Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

I'm going to buy a new rifle when I get my taxes back and I've narrowed it down to a few choices. I was hoping to get some input from the GIM crowd before I make my purchase.

I've been looking for a lever or bolt gun and here's what I've found so far:

Marlin 1894C .357/.38 brand new, $600
- I already own .357 revolver, making this combo is very tempting

Winchester 94 Trapper 30-30 Used, $379, clean bore and barrel, smooth action
- Not much cheap 30-30 ammo around here is a drawback

Ruger M77 MKII .308, Used, $399, again this one is very clean
- being able to purchase surplus .308 is a nice advantage

I want to buy them all but unfortunately I cannot...please help GIM! What should I do?

Thanks in advance for all the input.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

I should've added that I'll be using this rifle for plinking and targets

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

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bolt action with a scope :ok:

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Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

I think my next rifle will be a .308, for what it's worth.

Also, I approve of your avatar and name!


:ok:


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Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

You already have the revolver.

Go for the Lever Action. That way you don't NEED another caliber of ammo. Just stock up. See if you can find any 'Leverevolution' ammo. It will make a huge difference. Oh, the boxes are only 20 rounds, not 50, so take that into accord while looking at pricing info.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...251&sa=title#p

If you don't want to drop $600, I believe Rossi has their Lever Action rifle for around $400.

Pretty much the same rifle, just less expensive.

Interesting article on the Leverevolution ammo:

http://www.realguns.com/archives/120.htm

Hornady does a lot for gun owners by introducing new, interesting and smartly engineered products. They push the envelope when it comes to Light and Heavy Magnum cartridge performance and they make excellent bullets and lots of supporting equipment and handloading manuals for handloaders. So when they announced the new Lever Evolution ammunition for classic cartridges, I wanted to take a closer look. The idea of a substantial increase in velocity and downrange performance for some of the more "relic" cartridges obviously has a great deal of potential. I guess, at some level, I also wanted to check for evidence of GAP marketing, a phrase I coined in honor of the 45 GAP where high performance lives mostly in the review writer's mind, safely tucked away from the laws of physics and other realities.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

What year is the Winchester 94 Trapper? I just bought one a month or so ago, and it's a AE made in 1994, so it's got the 1894-1994 Centennial dates on it. I've had it out at the range a few times already, and I'm pretty happy with it.

I've tried several different brands and weights of 30-30 in it, and I'm happiest so far with the 170gr Winchester Super X that I bought at Walmart for $14.99/20. The 150gr Super X didn't seem to quite as accurate for me, but that could just be me. The Hornady LeveRevolution was nice and accurate, but the rounds didn't want to feed smoothly... the tips kept getting hung up on the top of the chamber and I'd have to shake the gun a bit to get them to drop into place.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever made a .357 semi automatic rifle?

I know there was a semi auto hand gun.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

A savage bolt action .308 is on my short list.

With little money right now for firearms it might as well the long list, but there it is.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

If those were my choices, I'd pick up the Ruger MKII in .308 Win.
I have that rifle in .243 Win, and it's a tack driver. Consistently shoots sub-3/4" groups at 100 yds... with occasional 1/4"-ers. Doesn't have the "classic" looks of a lot of rifles, but it's rugged and accurate - my main 2 requirements for a rifle. The .308 Win. cartridge is also a very nice, well-balanced do-almost-everything cartridge, with wide availability of factory loads and almost infinite possibilities if you handload. Surplus military ammo is also available for a somwhat-reasonable cost. It's also known as an "inherently accurate" cartridge, although I don't put a whole lot of stock in that - almost any cartridge can be accurate if shot from the right gun using the right load.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

What do you want the rifle for? define its roll and the choice will become apparent.
Hunting? Long Range? plinking? Home defense? is this your one and only long gun?

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Skip the 30-30. Personally, I would get the .308. It hits harder at greater range, is probably more accurate, and ammo is widely available.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

I'd go with the Marlin.357 lever gun hands down. Might take a look at the Rossi, as wallew suggested.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Same vote here......357 Lever Action.....turns the .357 into a potent Deer cartridge...and you can even shoot 38 Spl just for fun.

I reload everything...but the low cost and high, easy output of reloading 38/357 - makes this a really fun and economical rifle.

I'd love to whack a deer with a 357 rifle....you can even go up to 200+ grains if you want.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Ruprick did a good job of explanation why the .357 is a good choice. I really like the flexibility of the .38spl/.357 mag system. You get a variety of choices in ammo, from 110 gr, up to 200 gr bullets and high capacity in the tube mag, from 11 in .38 spl, to 9 in the .357 mag. +P HP Buffalo Bore .38 spl ammo is nothing to sneeze at. .357 mag. is well known as a man-stopper when used in a revolver and you get extra ft/sec and ft/lbs, when used in a carbine.

What's not to like?

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

get the Ruger M77 MKII .308, Used, $399, again this one is very clean
- being able to purchase surplus .308 is a nice advantage

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Another vote for the .357 lever gun. You can do a lot with it, depending on what you feed it. Hunt, home defense, plink, target shoot, cowboy action shoot. Depending on where you live it could be good defense against non-human predators - bear, wildcat, gator, hog, etc.

And then you can buy .38 special and .357 by the case and not feel guilty. You'll be ready for SHTF.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Get rid of the .357 handgun and you won't have any more bad reasons to get a .357 rifle. I doubt you will be able to hit man sized targets at 300 yards consistently with a .357. Then buy a rifle with some range and .45 handgun.
A .308 bolt action rifle is a great choice. A 30-30 lever gun has it's place but I'd get the standard 20" length barrel instead of the noisier, more expensive Trapper. The 30-30 is by no means a rifle people buy to make 300 yard shots but would do the job a lot better than a .357.

I don't buy any firearm in a caliber named a "magnum" unless it's a .44, and then only because there is nothing else available to fill that niche in a handgun.

I hope I pizzed off a lot of people.

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Buy a Saiga .308. It loads itself after each shot. :ok:

Re: Please help me decide on my next rifle
 

Thanks for all the responses...knew I could count on GIM!

Looks like the .308 is the favorite here...7 votes, 4 votes for .357, 1 vote for the Winchester and one vote for a saiga.

I'm leaning towards the .308 myself. I love shooting lever guns but I'm thinking I might be better off getting a .22 lever for plinking. I can buy a used .22 lever AND the .308 for the same price of the .357.

decisions...decisions...decisions