Hello from Scotland~

Recently got me a Marlin .444 ss 22" lever action rifle, really, really love this gun !

Its smooth to cycle the action, it feels great to hold , with open sights it points so, so well !

Not used it in the field yet been busy bullet casting, load testing and im curently got it stripped down to refinish the stock.

I cant wait to take my first Deer with this rifle and my own home cast gas checked bullets.........

Just wondering if there are any other Lever Loving hunters out there in Europe ??

Most guys over here see lever guns as range toys and most are in hand gun calibres.......

Englander

I have just one levergun at the moment, but I'm thinking of getting a .444marlin or 45/70 as well a .22 for some fun shooting.
Mine is a winchester in .30-30.
I borrowed an old winchester 30/30 last trip to Australia for a pig hunt and have to say it wasone of the rifles I have had the most "feeling" with in all my life.
Over 10 days it took probably something like 10 pigs (mony others fell to a converted scoped old target .308 and a weenie CZ.22)
But with that little rifle in my hands I felt INVINCIBLE - most shots were taken at pigs on the run, albeit at close ranges but they all went straight to the nastiest spots on the blights - straight through the shoulders.
Here the 30 - 30 gets a bit of use on drives and in the thick stuff, but it is the shorter model and possibly for this reason I don't like it as much. Also the fact that it is still relatively new and hasn't loosened up yet may come into play.
I would very much like to buy that rifle one day from my mate if he's ever willing to part with it.

I was seriously considering a .38/.357 lever action Marlin for small game hunting. They are easy to come by since "Cowboy Action Shooting" is becoming increasingly popular.

Express~ Been thinking of a .30-30 for a long while, tried a 16" old Marlin .30-30 at the range WOW ! Felt great ! Saying this a Winchester legacy with 24" barrel still points really well.

Presently trying to find a Winchester 94 in .307 win a bit more POW than a .30-30 !

I have heard excellant things of .357 for seemingly "killing" better than it should, sadly it does not meet our legal requirements for deer over here.

Now a marlin cowboy in .45-70 that would be a real bute !

Englander

Some other good calibers you may run across in lever guns:

.35 Rem.....200 grain at about 2200 fps.

.32 special....170 grain at about 2200

.375 Win...200 grain at 2430 or so.

.356 Win....rimmed flatpoint version of .358 Win, at slightly less pressure.

For .307 speeds you might look at rechambering a stock 30-30 to 30-30 Ackley Improved. You could still use regular 30-30 ammo in it no problem.

The .32 special and .375 are based on the 30-30 case necked up.

There are a couple of neat wildcats off the .444 case.....358 and .375 JDJ.

Leverguns really scratch the hunting itch.

As a kid I learned to shoot with a .22 Winchester 9422 (put a couple of thousand rounds through it until I was old enough to use high power rifles). It�s a wonderful rifle, my sons love it too, they don�t care for semi-autos or bolt rimfires; Winchester 9422 or nothing..
Some years ago I bought a second hand -94 Winchester 30-30 and it works just as perfectly as the rimfire. It�s just so familiar, it mounts just like the 9422. Good balance, fast handling. It`s not allowed for moose or bear in Finland, so I use it for deer. Ranges from a few meters to maybe 100 meters are the rule where I hunt.
The 1895 Winchester in 7,62x53R, 8,2x53R and 9,3x53R has been used to some extent in my country. I have one in 7,62, but its the original musket, so I dont want to ruin it in the field, so I have to use bolt action for moose.

Lever action is all right.

Boha

Yes, there seem to be some LA nuts out there ...

I own a Browning 92 in .44 Mag, a Browning 86 Carbine in .45-70, one 94 Trapper in .30-30 ( shot one pig with it at a Pirsch of 5 minutes lenght, walk to place of shot ~ 40 m ), one 94 with Lyman ( steel ) peep, one 94 in .44 mag ( period of worst quality?? ratttles like a rattle snake, but feeds SWC/KT�s well ). And one Henry, one of one thousand, .44-40.

I even intend to buy more, but slow, as I have other hobbies, too.

Have fun! Hermann, certified gun nut and beer connaisseur

One thing that is very important: I HATE THOSE �$%&##*+@@ CROSS BOLT SAFETIES!!

So as long as they insist on putting one of that abominations on their guns I will never buy a new Marlin or new Winchester.

I like the tang safety on the Japan made Winchesters ( but I�m happy I have two ( Browning )without ), and I like their quality. You have to cycle one of those!!

Damn bean counters and lawyers!

Hermann

Englander.....Yep! I am a Cowboy at heart.
I certainly do have and use my lever guns while hunting or just plinking around the place here in the USA.

I use a 325 grain Beartooth bullet and get under 1MOA at the bench. Beartooth has a web sight for there products and results of tests run on the 444 Marlin.

I own a 444 Marlin, 45/70 1895, 45/70 Cowboy both Marlins , 35 Remington in a Marlin, all lever's and the 30-30 Winchester in a model 94 which has a serial # number below 25,000. It was made before 1964, which means it is made from machine parts and not stamped parts.

I use my old Win 95 in 7,62X54R onetime for hunt,made a good job but it is better for targetshooting.
But I think about a 45/70.
luger

Marlin 1895 in 45/70 is a very nice and eficient rifle , just problem in France that not a Etiquette/fashion rifle in most hunt, that feel better to machine gun with browning Bar or miss your game with a costly double fit with a horible red point / holosight that to try to hunt with a lever action .

but dont care and enjoy big lever action , Browning 1886 carbine is the must for me in classic rifle with the 1895 ( more slower action than the 1886 )

marlin 1895 45/70 is very efficient in bush shooting , I try it in South Africa soon for bush pig hunt.

good shooting

DAN TEC

Englander... what is the min requirements for deer over there? I am a love/hate sorta person with levers as they are not always practical. But like many american boys growing up, my heros shot savages off cliffs with them. I hunt with a 30-30 quite a bit and have fun with it.