School me on leverguns

[Combat Controller]

I love me a lever gun. I bitterly regret selling my .357 levers. Fast Rope still has one and hopefully I can sweet talk him back out of it. I like it in .44 as well and my Marlin is as sweet shooting as ever.

I say no scope and .357 you can't go wrong. It's like shooting a .22 but with more umph.

[Yogimus]

I really can't recommend the rossi .357 enough. Get a stainless, and keep the buckhorn sights. That girl farts bullets ever so gently wafting them on the breeze.

[Aesop]

What do you guys think of Humboldtchuck's safety replacement with a receiver peep?

I went to the Bass Pro mother ship, and they had a Henry in 30-30 (a beautiful gun) with a receiver peep. Seemed kind of nice. I'm still leaning toward the .357, though, and they didn't have a Henry in that.

You have to understand going in that the difference between venereal disease and any .30-30 levergun is that you can get rid of the VD with antibiotics, at some point.
My counsel would be to stick to the original plan of acquiring something in a pistol caliber.

FWIW, as there are only several hundred CAS clubs shooting somewhere every weekend, there are de facto any number within a reasonable drive from you, and I have yet to attend the cowboy match where if some kindly stranger showed up at the range, and asked very politely for opinions and a chance to crank a few rounds through someone's small arms after the match was over, they wouldn't have twenty weapons held out to them for such a trial in short order.

[Old Grafton]

You can sell a .30-30 levergun in PA if it's cheap enough. In Ohio your kids will slip it in your coffin to get rid of it. It's one of the first rifles an enthusiastic new shooter will purchase, only later learning of its' limited utility for many tasks. First centerfire I ever bought at a store was a M94 Winchester .30-30. Last .30-30 I ever bought. (1966) I still have it, I don't know why really. But it's lightweight, ammo's available about everywhere, and it would be OK if that's all I had. There are better all-around choices. I have many of those, too.

[Greg]

You can sell a .30-30 levergun in PA if it's cheap enough. In Ohio your kids will slip it in your coffin to get rid of it. It's one of the first rifles an enthusiastic new shooter will purchase, only later learning of its' limited utility for many tasks. First centerfire I ever bought at a store was a M94 Winchester .30-30. Last .30-30 I ever bought. (1966) I still have it, I don't know why really. But it's lightweight, ammo's available about everywhere, and it would be OK if that's all I had. There are better all-around choices. I have many of those, too.

A Marlin 336 in 30-30 with a low power scope was my uncle's deer rifle. I always thought it was a beautiful gun. In wooded areas where you'll be taking short shots, and you don't have to worry about brown bear it's close to an ideal deer rifle. (He lived in NYC and had a house in the Catskills.) Which is why so many millions of 30-30 levers are out there....

[skb12172]

Must be something to that, since it is even in popular culture. In Stephen King's The Stand, Larry was able to find one to use in escaping NYC.

[PawPaw]

If I was in the market for a Winchester 92 clone, I'd call Steve Young, (aka Nate Kiowa Jones) of Steve's Gunz. He's been working on Rossi 92s for as long as I've been aware of of the M92, and by all accounts he's one of the best in the business.

Lots of lever guys trust Steve's work, and if you want a rifle, he can go through it before he ships it to you, to look for problems, or give it whatever custom services you might like.

[blackeagle603]

You can ship all your unwanted 30-30 leverguns to my local FFL. I'll happily give you $100/ea sight unseen.

Cast boolit loads in a 30-30 are as cheap as cast boolit loads in a .357 -- with the option of going heavy (and still faster than the 357) in the 30-30.


Taking nothing away from .357 as a round or desireability in a levergun (I'm a died in the wool .357 lover, shooter, reloader)

[Greg]

You can ship all your unwanted 30-30 leverguns to my local FFL. I'll happily give you $100/ea sight unseen.

Cast boolit loads in a 30-30 are as cheap as cast boolit loads in a .357 -- with the option of going heavy (and still faster than the 357) in the 30-30.


Taking nothing away from .357 as a round or desireability in a levergun (I'm a died in the wool .357 lover, shooter, reloader)

+1.

Though if I reloaded, I'd be all over .41

[First Shirt]

Couple of issues with the .30-30. First, the 94 Winchester is not as strong an action as the 92. (Browning, himself, (PBUH) said as much on a couple of occasions.) So, reloading it is kind of a pain, simply because the brass stretches so much on firing that it requires almost-every-it's-reloaded trimming. Haven't seen that issue so much in the Marlins, but my experience there is limited.

And honestly, there isn't anything you can do with a 94 Winchester in .30-30 that you can't do just as well with a 92 in .357. And you can have a companion pistol, to boot. Honestly, I can't tell the difference, during reloading, in brass fired in the Trapper, or in one of the .357 revolvers.


Best use I've found, to date, for .30-30 brass is sizing it to 7x30 Waters, and shooting it in a 14-inch T/C Contender.