Help with level action caliber choice.

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DMAG

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I am going to get an older lever action gun for christmas from my wonderful wife and this will be my woods gun. I am not set on a caliber, but I would like to what your guys opinions are on the caliber of choice and why. Calibers that I was looking at were 30-30, 35 Rem, and 44. Not set on any specific caliber, mainly a fun gun for deer and an easier gun to carry while walking through the woods to mountain spots. There are so many options from caliber choice to barrel length and octagon and micro groove. What do you guys think? Thanks for your help!!!
 
444 Marlin, 30-30 and 35 Rem. In that order. 45-70 if you don't mind a little more recoil but 444 Marlin would be my first choice.
 
I loved my Marlin 1894 44mag,heck of a shooter too.I regret selling it every time I think about it.And it put a hurting on the deer too..
 
Any suggestions for barrel length or other possible attributes? I have been looking at Marlins mainly and there are so many configurations like octagon barrel, micro groove?
 
Rubberduck270 said:
444 Marlin, 30-30 and 35 Rem. In that order. 45-70 if you don't mind a little more recoil but 444 Marlin would be my first choice.
Click to expand...

I own a .444 Marlin and love it, it packs some kick, I own a .30-30, love it as well. Would love to add the .35 Rem to the bunch.

If you plan on hunting heavy bush area, .444 hands down, then .35 Rem. then .30-30.

FDXX75
 
I own a Marlin 336C in .35 Remington and love it. Countless hogs and deer have fallen to this rifle in the swamps and bay heads of Florida. Moved here and have whacked another couple dozen deer with Lever Revolution ammo. For my money the .35 is the choice to make.
 
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I love the lever guns! I have two 94's, one in 30/30 and one in 44. Killed a butt load with the 30/30 and several with the 44 but my "go to" is a Marlin guide gun in 45/70. In my opinion, it is the ultimate s.e. Tn rifle, perfect for the thick mountain woods but still good for the flat land. I feel extremely comfortable out to two hundred wich is about max for the places I hunt and recoil isn't bad. Another plus is there isn't any tracking, when the hornady hits home, it won't move, just fall over!
 
I also love the old Winchesters, but I've sorta always wanted a Savage 99.

Bet Fulldraw has one of them too.......LOL :)
 
Wobblyshot1 said:
I also love the old Winchesters, but I've sorta always wanted a Savage 99.

Bet Fulldraw has one of them too.......LOL :)
Click to expand...

.300 Savage Model 99 with brass rotary magazine and shell counter on the side. 1930's era, my great uncle bought it used in 1941. Williams tang peep I love that gun

FDXX75
 
well all the suggestion above are good ones
the marlin triggers are heavy but that is an easy fix and very few people are going to sell a good model 94
of all of the listed the 3030 ammo is the least expensive and most widely availiable and it and the 30-06 have probably killed more deer than all the others combined
and a deer is just as dead killed with any one of them
for some reason to me the 44 is the most fun to shoot
i have a 444 and i really like it and it will splatter a deer
the guide guns are fine if you are deaf to start with
just kidding i've got one in 45/70 and 450 marlin and i can tell you first hand if you've got a coon over your head dropping
stuff on you, don't shoot him with it
all things considered i would go with a 3030 just because the manufacturers produce much larger quantitied of the ammo than the others and the cost of 3030 is less likely to escalate as much asthe others
 
Any of the calibers listed will do fine. There are other things to consider before you choose.

Do you reload?

If you do, then that will somewhat negate the low cost advantage of the 30-30. If not, the cost and availability of 30-30 ammo puts it far ahead of the other calibers. You can find a staggering variety of 30-30 ammo and it is the cheapest by far to shoot if you only shoot factory loads.

The 35 Remington is one fine caliber and if you reload you can improve its performance somewhat.

The 44 mag packs a whallop but you will be limited to 100 yard shots. Good ammo availabilty though; many bullet choices make it a good pick especially if you alresdy own a revolver so chambered as well.

The 444 definately packs the mail but it was designed around pistol bullets so it cannot fully live up to its potential for the reloader. Factory ammo is not widely available and very pricey.

Now the KING; the 45-70 Govt. This round is very versatile and can bring to bag any big game animal that walks earth and many that live in other galaxies I'm sure! If you reload, there are a wide array of bullet weights and designs that will handle any situation from the Barnes 250 grain FNX to 500+ grain cast and copper bullets that will bust the engine block of a cement mixer. Standard 300 grain hollow points are pure poison on deer.

There are other fine lever action cartridges for the adventuresome hunter too. The 38-55, 375 Win, 405 Win, 44-40 WCF, 32 Win Special, and my favorite, the 348 Winchester in the beautifil model 71 rifle.
 
I owned 2 Marlins 336's in 30-30 and 35Rem. Both killed equally well. 35Rem ammo isn't as common as 30-30 is and it's more exspensive.
 
348Winchester said:
Also dont forget the 45 Colt! It can be reloaded to best the 44 magnum.
Click to expand...

Forgive me....I hope this isnt a hijack but I have a winchester trapper in 45 colt and was wondering what a good handload for deer might be? My wife has been wanting to kill a deer and I was thinking this rifle with a proper load might work.
 
i got a lever 357 mag ,44 mag , 30-30, and 35 , had a 444 but sold it "dum move", you cant go wrong with any of them . all in all for most people id say the 30/30 is best. my brother owns a winchester 94 . he likes it but i would never buy a lever unless it was a marlin with jm stamped on the barrel .
 

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