Who said leverguns are inaccurate

Great post and very doable with the right ammo and a good eye and steady hand.

Who? It certainly wasn't me,I know better.

I never said they were inaccurate.

My Win 94 in 44 mag with open sights is deadly at 100 yards. It's also a blast to shoot.

I can hit a 8in steel plate at 330yrds with my marlin in 44mag, I just wanted to see if I could.

I have two Winchester Model 1894s in .30-30, and they're both very accurate. I haven't shot either of those two particular rifles further than 100 yards, but they definitely shoot as well as I do at that range.

I wish the ammo was a bit cheaper though, but then I'd probably never leave the range :]

I used to have a Marln 336 30-30 and it grouped nicely 2" at 100 yards with factory ammo. We must not forget that the 30-30 ammunition has taken more deer that any of the new modern calibers.

A friend of mine had/has an old Winchester in 44-40. He could cut down corn stalks at 100 yards. I know of another Winchester 30-30 that shot MOA at 100 yards.
Best,
Rob

I put a 4x scope on my Marlin 336 (gasp, a scope of a lever gun) and it will shoot 1.5" with factory ammo and 1" at 100 yards with one of the first loads I tried. The round is a very accurate round. In fact a few of the serious benchrest guys have been playing with the .30-30 for a while now. These are full on benchrest rigs shooting match loads with great shooters but a lot of them have been running in the mid to high .1's. The round certainly has a lot of potential and many lever rifles are built well enough to pull close to if not better than MOA with the right ammo.

check this out

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That's me!

I have a Marlin 336 30-30 with a 4 X scope which needs a tune up. It will shoot 4 inch 100 yard groups with Rem 150 Gr RM ammo. It is the least accurate rifle I have ever owned. I have tuned up bolt action rifles but never have read what one should do to get a lever Marlin to shoot smaller groups.

I have tuned up bolt action rifles but never have read what one should do to get a lever Marlin to shoot smaller groups.

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With iron sights and Winchester 170gr PowerPoints, my Win 94 got a 5" 3 shot group at 200 yards. I hand-load now, so I just work-up an accurate load. I have 3 different loads that get sub-moa 3 shot groups at 300 yards, (when I have a scope mounted.)

If you're as passionate about accuracy as I am, hand-load.

Who said leverguns are inaccurate?

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Mostly folks with little experience with them, simply repeating what they've heard. I've got two that shoot sub-MOA. One a microgroove Marlin 1894S model that loves the 270gr Gold Dot. The other a late model Winchester 1895 .405WCF that an unreasonable fondness for Hornady's roundnose factory load. My handloads with Woodleigh 300gr Weldcores are almost as accurate.

My Marlin Mdl 30AW loves the 170-Gr ammo I have done 1.5" @ 100Yds 5 shots.

Now with the 150's.....not so good generally above 2.5" @ 100Yds

Have not tried the Hornday Leverevolution stuff yet.

Lever actions are accurate enough to make fine hunting rifles. I have never seen one in a target match.

Could the things hold the black at 300 yard rapid fire?

Could that shooter fire 22 rounds in 22 minutes and shoot a high master score at 600 yards?

(I don't always shoot HM scores at 600 yards. Yesterday with a bolt rifle I got blown around so much I had eights at 9 O'C and 3 0'C. I don't think I shot a Master score, I had an awful day)

3 shot group at 100 yds in 30- 40 mph gusts blowing perpendicular to the range. 338 Marlin Express. I'm the limiting factor in this rifle. This group was after getting it sighted in with no wait for the barrel to cool down. Not 550yds, but would need someone better than me to shoot it at that distance. rifle is sighted in 1.5 inches high at 100 yds and the top hole is from 2 bullets.


Another group from jeb308 at marlinowners at 100yds. Again, rifle sighted in high so bullets are hitting where they're supposed to. Another 338 marlin Express


Neck shot on a coyote at 370 yards
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,54765.0.html

Yeah, leverguns can be accurate. As for not finding them in a target match, you won't find a stock M700 in one either, or any other off the shelf hunting rifle under $500- unless there is a category for a stock hunting rifle like hunting silhouette.

Have you shot your Master scores with a stock off the shelf hunting rifle that wasn't modified in some way for match shooting or one built from the ground up for competition?

The OP's point is valid as many people think levers are not accurate enough for hunting at longer ranges.

As for 30-30's only being for the uneducated (people that don't know there are better rifles), they need to check out Wayne Van Zwoll's series where he went hunting for big game across North America armed with a 30-30.

With my 1894 rifle, not carbine, I was easily able to hit 16oz pop bottles off hand at 100 yards, and I did hit a few and had only tiny misses at 200 yards. I was even able to hit the 300m gong at the public range every time and it is 10in diameter. This was with Wal Mart 30-30 Winchester ammo.

I have a Marlin 336 30-30 with a 4 X scope which needs a tune up. It will shoot 4 inch 100 yard groups with Rem 150 Gr RM ammo. It is the least accurate rifle I have ever owned. I have tuned up bolt action rifles but never have read what one should do to get a lever Marlin to shoot smaller groups.

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Get a copy of "Accurizing the Factory Rifle". Half the book covers bolts and the other half levers and single shots. Lot's of good info in that book. Midway has the best price on it.

Benzy, I am betting it is the scope.....what scope is it?

I have never seen one in a target match.

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Who said anything about them making a good target or match rifle???

Next time I'm at the range with my Savage 99 (.308), I'll poke some holes and we'll see what it does for the camera? Suspect it'll do OK

Have you shot your Master scores with a stock off the shelf hunting rifle that wasn't modified in some way for match shooting or one built from the ground up for competition?

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I got my expert card with an 03

You have to reload in the rapid fire stages, only a few pre 64's have stripper clip slots. I used one Sunday, but it started out as a NM not a hunting model. I don't know anyone using a pre war hunting model as a target rifle.

An off the shelf hunting rifle would beat me to death, match rifles start at 12 lbs, I have a few that are 17 lbsl

The OP's point is valid as many people think levers are not accurate enough for hunting at longer ranges.

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Levers are fine out to 200 yards. Don't know how they will group at 300, might be close, might be off due to bullet drop, but beyond 300, I don't believe the hit probablity is there bolt, lever, or semi auto. You have to keep your shots in a vital area and that 300 yards is a good distance limit based on wind & aiming error regardless of rifle or cartridge.

Marlin 336W w. 4x scope, off the shelf Winchester 170gr power point, 100yd three shot groups ~1", five shot groups under 2" consistent, year after year.

Put about 140 to 160 rounds year through it, sometimes more never less.

I don't think the 30-30 is a very good sniper round.

But, if I got shot in the head with one, I might change my mind.

My model 94 shoots like crap compared to my bolts. I don't know if it is the sights or me. I can do pretty well with all of my other guns so my suspicion lies in the 94. I don't much care for those sights.