Now that I am retired, I want to work on my offhand rifle shooting. For this, I would prefer to use loads that can be loaded easily and cheaply (cast boolits), that are accurate (so I can tell whether I am improving), and that have low recoil. Also, I would like to shoot these in a relatively light, yet accurate rifle. I know, heavier is theoretically more accurate, but I have old arms and shoulders. It was suggested I use 32-20 bullets in a new 'old' Marlin, but when I tried it the stock was way too short for me. Otherwise, I like the idea of using a lever action. Any suggestions?

Docjones

I don't know if you will consider it real light, but the Swiss K31's that are available are very well made, handy, inexpensive, and accurate. They could probably be lightened up considerably if you weren't concerned about keeping it as-issued, or you could make a new liughtweight stock for it. Plus, the straight pull bolt is a fascinating mechanism.

Doc, I fit your category exactly. A lever gun? Then you probably want a straight wall pistol caliber for the toy for what you are requesting, mainly because of the straight walled case. 32-20 would be a headache after a while because of the care needed for those thin cases. Get the new 32 mag lever gun from davidson's if you can swing that kind of money, or if you can't, a 357 mag is hard to beat for what you are wanting. 41, 44, 45 will give you a little more oomph in case you'd want to fire it up a little. The 357 just won't kick at all, no matter how hot the load. ... felix

Felix is right. I have the Marlin .44 and it is extremely accurate with both light and heavy hunting loads. Light loads have no recoil to speak of and it shoots real easy offhand.

Oops, I forgot about the stock length. If buying the davidson's gun, then you can probably request (up front) that you want a longer stock. These davidson's guns are not fully produced until a large order goes through, and it won't hurt (in my opinion) to have an extra long stock supplied on one of the guns. On the other hand, finding a cheap gun in a pawn shop would probably suffice anyway, and then you can just have your carpenter friend down the street make an extension without feeling guilty of screwing up the looks. I try and get all my lever guns used because most folks tire of them before they are completely trashed out. ... felix

What has probably helped me the most in offhand shooting was first shooting cowboy action using my 1894 Marlin in .44 mag. Nowdays, I use the same gun and others in cowboy silhouette matches. I agree that if you wanna spend more time shooting and less loading or casting then one of the staright wall pistol calibers is the way to go. that's why I recently switched to using my .44 for the long range rifle matches instead of my .30-30. Just easier to load for. And, at least for the .38 special/.357 mag, ammo is dirt cheap and lead bullet loads plentiful. Just my $0.02.

I had a Marlin in 44mag and it was a jamomatic. I had to take it apart a couple of times in the woods, just to get a stuck cartrige out. I would suggest the Puma as a better lever gun. I have the Rossi in 357mag and really like it. You can get them in 44, 45colt, 454 and 480. You can find used Rossi's for around $200. You could always use a 30-30 and load light.

How about a Savage model 340, in .30-30? They can be found cheaper than the lever actions, usually. They can use spitzer bullets if desired. And, using the Lee soup cans and some Red Dot, Green Dot, or Unique, would make for plinking costs near that of the better grades of .22LR ammunition, depending on cost of alloy. For that matter, what's wrong with a good bolt-action .22? We are talking practice, here.

Yes, it is hard to beat the rossi/puma levers, and for that matter, the standard accuracy in the 340 savage is above that of the levers when you have to have a 30-30. I have all of these guns mentioned, and like them all, especially for charging beer cans. ... felix

If the stock is too short, why not just add a recoil pad? Inexpensive and it'll do the job. I'd stay away from a 32-20, but a .357 Mag. would be a nice way to go. Hell! There ain't any flies on a 30-30 either. I shoot mine a lot at 25 yards with gallery loads. A 110 to 120 gr. cast bullet seated over 5.0 gr. of Unique isn't much louder than a .22 LR, is accurate enough for small game out to 35 yards, give or take, and you can shoot them all day long and never bruise the shoulder. Velocity is borderline subsonic. cartridge length might be too short to fed in some guns, but you can always go to a heavier bullet (150) gr. and a bit more powder.
I have three bullets I use for gallery loads. A plain based Lymam #3118 HP (110 gr. hollow point) that's new and untried as of yet (I just bought it a short while ago), a Lyman #311316, a 115 gr. gas checked SWC, and a SAECO four cavity that makes a 120 gr. round nosed bevelbased bullet. The latter two will stay inside an inch at 25 yards and both are good enough for rabbits out to 35-40 yards. Bullets that small are also great on conserving the lead supply.
Paul B.

Why not a russian M38 or 44 carbine. Sometimes you can get them for 75.00 or so with a good bore, and add a 5D sight and the gun will shoot better than yu can. I shoot a Finn M91 set up like this and off a rest the gun will group under 2" at 100 for 5 shots and my total cost in the gun was less than a hundred bucks. The trigger on mine wasn't too bad, but they can be slicked up ok.

Since you mention the Rossi lever actions, how about a cheaper Rossi approach that is less expensive and less heavy.

Rossi makes a break-open .357 blued single shot for $175 (retail list price) that you can actually buy for $135 sometimes when the mood is right (and the dollar exchange rate is good).

Such a small light gun. Lots of potential for casual plinking or with the substitution of a heavy flat meplat bulleted round, something that could bust a short-distance deer on demand.

http://www.rossiusa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=R357B&category=RIFLE

Just about the perfect size for a strolling about companion.

Oldfeller

The H&R Handi-rifle is also an inexpensive break action single shot. I just got one in 357 and it shoots like a dream with Lee 158gr RFNs at 750fps.

Ian

Doc--I have the Rossi singleshot in .357, cost $169. scope mount $9, 3x9 Tasco $25 on sale, total $203 and weighs a little over 6 lbs. with the scope. Shoots 2-4 moa with cast bullets and it's like eating popcorn you don't stop shooting till till you run out of bullets! Has a 24" bbl and .38's are not much louder than 22 long rifles. Best $200 bucks I ever spent! Nick

Well thanks everyone, for the excellent advice. It certainly gives me lots to think about and lots that I had not considered before. One additional question - I really like shooting my 41 Mag and 45 Colt revolvers and I find them very accurate. How would you expect these two calibers to compare in accuracy to 44 mag and 357 mag using cast bullets and in the rifles that we are talking about here, such as the Marlins and Rossis?
Docjones

Gave my wife a Marlin Cowboy 45LC two years ago so she could shoot Western Action. With 220gn cast at 900fps it will group under 2 moa when topped with a 1.5-5x Leupold but range is limited. She doesn't like full powered loads.

I have a lot of levers in 25/20, 32/20, 38/40, 44/40 & 44 Special.

Casting our own and buying bulk components, we can load for this and many other cowboy levers for about $5AU per hundred.

Fecmech is right though, these little guns are such fun that you can't go home with any live cartridges.

For those who have a shootin buddy, try shooting a can at 25-30yds, second shooter must fire BEFORE the can stops rolling and keep alternating. With 10 shot mags this is a sure training method for snap shooting!

docjones,

I tend to need a long LOP on my rifles. What I have done for me to make the marlin levers more of a fit and usable is get one of those rubber slip on Recoil pads. It adds about 1.5 inches to the LOP and they fit the stocks of the Marlins quite well. You can pick one up in most Wally Worlds.

As far as wich one to go with ... get a 357 (1894C) for out right fun and cheap shooting. Does not matter if you handload or not. 38/357 can be had anywhere from very mild to wild loadings and prices go from very cheap to outragous for load ammo. Very easy to reload if you do reload.

One of my shooting buddies has one and often we will burn 200 plus rounds when we get together at the range with it just having fun. With the right ammo the Marlin will do apx one inch at 50yrds with open sights, at least the one he has.

If you like a rifle, but the stock is too short then put a recoil pad on the rifle and make it the length you want. The good old 30-30 is a fine cast bullet cartridge and low loads in the 32-20 range can be developed with ease. Savage made many many thousand bolt action 30-30s. Good used ones sell for between $100-$150. There are plenty of spare parts and you can mount either a receiver sight or scope if you want one. One of these would be my suggestion to you.

If you are going for a new rifle, try the Uberti website and look at the low wall schuetzen. For more bucks try a CPA in any caliber you want. For cheap- any 7x57 or 7-08 with the RCBS 168 loaded slow. If you can find a 25/20 or 32/20 use Starline brass, trim all cases( the big bugaboo w/ 32/20 accuracy) and enjoy.

I picked up one of the Rossi single shot youth combos in 308/ 20ga and cut the stock way short for my 5yo Son. It comes with a backpack to carry everything in. He can shoot it pretty good with light cast loads from the bench. I figure as he grows, I can just glue sections of the stock back on.