Pretty much hooked now

[dsmjon]

Once upon a time, I had a lust for a 30/30 lever gun. Last year, I picked one up with a 3-9x40 and less than a box of ammo through it, paid $150 and came with 3 boxes of ammo. Instant infactuation with this sucker. LOVE IT. This gun pretty much has brough me into the interest of shooting cast boolits.

FF a year or so, and I find a good deal on a 1895G .45-70. I actually got dies, brass, and boolits before getting my hands on the gun. Just got the rifle in my possesion 15min ago. I be damned if it doesn't look like a friggin water pipe with a lever and a trigger on it. Can't wait to load her up and go :Fire::Fire::Fire:'ing.

These things are like crack now. Now I'm eyeballing a .357 and .44mag versions. I need help!!! LOL The first step will be easy, one look at these guns, and anyone can admit to being addicted to them!

[EDK]

You need to visit marlinowners and view the confessions of other lever gun addicts.

I started from the opposite direction you did. First was an 1892 WINCHESTER converted from 32/20 to 357 in 1966....Then a 44 MARLIN in 1972 and an 1895 45/70 when they were re-introduced....and an 1894c sometime around 1980. I've sold or traded a few guns and now all my 357, 44, 30/30 and 45/70s are Ballard rifled Cowboy rifles....Uncle Ed prefers not to own anything you can't use a cast boolit in!

Start out low on the Guide Gun loads..."It will get meat on both ends" with some of the more vigorous loads. I would like to try one before I buy...those nice heavy 45/70 Cowboy rifles with long octagon barrels are comfortable to shoot; less so to carry very far.

I'll admit to shooting the 357 and 44 lever guns a lot more often. I figure plain base boolit reloads at $.07 and gas checks add $.03 to the cost for them; about double for serious 45/70 or 30/30 loads. Reloading on a progressive press (since I'm primarily a pistol shooter) is a lot quicker than for the rifle cartridges also.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I have always loved the lever guns, and have had many of them over the years. My all time favorite is my Original 1887 12 ga Winchester DOM 1892, followed closely by my 73 Winchester.

Sam :D

[dsmjon]

Thanks for the link EDK, I just registered. Looks like a human has to verify my registration. :(

Looks like a good place from what I can see of it now. 1st thing I want to do is get rid of this leaf sight and maybe get some aperture sights.

[Dogg]

DSMJON, I am also kinda new to the lever action scene, had 3 lever .22s which I wish I still had and a .375 win.92 all of which I got rid of years ago when I thought that the bolt action was the thing and then the semi-auto. Then about a month and a half ago I bought a .357 Hartfor 92, since then I have bought a .44, and three 45LC Hartford and a Marlin 1895 Ltd V.
I believe the call this obsessive compulsive behavior. I have tried to explain to my wife it is just good business sense. Value of the $ is dropping, anti-gun administration in Washington = increase in value of all firearms and related items. Don't know if she bought it but so far I am not sleeping with the dogs. Really happy too, found out yesterday that the 2 stainless 45LC's are consecutive serial numbers! Nothing like a matched pair.

[dsmjon]

Awesome find on the matched pair!

The wife and I came to the conclusion, after two days & nights of "discussing" the issue. It was finally left "up to me". That wasn't a fun two days of discussing though, LOL.. She's a good conservative Christian girl, but dang if she doesn't lean a bit to the left when it comes to guns. :(

[Four Fingers of Death]

Lever guns are truely addictive. I started out with my first new centrefire was a 44mag 1894 many years ago it was sold to feed kids, etc then I picked up an old 30/30 some years ago and then cowboy shooting got a grip of me and the rest is history. I'm fond of big bore levers as well.

great hunting tools. I'll have to spend more time in the field, I got more levers at home than I have hunts lined up. I'll have to work on that!

Good luck with your guns!

[Boomer Mikey]

Do yourself a favor and get a 38-55 Marlin Cowboy; one of the best cartridges you'll ever shoot in a wonderful rifle with enough power for anything in the lower 48.

I love the 1892 and 1896 style rifles. The Winchester and Rossi rifles with their narrow stocks with a traditional straight grip just feel right to me. The Marlin Cowboy rifles also feel this way to me; their octagon barrels with ballard cut rifling balance the rifles well and any Marlin Cowboy Commemorative Limited rifle (CCL) is the gold standard for me in a modern lever action rifle.

Have fun,

Boomer :Fire:

[Lead Fred]

Traded into a Marlin 30-30 2 months ago, bought a Winchester 94 2 days ago.

Next month will be trading my Marlin 30-30 away for a brand new 1895 Marlin 45-70.

My friend has a 32 special, and 38-55 all were his grandfathers and the newest one is a 1942.

He only shoots the 32 special, for the ammo for his 39-55 is far, few and costly
compared to the 32 special.

[Dogg]

dsmjon you need to get that wife in line! My first date with my wife was at an indoor shooting range, our honeymoon was hunting ringnecks. Will admit though over the last 7 years she has been more interested in doing her girly hobbies, guess she figured I was hooked for good and she didn't need to do the gun thing. Get your wife her own guns and take her to the range. Got my wife a kid size anchutz, 20ga BPS, 308 Weatherby, and a .38 chief special. have them cut to fit then they can't complain that its 'yours' or 'it doesn't fit and kicks too much'. Spoke with my wife last night about getting a 16" Rossi/Hartford trapper. I think that in .357 would make a good defense gun for her out here in the country.

[dsmjon]

Dogg, you'd have a better chance of talking Congress to self-impose term limits on themselves. LOL

I've tried, believe me I've tried to get her to go out shooting. She even refuses to learn the basic operation of the 12ga pump, *just in case*. The closest reply I've gotten has been "I'll figure it out if I ever need it". That was the most worrysome, dangerous, ignorant statement I've ever heard come from her mouth. I pray if anyone ever breaks into this house either I'm home, or no one is home.

[Dogg]

dsmjon you definetly have a problem there. Next suggestion is 'shock therapy'. I would collect every picture and article on the news about break/murders, and since they seem to be occuring on a real regular basic it shouldn't be to hard to find them in the news on line. Copy them, get pictures and then sit down with her and tell her. 'Honey I love you to much to take a chance of this happening to you or me, you have to learn to protect yourself and our family in case something like this ever occurs, and you don't 'figure it out' when it is occuring so first I am asking and then I am demanding that you at least learn the operation of .......... so in case it does happen I know you/we can depend on each other to get through it alive!

When I was a cop a long time ago we told everyone you best be able to protect yourself because even if you dial 911 it still takes time to get there!

Good luck.

[dsmjon]

Tried that.. but I'm open to other suggestions, LOL. Even cars kill people, but she still drives one everyday. I dunno what's gotta into her brain, her dad used to be a Dove hunter. The silver lining is that she doesn't keep inventory on what's in the gun safe?

[gon2shoot]

Yessir leverguns are addictive, as a kid there was always a 30-30 behind the door.
Of course I outgrew all that and went for every new whizz-bang cal. that showed up.

Then I started to mature (got older and blinder) now I have.........................dang, not enough fingers and toes, a few levers.

I enjoy shooting more and I'm "hunting" again instead of calling in an air strike.

I have had to buy duplicate copy's of a lot of them since my wife turned to levers (women seem to like 92s)

[dsmjon]

I've been reading a bit on marlinowners, but can't seem to find much via their search engine. Is there anything to taking, say a 357mag and modding for the 357max cartridge? Same to be asked for the 44mag caliber.

I think the first thing for this 1895G will be to ditch the Vnotch leaf sight. Makes me feel like I'm aiming a pellet gun that kicks like a mule.

[crabo]

I just got the XS scout rail with the ghost ring rear and front sight combo for my guide gun.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=21453/Product/LEVER_ACTION_APERTURE_REAR___POST_FRONT_SIGHT_SETS

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=23168/Product/MARLIN_1895_336_308MX_LEVER_RAIL

I can mount a scope for testing loads and then use the ghost sights for hunting, or use a red dot, or use a ....

[tcrocker]

http://http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/crockerthomas/th_P1000032.jpg (http://s556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/crockerthomas/?action=view&current=P1000032.jpg)
I love mine 45-70 the only way to go is up from here 500S&W maybe from Wild west Guns?:Fire: