Lever Action anyone?

[Woolley Bugger]

I took my first step to becoming a lever action hunter today.

For years I've admired my South Dakota pheasant guide's Browning lever action .22. My friends and I would plink with it after a day's hunting. Following this year's trip, I decided I must have one of my own. I have a bunch of .22 rifles but nothing in .22 mag, so I decided to go that route and just got a beautiful Winchester 9422M XTR off of GB.

I took it out to the range for the first time today, and boy is it sweet. I tried 2 different rounds: The CCI VMax with polymer tip and the slower CCI JHP. Both were very accurate with maybe a slight advantage to the VMax.

I think my next step is to get a 94 in .44 mag to complement my Ruger Super Redhawk and round out my overall mountain man esthetic . I don't hunt varmints, so my .22 mag will likely just be a range toy, but I would like to take a deer with the .44

 

[blacktail434]

View attachment 796201

Exact setup up I've been looking at but in a 30-30. Sweet gun!

 

[jrbarnes9972]

Tried my Grandfather's 30-30 out this weekend

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[Comerade]

Great thread- I also like my leverguns. Right now, I have 2 BLR takedowns.
A .270 wcf and 450 Marlin.
The .270 is used for sheep, mule deer, goat and Elk hunting and is very handy. The .450 was purchased for a Grizzly bear backup rifle. I worked as a guide.
They have since cancelled the hunt in B.C

 

[Jon C]

Marlin 44 mag and a Browning 71 348 Win. Also Picked up a Henry all weather 45/70 recently.

 

[OXN939]

Almost (hopefully) the most wonderful time of the year...






One year to the day since that pic if everything works out

 

[Jon C]

Was hoping someone would produce a lever in 450bm. Keep the coming guys, they are awesome.

Pretty sure there’s a few around in Blrs

 

[Hoopleheader]

Northern MN 2 year old last weekend. Ruger 336- 30-30 at about 100 yards. Managed to recover a TSX (paper thin scapula stopped it)

 

[OXN939]

Northern MN 2 year old last weekend. Ruger 336- 30-30 at about 100 yards. Managed to recover a TSX (paper thin scapula stopped it)

Same round I killed that one two posts up with. That pictured 336 was about a 3-4 MOA rifle with everything factory I ever tried in it, assumed it was just kind of standard Remlin accuracy. First load I tried with the 150 TSX was right under MOA, terminal performance has produced end results just like your bullet would. Big stoked for our date next week!

 

[Xringer07]

New production Winchester 1873 in 44-40 that I hope to take a late-season whitetail with this year. I’ll shoot 200gr XTPs and RL7 for now, but plan to move to black powder and lead in the future for historical feels.

 

[BryanAustin]

New production Winchester 1873 in 44-40 that I hope to take a late-season whitetail with this year. I’ll shoot 200gr XTPs and RL7 for now, but plan to move to black powder and lead in the future for historical feels.

Reloder 7 and the 44-40? yuck...get a bolt action!!!

Remington 700 Mountain
30-06
0 yard run



LOL, now it's time to get out the 44-40...I have a reputation to uphold ;-)

 

[Xringer07]

Reloder 7 and the 44-40? yuck...get a bolt action!!!

Remington 700 Mountain
30-06
0 yard run

View attachment 973899

LOL, now it's time to get out the 44-40...I have a reputation to uphold ;-)

Lol don’t worry, I have some Swiss 2F on deck as well! Just need to be diligent with cleaning because I’d hate to accidentally get some corrosion started somewhere from the BP.

 

[nbubolz]

I have been looking at the 30-30 from Marlin and Smith & Wesson with both in a 16 inch barrel for thick brush hunting. Anyone prefer one over the other?

 

[Anschutz]

Only deer I've gotten with a lever action was with a Marlin (RM) Guide Gun in .45-70 that I bought with my first paycheck after commissioning. It was with a bullet I cast and loaded to 1500ish fps. I also have a Winchester 94BB .375 that wears a Burris FF3 but I haven't done any load work for it. My plan was to use it on Kentucky Whitetails before I realized Fort Knox was shotgun/muzzleloader only, so I've been using a CVA MR-X and H&R Ultra Slug 20 the last few years.

 

[cal30_sniper]

A significant part of my shooting growing up was done on lever guns. Most of my training as a kid was on a 9422, and I killed more rabbits, coons, foxes, bobcats, and yotes than I can count between it and the Model 94 trapper that I picked up later on in .357. This photo was taken 20 years ago on one of my last hunting/camping trips on my grandparent’s place before I left for college. Hard to believe looking back that it’s been so long or life was ever so simple:



Recently I’ve been back on a pistol caliber Marlin kick. I inherited my late uncle’s .41 Marlin which I’ve been loading for, and also picked up one of the new 10mm guns a few weeks ago. I think I’ve already figured out how to mod the feeding system to take the much more powerful 10mm Mag loads that I shoot in my long barreled S&W 610. More to report there at some point when the reamer finds its way deeper into the chamber. Right now it’s shooting my hot 10mm 180gr handloads at over 1500fps.


Over the years I’ve gathered up 92s, 86s, 71s, and Win 1895 rifles, along with some of their very nice browning reproductions (not a fan of the newer tang safety Wins, but the earlier Brownings are wonderful rifles).

My all time favorite might still be my 1915-production 1895 Takedown in .30 US (.30-40). I hunted it the North Carolina swamp country with it before I moved out west, but never got one of the 220gr round noses into anything warm.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Oh yeah, and here’s a vote from me for Marlins chambered in .360 Buckhammer, .41 Great Lakes, and .444 Marlin.

The new Ruger made Marlins are NICE, and historically Ruger knows how to do limited production stuff the right way.