Open sights lever on a budget

[KenLee]

I'd find a used Browning BLR in 308 or 358 for the hunting you describe. A pound lighter than Marlin 336.
I also enjoy my Marlin 1885gbl in 45-70, but it'll be hard to find one these days in good shape for $800.

 

[OXN939]

Mindlessly surfing gunbroker for cool lever guns has become a semi-serious passtime of mine.

THAT'S who's been outbidding me!

Seriously though, I rarely hunt whitetail with anything but levers anymore. Just the perfect tool for the places OP describes, and kind of represent the opposite of all the unnecessary junk influencers and their ilk spend so much effort peddling these days. Sight in for 100, apply woodsmanship, hold center.

They have gotten a lot more expensive lately, but every once in a while there's a diamond in the rough. Found a water damaged Marlin last year in a pawn shop for cheap. Ugly exterior but bore like a mirror. Took it home, broke it down, reblued the metal and refinished the stock with tung oil, and she's ready to rock!

A 20" will generally be a couple hundy cheaper than a 16" Trapper model though.

Crazy what trappers these days go for. Those new NC Marlins are sharp as a tack, though... got a loving home for the first one I can find under a grand

 

[Robobiss]

It doesn’t have to be a lever gun, no. In my wandering through possible purchases I’ve spent some time obsessing over Ruger American Gen II, Howa Superlite, Tikka T3, maybe putting a red dot on one of those models since they don’t tend to have sights….

Just happen to have settled most firmly on lever guns recently, but open to any advice!

What you really want is a 7600. But you best be ready to spend some money.

 

[KenLee]

What you really want is a 7600. But you best be ready to spend some money.

7600 isn't very heavy, but like BAR, BPR, 742, and 7400, they feel like carrying a cinder block after an hour or so. To me anyway.

The synthetic stocked 7600s can still be found fairly reasonable. I have one of those in 308 and a gorgeous wood stocked 270 with factory detailed engraved scenes on receiver.

Edit: I forgot about the fairly rare and more expensive carbine model 7600 with shorter barrel. They may carry much better. I've never owned one.

 

[pacoalcracker]

If you can wait a bit, I have 2 Rossi 92 leverguns in 480 Ruger, one brand new in stainless and one with 3 shots out of it in blue. I had the metal on the stainless one vapor honed and nicely engraved with deer scenes on the side plates. The blued one with factory hornady ammo shot those 3 shots into an inch at 50 yards with the open sights. They are quite accurate and carry like the winchester 92. Both are extremely rare (less than 50 in total) so I do not know what they will auction for when they hit gunbroker on a consignment. I sold more than 40 leverguns from 357mag to 45/70 and 405 Winchester and everything in between over the past 4 months. Mostly Winchesters and Marlins in all versions. I had quite the collection of the hard to find versions that sold...in addition to 60 handguns and 50 bolt rifles....and perhaps 50 guns to sell yet. The 480 Ruger in a 92 is an awesome levergun for sure. You won't see another person with one and only Rossi had that very short run of them. One of the rifles I sold was a 7600 35 Whelen Carbine. I hate myself as I used that one for bear in Cameron and Potter County for many years and shot the biggest 10pt buck in my life with that rifle in Cameron.

 

[Wolfshead]

That is all great stuff, thanks guys. Had not heard that the 94 carries lighter than the 336. That might make the difference for me. If I’m going to walk all day and see no deer, I’d like to be carrying a light, well balanced rifle!

I bought a Tikka T3x compact which is about an inch longer than my model 94 carbine. (20” barrel).
It is about a pound, maybe a little less, than the 94, but there is such a noticeable difference in carrying them all day. Very noticeable!
I won’t put a scope on it as I think it ruins the aesthetics of the rifle, and I have the Tikka if I need a scope.

I will say Marlins are Tanks and again, I grew up on one, but I really, really prefer the 94. I know I may be in the minority on this, but that is my opinion, I just like it better.

 

[Adirondack]

Is that to say the 94 carries better than the Tikka?

I bought a Tikka T3x compact which is about an inch longer than my model 94 carbine. (20” barrel).
It is about a pound, maybe a little less, than the 94, but there is such a noticeable difference in carrying them all day. Very noticeable!
I won’t put a scope on it as I think it ruins the aesthetics of the rifle, and I have the Tikka if I need a scope.

I will say Marlins are Tanks and again, I grew up on one, but I really, really prefer the 94. I know I may be in the minority on this, but that is my opinion, I just like it better.

 

[wytx]

A 41 mag rifle you say? Id be all over that.

It pairs well with my S&W .41 mag.

 

[pacoalcracker]

Only the Marlin 336 feels like a club vs the Winchester 94. The Marlin 1894 carries just as nice as the Winchesters. Look for any of the Marlin 1894 carbines in 44mag with the 16" barrel, like the 1894P(ported bbl). A 44mag is better than the 30-30 and is very effective on deer out to 150 yards. Even the 357mag in a rifle is very effective. The Winchester 16" Trappers are very nice as well in the pistol cartridges..and Winchester did make the Trapper in a 30-30 in both the pre and post transfer bar safety. I like them w/o that ugly transfer bar safety, but they are much harder to find. Ive had them all so I know what im talking about.

 

[plebe]

Looking at the spec weight of recommendations:

BLR lightweight 6.5lbs
94 Carbine 6.5lbs
Henry Big Boy Steel Carbine 6.59 lbs
7600 Carbine 7.25-7.5 lbs
Marlin 336 Trapper 7.1lbs
T3X Superlite 5.9lbs
Rossi R92 Tripple Black 16 5.6lbs
How’s Superlite 4.5lbs

With open sites, none of them are heavy per se. But there’s a 3lb weight range.

I’ve had a 7600 for tracking for years but it’s no lightweight. It’s fast cycling. Tended to grab a scoped Model Seven if I planned to still hunt and do some sitting, which all in weighed about the same but felt great in hand and gave me an optical advantage. The Tikka Superlite is slightly lighter yet and carries well enough imo, even though the mag is slightly proud. Neither cycles quite as quick as a pump, but still fast enough for nearly every shooter/situation. One of the most successful ADK hunters I know uses lightweight bolt rifles. No experience with lever guns but always thought the BLR takedown was a neat rifle.

When you get to the real lightweights, pick a caliber that doesn’t overpower the gun. But since carrying is mainly what you do, a slender design seems most suitable. If you can try them in hand, that’d be ideal.

 

[Sandhills]

It pairs well with my S&W .41 mag.

View attachment 918865

Grandpa has a 41 Smith, stainless steel version of that gun in the picture. Be really neat to get a rifle. I'm a single action guy but any pistol and a lever gun in the same caliber is great

 

[OXN939]

Is that to say the 94 carries better than the Tikka?

Funny the opinions you see on here. "Carries great," "carries like a club." I own all of the aforementioned firearms- Tikka, a Win '94 and several Marlin 336s- and can't tell any real difference between the levers. They are all significantly shorter and handier than most bolt actions, and provide quicker follow up shots in calibers that are well suited to hunting in thick cover. Beyond that, it's a lot of debate about whether moose tastes better than elk.

 

[Wolfshead]

Is that to say the 94 carries better than the Tikka?

I would have to say if it came to choosing which rifle to use based only on how it felt carrying it all day, I would choose the 94.
(This is all based on NOT having a sling)
It is just balanced better which makes it seem easier, at least to me.
I went out at the beginning of last season on a Monday morning and took my 94. The next day I went out and took my Tikka and I felt there was a definite difference. I remember thinking that the 94 was more comfortable at the end of the day.

However, to be honest, if someone told me I could only have one rifle, I would keep my Tikka.
I use a sling on my Tikka, and don’t on my 94.
All things aside, the difference in carry is noticeable, it is!
But, it doesn’t make the Tikka uncarryable, and it is much more versatile than the 94.
I can be in the thick stuff with a 39”, carbine length, scout type rifle, and then also be able to shoot across a bean field, or clear cut to 300 yards without worries. It is a .308 Win, and it always has its sling.

For what you asked in your first post in this thread, then i would be using my 94 because it is unslinged, unscoped, and shots are only to 100 yards which I am confident with using my 94.
Being from the northeast you probably know about Jeff Doyle, and he uses a Winchester model 7, I believe? I think he carries that unslinged.
The Elmers from Vermont carry the old Rugers and they carry them slinged….

A lot to consider here, and can be a very personal choice.

 

[menhaden_man]

I have a 336 in 35 Rem (circa 1966), love it. Maybe 25 animals on it. Many bolt guns too (Tikka, Browning, Savage, Ruger, etc).

Last two seasons I’ve toted a stainless CVA Scout in 45-70 with a Trijicon LPVO while hunting south Appalachia mountains. Easy to carry and durable, think the rifle cost me around $400.

Pulled the trigger five times last two seasons and stacked four bucks and one coyote last two seasons. Just another thing I’d consider. Don’t know how often follow up shots actually happen if you’re in thick woods.

I do plan on hunting some with the 35 Rem this year now reloading components are once again out there.

 

[Rotnguns]

I compete in lever-action silhouette and can provide opinions from that perspective:
Most of the rifles we see in centerfire rifle and pistol-caliber rifle are winchesters and marlins. We like the older ones, Winnies from the 60's and Marlins pre 2007 or so, when the company was acquired by Remington. Look for the JM stamp on the barrel for pre-Remington manufacture; production still continued at the Marlin plant up to about 2010, I believe. The Winnies have a toggle-based planar linkage operating system, a four-bar linkage with slider dyads attached. This slim design gives them their signature trim receiver. Drawback: top eject (some later models have an angle eject). The Marlins have a simpler operating system with a prismatic locking block. It's about as complicated as a pair of pliers. The Winnies linkages provide controlled feed and tend to be smoother; the Marlins start out rougher but smooth out over use. Winnies triggers are usually better out of the box, but the Marlins are easy to clean up even by an amateur gunsmith, and you can always buy a Western Happy Trigger or similar that drops right in. The trigger pull on a Marlin will smooth out over time; if it measures under four pounds, probably best to leave it alone. Scads of DIY info on this at the Marlin Owners Forum.
I've got a Marlin 336 CB with 24 inch barrel and a Winchester Canadian Centennial from 1967 with a 26 inch barrel, both in 30-30 (most of the 336 CB's were chambered in 38-55). Both fine rifles that I use interchangeably to compete. You might consider getting a Williams Peep rear micro sight and a Lyman Globe front sight with multiple insert choices. Easier to top-mount an optic on the Marlins because they are side eject. I've got a Marlin 1894 in .45 Long Colt and one in .357 magnum that I use for pistol caliber. The .45 is hard to find a good load for at 100 yards. Really a stretch to push those little stubby pistol bullets beyond 100 yards or so. My advice for hunting would be to stick with a caliber like 30-30, 35 Rem, or even a Marlin 1895 in 45-70, downloaded for comfort.

 

[KenLee]

"someone told me I could only have one rifle, I would keep my Tikka"

Someone told me that, id break their nose!

 

[KenLee]

"Don’t know how often follow up shots actually happen if you’re in thick woods"

Carry a lem dam hunnert with 00 buck. First 4 shots are to clear a path

 

[Speaks]

I really like my m94 30-30. Have not bought one in awhile but would certainly think they could come in under $80 used.

 

[Rotnguns]

I really like my m94 30-30. Have not bought one in awhile but would certainly think they could come in under $80 used.

Add another zero and I agree!

 

[NM13]

I have a later built Remlin/Marlin 357 carbine in stainless with a 16" barrel. Love it. Seems to have avoided the problems with earlier Remlins. Sights are an XS ghost ring set up that is very fast to get on target although probably gives up a little precision. Using faster hunting 357 ammo, I'm confident with it out to about 100 yds. Also works great with a dot. No need to sling.

Another option that hasn't been mentioned is a Contender carbine. Lighter, very handy, and you can pick the cartridge. I have one set up with a 26" barrel in 45 Colt, using a dot. With lower velocity ammo it's very quiet and good out to the same distance. Using faster ammo, it's not as quiet obviously but is good for a little more distance. Reloads can be faster than you think if you set it up right but obviously not lever gun fast. If I wanted a very light, handy suppressed carbine I'd cut this down to 16" and spin on a can.