tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post7565262078295204982..comments2024-03-28T23:57:50.103-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: More lever-action rifle considerationsPeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-48513983411545043122013-02-21T18:02:57.462-06:002013-02-21T18:02:57.462-06:00A useful lever action in pistol caliber would be a...A useful lever action in pistol caliber would be a rifle chambered in .44 Magnum, at least in MI. In the southern half of the lower peninsula, rifles (other than muzzleloading)were forbidden in deer hunting. Recent changes permit them, as long as they are straight-walled and less than proscribed cartridge length. .44 Mag is acceptable.<br />Also, the Big Bore m94 Winchester in .375 Win (mot magnum, it is essentially a higher-velocity/ -pressure .38-55) makes for a fine lever rifle. It is a straight-walled .30-30-based cartridge, and its brass can be made by firing .30-30 ammo through it and fire-forming the brass into its chamber. 200-grain loadings are common, and it is very handy with very little recoil.MikeSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-29717901798199233012013-02-19T22:27:57.004-06:002013-02-19T22:27:57.004-06:00I don't care what you think, I still want a 45...I don't care what you think, I still want a 45-70. Just because.The Great and Powerful Ozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01379953300283048280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-9928719637976778192013-02-19T19:36:53.497-06:002013-02-19T19:36:53.497-06:00I've a Winchester '94 in .45LC that pairs ...I've a Winchester '94 in .45LC that pairs with a New Vaquero.<br />Gentle with cowboy loads and still easy with hot CorBon loads.<br />An excellent home defense weapon. Stretchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-13977177553040095412013-02-19T16:02:16.321-06:002013-02-19T16:02:16.321-06:00While I still like my Model 94 in 32 Winchester Sp...While I still like my Model 94 in 32 Winchester Special, my first choice would be a Savage Model 99 in 243, 250-3000, 300 Savage or 308.<br /><br />The rifle is more accurate and you can find them with detachable magazines.<br /><br />GerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-1407165102348885202013-02-19T13:13:24.792-06:002013-02-19T13:13:24.792-06:00My vote is for a Browning or Rossi/Taurus/Etc made...My vote is for a Browning or Rossi/Taurus/Etc made clone of the Winchester 1892, chambered in either .44 Magnum or .454 Casull. The .44 Magnum is a fairly ubiquitous round, generally easy to find, and powerful enough to cause any predator, four footed or two, to rethink things after getting hit. Out of a lever-gun, it's fairly analogous to the .30-30, although with a slightly shorter range and slightly heavier punch. One can use perfectly capable .44 Special for "social" work, although the softer, shorter .44 can be harder to find than its big brother.<br /><br />Or you can go for one of the Rossi/Puma 92 clones in .454 Casull. While the .454 ammo is harder to come by, it's significantly more powerful than the .44 Magnum, giving the shooter a LOT more range and "oomph" to their rifle. As a bonus, for close-in work and plinking, these rifles can also shoot the .45 Long Colt, which is perfectly capable of social work. A handloader can develop loads anywhere in between these, giving this rifle greater flexibility, if a more uncertain ammo supply, than its .44 Magnum twin.Kermitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-64087485127091927152013-02-19T09:37:29.128-06:002013-02-19T09:37:29.128-06:00Good advice on the .22 trainer. My Marlin 39A is s...Good advice on the .22 trainer. My Marlin 39A is set-up with the same XS ghost ring sights that are on my 336, and makes for low cost practice.<br /><br />Three Marlins in my gun safe (an 1894C in addition to the 39A and 336) as well as a Rossi 1892 in .45 Colt that was tuned up by Steve Young (AKA Nate Kiowa Jones).<br /><br />I would trust any of the lever guns in a self-defense role (even the 39a with its large magazine capacity), but I still have a couple of AR15s as go to guns.Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10596065269535476259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-54383272991243208462013-02-19T04:36:31.275-06:002013-02-19T04:36:31.275-06:00"....pistol-caliber cartridge gains several h..."....pistol-caliber cartridge gains several hundred feet per second in velocity when fired from a carbine or rifle...."<br /><br />True only for revolver cartridges; while they will gain 25-30% in velocity, semi-auto pistol ammunition will gain only about 5%. This is due to the burn rate of powder used in semi-auto cartridges to generate sufficient recoil to cycle a handgun action in conjunction with a short (pistol length) barrel. For example, ten inches appears to be the optimum barrel length for the 45 ACP cartridge; much beyond that length and velocity gains are negated by the friction of a longer barrel. (I'm not aware of any lever action rifles chambered for rimless pistol cartridges, but there are some old Marlin Camp Carbines floating around in 9MM and 45ACP, and Kel-Tec and High Point are making pistol-caliber semi-auto carbines, all of which by federal law must have barrels at least 16 inches in length). <br /><br />There are also box magazine-fed lever rifles, such as Browning's BLR, which is available only in several full power rifle calibers. Magazine capacity is usually 3-4 rounds, but offer the ability to carry magazines with different ammunition in the rifle's caliber. <br /><br />One version of the BLR is available as a take-down version, allowing the rifle to be transported in a much shorter case.<br /><br />Wild West Guns in Anchorage, AK and Las Vegas, NV, offers custom gunsmithing, and can convert nearly any Marlin lever rifle into a take-down (they also sell an excellent, and robust, ghost ring sight for the Marlins). <br /><br />One big advantage to lever rifles is their lower cost - compared to "Evil Black Rifles" such as the AR-15, AR-10, FAL, M1A, etc. - allows a "New York Reload" - which is nothing more than a second gun. <br /><br />At today's pricing, it's possible to buy 3 lever rifles for the cost of one AR-15; A 20" barreled Marlin 1894 in 44 magnum zeroed at 155 yards has a maximum point blank range of 185 yards (using 8.5" X 11.0" copy paper as a target) and holds 11 rounds - 10 in the tubular magazine and one in the chamber. While tubular magazines are slow to reload, picking up a second gun, and maybe a third, is the fastest reload yet. There's also an advantage to having multiple identical guns - they use the same ammunition and one set of spare parts fits all of them. <br /><br />Another big advantage to lever rifles is low-information voters see an AR-15 and think "OMG, a machine gun" because the media has conditioned them to that response. A lever rifle slung over your shoulder comes across as "John Wayne cowboy movie."<br /><br />Speaking of cowboys, the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting has bred a number of gunsmiths who can work magic on lever rifle actions to smooth them and make the gun more reliable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com