No surprise the .30-30 is the pick of the litter.
.357 Mag / 38 Special
.44 Mag / 44 Special
45 Colt
.454 Casull
444 Marlin
45-70
44-40
450 Marlin
30-30
35 Remington
No surprise the .30-30 is the pick of the litter.
A Rossi 92 in 454 Casull is my choice. Loaded light to heavy, it will do everything except long range in a compact, light, easy handling carbine.
Just a lever gun I have always dreamed of/wanted, but can't afford it when I do find a good one, is the Winchester 1895 in 30/40 Krag.
Why would Winchester ever make some of new ones in .270 Winchester.........no I am not going to say it, I am going to nice.
Maker of Silver Boolits for Werewolf hunting
Hickok,
Yet another Model 1895 fan!!
yours, tex
Had to go with the.38/.357. I have three of them. Just plain fun to shoot and inexpensive as well. They compliment a pair of .357 Colt SAA revolvers.
I have two .30/30's, but do not hunt with them and have not fired them in years. One is a loaner gun.
Don Verna
Hickok,
I'd prefer a Model 95 in the following order: .30-06, .30-40 Krag, .303 British or 7.62mm Russian.
(I've shot a friend's .405 WCF & didn't enjoy the experience, with that curved steel buttplate.)
yours, tex
Texas, I agree about the .405, nasty dog-gone rifle. It likes to bite!!!
Maker of Silver Boolits for Werewolf hunting
Hickok,
YEP.
yours, tex
Many guys I see with 30-30s are using 30 grains of powder to send a 150 or 170 grain bullet 1800 fps. Many guys with 30-30 and softer alloys for hunting are shooting at 1700-1900 fps and that's all they get before accuracy goes south.
That ain't a 30-30 and you're kidding yourself if you think so. In fact, that is a lighter load than a 357 rifle load.
I am using 18.5 grains of powder to send a 160 grain bullet 2000 fps with 10 shot 3 MOA groups. Or using 17.5 grains of powder to send a 140 grain bullet 2100 fps, 2 MOA. If you aren't going to/can't exceed these velocities with accuracy, why are you wasting all that powder in the dutty thutty? Your powder savings will pay for the 357 over time and the gun is easier on the ears at the same velocity because half the powder is burning. All-out loads still get 300-420 loads per pound.
Now lets sit down and crank out 200 plinking and small game rounds that still shoot in an inch at 50 yards. 125 grain at 1000 fps. I'm done in 40 minutes. How long does it take you to pick dacron fluff and scoop cornmeal and lube cases, etc.? And when its all said and done, 38s will still have a better SD and ES
mnewcomb59,
"The Load" of 13 grains of Red Dot behind most any .30 caliber GCCB works well for WT & is downright CHEAP to load in the .30-30/.32 SPL/.300 Sav. = You cannot kill a deer deader than dead.
(As I've said elsewhere, my 1st cousin has taken numerous WT with a standard velocity 158 grain LRN .38SPL out of a Marlin .357 carbine.)
yours, tex
Last edited by texasnative46; 08-10-2017 at 12:05 AM.
I am shooting 10 grains unique and 170 cast for about 1500 FPS in 30-30. Very cheap and low recoil. Old 32-40 specs. that would drop a deer easily if needed.
smkummer,
The "old-school" .32-40 killed a HUGE number of deer over the decades. = DEEP penetration was its forte.
yours, tex
For about the last 15 years my Marlin 336A 34 Remington has been my GO TO rifle for the west side of the state, although last year it stayed in the safe and my Marlin 1895M 450 Marlin went out for the hunt.
ASE master certified engine machinist
Brake & Alignment specialist, ricer to class 8
Lee 90 grain TC tl over 4.5 grains of Red Dot. Same aim point at 25 yards as full bore loads use at 100.
Sweet little small game woods walking rifle.
And I suspect if you put on in the right place it would likely take a deer down also.
Not that I would want to try.
Virtually every caliber I have tried has 2 or 3 nodes of accuracy with just about any bullet between 3 grains and 13 grains of Red Dot. Suit yourself, spend 30-40 grains of powder if that is what you want. Your powder, your time.
Me I love the dirty 30 in a little AE Mod 94, yeah late model, yeah safety. You know that safety doesn't screw you up if you just put it on fire and leave it alone.
YMMV.
Another vote for the 38-55 just a great old round.
NRA Life Member
Guns have two enemies Rust and Politicians
My choice is not listed, all i shoot here are tick toters on my place. So i will just list some 25-20, 25-35, 32-20 & 32-40
I took the question to be chose my one and only lever gun, and then what caliber in that gun. For me, if I can only have one lever its going to be a pre 64 M94. That said, I like 3855 and 3240 but I have a 3030. I've also got a Browning 92 in44mag, but like the 94 better. Plus the 3030 is sorta like a pickup truck, does almost anything well, but not specialized. 100 gr boolit at 1000 to 190s at 1900 covers all my lever needs. Got pump guns for 3220 to 35rem and single shots in 357 to 4570. They don't count against my lever count
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |