Lever Action

[thegreg]

When I first started shooting I got a 9422 for a bit of fun at the local range, and still own it today. From initially having very little interest in lever guns I now have Winchester's chambered in .44 Mag, .444 Marlin & .45-70, not to mention an 1887 12g too.

I'm hopefully taking the .444 on to the continent this year for some boar shooting. I've never used them on live quarry in the UK as in all honesty I prefer a bolt action but I can see how the likes of driven boar and woods/brush hunting has created new demand for them.

Cheers
Greg

 

[alberta boy]

The 444 is a really useful cartridge , it should work well on Boar . What bullet are you using ?

AB

 

[reiver]

I like both of them . The 95 is a new repro , I detect a tang thumb safety , very nice …...…. the rifle , not the safety .

AB

AB you are quite correct the 1895 is a repro in 30-06 I wish I had not sold it as soon as it was gone!! There are not many about over here? Though I did get a chance on a 405w repro a while back but it was covered in gold engraving as I think it was a Roosevelts special edition? Not my bag at all.
I use 265 gr interlocks and 47 grs of reloaded 7 with added pinch of powder for effect in the .444m !! Bang flop with out all the recoil of the 45-70
Lol
Reiver

 

[cjm1066]

Sako used to make a very nice lever action, alas they only come up for sale when the owner dies, few rifles are that good.

 

[alberta boy]

AB you are quite correct the 1895 is a repro in 30-06 I wish I had not sold it as soon as it was gone!! There are not many about over here? Though I did get a chance on a 405w repro a while back but it was covered in gold engraving as I think it was a Roosevelts special edition? Not my bag at all.
I use 265 gr interlocks and 47 grs of reloaded 7 with added pinch of powder for effect in the .444m !! Bang flop with out all the recoil of the 45-70
Lol
Reiver

I know how you feel about the Winchester , I had one too . I gave it to a friend of mine who had lost an arm to cancer , so it was for a good cause . He's deadly with it by the way .
I avoid engraved special editions and the like as well , I use things pretty hard .
The 265's are one of the best bullets in the 444 , they're very popular here for Moose and other large game , but drop deer very quickly without much tissue destruction . They're also easier on the shoulder as you point out . If anyone finds the recoil of a 45/70 too much , and many do , the 444 is a great choice . There are some custom bullet makers around here who make 300 gr bullets for 444 velocities , they turn the 444 into a close match to the 405 W . I am a long time user of 45/70's , but I'm always on the lookout for a nice 444 , but unfortunately , they aren't that common . I missed an older JM stamped 444 last summer that would have been perfect , next time I won't hesitate .

AB

 

[alberta boy]

Sako used to make a very nice lever action, alas they only come up for sale when the owner dies, few rifles are that good.

Yes , the Finnwolf . Beautiful rifles , and hard to find .

AB

 

[User00014]

30-30win the king of all calibres.

 

[6pt-sika]

View attachment 145021I hunt with a .444 Marlin under lever. Deer legal in the UK

I'm an advocate of the 444 Marlin cartridge be it in a lever action magazine rifle or a little rechambered Ruger #3 single shot I also happen to own . Of the 40-50 deer and two black bear I've killed with the 444 most all were taken with bullets I cast myself . Perhaps 6-8 deer were done in with handloaded jacketed bullets . The 444 and the 45-70 lever guns seem to work better atleast for me with bullets I cast myself .

 

[Cranhill]

I have 22 Marlin 39A, the first rifle, which I brought 40yrs ago, I've shot more with that then all the CF bolt action put together.

 

[alberta boy]

I have 22 Marlin 39A, the first rifle, which I brought 40yrs ago, I've shot more with that then all the CF bolt action put together.

The 39's are , IMHO , the nicest 22lr chambered lever rifles there are . It's a cliché , but true , they don't make them like that anymore . I'm envious .

AB

 

[Muir]

The 39's are , IMHO , the nicest 22lr chambered lever rifles there are . It's a cliché , but true , they don't make them like that anymore . I'm envious .

AB

And as a historical note, the were (in their first variant) the first rifle chambered for the then-new and exciting 22LR round. A cartridge that was touted for it's abiltiy to take small game out to two hundred yards. This is a 1947 rifle I restocked with current production (or 12 years ago) wood.~Muir

 

[Muir]

I picked up two 1947 Model 39's within one month and gave them to my son and daughter. The one pictured above was for my Son. Someone had pieced on a Model 36 centerfire butt-stock which wasn't close to the original so I ordered wood. The fore end required quite a bit of fitting. Gave it to him for Christmas that year. Below is my plain-Jane 1967 Model 39 with the miocrogroove barrel. Shoots great! It's really fun to load 28 round of hi-speed Shorts and go rabbit hunting, It's a really good day if you need to reload! ~Muir

 

[scrumbag]

“Damn yankees, load on Sunday and shoot all week”

 

[ejg]

Had a 94 in 30-30, mostly used for taking game in heavy cover or plantations. The stock could not take the abuse of shooting in bogs and rain so AB off here kindly gave me plastic stock bits. A friend needed one of these rifles and he got it with the wooden stock, held on to the plastic bit's for my next one. I loved using it. Closest shot was 2yd, several under 20yd... so much for "long range shooters can't stalk"...

edi

 

[alberta boy]

Great pics , I do like a dirty thirty . What is the scope in the last pic ?

AB

 

[Cranhill]

Is the a list ie serial no / manufacture date etc, I'd like check mine?

And as a historical note, the were (in their first variant) the first rifle chambered for the then-new and exciting 22LR round. A cartridge that was touted for it's abiltiy to take small game out to two hundred yards. This is a 1947 rifle I restocked with current production (or 12 years ago) wood.~Muir
View attachment 145444

 

[scrumbag]

Great pics , I do like a dirty thirty . What is the scope in the last pic ?

AB

Looks like a red dot of some form to me, buddy!

 

[Muir]

Is the a list ie serial no / manufacture date etc, I'd like check mine?

Marlin once had a Forum. I think I got it off or that -or the Marlin factory web site. I don't remember, frankly. We are in the world according to Google! It's out there!
~Muir

 

[deerwarden]

I bought a Uberti 45-60 from a Holts Auction years ago, nobody bid for it so I got a great lever action that had no real signs of being used at all. With two american air force bases in Norfolk years ago, there often were shotguns ect sold on the bases, rather than go through the process of taking them back to the States, happy days for them to be bought quiet cheaply. My 45-60 is a serious piece of gear, a full heavy octagonal barrel on it, so you know you are holding it. I must get round to fitting a Marbles tang sight to it, Have all the reloading dies etc, and Norfolk had to agree to it being deer legal when I bombarded them with load data to get it deer legal. Its my only deer legal rifle that doesn't and never will, have a scope on it. deerwarden

 

[Smellydog]

I bought a Uberti 45-60 from a Holts Auction years ago, nobody bid for it so I got a great lever action that had no real signs of being used at all. With two american air force bases in Norfolk years ago, there often were shotguns ect sold on the bases, rather than go through the process of taking them back to the States, happy days for them to be bought quiet cheaply. My 45-60 is a serious piece of gear, a full heavy octagonal barrel on it, so you know you are holding it. I must get round to fitting a Marbles tang sight to it, Have all the reloading dies etc, and Norfolk had to agree to it being deer legal when I bombarded them with load data to get it deer legal. Its my only deer legal rifle that doesn't and never will, have a scope on it. deerwarden

We don't hear much of the 45/60 but my guess is that it would punch a a hole big enough and deep enough in any UK deer species this side of 100yards to convince said deer to give up quickly.