Lever gun hunters?

[Guy Miner]

Anyone else here hunt with a lever gun?

Although I'm a die-hard bolt gun enthusiast, I've always had a "thing" for lever guns and hunt with one from time to time:

Marlins in .22 and .45-70, both topped with Leupold scopes. The .22 has a 6x and the .45-70 is topped with a 2.5x compact. The little one is for varmints and small game, the big one for everything else! :grin:

Also have a dandy little .308 Browning BLR, one of the old all-steel ones built in Belgium. Great general purpose hunting rifle.

Anyone else a fan of lever guns?

 

[FOTIS]

Me ....huge fan. Been one for years. I have hunted with the BLR and bagged antelope with it in 358 Win.
I have also hunted elk in the timber with 450 Marlin GG's.
I like 444's also.

All I have now is a Ruger #1 in 458 Lott.....not a real western lever gun though......

 

[TRIC]

Have a pair of Marlin's, both in 35 Rem. One is 50+ years old, the other is about 4 years old. Both shoot great. Love carrying them...

 

[big rifle man]

my first Deer rifle was a 336 Marlin .35 Remington. This one was the Texan model of which I've love to get another one. My present Northeast Deer Rifle is another Marlin 336 in .35 Remington which was built in 1947. It has the Ballard Rifling and is one accurate rifle. I've got a Leupold 1.5X5 scope mounted which is perfect for the thick Maine woods shots. Lever actions will never go out of style.

 

[Guest]

I absolutely love my 94 Winchester 30-30. It was my first deer rifle (I saved all summer from cutting yards and various other jobs). It wears a 4x scope currently, and can shoot out to about 200yds if I need it, but it really makes a dandy rifle for close cover and stalking, when I get the opportunity. I still take her to the range just about every trip, too. Lever guns never go out of favor with me.

 

[FOTIS]

Like I said not really a lever..

 

[tjen]

My lever is a 336D. Thats a 35REM Guide Gun which weighs six lbs. It wears a Leupold VXII-1-4x20mm with their standard mounts and rings.

My hand load for it is a 200gr REM CoreLokt RN loaded to 2190fps and thats 10% under the 30-30 pressure levels for unquested safty. It groups at .8 inch at fifty yards and if I back off some 40fps it titens up but I don't use it where I would intend to shoot past 100-125 yards anyway. I have a 358win for that in a custom 700 bolt.

I love that steel receiver BLR if I found a nice one in 358win I mite not have made the 358 bolt gun. Is that the 1.75-6 short leupold?

 

[taylorce1]

I've always loved the classic levers like the Win 94, still kicking my butt for letting my brother talk me out of mine. At least it still is in the family, and I can probably get it back some day. I just recently got back into lever rifles although a little more modern than the Win 94 in design. I lucked into a .358 Win in a Savage Model 99. I lost a good rifle in the trade but a replaceable one, compared to the Savage. My little thumper sports a vintage Weaver of El Paso fixed 4X scope. I'm thinking I might have to use this rifle on elk this fall.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I've hunted with my Win. mod 94 XTR .307 and it was nice. I sold it. I have a Win mod 94 Timber in 450 Marlin and I might sell it because I see a Savage in 458 Lott with a custom barrel. Life is about change :grin:

PS Pop thats one elegant looking rifle :wink:

Ever since I sold the 416 I've wanted another big bore. And it's a Savage!!
Good Hunting
Elkhunt :grin:

 

[Jeff Olsen]

Count me in. I did just purge a couple of my lever guns, I must admit, but I still have (and love) a Marlin 44 mag carbine, a .32 WS Winchester, and a Browning BLR in .325 WSM.

The BLR is the one that gets hunted with, though I have carried the others. A BLR in .325 WSM is a really neat thing.

I sold off a nice accurate 45/70 GG because I just couldn't use it right with a scope, and I like having a scope... but I plan on getting a full-size 45/70 again at some point. Kept the dies and components <g>.

-jeff

 

[FOTIS]

I would like a 94 Big Bore in 356 Win!

 

[nomosendero]

I reallylike my XLR 45-70.

 

[Black-tailed bandit]

This is my set up for brush hunting a Rossi 92 is 44 mag

 

[baltz526]

i have a 300 savage model 99, shot a few deer and coyotes with a scoped one i gave my stepson. 125gr nosler ballistic tips at 3000fps performed great. with the open sighted rifle i have the 170gr partitions ready for a bear one day.

 

[DrMike]

I have three model 94s in .356 and a BLR in .358. The .358 has taken bison using 250 grain Hornadys, and I intend to take it with me for black bear this spring. I have worked up some good loads with 225 grain Nosler AB, 225 grain TSX, and 200 grain TSX. One .356 has taken mule deer, black bear and elk using 250 grain Kodiaks, a load it shoots quite well. Another has taken grizzly with 220 grain Speer Flat Nose, which it likes quite well. The third is being tricked out to suit my tastes now. I will be developing a load with 180 grain Speer Flat Nose with it.

 

[jtoews80]

44. Rem Mag. Haven't hunted it yet, will try WT Deer this year if I hunt in close.

CC[/img]

 

[Guy Miner]

Dr. Mike - Grizzly and bison. :grin: Wow... Awesome! Congratulations.

 

[DrMike]

Both the .356 and the .358 have served me well. I admit that one great advantage is living in the northern part of British Columbia, which permits me to fulfil my dream of hunting a wide variety of game. Consequently, none of the game shot with any of my lever guns has escaped. I have been careful on some, particular grizzly and black bear, to keep shooting until there is no more movement. One of the largest black bear I shot was with the .356 and 250 grain Kodiaks. The first shot anchored him, but he received five more before I approached him. He had been raiding an oat field, and consequently grain finished bear is quite fine eating. The grizzly I shot two years ago received all six rounds as well. However, the first shot broke both shoulders and dropped him. Like I say, I do love my lever guns and they do the job. I was just at the range yesterday with my .358 and it shoots 200 grain TSX consistently into one inch. I am thinking that this may be the load I carry in it this fall.

Thought I'd post a coupe of photos. They at least show the rifles used.

 

[nomosendero]

Beautiful pics, thanks. Gotta love that color Black bear, very nice!!

 

[DrMike]

Actually, it is a fine specimen of a mountain grizzly. Here is a picture of the paw on that grizzly. This picture was taken the evening I shot that particular bear. Incidentally, I was using a 220 grain Speer Flat Point in my rifle when I shot this grizzly.

Here is a small black bear I took for meat a couple of weeks previous to the grizzly. I used another .356 for him, using 250 grain Kodiaks. He was shot as he ran at about 100 yards.