If you were going to buy a big bore lever action......

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If I wanted a high powered lever rifle it would be BLR .300 Winchester Magnum. If.
 
I'd go for a Marlin 95 cb in 45-70.
You can load the old girl down or wild.

From 180gr plinking loads with trail-boss to deer loads to 500gr stompers.

I load my plinking loads for about 20 cents with homemade holy black or trailboss and salvaged lead.
 
Ever since I seen The Edge as a kid I've been after an 1886 45-70 600px-Edge_01.jpg I believe Marlin makes a repro but I could be wrong.

Edit: Marlin has the 1895 CB in 45-70.

Would love to have an 1886 win in 45-70. The Marlin 1895 CB (different designs of course) would be easier on the wallet though:D
 
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I have a .44 magnum Marlin lever action saddle carbine and I love it. It's a good all round lever action for general purpose work. People used to hunt small brown bears with the .44 magnum lever actions when they needed to do so for various reasons. I got interested in the .44 magnum when a police firearms instructor started pushing them years ago here in Illinois as a good, powerful police tool for defensive work. The round has plenty of punch, it has a big bore diameter to it and it generally doesn't take more than one round to stop a bad guy if you hit him solid. When I used it in a police car, I found it easy to maneuver around with inside and outside the car. The thinness of the saddle carbine makes it almost an ideal firearm for storing in a vehicle too. I'd go with a .44 magnum if I were you.
 
I own an 1894 .44Rm Mag and an 1895 .45-70.

Williams Peeps on both.

Haven’t hunted with either, but within correct distance (100yards/less) I would be happy to use either.

Love the pleasant thump on my shoulder...

Greg
 
If I’m not mistaken, Marlin released an 1894SBL which is similarly featured to the dinosaur killing 1895SBL. Both very slick rifles.
 
To be honest, this is a really tough decision to screw up. I have Winchesters, Marlins, Henrys, Ubertis and Brownings in everything from .22LR through the .30-30's, .32-20, .357Mag, .375Win, .38-55, .405Win, .44Mag and .45-70.
 
jmr40 said:
I had 4 different 45-70 dating from 1976 up until a few years ago. They are over rated. I still have the Marlin 44 mag. There is nothing a 45-70 will do that a 44 mag won't do until you get into the "Nuclear" 45-70 loads. And by the time you get to those loads you need something better than 45-70. It's 375, 416, or 458 mag time.
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d2wing said:
30-30. Well proven. It was better than the 45-70 when it was introduced and it still is. I would not trade mine for any other lever gun except a BLR in 308.
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Where do you guys come up with this nonsense??? I paid the princely sum of $500 for my Marlin 1895. With the Grizzly 405gr Punch load, there is no game on planet earth that cannot be hunted. Show me another dangerous game rifle for $500 that is also very well suited for anything from deer on up. The .30-30 is a deer cartridge that can be used for elk sized game if needed.
 
CraigC said:
Where do you guys come up with this nonsense??? I paid the princely sum of $500 for my Marlin 1895. With the Grizzly 405gr Punch load, there is no game on planet earth that cannot be hunted. Show me another dangerous game rifle for $500 that is also very well suited for anything from deer on up. The .30-30 is a deer cartridge that can be used for elk sized game if needed.
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That's ok Craig. BTW, how's life on flat earth?
 
Yes, thank you Craig. I and millions of deer hunters for the last hundred years disagree with you but no point in arguing. Enjoy your choices.
 
CraigC said:
Where do you guys come up with this nonsense??? I paid the princely sum of $500 for my Marlin 1895. With the Grizzly 405gr Punch load, there is no game on planet earth that cannot be hunted.
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I would really be interested in seeing the results from you shooting a charging lion or elephant with that load.
 
d2wing said:
Yes, thank you Craig. I and millions of deer hunters for the last hundred years disagree with you but no point in arguing. Enjoy your choices.
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What is it you think deer hunters know that I'm missing???


Old Stumpy said:
I would really be interested in seeing the results from you shooting a charging lion or elephant with that load.
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Like I said. If those critters are taken with handguns with 100gr less bullet weight and several hundred feet per second slower, by what magic is a .45/70 LESS effective? Full penetration and broken shoulders from a 300gr .44 at 1450fps.

IMG_066613.jpg

Here's a lion taken with a 250gr Barnes out of the .454.

IMG_1660.jpg
 
CraigC said:
Where do you guys come up with this nonsense??? I paid the princely sum of $500 for my Marlin 1895. With the Grizzly 405gr Punch load, there is no game on planet earth that cannot be hunted. Show me another dangerous game rifle for $500 that is also very well suited for anything from deer on up. The .30-30 is a deer cartridge that can be used for elk sized game if needed.
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To each their own, a certain unnamed idiot that shall remain my brother can perform magic with his Glennfield 30-30 out to ranges the reasonable man would think impossible. By the same token, I've seen my grandfather make shots with his 45-70 that had there not been witnesses no one would've believed.

Both cartridges are king within their design parameters. For instance, I have heard that shooting fish in three foot of water the 30-30 is a waste of time while the 45-70 will bring those suckers home. (If you will pardon the pun.) At short ranges either cartridge will bring home a deer. If previous mentioned unnamed idiot were with me with his Glenfield I would feel secure walking around bear country. If he were not I would want grandpa's 45-70 with dad's Desert Eagle handgun as backup.

The cartridge question can be answered like everything else in this old world. It's not the machine it's the operator. I do not have the skill set to hunt a dangerous beast with a 30-30. This isn't to say that you do not but in the realms of practicality a larger bore is more likely to keep me alive long enough to reach your level of expertise.
 
It's the machine and the operator. One cannot do the job if the other is insufficient. Talent can make up for deficiencies in equipment but only to a point. All the cool-headed precision in the world won't help you if your equipment is not up to the task.
 
Craig, 30-30 deer hunters know that a 30-30 shoots flatter, has more usable range, kicks less and more than enough for deer and is a good choice for anything else in North America. A lot of bear, Elk, deer and moose have been killed with it. Maybe more than any other cartridge except maybe 30-06.
 
d2wing said:
Craig, 30-30 deer hunters know that a 30-30 shoots flatter, has more usable range, kicks less and more than enough for deer and is a good choice for anything else in North America. A lot of bear, Elk, deer and moose have been killed with it. Maybe more than any other cartridge except maybe 30-06.
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Please point me to where, before now, that you stipulated "for deer". Unlike yourself, I DID stipulate that in post #114. The .30-30 is an excellent cartridge, or I wouldn't own three of them. However, I would never say it was better than the .45-70 without stipulating "for deer". Especially in a thread about "big bore" leverguns. :confused:
 
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