Lever action carbines for home defense

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When I took my CHL class, the instructor made an important point that applies to all defensive firearm use: "A .22 in your hand is better than a .44 in your glovebox."

The important considerations with defense are will you have it? Will it function? Are you willing to use it? If you can answer yes to all three questions, you'll be fine. Lever, bolt, rotating-locking, roller delayed blowback, and similar issues are just semantics.
 
My Marlin 336 is equiped with a Lyman reciever sight, gold bead front sight and a hasty sling. It is in 35 calaber. I can shoot 158 grain pistol bullets all the way up to 220 grain bear loads. It is sighted in for 200 yards. It is fast and easy to handle. Can be shot one handed. Also you can reload one round at a time without taking it out of action. Terrible weapon.

phonesysphonesys

Semper Fi
 
While it's not my primary HD longarm (that task goes to my Remington 870) I'd go to either of my .357 carbines before grabbing any "rifle" caliber weapon inside my house.

We live in a smallish town in an older neighborhood where the houses average 70 years old and less than 75' apart. With the knowledge that every bullet that leaves my weapon will have a lawyer attached to it, something which is more likely than not to punch right through that perp, my walls, and those of a neighbor if I have to drop the hammer doesn't appeal to me much.

My IMI Timberwolf pump would be my first choice, simply because I shoot it very well. The stock irons are well suited to the task, with a white line on the front that stands out nicely in low light. Holds 10 rds, extraordinary handling qualities, slick-working and very fast in action.

My Rossi "Trapper" M92 clone would work as well. Less than 35 1/2" overall with its 16" barrel, and 8 rds in the tube. Nine more in an elastic butt cuff. Sights are a Lyman 66A receiver peep with a 0.125 aperture and a custom gold bead front. On out-of-town trips, it lives behind the seat of my truck with an MTM 100 rd box of my standard all-purpose handloads in the case with it.
 
.44 magnum. This gun will drop the felon in a shot. Recoil is light since it is a hangun round and being fired by a rifle. Overpenetration is not a tremendous concern either. As Henry's catalog says in a nutshell, the .44mag has killed more game and men than any other cartridge in history.
 
Yup, may be hard to say exactly what IS the most prolific killer, but it's pretty easy to say it's not the .44Mag.

I've often thought that using a lever rifle in a self-defense situation would be about as close to a get-out-of-jail-free card as there is. It just looks so non-threatening. Like the guy using it isn't at all interested in being "tactical" or in killing people--he doesn't even seem like someone preoccupied with self-defense. It's OBVIOUS that this darned criminal made this upstanding citizen go dig out his hunting rifle to protect himself and his family.

Almost like the exact opposite of the response you'd get when they see your black rifle with all the electronic accessories, spare mags, tactical sling, grips sticking out everywhich-way and a stock with more positions than the Kama Sutra.

My head says to me that if the argument can be made that "6 is enough" when talking about defensive handguns, then the same type of argument should justify a levergun as a choice when you're picking defense rifles.
 
if it was my only gun, i'd trust my leverguns with my life. for generations, a lot of families only had that one lever action thirty thirty.

with my current selection, i'd grab something else due to the levergun's small capacity and slow reloading, but those five or six shots have plenty of power.
 
I think an ordinary Marlin M94 357 mag loaded with a good 38 special would be cost effective and bad guy effective. It can be easliy pressed into service by any member of the family. The carbine barrel in thiscaliber will provide an extra couple hundred feet per second to the MV. If you have a couple of kids and a house payment you may not have enough money fro a tricked out Les Baer or Wilson AR.
The right gun for the SWAT team isn't necessarily the right gun for the HD.
 
re:

Ditto on the .38/.357 lever carbine...and consider the Winchester Trapper in .44 Magnum/.44 Special also. The .44 Special 200-grain Silvertip would be a natural for HD Big-bore, low noise/recoil and plenty to choose from for the reloading bench.
 
I have a nice 30-30 Model 94ae under my bed, it is perfect in my opinion for a SHTF carry weapon, and also a Home defense gun..it is short enough, intimidating also to the guy in the wrong end..;)
 
Since getting started in Sass all my guns our 357 I have a EMF HARTFORD LEVERACTION SS with 20"octgon barrell, Two 357 emf GWII THEN i have a Taurus 605 snubbie. The only gun that is not 357 is a new spartan 12ga double. I can only afford a few guns this way I pretty much can use the same ammo. But if somebody breaks into the house the double will get the call.
 
You might find this interesting...

some penetration and expansion data for the .30/30:

30-30 Federal 125 gr JHP (#3030C}
velocity: 2425 fps
penetration: 15.7"
expansion: 0.54"
recovered weight: 87.8 gr

30-30 Winchester 150 gr JSP Silvertip (#X30302)
velocity: 2211 fps
penetration: 18.9"
expansion: 0.57"
recovered weight: 125.8 gr

30-30 Winchester 170 gr Power Point (#X30303)
velocity: 2036 fps
penetration: 20.5"+
expansion: 0.62"
recovered weight: 158.0 gr
 
Dilema: Choosing a lever gun VS a shotgun for HD and outdoors use.

I was going to start another thread, but it was so similar to this one I figured I'd just pop into this one.

Dilema: Choosing a lever gun VS a shotgun for HD and outdoors use.

My opinion, shotguns are mythical beasts, near everyone I have ever met owns one, and 90% of them don't shoot them (largely due to recoil). Since shotguns don't obliterate everyone in a ten-yard radius like the movies would like to make you think, if you don't train with them, how good can they be? I would think a .357mag or .44 lever gun would be more ideal because they don't punish you like the 12guage does.

I already have a .357mag lever gun in the works for HD (because unlike a shotgun, my GF and just about anyone could handle the lever gun easily) but I am looking for something for myself that fills the following roles:

Can be used for home defense. My primary rifle is my FAL (best rifle I ever shouldered), but the .308 is waaaaay too much for HD duty. The 12guage fits the bill here, so do the pistol caliber lever guns (.357, .44 etc...). What about the rifle caliber lever guns (30/30, .45-70, .444 marlin, .35 etc...)?

Needs to also be viable for kills out to about 100-150 yards under less-than ideal conditions. I think anything from .357mag and up in the lever guns would be fine, same with the shotgun.

Needs to be a viable defense against bear. Since I will be hiking in the woods, I'd like to have something other than my .45 handgun to dispatch a bear or other large carnivore if need be. The 12guage works here, the .357magnum may be a little short (hehe, ya think?)...what about a .45-70? But then would the .45-70 be waaaay too much for home defense in a pinch?

Needs not to prohibitively punish the shooter. Shotgun is out for a lot of people. The pistol caliber lever guns are pussycats...what about the .45-70 or .444 marlin? I have never shot either of those, but the 30/30 is not too bad at all really, no worse than my .308 FAL in the end.

I don't yet reload, so factory ammo to fill the above roles would be a requirement for the time being, but down the road I will be reloading and that should make some of this a non-issue.

No matter what I go with, I am putting some XS type sights on it (tritium would be my first choice though if possible) and not even considering mounting any kind of electronic doodad or optic, I want something that will be ready to fire when I need it, I don’t need to be pressing any buttons, moving any dials or flicking any switches for optics or lights or lasers or whatever.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
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Here's my thought: It's better to have a lever action carbine than no gun at all!

Plus, they're nifty.
 
I think a Marlin 357 mag carbine would be ideal for HD. Open sights will be fine inside the house, XS sight system even better. this will allow all members of the family to have a chance at HD. Stay away from the superlight bullets since the carbine will accelerate muzzle velocity by about 300 fps. 145 gr Silvertips, 140 gr, 158 gr Hornady, 165 gr Corelokt will be best. Mine has a Williams Foolproof rear peep and it's an outstanding gun!
A Marlin Spikehorn (youth model) in 30-30 using Federal 125 gr for HD and 170 gr Nosler for bear would work. It's possible to stretch the 357 mag for bears using Buffalo Bore ammo.
The shotgun will be far superior for the bears. But you would lose the chance to have the rest of the family use the gun.
 
I don't think you can one-up the 12ga. pump for HD. That being said, a .357 or .44 mag would be good for HD in a pinch, the shorter the barrel the better. A .30-30 though? Too much penetration if you live near other houses or share your house with other people.
 
For peopel who keep their guns in their truck, what happens in winter? How do you stop condensation and rust from forming when the vehicle warms up? Does the foam of the case it's in (if it is) insulate it so it changes temperature very slowly, and thus won't rust?
 
Lucky, I do take my rifle out of the truck every couple of weeks and oil it. Rifle doesnt have much rust at all on it and is well over 30 years old.
 
Lever guns are also UK legal:)
As soon as funds allow I'll be collecting a Winchester take-down timber scout in .44mag.

All take down guns are welcome, as they don't attract the wrong kind of attention going to and from the range over here :)
 
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