bullet Caster]

I guess since I only own one lever action, it would have to be a Winchester mod 94AE chambered in .45 Colt. It's a handy little carbine and a good shooter. So my vote goes to a Win mod 94; however, since I love large caliber rifles, my next purchase in a lever gun will definitely be a 45-70. I love shooting black out of the .45 calibers. BC

[Catshooter]

lonegun,

I have heard of some having troubles with the 45 Colt in the 94. But both of mine work well and are extremly accurate.

I truth, the 38-55 is more all-around that the Colt. Round ball to elk loads. Hard to equal in a seven pound flat rifle.


Cat

[JDL]

I like 'em all but, my favorite has to be the 99 chambered for .300 Savage. I killed my first deer with cast boolits back in 1977 with mine and it's scored several since. Just this morning, I went to the range to resight mine as I had removed the scope and mounts a couple of months ago and decided to remount them. I set my target at 50 yards, fired one of my 165 grain flat nose boolits, and looked through the scope to see it had cut the X ring. So then I took my target to 100 yards and fired 3 more. They fell right in with the first one making a 4 shot .73" group.:-) No, it won't do that good all the time but, it does it often enough to make it interesting.

[onlybrowning]

Oh man, I love the .358 win in a BLR! Here's mine. It's a SHOT show gun never catalogued by Browning. Not exactly conventional, but I like hunting tools for hunting. 44032

[wrench man]

Haven't shot my 356 yet so I'll just have to fall back n the 35 Remington.