Rifle questions

[EastoftheBay]

The Savage 99 in 38-55 isn't really a decision to make even .

Personally I would pass on the Spencer also .
The 32-40 probably also .
The 44-40 and 45 Colts would be on my list of midnight oil to get the boat going bonuses .

Why would you pass on the Spencer ? Beings ad it is an original. Everyone so far has said to get it what is wrong with the rifle. Is there something that no one is telling me lol. Thanks for your reply. Is .38-55 a good caliber and is the Savage 99 a good rifle ?

[EastoftheBay]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far its down to four rifles. The Spencer, the Savage 99 in .38-55, the Trapdoor and the Marlin 94.

[Jeff Michel]

The Spencer is a bit under powered compared to the 38-55 or the 45 Colt and it's strictly a black powder proposition. FWIW, don't sell the .30 carbine short, it's right up there with a .357 magnum.

[jimb16]

For what its worth, Ohio has straight wall only too. I have an 1873 winchester clone. Its .45 colt. My best load is 8 gr of unique behind a 265 gr fprn bullet. It shoots to less than 1 inch for 5 shot groups at 50 yards. We have had rifle permitted for only a couple of years. I've taken a deer with that rifle every years since it has been legal. Every one was a clean drop in their tracks kill. The .45 colt is accurate and powerful enough to do the job and do it well. That has been my experience. Have fun making up your mind.

[Jedman]

If your not a handloader with some stock of components and plan on just shooting factory ammo, I think the 45 Colt is your best choice. Finding some of the other calibers could be challenging and expensive.

Jedman

[pworley1]

The 38 55 in the Savage 99 is a classic.

[HWooldridge]

I think my brain would explode if I had this many choices...

But seriously, I'd probably pick the 38-55 under the circumstances. It's a very versatile round and can be loaded pretty stoutly in a strong action.

FWIW, my grandfather used to hunt deer with a '94 Winchester in 32-40 and his brother-in-law (my great uncle) used a 38-55 single shot rifle. My grandfather got rid of the 32-40 around 1966 because he was already having trouble finding factory ammo on the shelf and traded for a Marlin 39 to hunt small game. My uncle kept his 38-55 until his death in 1996 and was still hunting with it.

[Castaway]

Savage 99 in 38-55. A classic rifle married to a classic caliber

[EastoftheBay]

How often do Spencer Carbines in Centerfire pop up for sale. Im thinking about turning it down but I would kick myself if they are rare to find.

[Big Goose]

I posted this in a similar thread last week:
While i surely agree that the Savage in 38-55 likely would be the better choice for modern deer hunting, I wouldn't agree that the Spencer is a poor choice. between my sons and I we've killed many big northern Minnesota whitetails with Spencers. (and between us, we've killed six bison with various Spencers, including an original 56-56, an Armi Sport repro 56-50, and an original frontier conversion sporting rifle of an 1865 model 56-50. a 360 grain 50 caliber boolet at nearly 1100 fps, goes clean through a bison, and endways through a deer. your range is limited to no more than 100 yards, that short fat boolet sheds velocity pretty quickly.

I keep an eye out for decent shootable Spencers and they don't pop up all that often, and centerfire breech blocks have been hard to find lately as well. That all said, the Spencer is an antiquated rather clucky action compared to a 99 Savage, but I like them a lot. Thgen again I've been told I'm like like the rest, on more than one occasion.
Good luck, there's been a lot of good advice posted here...
Big Goose

[EastoftheBay]

Thanks for the advice on the Spencer

[EastoftheBay]

Update to the thread: The Trapdoor has been turned down as I see they are pretty cheap online. My last 3 choices are the Marlin 94 in .45LC, Savage 99 in .38-55 and the Spencer in 56-50. That being said my friend's father changed his mind. He will now only give me one rifle and he will pay cash for the rest of my work. So I am now I have to decide between these last three rifles. I can only have one, then the other two get sold to a friend of his who said he would buy the last two rifles left over from him for almost double their appraised value. If I could get some more feedback on which one to choosw itd be great. Everyone has made all three of these last remaining rifles seem good so I can't decide.

[am44mag]

Update to the thread: The Trapdoor has been turned down as I see they are pretty cheap online. My last 3 choices are the Marlin 94 in .45LC, Savage 99 in .38-55 and the Spencer in 56-50. That being said my friend's father changed his mind. He will now only give me one rifle and he will pay cash for the rest of my work. So I am now I have to decide between these last three rifles. I can only have one, then the other two get sold to a friend of his who said he would buy the last two rifles left over from him for almost double their appraised value. If I could get some more feedback on which one to choosw itd be great. Everyone has made all three of these last remaining rifles seem good so I can't decide.

Hunting wise, the 38-55 is your best bet hands down, and the Savage 99 is a wonderful rifle.

The Spencer is the coolest, most historically significant gun out of the three, but is not one I would pick for hunting. It can do it, but keep in mind that gun is old. Really old, and not exactly common to see. It's more of a collectable and a sometimes range toy. From what I've seen of the repros, they tend to be a little on the finicky side. They can run, just not as smoothly as a Winchester or Marlin lever action can. It appears to be more of a consequence of the design than a quality control issue, so I have no reason to think that the originals wouldn't be the same. In fact, they might be worse. 150+ years of use tends to loosen things up and put them out of spec. You wouldn't know for sure until you actually used it. That said, if my main goal wasn't hunting and I had to pick between the three, that would be my pick. I'm a history buff and a cowboy at heart.

There's nothing wrong with the Marlin in 45 Colt, and it would be fine for hunting within 100 yards. It's just that it's fairly new and is the least interesting out of the three, at least to me.

[veeman]

32/40 isn't hard to find, several lots on gunbroker. Ya just gotta want to pay for it.

[ascast]

my choice -
1) Savage 99 in 38-55, very under rated as this can use any pointed bullet out there, smokeless action,

2) Spencer - just cool, not often do you see them, ammo can be made.

3) 32-40 Sav, brass is around, it can be made - EASY -you need 40 rounds maybe for life, I think it every bit as good as a 30-30, again any pointed bullet out there can be used.

trapdoors are all over, you will have plenty of chances to get one down the road. As for the rest, all nice toys, but pistol rounds in a rifle, why...

All of these guns are "front cleaners" so take a good hard look at the crowns of weird cleaning rod wear. Use a 10x or so lens.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Like many others, the Savage 99 38-55 is top choice, with the Spencer second, the Savage 32-40 is interesting also. I have bore scoped many rifles, accuracy can be very good from rifle bores that are not 'pristine', even when kind of ugly through a bore scope. If I JUST wanted a rifle to hunt deer in a straight wall state and DID NOT reload, the 45 Colt would be my first choice. I hunt elk, antelope, deer, moose - most everything with Savage 99's so I i am prejudiced.

[EastoftheBay]

I have told him to keep the .45 Colt Marlin as they too seem fairly common for sale on the online gun sites. That being said I now have to choose between the Savage or the Spencer. My friend's father told me his friend came by and bought his .32-40 Savage and every other rifle besides the Trapdoor. He told me whichever rifle I dont choose gets immeadiately sold to his buddy. I know I have asked this question before but which rifle should I let go. From what I can tell the Savage 99 in a Winchester Caliber is not common. Also from what I gather a centerfire Spencer that works properly and fires is also not common. I don't know which rifle I should choose. I know both can take deer I don't plan on making more than 100 yard shots. I'd hate to turn down the rifle that I would never see again or the rifle that will cost me a small fortune to purchase later down the road. Once again I thank everyone for their help as it definitely has helped.

[HWooldridge]

It’s your decision. Most folks here said 38-55. Go with your gut instinct and don’t look back.

[Pereira]

I still say the 38-55, brass, bullets and dies will be fairly easy to come by.
As to the 56/50, I don't know squat about, but would think the dies and components would be a nightmare to find.
So to me it's just something that would be fondled and oohed and aahed over more than enjoying being able to shoot.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Besides the 38-55 is a pure joy to shoot, and is capable of ringing steel out to 900+ yards.

RP

[Crs7079]

I vote the 45 colt. Brass is easy to find. Cheap to reload and loaded up to 30000psi is a real thumper. I load mine in an all weather Henry and it would be good out to a 100 or slightly more imo. I load 240 xtp mags with H110 and i guarantee you wouldn’t want to be on wrong side of it. My two cents.