Lever action caliber for fun time

[rampantandroid]

Hi all,

Looking to pick a lever action caliber. Most of the threads I see focus on hunting, though that's NOT my main goal. My main goal is range time/fun time.

I was originally thinking of a .41 magnum lever action as I have a S&W Model 58 and will be reloading soon (and have a TON of max SAAMI spec ammo a friend made me...the stuff is painful to shoot and I see no reason to put my 58 OR my right hand through that nonsense. Crimps are VERY tight and a kinetic hammer takes a ton of solid blows to pop the bullet out) but the only lever action I can find is the Henry...and while I've never shot a lever action, but I don't like the tube magazine loading of the Henry. I'd prefer a side gate.

This leaves me with .44 magnum (I have a model 29 and will also be reloading this someday) or another option I've considered - 45-70. I have nothing in 45-70 now, but wouldn't mind a Springfield Trapdoor or a Sharps one day...and again, I can reload this as well on my 550B.

The merits I see for the .44 mag is that it'd be cheaper to shoot. 45-70 looks more expensive to reload if for cost of brass alone. On the flip side, 45-70 seems like it'd be a ton of fun to shoot. I mostly shoot older guns (I don't think I own a gun designed anywhere past the 50's). I do have access to outdoor ranges - for now I think the max I can shoot at is ~130 yards, though that should improve one a logging operation moves on.

Anyone have thoughts on the matter?

Thanks!

 

[Newtosavage]

I guess you considered the .22 LR?

If you hand load, a 45-70 would be my recommendation.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I have both the 44 mag and 45/70 in Marlin lever actions. The 45/70 is a LOT of fun to shoot in the Marlin 95 cowboy since the longer barrel and bit of extra weight takes up the recoil. Just loading those 2.5" shells makes me smile.
I also have a trapdoor carbine and a Sharps, both replicas but also fun to shoot. For them I load real black powder so you get the fun flash,boom smoke effect.

 

[Jack B.]

I would recommend for a lever action fun gun one in
.357 Magnum/38 Special. I have a Henry 44 Magnum/44 Special that is a lot of fun to shoot but I also have a bunch of other 44 Magnums that I load for. I also have a lot of .357 Magnums that I load for. Probably that will be my next gun purchase a Henry in .357/38. I've thought about one in 45-70 but like you I don't have anything else in that chambering, plus I've seen some at the range and it looks like not quite as fun. Lots of recoil. The tube loading doesn't bother me, it's what I'm used to. For years that's how I loaded 22LR in a Marlin semi auto rifle. I can say that my Henry is very accurate and that's why I'm looking at getting another one in .357/38.

 

[edwardware]

Here's a plug for 35 Remington. Handload to 158gr@1100fps all the way up to 200gr@2000fps. Great carbine caliber for cast bullets.

 

[bassjam]

For pure range/fun time, a .22 is hard to beat. If you want a little more kick, I think .357/.38 is the next best option.

Edit: I'm pretty sure the Browning .22 lever is even a side loader through the stock.

 

[wild willy]

I have levers in 30/30, 32/20,357,35,44,45,and 45/70 The one I shoot the most is the .357 .Just enjoy shooting it.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My .357 lever is by far my most fun centerfire range rifle....I shoot steel from 25 to 200 yards with it.

 

[Jimster]

44WCF black powder. But I’m old school.

 

[eastbank]

some of my older winchester lever actions I shoot and load for, I also have marlins in .22lr-25.20-32.20-32 mag-357mag-38.55-44.40-44 mag-45.70 and shoot all but the 32 mag. te 44-40,s are also my favorits. eastbank.

 

[Bang!]

Prefer gate loading but bought the Henry, anyway. 357/38 is easy to shoot and cheap to load for. It was everyone’s favorite gun to shoot this past year. Add the SAA in same caliber from Uberti and folks had a blast. I would load with power pistol. More boom, more flash and most folks thought they were shooting something stout. Looked at .357 magnum loads that look impressive. Getting close to .30-30, even. May work up some of those loads for deer hunting next year.

Cheap to load for as brass and projectiles are affordable and easy to come by. Easy for beginners and small framed folks to shoot. Can be loaded up to levels suitable for hunting anything in my neck of the woods. Really fun to shoot. Definitely a win for my shooters. I can look past the tube loading.

 

[Tiro Finale]

Consider a .357/.38. With proper loads, .357 from a rifle can get close to .30-30 in terms of ballistic performance. Also, .38s are great fun in a rifle. They are fairly quiet and have basically no recoil. And, if you choose to suppress it at some point down the road, .38 is an excellent round for it.

 

[BigBore44]

Shooting leverguns in any caliber is fun. Period. I think you’d be happy with any of the calibers you’d mentione. But I’d say I shoot my 45-70’s more. A trapdoor, trapdoor saddle ring carbine, my 1895, and now a Pedersoli Sharps. Love it when I bring out my 1895 and a box of shells and a guy turns to me and says “30-30?” And then I open the box and pull out one of the shells. “Nope”. There’s something really “cool” about pulling out one of those big rounds and sending it down range in a big cloud of smoke or with a big BOOOOM.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My Rossi 357 is a lot of fun. Never shot a 44 carbine so I don't have input on that.

 

[WestKentucky]

I have had several. The most fun gun at the range was a Winchester .357. I paid 400 for it and was talked out of it for about 750 a few weeks later or I would still be having fun with it. That was before the current affordable levers were readily available. If they had been I would have bought a Rossi and a Blackhawk to match it, both .357

 

[Ks5shooter]

45-70 loaded with blackpowder and lead bullets for plinking is inexpensive to shoot for plinking. Also if you ever get an older trapdoor down the road you are all set.

 

[milemaker13]

I have .22lr, .357 mag and 30-30 lever guns.
Sounds like you might like the .357, or similar. You mentioned .44. I think any pistol cal is a great lever- plinker.

 

[Llama Bob]

When I was looking at this question I settled on .45 Colt. The thing I like about it is that there are plenty of soft shooting factory loads available. .357 Mag has the same advantage, doubly so if your gun will feed .38 Special (not all will). There are softball .44 Mag loads available, but they're not on every shelf like the Federal .45 Colt. However compatibility with your M29 might be the difference. If you reload everything, there's little practical difference between .45 Colt and .44 Mag.

 

[redneck2]

FWIW...even reloads are expensive for the .45-70 unless you shoot lead. Bullets (jacketed) alone are 35-40 cents

There are a lot of options besides pistol calibers. I have a Savage 99 in .300 Savage, but they made a lot of caliber choices. Mine was made in March of1952

 

[Danoobie]

22LR is just too much fun to plink. Even Walmart sells a Henry lever that takes most 22s.

But I also enjoy shooting that .44Mag.

 

[Infidel]

Looking to pick a lever action caliber.
....
Anyone have thoughts on the matter?

I chose two: .22 and .44, both Marlin Cowboy models, and the combination has been perfect for me. The .44 Magnum is one of the most flexible cartridges around, from soft subsonic "cowboy" loads to serious gong-ringing (or hunting) loads. Perfection.

But there's a .45-70 Cowboy somewhere in the near future....

 

[denton]

All the cartridges mentioned have their merits. I don't think you would be unhappy with any of them.

I have two 41 Mag revolvers. And if I could find one I could afford, I think it would be fun to have a 41 Mag lever action carbine. But as far as I can tell, those are scarce as hen's teeth. If you find one at a good price, I don't think it would disappoint. It will be significantly more expensive to shoot than 38/357, but not as expensive as 45 LC or especially 45-70.

I do have a Marlin 357, and it is tremendously fun to shoot.

For plinking, I load Cowboy Action 122 grain cast lead 38 Spl loads. They are cheap, and fun.

For a step up, I load 180 grain cast lead 357 Mag loads.

The key to accuracy for the cast loads is to keep MV 1250 or less. Above that, it just falls to pieces.

Imagining that I might someday take it hunting, I did buy a box of 180 grain jacketed bullets. Out to 125 yards or so, that should be a very effective cartridge.

Checking the web, it looks like Henry 41 Mag lever actions are readily available.

 

[Riomouse911]

There are goods and bads about going with the .41:

Goods: You already have one, you are going to set up for reloading it, and you already have ammo handy for it. The same handgun/rifle caliber makes things easier logistically and in the field.
Bads: Ammo is harder to locate, more limited, and more expensive (on average) once you're out of hand loads or need to replenish. You don't like the tube loading process, which limits your choice in guns.

Going with .44, .45 Colt or .357:

Goods: Ammo everywhere and the magnums shoot .44 / .38 Spls., more bullet/charge options for both calibers. Almost every lever-gun maker makes new ones in lever styles you like. Ammo is cheaper to make/shoot than larger calibers and/or more exotic ones. Can be used for targets up to deer/black bears within range/power/bullet construction limits.
Bads: You will need to stock up on loaded ammo and/or reloading items for a new caliber.

Going with .45/70:

Goods: Versatile; effective from 10 to around 200 yards for paper punching, to squirrels, to deer, all the way up to bison or big bears. It's really easy to load for, just like a giant pistol case. Nostalgic caliber that is fun to shoot. Marlins and several others are still being made, plus you can go with a Sharps or Uberti style single-shot if you like. (I'm not as big a fan of single-shots as I am of lever-action repeaters.)
Bads: Cost of components, and factory loaded ammo, is much more than pistol calibers. You will need to stock up on loaded ammo and/or reloading items for a new caliber. Can't shoot at ranges that allow handguns, pistol-caliber rifles, and rimfires only.

Going with .22 or .22 mag:

Goods: By far the cheapest option in .22 LR, as .22 Mags can be occasionally hard to find and 2-3-4x the price-per-round of LR. Can shoot at ranges that won't allow centerfire rifles. Massive variety in ammo. Can shoot 500 LR in a session and not break the bank, be sore, nor take a long time to go back home and prep and reload cartridges. Easy to train new shooters on rimfires.
Bads: You are pretty much limited to factory ammo options. Very limited usefulness in hunting or defense arenas. Not as versatile with creating your own power-level ammo like the centerfires allow you to do with the.22 Mag. The .22 Short and .22 Longs, which allow a lower power level and report, are pricy and can be rare.

I have 11 centerfire levers that I load for in .30-30, .35 Rem, .45/70, 44-.44 Spl, .45 Colt and .357-.38 Spl, and rimfires in .22 S,L,LR and .22 mag.

I love shooting the Henry .22 Mag, the Marlin 336 in .35 Rem, and the Rossi 92 in .45 Colt the best, with the .45 C as probably my favorite to shoot and reload for.

Have fun finding the lever gun you like and then shooting it!

 

[dh1633pm]

There are three calibers to consider. 45 Colt, 45 Colt or 45 Colt. Can't beat it with a stick. Have three lever guns in the 45 and my customer Rolling Block. I load as much for it as I do .223 or .308.

 

[Crowman]

For a different animal...I recently got a Henry 16” carbine in .327 Federal / .32 H&R. Easy cartridge to shoot in my revolvers, accurate too. Not many of those carbines around yet. Haven’t gotten a chance to play with it. Also don’t have any pictures of it either.

Another goodie that I shoot and carry ridge walking is a Rossi R92 in .38 Special / .357 Magnum. I have a 16” one of these in stainless. I put barrel mounted Skinner ghost rings on it. They are quick to acquire.