Wow a lot of folks here are very dis illusioned, post # 43 stated it best. All of the gadgets and widgets in the world will not make up for crappy marksmanship and lack of tatics. Nor will owning a AR/AK with all the bells and whistles make the owner a soldier, operator or SWAT team member.
I have said this before and will stick with it till the end. It does not matter one iota what firearm you decide to use for those worst case scenerios. Whether it is a revolver or semi automatic for handguns or a levergun, semi auto, or pump action rifle. The difference maker will always be and will continue to be the individual behind the trigger. A very good example of this occured back in 2007 while I was instructing a advanced rifle marksmanship class. During this particular class we had two Canadian counter parts enrolled. They're carbines were a cross between the old M4 and the M4A1 with no capability of mounting optics.
When it came time to conduct Close Quarters Marksmanship they would just flip the rear sight aperature to the low light visibility aperature, which is more like a ghost ring. During this particlar part of the course of fire each student will fire 2 30 round mags for 90 degree controlled pairs L&R, 2x30 for 90 degree turns L&R Rapid pair with Failure drill, 2x30 for L&R 180 degree turns firing controlled pairs, and 2x30 for L&R 180 degree turns doing Rapid Pair with the Failure drill. All shooting was done on a standard M9 qual target and in full kit. The one Canadian student did better than any of our Soldiers which were using Aim Point optics. He literally ate the center (the 5 ring) out of that M9 qual target compared to our guys who had shots scattered all over the target for the most part.
This example clearly demonstrates that as long as one applies the fundementals of marksmanship correctly, along with good tatics the extra gadgets don't mean squat, though they do help. However they will not compensate for bad marksmanship technique or tatics, the same holds true about the platform the individual is using as well. You should have seen the looks on some of the faces when we pulled that guys target and showed it to the class to drive home this point.
The lever action rifle and the cartridges they house are probably one of if not the most practical rifles around. The .30-30 alone has slain all N. American game and will continue to do so into the forseeable futrure. Heck back in the 60's the largest grizzly bear ever taken was slain with a 30-30, that record stood for some time. When was the last time that was done with a AR? To the best of my knowledge there are exactly zero. Every year there are still hunters that use Marlins/Win in .30-30, .35 Rem, .444, .45-70, and .450 Marlin to harvest deer, hogs, black bear, caribou, elk and moose. A good portion of those are taken with the lowly .30WCF to boot.
From puttin' meat on the table to saving your bacon in a worst case scenerio the lever action is very hard to beat.
Again if you can't properly apply the fundementals of marksmanship backed with good solid tactics, your going to be one hurtin' unit at the end of the day regardless of your hardware.
I have said this before and will stick with it till the end. It does not matter one iota what firearm you decide to use for those worst case scenerios. Whether it is a revolver or semi automatic for handguns or a levergun, semi auto, or pump action rifle. The difference maker will always be and will continue to be the individual behind the trigger. A very good example of this occured back in 2007 while I was instructing a advanced rifle marksmanship class. During this particular class we had two Canadian counter parts enrolled. They're carbines were a cross between the old M4 and the M4A1 with no capability of mounting optics.
When it came time to conduct Close Quarters Marksmanship they would just flip the rear sight aperature to the low light visibility aperature, which is more like a ghost ring. During this particlar part of the course of fire each student will fire 2 30 round mags for 90 degree controlled pairs L&R, 2x30 for 90 degree turns L&R Rapid pair with Failure drill, 2x30 for L&R 180 degree turns firing controlled pairs, and 2x30 for L&R 180 degree turns doing Rapid Pair with the Failure drill. All shooting was done on a standard M9 qual target and in full kit. The one Canadian student did better than any of our Soldiers which were using Aim Point optics. He literally ate the center (the 5 ring) out of that M9 qual target compared to our guys who had shots scattered all over the target for the most part.
This example clearly demonstrates that as long as one applies the fundementals of marksmanship correctly, along with good tatics the extra gadgets don't mean squat, though they do help. However they will not compensate for bad marksmanship technique or tatics, the same holds true about the platform the individual is using as well. You should have seen the looks on some of the faces when we pulled that guys target and showed it to the class to drive home this point.
The lever action rifle and the cartridges they house are probably one of if not the most practical rifles around. The .30-30 alone has slain all N. American game and will continue to do so into the forseeable futrure. Heck back in the 60's the largest grizzly bear ever taken was slain with a 30-30, that record stood for some time. When was the last time that was done with a AR? To the best of my knowledge there are exactly zero. Every year there are still hunters that use Marlins/Win in .30-30, .35 Rem, .444, .45-70, and .450 Marlin to harvest deer, hogs, black bear, caribou, elk and moose. A good portion of those are taken with the lowly .30WCF to boot.
From puttin' meat on the table to saving your bacon in a worst case scenerio the lever action is very hard to beat.
Again if you can't properly apply the fundementals of marksmanship backed with good solid tactics, your going to be one hurtin' unit at the end of the day regardless of your hardware.