mcmurry
Member
Which would you prefer-a .44, .45 acp, or a .45 LC for a lever action rifle in pistol calibers? Just a general purpose truck gun.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Best choice for a lever action.
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Owen Sparks
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If you are limited to factory ammo go with the .44 Magnum. You can also shoot the much milder .44 Specials if you need a 1,000 fps load that is easy on the ears. The .45 Long Colt is not loaded to its potential because of all the antiques still in use. Avoid it unless you reload. Remember this, short stubby handgun bullets loose velocity rapidly no matter how fast they are started and out past 100 yards they drop like a rock. The 30-30 will give you about twice the range but only about half as many shots.
greyling22
Member
common levers come in 357 and 44mag. some 41 mag, 45lc and 454 casulls are running around. I don't know of any 45acp levers. avoid new production marlins. henry's are nice and slick out of the box, but I'm out on the brass receiver. Rossi's and marlin's are pretty rough new, but can be easily made much much better. get the 357 if you're primarily going to be plinking, the 44mag if you reload and might want to kill something, and a 30/30 if you really want to kill it.
hirundo82
Member
What's this likely to be used for? Hunting, defense, plinking, just to have a rifle in case the zombies rise?
I prefer to have a rifle that shoots a real rifle caliber in case it is needed, so I have a .30-30 Winchester for my car gun (in addition to a pistol). For general use in a pistol caliber I'd go with .357, probably a Rossi.
Don't know of any production .45ACP lever rifles, although there are some gunsmiths out there who will make one for you. Not something that you'd want to have banging around in a vehicle for what it would cost to get one converted.
I prefer to have a rifle that shoots a real rifle caliber in case it is needed, so I have a .30-30 Winchester for my car gun (in addition to a pistol). For general use in a pistol caliber I'd go with .357, probably a Rossi.
Don't know of any production .45ACP lever rifles, although there are some gunsmiths out there who will make one for you. Not something that you'd want to have banging around in a vehicle for what it would cost to get one converted.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
A .357 Mag lever-gun would handle anything you and your truck are likely to run across in Lower Arkansas.
Unless of course, those Big Foot rumors are true?
In that case, I might go for the .44 Mag, or a 30-30 Winchester carbine.
rc
Unless of course, those Big Foot rumors are true?
In that case, I might go for the .44 Mag, or a 30-30 Winchester carbine.
rc
You only get 6+1 shots?
45acp sounds fun. But seriously. If Rossi can make a .454 lever, I want to see somebody make a lever that can accomidate the full line of cartriges. .460, .454, .45lc and .45acp
oldrevolverguy
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The Marlin 1894 in 44 mag is as versatile as it gets in pistol caliber carbines. From light 44 special like CCI Blazer 200 gr Gold Dots for plinking to pig-thumping 300 grainers from Buffalo Bore. My rifle shoots Hornady's 225 44 mag leverevolution particularly well which is a flat shooting hard hitting round. In my mind the .357s are a bit light for a 200 pound plus pig nor does it penetrate intermediate barriers as well as the big 44. Unlike some of the more esoteric calibers the 44 spl/mag is as common as dirt and can be found everywhere.
BK
Member
Production .45ACP Lever Rifle
Seems like I came across a Rossi 92 described to be a .45acp, but I wonder if it was for real or not.
http://www.centerfireguns.com/rossi-92-octagon-round-barrel-45-acp-r9252003.html
Might be a typo.
Seems like I came across a Rossi 92 described to be a .45acp, but I wonder if it was for real or not.
http://www.centerfireguns.com/rossi-92-octagon-round-barrel-45-acp-r9252003.html
Might be a typo.
greyling22
Member
it's a typo. that model number goes to a 45 long colt gun.
wlewisiii
Member
If I bought one in a pistol caliber, it would be .357. That said, I far prefer my nice .30-30 instead.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
You simply will not find any Winchester 1892 based designs chambered for rimless rounds like the .45 ACP, or other.
The 92 depends on the case rim to manage magazine cut-off when you open the action, and flawless feeding when you close it.
The cartridge guides in the sides of the receiver, and the cut-off on the lifter are specific to the rimmed cartridge the gun is chambered for.
rc
wgaynor
Member
I prefer a .30-.30, but if I can't have that, I will not feel inadequate with a .44 mag in my hand.
Beak50
Member
I would go with the 30-30 also Preferabbly in a Winchester 94 like mine I's a 1976 yr. of manufacture without those freakin weird saftey's.
Kendal Black
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Of those you list, I'd go with .44 Magnum all the way. It is more versatile than .45 Colt because of the heavier loadings available.
If you are willing to consider other options, there are lots of them. .30-30 is the classic. It is a genuine intermediate rifle cartridge, not a revolver cartridge, so it reaches out farther.
Of course, if you already have a favorite revolver cartridge that you stock up on and always have on hand, it might make sense to just get a lever carbine to shoot that cartridge. That's an old trick that has been popular for nearly a century and a half. It simplifies shopping because it eliminates the question of whether you are likely to need more rifle ammo or pistol ammo.
BADUNAME37
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I would only go with one that I already have in the same caliber as a pistol -- that I already reload.
lizziedog1
Member
I believe that making a 45ACP lever action might cause safety concerns. Tubular magazines and certain types of bullets don't exactly get along.
Some of you mention going with rifle calibers.
Browning makes their lever guns in some "real" rifle rounds, magnums even.
Some of you mention going with rifle calibers.
Browning makes their lever guns in some "real" rifle rounds, magnums even.
There have been a few lever actions reworked to handle the 45 ACP but it takes a very accomplished smith who knows what he is doing to accomplish the task. Of the other cartridges mentioned, I'd get one cut for the 45 long Colt to accompany my S&W 25-5. (But the ACP would be a nice rifle.)
lizziedog1
Member
I thought that ball ammo in a tubular magazine wasn't a good idea.
Sometimes. A lot depends on recoil. It also depends on how the nose of the bullet lines up with the primer of the next one in line. I owuld not have a problem using ball in a 45 ACP rifle. Then I would reload the brass with a SWC.
BCRider
Member
Ball ammo is rounded enough to avoid setting off the next primer. It's the pointy spitzer bullets which could run into trouble.
Almost all the jacketed soft point .30-30 I've bought has a rounded nose that is a very close match to the nose radius that you find on .44 or .45 round nose ball ammo. So I would not have any concerns over shooting ball ammo in a lever gun. And in fact I've shot lots of round nose .38 and .357 from my Rossi CAS rifle.
Whenever I see pistol rifle threads with hunting in mind the general consensus is that pistol caliber rounds will produce a humane kill at out to 100 yards max with some dissenters saying that's too far. But out to 75 is generally accepted by all. .30-30, on the other hand, seems to be accepted as a good option out to about 150 to 200 yards.
So it would depend on what you would be shooting with this truck gun and at what sort of range.
Almost all the jacketed soft point .30-30 I've bought has a rounded nose that is a very close match to the nose radius that you find on .44 or .45 round nose ball ammo. So I would not have any concerns over shooting ball ammo in a lever gun. And in fact I've shot lots of round nose .38 and .357 from my Rossi CAS rifle.
Whenever I see pistol rifle threads with hunting in mind the general consensus is that pistol caliber rounds will produce a humane kill at out to 100 yards max with some dissenters saying that's too far. But out to 75 is generally accepted by all. .30-30, on the other hand, seems to be accepted as a good option out to about 150 to 200 yards.
So it would depend on what you would be shooting with this truck gun and at what sort of range.
Searcher4851
Member
With the limited choices you listed, and without knowing what you intend to do with it, I'd have to vote for the .44 mag. It can be loaded down or up, so it gives you a little more versatility.
I could swear that Winchester had a .45 ACP levergun option listed on their old webpage, maybe 9-10 years back. The delux w/ semi pistol grip version carried something like 14 rounds. But the trapper version was what really interested me. I looked at it a lot. I am baffled that I can find nothing on it now. Am I going absolutely crazy?
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