Considering a 30/30, would like input from any owners

[carracer]

Buy 'em both!

 

[jonn5335]

Marlin 336 is an excellent levergun. Side eject too, so you can scope it if necessary.

I have a side mounted scope on my pre 64 without having to drill/ tap the receiver. I prefer a winchester myself but I don't hold anything against a marlin.

 

[RVTECH]

Considering a 30/30

Just a thought here - do you specifically want a 30-30 caliber rifle or are you using the term 30-30 to describe the style of rifle (lever) most associated with the round? I am thinking you really want a lever action rifle. Reason is a few have mentioned other style rifles chambered in 30-30. The reality is I do not think many of us would choose the 30-30 round as the primary reason for ownership, but more like we want a lever action rifle and most available are chambered in 30-30 Win. Personally I think a lever gun in .357 Magnum is almost a perfect combination. Light weight, availability of ammo in a wide range of bullet styles and the ability to shoot .38 Special as a plinking or small game round. My favorite rifle is my Winchester Trapper in .357 BUT if I had to do it again I would have gone with a standard length Winchester, but still in .357. I am currently looking for a Marlin 1894 in .357. Next to that I want a Winchester 94 in 25-35 - Probably a little more versatile round than the 30-30 but way fewer available.

 

[Spitpatch]

Please do not make a decision just because you can ‘scope’ it. A lever gun (especially in the standard lever calibers) should not be scoped. It takes away from the inherent handiness and practicality of a levergun. Handle both and make your decision on what you like best. I own both but prefer the Winchester for reasons previously stated. As I said before use a lever gun as you would a muzzleloader – a 100 yard rifle. If you need a scoped rifle pick up one of your bolt guns.

Pistols at dawn, RV!!

Aside from your caveat ("especially in the standard lever calibers"), y'all be dissin' mah '99's and 88's. (And I could make a pretty darn good case for the .250-3000 and .300 Savage as "standard lever calibers").

I'm with you on the concept as applied to the Winchester '94, etc. Scout scope and/or side mount aside (ha-ha), there's just no way the scope doesn't look like a bloodsucking parasite on an otherwise trim, healthy animal:


Custer's Worst Nightmare....and/or Crazy Horse's Wet Dream

However: I think THIS rifle and scope are in a perfect symbiotic relationship:



Marlin 336 RC, Caliber .30-30 Mfg 1948, with a Lyman Alaskan 2.5x, Post Reticle.
This gun is quite probably one of the most accurate guns I own (out of a more than moderate handful).

 

[RVTECH]

make a pretty darn good case for the .250-3000 and .300 Savage as "standard lever calibers").

Ditto on that. I was not very clear in my previous post. My point is/was there are many other calibers I would rather see a lever gun in. My fantasy is designing my own wildcat - I have always thought a necked down 45-70 to .357 would be great. A .357-70 but I'll stick with the standard calibers and the hassle of reloading 30-30. HOWEVER - I recently picked up an '1873' Winchester replica in Sportsman's the other day (meaning hefted, not bought) I think it was a Uberti but this was a thing of beauty! Smooth action, tight fit and excellent finish. The best part was it was in .45 LC - otherwise had it been .357 I may have gone off the deep end!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Why the 30-30 when 7.62 x 39 is basically the same power level and gives you cheap ammo availability? In a lever gun for a major caliber that can do it all I would go with 45-70

 

[Spitpatch]

'Cuz the thutty-thutty's 'merican. Yer an 'merican, aintcha? Wull then shoot an 'merican gun.

 

[RVTECH]

I really think 30-30 is a poor choice of cartridge today for ANY rifle.

As I previously inferred - we (lever gun fans) do not own/collect based on caliber. The lever gun is the primary interest, it's just that the 30-30 is the majority. And the 30-30 today is not your Grandpa's round. With modern bullets and powders the .30 WCF can be loaded to respectable velocity and performance. The Speer 125 gr HP has become a very popular bullet to load with and gives almost maximum velocity with the proper loading. And the bottom line is no AR, AK etc. will ever come to the shoulder as naturally as a Winchester or Marlin nor have the pure essence of history, tradition or nostalgia. Call it cheezy but when I am shooting my Winchesters I am a kid again playing cowboy, I am James Stewart in Winchester '73, I am Rooster on the hill shooting at Ned Pepper, I am Teddy Roosevelt hunting Cougar in Utah but the reality is I will be ME hunting bear this fall with my Winchester!

 

[Spitpatch]

Well, RV I'll bet this isn't the first time you've been a day late or a dollar short. It is the story of my life, so I think I know how you feel. I too have stared at the ceiling from my bed and dreamed up a wildcat, only to find somebody'd thought of it before.

Back in '87, somebody imagined the "wildcat" you are speaking of: a .45-70 necked down to .38 caliber. (Your idea would be .357, this is a true .38 caliber: before there was a .357 caliber confusingly called a .38).

Your wish is my command: Behold the .38-56 Winchester. This one happens to be an 1886 Winchester carbine, early case-colored receiver.

But the cartridge came out in 1887, so you are about 38,325 days late, and if you have the money in your pocket for an Uberti '73 (around $1,000), you're about 10,000 dollars short.

On second thought, maybe I don't know how you feel.

 

[Ownerus]

In standard lever gun calibers, don't forget the good old .30 Army (.30-40 Krag) although I faintly remember that someone, somewhere, once made a bolt gun for it too
I like the 94 Winchester...and the '95 even better..and the Marlin..and the Savage 99..and..and..

 

[RVTECH]

Behold the .38-56 Winchester.

You are right on the dollar short and I did think about the various .38 Winchester rounds after I posted - specifically the 38-55 and the later .375 Big Bore. I guess my crack pipe dream is an 'extended', straight walled .357 - sort of what the .444 Marlin is - an extended .44 Mag. Enough cartridges already out there though without trying to reinvent the wheel. Check out the pic - part of my ammo collection. BTW nice 1886 - arguably the 'best' of the early Winchesters.

 

[Spitpatch]

.33 Winchester! A buddy recently built his dream single shot on a High Wall action, and chose the .33 Win. for the cartridge. An impressive round even today (he's taken a couple Antelope and Mule Deer with it).

(Guess we hijacked the hell out of this thread.)

 

[edogg]

Thx for all of the input.

First, I've always wanted a 30/30. I just like them. Perhaps it is a stupid infatuation.

Second, the mission. I think it would be useful in a SHTF situation for deer. I have a Bushmaster AR-15 for defensive purposes, but I think one could also use the 30/30 in a pinch in that it is still a hard-hitting round and one could get off multiple rounds pretty quickly with a bit of practice.

I'll probably go with the Marlin 336C based on the feedback here. I don't plan to put a scope on it.

Peter

While both the Winchester and Marlin 30-30 leverguns are great, I think the Marlins feel more solid and stout.

You can find an old Marlin 336, which are supposed to be better built and more reliable than the post Remington takeover, for about $250.

And, I totally get the "cause I want one" reasoning. That's how I wound up with mine. And boy is it ever fun to shoot!

 

[ATCclears]

You guys are a bad influence.

Now you've got me comparing the 336C to the 1895.
<broken link removed>

Peter

 

[OregonG20]

I have a model 95 in .30 WCF that was manufactured in 1911. Few things on this planet that are over 100 years old and still function perfectly. I don't shoot it a whole heck of a lot, but I love the way it shoulders and I really like the slim feel and overall weight. My buddy has a Marlin with a scope on it, and it's a fine gun, but it just doesn't feel the same as my '95 with the tang sight and saddle ring.

 

[edogg]

You guys are a bad influence.

Now you've got me comparing the 336C to the 1895.
<broken link removed>

Peter

I imagine that 45-70 kicks like a mother...but maybe someone who's shot one can chime in on that.

 

[HenryJ]

I imagine that 45-70 kicks like a mother...but maybe someone who's shot one can chime in on that.

It is not bad at all. Nothing like a magnum. More of a push than whack. I love shooting it

 

[Ownerus]

I have a model 95 in .30 WCF that was manufactured in 1911. Few things on this planet that are over 100 years old and still function perfectly. I don't shoot it a whole heck of a lot, but I love the way it shoulders and I really like the slim feel and overall weight. My buddy has a Marlin with a scope on it, and it's a fine gun, but it just doesn't feel the same as my '95 with the tang sight and saddle ring.

You mean .30 Army? (.30-40) .30 WCF is .30-30. I didn't think they made it in.30-30. Agreed though, the carbine version 1895 is my favorite lever gun. And we get to use pointy bullets if we want

 

[Blitzkrieg]

As I previously inferred - we (lever gun fans) do not own/collect based on caliber. The lever gun is the primary interest, it's just that the 30-30 is the majority. And the 30-30 today is not your Grandpa's round. With modern bullets and powders the .30 WCF can be loaded to respectable velocity and performance. The Speer 125 gr HP has become a very popular bullet to load with and gives almost maximum velocity with the proper loading. And the bottom line is no AR, AK etc. will ever come to the shoulder as naturally as a Winchester or Marlin nor have the pure essence of history, tradition or nostalgia. Call it cheezy but when I am shooting my Winchesters I am a kid again playing cowboy, I am James Stewart in Winchester '73, I am Rooster on the hill shooting at Ned Pepper, I am Teddy Roosevelt hunting Cougar in Utah but the reality is I will be ME hunting bear this fall with my Winchester!

I like western guns and was raised on them.. under my bed as a boy was my uncles Winchester collection (including many investment grade guns NIB) because he was a traveling heavy equipment ooperator living in a travel trailer. But I would never put a lever gun in the same combat category as an AK47

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I imagine that 45-70 kicks like a mother...but maybe someone who's shot one can chime in on that.

It's not that bad and you can always download it if you reload. It can do nearly anything you ask of a rifle