30-30 Lever?
 

I already have a high powered rifle (.270 Winchester) an "assault" rifle (ak-47) a 12 gauge shotgun, and oodles of .22's.

Should I go for a lever action 30-30 next?

Pros and cons, please.

My main pro is that they are pretty darn cool.

My main con is that I don't know if this is the next rifle I should get.

30-30 Lever?
 

absolutely FANTASTIC utility/pickup truck/ loaner type rifle.
decent short to midrange cartridge, easy to find ammo down at the hardware store, marlin or winchester available at most pawn shops for $150 or so. One particular nice thing about a lever gun, is that it wont make citizens nervous, like a black rifle with a big magazine, if you by chance happen to be strolling down the street with it.

also, while the 30-30 is not ideal for dangerous game, it absolutely WILL drop any creature on this continent.
and this is no shit, we dont get many brown bear here, but John Coila dropped a NINE foot tall brown bear at about 40 feet, shot it from his front porch, hit it twice and it didnt go far. I think the animal weighed something like 800 pounds or so, not perfectly sure about the weight, but the biggest bear ever killed around south central Alaska. ( the really big ones are normally found on kodiak island)

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

:rolleyes_m: Yes...good choice.

I have two 30-30 Marlins...a standard and a short barrel carbine model.

Ammo is widely available,about as common as 22's.

I also have a .270 and a .308,both bolt action Winchester Model 70 XTR's for serious stuff like hummingbirds at 600 yards..the 30-30's were bought for extra firearm preps :>)

With a good scope they make excellent medium range hunting rifles.
I wouldn't go after a Bear or an Elk with a 30-30,but I'm sure some people do and probably kill their share.

Ammo availability in a SHTF situation should not be a huge problem.

:rolleyes_m::rolleyes_m::rolleyes_m:

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

:haha: :haha:

Good stuff, drewfu! :bear_tongue: I like your style of humor in that post very much.


As for the actual question... I'd like to get a .30-.30 lever action myself, someday, if for nothing else than "just to have," but for now my cash is needed elsewhere.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

And they are cheap too. My pre 64 Winchester is only worth about $250 in resale. Of course, since it was my grandfathers, I'm keeping it. I plan on using it as my main farm rifle after the .22. It works well with black powder loads as well. The cleaning is a bit more, of course.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

I have a Winchester 30-30. They are fun to shoot. I got my 30+ year old one from my father when he became too frail to fire it. They have quite the kick, although anectodally, it seems Winchester owners complain about the recoil and Marlin owners don't. I've only fired a Marlin once, and it did seem to have a lot less recoil than my Winchester. That could just be my mental "flinch," though, as the first time I fired mine I wasn't expecting so much recoil and had one of those embarassing "knocked silly by the scope impacting my face" incidents.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

If you have an AK in 7.62x39 then there is no real point to getting a lever action .30-30. You already have your bases covered though so if you want one just because that's fine too.

The little edge in power the .30-30 has disappears after 100 yards due to the superior aerodynamics of the x39 bullets. Hornady's LeveRevolution ammo helps to extend the range of the .30-30 by using a pointed elastomer tip that improves its aerodynamics without the danger of detonating the primers on the other rounds in the tube mag. The trick is in a real world barrel of 20 inches or less it will never attain the test barrel quoted velocity of 2400fps, it'll be more like 2200fps. It does most of its ballistic magic within the first few inches of any game animal you strike when you really need more penetration, it offers 17.5 inches. That is still enough to kill deer or pigs or what have. In comparison a 154gr x39 SP offers greater penetration and does most of its dammage after 7 inches of penetration so you won't be spending as much energy on superficial wounding of thickskinned game. LeveRevolution ammo costs over 85 cents per round, 154gr SP x39 costs under 25 cents per round. It's pretty straight forward if you already have an AK.

Anyway, here's some jello to compare.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/7.62x39m...t%20Point.html

http://www.brassfetcher.com/160grHornady3030.html

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

like rev said you already got that ballistic niche covered with the ak

so I would get a Rossi in 44 mag if you like lever actions. or even 357.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

I have a Marlin 336SS 30-30. I love it. What completes it is the new Hornady LEVERevolution ammo. It is ideal for deer and bear hunting here in the NE where you are usually in tight cover (compared to open range out west).

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...004000_400-4-3


Here is a great site on Guns and Shooting:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2d.rifles.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/lever_action.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shooting_classics.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/308_marlin_first_look.htm

Enjoy.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

Chiming in to agree with rev, and to suggest something in .50BMG

Think of how many engine blocks you could knock out at 700 yards :D

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

+1 on the Marlin 30-30...a handy, general-purpose deer hunting and varmint rifle...AND a more politically correct pre-SHTF "assault" rifle.

My Marlin 30-30 with a 2.5x Leupold will group 3 rounds into 1 inch @100 yards with WalMart's Winchester 170 grain SP ammo...

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

OK. now you're just baiting Money Matters, aren't you? :D

I've got a LA in .357/.38, which works for me because I have a few revolvers in those rounds. LA are a helluva lot of fun, and when I go shooting with someone who has only shot a handgun, it is the first long gun I let them try. By the second shot they're almost always in the X ring.

If you want one, get one. It might not fill a specific niche, but what the hay, right?

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

das whum talkin bout mofo!

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

If you want a lever, why not check out the full range of cartridges available? The 30-30 is effective, but you have .357, .44, 45LC, etc, why not consider?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_1894

They look as innocuous, far less frighteing than an AR/AK, but either have more punch than the 30-30 or standardize cartridges with a revolver and reduce your load.

For MM, I understand there's a .308 lever?

TS
Do not feed the bears.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firear...s/default.aspx

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Images/photo_308MXhdr.jpg

Ka-pow! Don't even think of any other cartridge, you dumb non-survivalists. How else are you gonna nail that 600-yarder when your life depends on it!?

:bear_w00t:

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

I like 30-30 lever guns so if you want one get one. They aren't that expensive anyway.

I might lean more towards one in .44 mag or .357 mag though. That way it can share ammo with one of your hand guns if you have one in those calibers. Also there are some other pluses such as increased magazine capacity due to the shorter cartridge length. The marlins will hold around 10 rounds. Plus you can use .38/.44 special ammo as well if you don't need the power or if you are just practicing. Will save you a little money on ammo and won't be overkill if you want to take small game.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

Myself, I'd be leery of any gun with a proprietary cartridge like the Marlin Express.

There not easy to find and pricey, but I think it was Savage who put out lever guns that feed from a box magazine, and could therefore shoot pointy bullets.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

Aha! Thanks for posting that. I've noticed that Winchester owners are not as enthusiastic about their 30-30s as Marlin owners are, especially the female Winchester owners who hunt with them.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

I have a Rossi. No problems with it, even though it is based on the Winchester design.

Re: 30-30 Lever?
 

You want a lever action? Now THESE FOLKS KNOW lever action.

I particularly like their 'take down' lever action.

http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/Rep.../1892Model.htm

Plus, as has been said several times above, it gives you the ability to walk down the street carrying a rifle that's not one of those 'nasty black rifles'.

Gotta love a lever action.