Which way to turn?

[GhostHawk]

I have been itching for a new rifle, it has been months dang near a year since my last one. The last 3 acquisitions have all be low cost single shot shotguns.

So Option A would be a CVA Hunter rifle in .44 mag. Good rifle by all accounts, reasonably priced right around the 300$ mark. Several points make this an attractive choice including dies, molds already owned ready and waiting.

Option B would be a Hipoint Carbine in .45 acp. Also reasonably priced around the 300$ mark at my local Gander Mountain. I already reload for .45 acp for a SA1911 so again dies, mold are there. While not as fast as the big 43 it is an even bigger sized chunk of lead. And it is a 9 + 1 semi auto. That can be handy at times.


Option C would be to wait, buy a lever action in either .45lc or .44 mag, preferably Henry but possibly Rossi.

A and B are both a breeze to put scope or Red Dot on. Pretty much a must for old eyes beyond 50y.
C may be possible but kind of spoils the lines of a lever action IMO>

I do have a seriously soft spot in my heart for single shot rifles.
I have yet to have a lemon, a little load development and they have thus far all exceeded my accuracy expectations.

By the same token a good dependable Semi is a wonderful thing to have. At close range you can cut the heart out of a bullseye.

Opinions brothers? I am asking. You can also think outside of the box.
Keep in mind I exist on 568$ a month and have some expenses. So the higher the price is the longer I have to save for it. At 64 deferred gratification is getting old.

Love you guys and thanks for taking the time to read. Have a great day.

Ghost

[Mytmousemalibu]

Choices A & C have a bit more classic appeal especially a lever gun! On the other hand, I have the 9mm carbine, 995TS which other than caliber & capacity is the same gun. It has never fouled up, easy to point and shoot and land a bullet right where you intended. Its a fun gun no question about it! Since I already own a HP carbine, id be looking at the other two options. I'd probably go with a Big Boy Steel in .44mag and stick a Marbles/Williams/Skinner peep sight on it. If you have to have a scope, i think a vintage Weaver or something else old would look just fine on it!

[Silverboolit]

I have a HiPoint in .45 acp. It is not picky on ammo and mine shoots everything that I make for it without a problem.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Ive been wanting to get one of the cva's in 44 mag as well. figure would make a good truck gun.

[GhostHawk]

I posted this over at the graybeard outdoors forums and got very similar answers.

I think the only long term truly correct answer is going to be "all of the above".

I do love the Hipoint carbines, have 9mm and .40sw, would like to fill the set. Have already loaded 2-300 of .45acp rounds so that makes life easy.

The CVA Hunter scratch's an itch I thought I had fixed 2 years ago when the H&R factory said sure we can fit a .44 mag barrel to your frame. Yeah except you forgot to put my name on one of those!

I had the Ruger .44 carbine long long ago, and lost it thanks to a "friend" who wasn't really.

I do have a soft spot in my heart for accurate single shot rifles. One shot perfectly placed where you need it and the patience to wait for that shot.

I am also developing a like for Lever actions, They have their own strengths.
And one in either .44mag or .45lc would be fun. .45lc would give me a new caliber to setup for, which though it means some outlay for dies, molds is also a fun time learning how to give it what it needs.

Levers however tend to start at twice as expensive and go up fast.

Thanks guys!

[OptimusPanda]

I've looked at and nearly bought the 4595 carbines a handful of times. I think that would be my choice among the three.

[GhostHawk]

The fun factor is strong with those Hipoint carbines.

I let my wife shoot my freshly sighted in carbine in .40sw. She cut the whole center out of the 2" stick on target with 10 shots. There was littorally only shreds of paper hanging in the breeze in the center.

She turns, hands me the gun and I see a grin from ear to ear.

"Wow, that thing is COOL, where you put the dot is where the bullet goes! No sights, no guesswork. Do they make one that bumps your shoulder a little less?"

Why yes dear they do! And 3 weeks later I was the owner of one, and she was cutting it up at the range. Both wear about 60$ Truglo Red Dots.

And she talked so much about how she loved that Red Dot sight that I bought her a new 400$ Ruger Mk III 22/45 4" barrel with the rail on top, mounted another Red Dot on that one.

That one she has been known to put 10 shots at 20 feet that you could cover with a nickle.

I do have a couple of Pawn shop scopes that came home with me, one simmons 3x9x40 and a used Bushnell the same.

I think the lever gun is in my future, next spring perhaps.

[Bzcraig]

I have a HenryBB in 44mag and a Rossi in 45 and enjoy shooting both a lot. I also discovered that even with my 60 year old bad eyes, I can still shoot pretty well with peep sights. So now both my Rossi' have Stevesgunz peep sights and the Henry has a Skinner. I have been thinking about a Hi Point carbine but in 9mm. But......I'm guessing the decision will be based on how much money you have when you can no longer take the waiting!

[runfiverun]

you know marlin makes 44 mag lever guns.
they take red-dots just fine.
look around for an older one.

I know that doesn't answer the question
I wouldn't turn down a hi-point in 45 if I found one on sale.

[buckshotshoey]

OK.....thinking outside the box.... you say you like single shots.....

You might have to get dies for it, but what about a Trap Door, a Rolling Block, or a Falling Block. All three are really fun to shoot.

[GhostHawk]

Would love to have a rolling block, but they are either way outside my budget, or need to be shooting holy black or the more modern ones can shoot smokeless, 7mm.

If I had the money an Uberti Baby Block in .357 would be the bee's knees. But they are just plain pricey.

I have never really had a chance to see or shoot a Highwall/lowwall. I know they exist but I do not know much about them. I don't know if they just never really made it up in this north country or if people smarter than I have snapped them up.

Trap door would be ok, but good ones tend to cost more than I like to spend.
They are all a little stronger on recoil than I like.

Run5 part of my problem is a local Gander Mountain has a Hipoint carbine in .45acp on sale for under 300$ Which is exactly what is scratching my itch.

Bzcraig sir, I don't know where you came from or how long you have been here. But I like the way your head thinks. I also agree with you a lot. I suspect sometime between now and the New Year I will have that .45acp Carbine. And will likely start saving for a good lever gun.

I do have a Handi Rifle in .444 marlin which is in many respects a bigger badder .44 mag.
I have yet to pull the trigger on a factory load. I am a little recoil sensitive. I shoot mine with a 310 gr gc cast over 13 grains of Red Dot and get cloverleafs. So in some respects I already have the .44 mag covered.

Thanks guys! Input is appreciated.

[tdoyka]

Would love to have a rolling block, but they are either way outside my budget, or need to be shooting holy black or the more modern ones can shoot smokeless, 7mm.

If I had the money an Uberti Baby Block in .357 would be the bee's knees. But they are just plain pricey.

I have never really had a chance to see or shoot a Highwall/lowwall. I know they exist but I do not know much about them. I don't know if they just never really made it up in this north country or if people smarter than I have snapped them up.

Trap door would be ok, but good ones tend to cost more than I like to spend.
They are all a little stronger on recoil than I like.

Run5 part of my problem is a local Gander Mountain has a Hipoint carbine in .45acp on sale for under 300$ Which is exactly what is scratching my itch.

Bzcraig sir, I don't know where you came from or how long you have been here. But I like the way your head thinks. I also agree with you a lot. I suspect sometime between now and the New Year I will have that .45acp Carbine. And will likely start saving for a good lever gun.

I do have a Handi Rifle in .444 marlin which is in many respects a bigger badder .44 mag.
I have yet to pull the trigger on a factory load. I am a little recoil sensitive. I shoot mine with a 310 gr gc cast over 13 grains of Red Dot and get cloverleafs. So in some respects I already have the .44 mag covered.

Thanks guys! Input is appreciated.

my tc encore with a 444 has a 23" MGM barrel on it. i use a 275gr ranch dog with 40.0gr of rel 7. it "kicks" a little less than a 30-06 does with 180gr factory ammo. i figure the 275gr rd goes around 1900-2000fps, way less than a factory 265gr going around 2200-2300fps.

[runfiverun]

you know 45's run on red-dot powder too...

[buckshotshoey]

Just seen a Uberti 1871 Rolling Block Rifle 850.00 new at my local gunstore. 45-70. A little pricey but not too bad.

[GhostHawk]

LOL Run5, everything in my house runs on Red Dot. Well shotshell's are now being loaded in Promo, but pretty much same difference.

Yes I think the Hipoint carbine in .45 acp is going to win this race. Wife offered to drive me to Gander Mountain to go check price today but I am going to try to sleep on it for a couple of weeks.

But I am leaning that way.

The Fun factor is HIGH in those pistol caliber semi auto carbines and they do double as a pretty good close range defensive weapon.

[dverna]

I respect and applaude your ability to live on less than $600 a month. There is a lot you can teach us....well a least me.

My my advice is to ignore the fun factor and buy the gun you need. All of my guns are "fun" if they work and are accurate.

Don Verna

[CHeatermk3]

Are you guys with the Hi-point carbines shooting cast in them?

[GhostHawk]

Yes I shoot cast in everything.

No issues with the hipoint carbine but I had a 9mm C9 pistol that needed boolits bigger.
Keyholing at 20 feet, shotgun patterns.

Once I loaded up some .38 special boolits for it at .359 no more keyholing and 2" groups.

As long as it fits I have seen no signs of leading. But thanks for reminding me to run the bore camera down those bores.

[runfiverun]

I have the 9mm version of the hi-point and shoot cast in it too.
I actually shoot all the loads all the other 9's won't shoot in it.
my only complaint with the hi-point carbines is their magazines are too small.

[Texas by God]

I had a 9mm Hi Point that I mounted a 4x scope on and it was quite accurate with cheap ammo. A friend shot it, put it in his truck, and paid me double what I had in it. I wouldn't turn one down at the right price(or one of their pistols). Ugly is as ugly does! Best, Thomas.