Plinking is kind of pointless to me. I go to the range only for training and testing new ammo/gun. So let's not talk about having a plinking gun.
Howdy
Sorry you feel that way, nothing is as much fun as sending soup cans flying at the 25 yard berm with a revolver or the 50 yard berm with a rifle. With open sights I might add. Pretty good practice for precision shooting too.
Let me guess, I'm guessing from your questions you are a bit on the young side.
I have lots of lever guns. But not being a hunter I never bothered to buy a Winchester Model 1894. Then one day probably about ten years ago I came across the carbine at the bottom of this photo. Difficult to date it, best I can do it shipped some time between 1943 and 1948. Caliber is 30WCF (30 Winchester Center Fire or 30/30).
I came across the beauty at the top just a few months ago. Old fashioned crescent shaped butt plate, 26" octagon barrel, and a tang sight. This one is a 30WCF too. It shipped in 1895, the second year the model was made.
If I were a hunter, the carbine would probably make a pretty good brush gun. Compact and not very heavy, about six pounds eight ounces.
The rifle (the longer one) weighs in at eight pounds fourteen ounces. I think I would get pretty tired schlepping it through the woods for very long, but like I said I'm not a hunter.
Let me tell you about crescent shaped butt plates. Many, many years ago (I was in my early twenties) I had another 1894. It was a rifle whose barrel had been cut down to 20". The magazine had been shortened too. And it had a crescent shaped butt plate. Being cut down to carbine length it was very light. I had never fired a 30-30 before, particularly not one with a crescent shaped butt plate. I was working at a summer camp way up in New York State, and the camp was surrounded by miles and miles of forest. So on my day off I took my new treasure out to a sand pit to try it out. There is a proper way to mount a crescent shaped butt plate. You don't put it against the meaty part of your shoulder. 30-30 is not a really hard kicking round, but let me tell you, after about three rounds out of that light rifle with those sharp points digging into my shoulder in recoil I had had enough. It was many years before I learned the proper way to mount a crescent shaped butt plate is to hike it further out on the shoulder, so the points encircle the shoulder joint. That way, the points do not dig into flesh, they do what they were designed to do, keep the butt from slipping up or down. That rifle was stolen may years ago, I wish I still had it to try to shoot it properly.
I only have one rifle chambered for 357 Mag, the little Marlin Model 1894CS at the bottom of this photo. That's a Marlin Model 1894 from 1894 at the top of the photo.
Anyway, I bought the little Marlin for my wife, who used to shoot cowboy with me. A very nice little rifle. It seldom goes to the range with me these days, but when it does I usually fire 38 Specials out of it. This one makes a very nice plinker with 38s, but again, you're not interested in that. Even if it would sharpen up your skills sending soup cans flying at the 50 yard berm. (hint,hint)
I don't remember how much I paid for 30-30 ammo the last time I bought some, but looking at Midway USA it seems to be running around $18 - $29 for a box of 20.
357 Mag seems to be running around $25 - $35 for a box of 50. Much cheaper than shooting a 30-30.
I reload my own 38s, so I don't pay attention to how much they cost, but they are probably going to run you less than a 357 Mag.
