.22 levergun; Marlin 39A or Browning BL-22?

[IV Troop]

I have owned many high quality 22s. Hands down my favorite is my Marlin Mountie. Smooth functioning, swings on rabbits like a fine double barrel shotgun and is wonderfully accurate.

If I were to own only one 22. It would be my Marlin Mountie. Mine wears a 2x7 Burris compact. It is really the last word in 22s for me.

 

[mainmech48]

So if I'm not hunting but just want a plinker/fun gun does that tilt things a bit in favor of the Browning since it's so light & compact?

Thanks all for the great feedback.

Not necessarily. The 39M and the BL-22 are within a small fraction of an inch of each other in overall length, and only a few ounces in weight. Add a pair of swivels and a sling/carry strap to the Browning and a lot of the difference goes away. Put a receiver sight on too, and it'd be even closer. If you slim down the butt and forearm on the Marlin to dimensions more similar to the BL-22, it'd likely match or even beat its heft by a smidge.

Personally, I like the challenge of moving targets when I'm plinking. I guess that being old enough to remember when the Shooting Gallery was a regular feature at fairs and carnivals is part of it. It was something of a Big Deal among our little group of buddies to knock over a string of those ducks or the pipes on the wheel and win the big stuffed animal. Not only did it get you bragging rights for a while, it might just get you a kiss from a sweet young thing when you handed it to her to take home.

Try hanging a soda can on a longish piece of string, set it swinging, step back twenty yards or so and have at it. Add a bit of a breeze into the equation and it's a real test of your practical marksmanship skills.

As the Colonel once said: "The real measure of Marksmanship isn't what you can do once; it's what you can do on-demand." Words to that effect, anyway. Even if I didn't hunt I'd prize the ability to nail a much-more-difficult target faster and more consistently than the other guy.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I've owned two 39's; wonderful, classic firearms that I could just never warm up to the feel of.

Also owned two BLR's, nifty little things, didn't like their trigger pulls at all, or the complexity of the darn things - that may be because I'm not that bright.

Now I own two 9422's, one "regular" and one Legacy with the long barrel, and I couldn't be happier. Smooth, easy to break down, accurate, and made of steel like a good lever action should be.

If you haven't been there already, do a search at rimfirecentral.com, they have sections for Big Red, Browning, and Marlins.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[CDignition]

Any input on the Henry 22 Lever guns out there..Wally world has em for about 200 box

 

[Bottom Gun]

The Henry rifles are nice. Not as nice as the Browning, but they are nice rifles. My shooting buddy has one which I shoot once in a while.

 

[Marshall]

Browning

 

[Dollar An Hour]

Call me a gun philistine, a sellout (it does sting, a little) but I'm totally happy with the little semi-auto for my range plinking and .22 chores.

I'm not sure I want to spend $400 on a lever action .22.

I've kinda been thinking maybe a semi-auto is the way to go for a plinker. I like tube mags so likely the Marlin 60.

Between lever-action and semi-auto which do you guys think is the better fun gun/plinker, and why?