My choice was 35 Remington, since I have two. But I do also have 4 Marlin 336 .30-30's, so that's not far behind. But the one that should see the most use this year is a Marlin 336 in 375 Winchester.
I have most of cals on list, and several that aren't. If I had to pick one off list it would be 30/30
Marlin Maurader. Actually my favorite is a Win 1895 in 30govt06 for woods hunting. Also very
fond of 25/20 & 32/20 for small game. I don't have a 357 at present, but don't miss it. To big for
small game to small for large game, it's a fun gun.
Of those listed I chose the venerable 45-70. Neither of my two favorites were listed but one is not all that commonly used today and the other is obscure but still around, if barely. The 32-20 and the 40-82. I have a 92 and an 86 so chambered.
Try as I might I can't find a 480gr. or 500 gr. bullet for the 444 Marlin....hmmm.
38-55.
Love that it's a straight walled case, and man it rings the ram target at a hundred yards.
I'd rather be over gunned than under. 45-70 will take down anything in North America out to 150 yards. If I find myself on the menu I really don't want to trust my life to a .38 special.
Savage 99 .308 or .358 Winchester.
The fact that 30-30 is winning here doesn't correspond with either the demand or the supply of rifles. I suspect it must be the latter though. You can't hardly touch a .357 Mag lever for under $700, but you can find a 30-30 for well under $400 if you're patient.
I think it's less about the supply of current rifles, and more about ammunition demand. There are tons of 30- 30 rifles out there from many years of old. It's still one of the most popular deer cartridges.
The uprising of the .444 and 45- 70 and other straight wall cartridges that are now legal for deer in more states, and also where the 30- 30 cannot be used for deer, has made the rifle demand rise over the 30- 30. But 30- 30 ammo demand remains strong.
There are probably still more 30- 30 rifles out there then all the rest combined. That might be stretching it a little. I assume .223 is tops, but in a deer hunting rifle, it might be true.
I had to go with the 35 Remington just for versatility and the fact that I have one. The 38/357 was right there too. I can load the 35 Remington with essentially the same loads as a 38 special on up to full power 35 Remington.
I have most of these choices, but my pick is the 44 mag because I can throw a 200 gr rn with a little Red Dot for targets, or a 340 gr SSK bullet with a bunch of Lil Gun for just about anything on the planet out to 100 yards. If the 38-55 (375 Win) had been on the list, it would have been my top choice because of large selection of molds and availability of 30-30 brass.
Of my lever guns the 45 colt is what I have the most ammunition loaded for and wheel guns to match it. Even though it will likely obliterate small game I'm of the use what you brought and or have group, if it came down to keeping just one.
While a Savage 99 in 358 would be the most interesting option, I think a JM '94 in 44 with the proper rifling would be a great choice.
I have both Winchester and Marlin lever action rifles in 30-30, 444 marlin and 375 win. But if I had to go with only one caliber it would be the 30-30. Mostly a paper puncher now so cast boolits only and have a pile of 30-30 brass. Frank
Let see: marlin 1894 in 44 mag. that has killed deer but is used for cowboy action now. 1883 Uberti/burgess colt 45 that has replaced the marlin. Win 94 pre-64 in 30-30. 1895 marlin in 45-70 and Marlin 39A in 22. If it wasn't for cowboy action, I would say the 30-30 for plinking and hunting. Cowboy action means the pistol calibers lever guns get shot 10 times as much.
This is a silly question, only one? I don't want to live in a world that only allows 1 lever gun!
That would be hard to do but I voted 45-70 simply because it can be loaded so mild it is a joy to shoot, or hot enough to kill anything on the planet. I recently cut and threaded my 1895GS for a suppressor so am currently working up some subsonic loads so I can shoot without letting the neighbors know what I'm up to lol.
30-30....it simply works.
To All,
IF I could find one at a decent price (and I've looked for a while now), I'd want a SHOOTABLE (even "just restorable" is OK) Model 95 Winchester in .30-06, .30 US, .303 British or even 7.62 Russian.
ALL of the Model 95s that I've seen in recent years were $$$$$$$$$$$$ or 100% JUNK.
yours, tex