Best caliber for a lever-action "trunk gun"

Best caliber for a lever-action "trunk gun"

  • .357 Mag

    Votes: 51 28.3%

  • .44 Mag

    Votes: 35 19.4%

  • .45 Colt

    Votes: 9 5.0%

  • Thutty-thutty

    Votes: 66 36.7%

  • .45-70

    Votes: 12 6.7%

  • Other (add your suggestion)

    Votes: 7 3.9%
  • Total voters
    180
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I voted for the .30/30, & of the calibers on your list would put the .357 in 2nd place. In the "Other" category, I'd nominate the .35 Remington, & the .32 Winchester Special. No sense passing up a good deal on a nice Winchester or Marlin just because it's not a .30/30! :D
 
.45-70 because someday I would love to have a Wild West Copilot. Broken down in a soft case it could live in your trunk pretty discretely until needed. A .44 would be my second choice.
 
No question. For mixed environments, the .44 Magnum is best. There is a very wide range of ammo--far greater than the .30-30 can offer. Plus, the ammo is cheaper than the .30-30. Plus, the capacity is higher. Plus, the high end Buf Bore .44 Mags are as powerful or more powerful than .30-30 out of a levergun.
 
Quote - "It was interesting that the .44 Mag was fairly unloved, btw, I expected to see more votes there."

I voted for 44 Mag because that's what I have. Marlin 1894SS holds 10 rounds of 44Mag.
 
Malamute nailed it. For sheer versatility, range, etc., the .30-30 is the way to go for a vehicle-based lever-action carbine. A close second would be the .44 Magnum.
 
God I love lever action rifles.

I have nothing to add to this conversation other than that. There is just something beautiful about a lever action. And I'm not even an old fart (I'm 25).
 
I guess it depends on where you are. For most vehicle use, the 30-30 works well. I only use one load in it, so lots of different loads doesn't matter to me.

When I want more power than the 30-30, the 45-70 Browning 86 carbine will cover it. When I may go up in grizzly country I leave both in the truck. This amounts to most of the time, unless on a road trip away from bear country.
 
I voted for the "Thutty-Thutty", 'cause that's what I have.

If I need more oomph than that, I'll pick up my Mosin-Nagant M-44, or the Most Serious Artillery...The US Rifle Cal .30 M-1
 
.357 Mag gets my vote, since I typically have .357 on my person, and extra ammo, so it simplifies things in a logistical sense.
 
I like the Browning BLR in .358 Winchester. With a 1X4 or 1.5X5 scope, it can handle just about anything in North America out to about 250 yards. For tactical types or people who live in places where ammo can't be kept in the gun, it takes a detachable magazine.
 
If I were to use a lever gun as a trunk rifle, I'd probably go with the .30-30 because it's a pretty logical choice. You can find ammo for it everywhere. Heck, where I grew up they even sold it in the grocery store!

My trunk gun, even though I don't have a trunk, is my Scout rifle in .30-06. Like the .30-30, ammo is everywhere out here. Plus, for some reason both the .30-30 and the .30-06 are so common they are almost considered benign by common folk. Weird when you think about it.
 
Well, if I had to choose from the guns listed it would be the 45-70, though my Browning '86 is waaaay too nice for a trunk gun. For a trunk gun I really like my No. 5 enfield, 10 rounds of .303 and a light quick handling rifle, also way more likely to function properly after being bounced around in the trunk than a lever action. Still though there's something real comforting about having 8 rounds of 45-70 at your fingertips, that would solve most problems that could be solved by a long gun.

Oswulf
 
Populated areas, lower caliber. Open range, Savage 99 in .308. Not that I can afford one, mind you, but it would be nice.

jmm
 
Grimjaw, you said that I've been thinkin' since this thread started. The ideal choice is indeed a Savage 99 in 308, only make it a Featherweight model....

258327.jpg


What's not to like? With a Williams peep sight, you have a relatively innocuous 6 1/2lb knock-around rifle that'll accurately shoot everything from 168gr 308 TAP (for urban use) to 7.62x51 NATO surplus to traditional high-power hunting ammo. My last two S-99 Featherweight 308's each cost me less than the cost of a NIB Marlin 1894 in 44Mag.

My alternate choices for a non-lever trunk gun would be a Enfield boltie or SKS semi-auto, but that's taking this thread in another direction altogether....
 
Not to mention I could buy 2 Winchesters or Marlins for the price of one Savage.
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How so?

Like I said - I've been pricing Marlin and Win 44Mag rifles for a while now, and not one could be had for what I paid for my last two Savage 99 Featherweights (both bought within the last month for less than $400, transfer fees included)....
 
rbernie: Guess I was looking at the wrong ads, maybe. MSRP on the Model 94 is $377, IIRC. Went looking on Gunbroker to see what the Savage looked like and there were two in the $900 range.
 
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MSRP on the Model 94 is $377, IIRC.
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Yes - the Win94 Ranger is MSRP @ $377 in 30-30. But I can't find 'em anywhere in stock, and I've been trying for about four months now. If you look at the Trails End or Trapper models (44Mag or 30-30, occasionally can be found in stock) you'll find that they're in the $450 range and up...

Went looking on Gunbroker to see what the Savage looked like and there were two in the $900 range.
Click to expand...
There are always folks that'll gouge you, wherever you go (and GunBroker is not a place I frequent for reasonable deals). Right now, there's a post-61 Savage 99M (rotary mag, Monte Carlo stock) in 308 on AuctionArms for $385. AuctionArms also has a late-model Savage 99C in .243 (detachable mag) that I'm bidding on at present, and the price right now is stabilizing at $360.

They're out there - you just have to look for 'em.
 
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