America's Rifle, The Lever

[airedale]

This is the time of year I start doing deep cleaning and any seasonal maintenance on my firearms, also gives me a chance to play around with and inspect them. Did all of my lever action rifles this week, the lever rifles are some of my favorites and I have done quite a bit of hunting with them with good success. Had a friend of mine here while I was playing with the lever rifles and he asked me which one was my favorite, it is a very hard choice but if I had to pick one it would be the 99 Savage, it is a timeless proven design,  What puts it over the top is it offers cartridges that have a bit more range in open country which gives it a bit more versatility, it is a rifle in my opinion that should still be in production today. 

Marlin 45-70 model 95

Marling 44 mag model 94

Marlin 357 mag model 94

Winchester 284 model 88

Savage 250-3000 model 99A

Marlin Levermatic 256 Winchester mag

Al

[mike103]

Nice group of rifles and I like the eclectic calibers. Very nice.  

[Robby]

I had a Savage in 250-3000 years ago, I always thought it was one of the best all around cartridges out there. The rifle itself was always rock solid and is right at the top of the list for guns I regret getting rid of, along with an original Marlin in 30-30 similar to this one, seems mine had a deeper crescent butt plate and case hardened receiver and a longer barrel. Ack, I hate thinking about it.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Robby

[Larry]

I love my triple 4 it hits like Thor's Hammer. I've only had to shoot 1 deer out of all the deer I've killed with it twice. That was the deer I shot with a Barnes 225hp wanted to try them it didn't go through and all the pedals were broken off. The 265 flat pt. punches straight through.

[airedale]

Still do not have a traditional old style Winchester lever action, 94, 92, 55, 73 etc. almost sacrilege. Been looking for something in a handgun cal maybe 357mag, 44mag so I can shoot it a lot for reasonable money, favor the model 92, If the right one comes along I may buy it.

Al

Edited December 27, 2022 by airedale

[wolc123]

I couldn’t help but notice that all those levers have scopes on them.  I think if I had one on mine, there would be another deer in our freezer right now.  That’s definitely something I’m going to rectify before next season.  
 

What would you recommend for a scope on a Marlin 336BL ?   I’m thinking of something with a fixed low power (2X or 3X) and a wide field of view and good light gathering.  
 

The fiber-optic sights, that I put on mine, didn’t work out so well for me this year.  They are especially disappointing in those extra 1/2 hours of hunting tine that we now get, before sunrise and after sunset.  They are only visible for about 10 minutes if that.

 

 I can clearly see the reticles on my old Redfield scopes, for those full half hours, and even beyond that with snow.  My new Redfield Revolution/Luepold is not quite as good in low light situations, and my old Weaver 1-1/2 X is particularly bad.  

I prefer to stick with American made. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by wolc123

[airedale]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

I couldn’t help but notice that all those levers have scopes on them.

The main reason why I have not yet got around to owning an old style top eject Winchester lever rifle

 

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

I’m thinking of something with a fixed low power (2X or 3X) and a wide field of view and good light gathering.  

My old eyes have made scopes almost a necessity on my rifles for precision shooting and that is pretty much the way I have gone on my Marlin 94s and 95, the  94 357 mag has a 4x, the 94 44 mag has 2.5x, and the 95 45-70 has a 1x4x. I use all three of those rifles in the woods where my ranges may hit 100 yards, I am wanting a large field of view in close cover and that is what those lower powered scopes provide. I can still shoot these rifles with lower powered scopes accurately at longer range if need be.

I too like American made scopes, the problem is Leupold is about your only choice these days for new, both the 2.5 compact and the 1x4 have worked well for me and are in the $300 range.

Another option is good old ebay, good used American made Burris, Redfield and Leupolds can be purchased at decent prices, although these days even used are going for big bucks. I am constantly scanning  ebay's inventory for a buy on American made scopes.

Al

 

[Larry]

Only reason there's a scope on mind is because I have to much respect for the animal not to use one. When I can't see the front site clearly even with my bifocals. I can only see the front or the rear clearly not both.

[wolc123]

34 minutes ago, airedale said:

The main reason why I have not yet got around to owning an old style top eject Winchester lever rifle

 

My old eyes have made scopes almost a necessity on my rifles for precision shooting and that is pretty much the way I have gone on my Marlin 94s and 95, the  94 357 mag has a 4x, the 94 44 mag has 2.5x, and the 95 45-70 has a 1x4x. I use all three of those rifles in the woods where my ranges may hit 100 yards, I am wanting a large field of view in close cover and that is what those lower powered scopes provide. I can still shoot these rifles with lower powered scopes accurately at longer range if need be.

I too like American made scopes, the problem is Leupold is about your only choice these days for new, both the 2.5 compact and the 1x4 have worked well for me and are in the $300 range.

Another option is good old ebay, good used American made Burris, Redfield and Leupolds can be purchased at decent prices, although these days even used are going for big bucks. I am constantly scanning  ebay's inventory for a buy on American made scopes.

Al

 

Thanks, I’ll look for a used Redfield.  If I cant find one by fall, I’ll go back to my 30/06 Ruger M77.  That does not carry nearly as nice in the mountains as the little Marlin 30/30 lever, but it has a nice 3-9 Redfield on it, and has always got the job done for me, on deer.  
 

It probably makes sense for me to give my 30/30 a year off on the deer next season, because I doubt much ammo will be available for it before then. I have a very good supply of 30/06 ammo.

[GreeneHunter]

Been shooting my Winchester 30-30 for almost 50 years now , unfortunately its a Top Eject and never had a scope - I just became used to Iron Sights . At my age a scope would probably help alot !

[airedale]

I can still shoot fairly well with open sights in the right conditions, I had Williams receiver sights mounted on both of those Marlin 94s. Off the bench in good light both of those rifles print cloverleaf groups at 50 yards with handloads. I can hit reactive targets easily with them. 

Hunting conditions do not always offer ideal shots where one can take as much time as needed. A few years ago I had the little 44 Marlin on a hunt and had a Deer appear about fifty yards away just before dark, it was a doe and nothing I wanted to kill but I still took aim at her just for the heck of it. In the dim lighting conditions I could not see the sights well enough for a shot, had it been a buck I would have been screwed.

There have also been times when I have spotted a Deer meandering through cover, a scope makes it easy to thread the needle through an opening, a shot I have taken and made several times with scoped rifles but with open sights I would have probably passed.

Al

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, GreeneHunter said:

Been shooting my Winchester 30-30 for almost 50 years now , unfortunately its a Top Eject and never had a scope - I just became used to Iron Sights . At my age a scope would probably help alot !

That’s the main reason I went for the Marlin 336 over the Winchester 94.   My father in law has 336 30/30 with a scope on it, but I only use that when the weather is nice, because he is supper fussy about “his stuff”.

With his permission, I put a hammer extension stud  on that last year, which makes it much nicer to draw back with the scope.  I’ll be needing to get one of those for mine also, after I put a scope on it.  They cost less than $ 10.  
 

The pistol grip Marlin 336’s are heavier than the straight stock Winchester 94’s but that little bit of extra heft is nice for limiting recoil.

My 336BL model is definitely as or more compact and easy handling than any Winchester lever I have held.  It just needs those damn semi-useless fiber optics sights swapped out for a low power scope.

After I put the scope on my 336BL, on Adirondack rainy or sleety day deer hunts, when scopes are trouble, I’ll bring my open-sighted, short smooth-bore Remington 870 slug gun. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by wolc123

[onlybrowning]

Al is right, those older Leupolds are going for a lot of money right now.

Wolc, I’d strongly recommend a Leupold VX Freedom 1.5-4x20. American made and priced very competitively.

Throw a set of Talley extra low mounts on top and you’ll be good to go.

If you’re worried about weather, put on some flip up Butler Creek covers.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onlybrowning]

This is the time of year I start doing deep cleaning and any seasonal maintenance on my firearms, also gives me a chance to play around with and inspect them. Did all of my lever action rifles this week, the lever rifles are some of my favorites and I have done quite a bit of hunting with them with good success. Had a friend of mine here while I was playing with the lever rifles and he asked me which one was my favorite, it is a very hard choice but if I had to pick one it would be the 99 Savage, it is a timeless proven design,  What puts it over the top is it offers cartridges that have a bit more range in open country which gives it a bit more versatility, it is a rifle in my opinion that should still be in production today. 
Marlin 45-70 model 95
Marling 44 mag model 94
Marlin 357 mag model 94
Winchester 284 model 88
Savage 250-3000 model 99A
Marlin Levermatic 256 Winchester mag
Al

Al, how does that Winchester .284 shoot? That’s a fine collection you have. I just got my first .284, and am anxious to work up some loads for it.

I really like BLR’s as well. I’d love to add more of those to the stable in unique calibers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[airedale]

10 hours ago, onlybrowning said:

Al, how does that Winchester .284 shoot?

The Winchester model 88 284 was my late father's rifle that he left to me. He was a fan of the 284 and purchased his first one in the early 60s in Winchester's autoloading version the model 100 but ended preferring and switching to the lever action model 88. Dad took a lot of deer with the 284 and brought it on an outfitted hunt out west and killed Antelope, Mule deer and a Shiras Moose.

The rifle itself is very well made piece, I have put up some handloads that shoot respectable groups but I have not done a lot of load development to wring out it's best performance. There are a couple of things about this rifle that prevent me from falling in love with it. First of all the trigger pull is heavier than I like and from everything I have read because of it's design there is not a thing I can do to safely make it lighter. It is magazine fed which is OK but feeding cartridges is not smooth, I have three different magazines and they all feed and feel the same. Again reading up on it everyone who owns an 88 says you have to operate the lever like you are angry. All and all stuff that can be lived with but certainly could be better for such a nice rifle.

As for the 284 cartridge itself I have yet to kill any game with it personally, that being said my favorite big game hunting rifle is a bolt action 280 Remington which for all intents is virtually a ballistic twin to the 284 Win. Lots of deer and 4 Moose have fell to the 280 so I have zero doubt had I been using a 284 with the same bullets my success would have been the same. I do hope to take at least one deer with Dad's 88 before I croak.

My Brother has a Browning BLR in 243 and has killed a pile of Deer with it, I agree it is one finely made rifle and I think if I was in the market for a new good all around rifle with a lever action the BLR would be near the top of my list.

Al

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by airedale