Lever action carbines for home defense

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a Marlin .357 for rapid-firing, and gallery-rifle shooting.

I use .38 special rounds as well as the .357

This replaced the .38 or .44 standard-handguns that the Brits owned prior to the Dunblane massacre.
 
I have a Marlin .357 for rapid-firing, and gallery-rifle shooting.

I use .38 special rounds as well as the .357

This replaced the .38 or .44 standard-handguns that the Brits owned prior to the Dunblane massacre.

These are types of guns the GCN(Gun Control Network wants to ban-because they claim they are:"As dangerous as the pistols, that they used to own."
 
People are rediscovering the lever guns as defensive implements,and
general all around handy little carbines for the ranch or farm.I prefer a rifle caliber,but there's sure nothing wrong with the 357's and 44's.
They don't scare sensitive people as the AR's are prone to do either.
Many defensive tasks can be handled just fine with these little jewels.Every household should own one. AND,an AR,too!
 
I have a Marlin 1894S .44 magnum with ghost ring rear and post front sights. The XS Lever Scout mount allows for a quick switch between scope/ red dot or irons. The Wild West trigger improves the pull and gets rid of the Marlin Flop.

A Streamlight is mounted under the magazine tube and controlled by the pressure pad on the forearm under the fingers of my support hand. Six rounds in the butt cuff allows for a magazine top off.

Looks kinda strange at first but it grows on you.:cool:
 
Condition ? for HD Levergun

How do you levergun users keep your HD gun ready? Since most older guns have no sort of safety, and they are virtually all hammer guns, I would think hammer-down on an empty chamber would be the only safe state. But then I see myself showing the wife how to chamber a round, if needed; and now I've got a hot chamber, on a hammer gun, and a magazine full of shells. Is there a trick to emptying the chamber again, without loading another round? (Short of touching off the round in the chamber.) :confused:

Glummer
 
Welcome to THR.

Cruiser Ready - that is to say hammer down on empty chamber, full mag. All you have to do is lever, and good to go.

--

I believe in these Lever actions, Tuner, Preacherman and others have expressed my views. Training schools still teach Lever Action tactics and use, last I heard anyway. LEOs in small towns still use them.

Now folks think I just do shotguns, well , no. :) I / keep kept OLDer Win 94s in 30-30 in business settings, Cruiser ready with 170 grainers. Out in the country we keep/ kept these- for instance on a, private range, we kept lever actions in each of the trap houses, in case BGs showed up to rob us, or steal cars...like Platt and his buddy did for the Hollywood shoot out...Rural areas have known and kept these forever...

Matter of which one, brand, or caliber, fits you and you shoot best.

I grew up with Win. I like the Older ones, I like the top eject.

Shooting prone, and over one's head, the fired brass, is ejected, same applies no matter which side of receiver is "up or "down".

I test guns being fired in odd positions, Port up and down, gun has to run and part of that is getting postive extraction so a new shell gets chambered.

Also top eject if muddy from rolling in the mud shooting, just slosh in the creek and get on with it, easier to clean the mud, the blood, the sand and whatnot for me...

Thinking out of the box again I know, still....
 
I like .357 Mag and thought it would be cool to have a Marlin 1894 in that caliber. Wow!! Barrel length does amazing things to .357 ballistics. ~1800 FPS at the muzzle with factory 158 gr jacketed ammo.

Still, for HD I'll stay with my Rem 870.
 
UNLOADING USING THE GATE

There are differing opinions about unloading using the loading gate. The link is to a homemade (not mine) demo video using a 45-70. It's a slow download but worth the wait. Picture worth a thousand words type of thing.

http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/boolitcorner/loadunload.avi

This method works well with my Marlin 45-70 and 30-30. Not so well with the .44 magnum. I believe it has to do with overall cartridge length. Once completed your last step should be to clear the chamber. Leaving you with a clear weapon.
 
Defense for all my kids lever action 1892 Wincesters

I loved the appearance of 1892 Winchesters and ruining their collectability I had one for each of my kids converted to .357 Mag and restored like new and are beauties. Their load starts with a hollow base .38 wadcutter loaded backwards and the rounds become progressively more powerful as they are fed from their magazines.

One weapon remains the same that belonged to an old cowboy a 44-40 saddle ring carbine that had its barrel bent twice as the cowboys horse fell off a mountain trail. He finally had Winchester install a really heavy barrel and I keep it as original as the story.

I bought it at a Lever Action Winchester Collectors Gun Show in Reno Nevada.
 
UNLOADING THE CHAMBER?

UNLOADING USING THE GATE

There are differing opinions about unloading using the loading gate. The link is to a homemade (not mine) demo video using a 45-70. It's a slow download but worth the wait. Picture worth a thousand words type of thing.

http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/boolitcorner/loadunload.avi

This method works well with my Marlin 45-70 and 30-30. Not so well with the .44 magnum. I believe it has to do with overall cartridge length. Once completed your last step should be to clear the chamber. Leaving you with a clear weapon.
Click to expand...

Great clip Flatdog.
Now, do you have a trick to unload only the chamber, leaving the mag tube full?
 
That's easy on my Winchester 94 - just open the chamber so the cartridge ejects, then use your finger to pull the following shell out. When you close the lever, you have an empty chamber.
 
Flatdog, thanks for that link on the 45-70. I'll be trying that this weekend. Got both my 45-70's in the truck, headed to the farm. I've got the 1895 Cowboy with octagon barrel, 9 shot, and the 1895SS 5 shot. Just got it the other day, so I've got to shoot it.
 
Hello everyone I am a new member to THR but I have been reading the threads for a long time.

I am 90% sure that I will be buying a Marlin 1894 in 357 tomorrow, any last minute advice?

Thanks
 
I assume you have a sidearm to match (ammo) darn good choice sir, perhaps pick up an elastic ammo carrier for the stock while there, save ya the trip, inexpensive and handy to boot. enjoy and safe shooting

loandr.
 
Good idea, definitely going on the list. It took me a very long time to choose this gun over many others calibers and actions but I am just about ready to pull the trigger so to speak.

I do have a couple of nice sidearms for this rifle, I have a 4" Ruger GP100 and a 2.5" SP101. Last fall for fun I tried shooting the GP at 100 yards and I was amazed that I could hit paper and the groups weren't that bad either. Each shot took some time to properly set-up which got me thinking about a carbine in that caliber. I can't shake the idea that the 357 properly loaded nearly duplicates the 30-30 ballistically(at the muzzle). I know the bullet shape is not long range friendly but out to around 100 yds this gun/ammo combo sounds great.

I am definitely looking for opinions, opposing or in support.

Did I mention I like the 357 magnum.

caliber729
 
I live in bear country so the handgun caliber lever actions are out. Had a bear try to break into the house about 18 months ago so not a hypothetical concern. Dogs chased it away after it bashed a window in, pulling the entire upper and sides of the window frame out of the wall studs. I have a Mossberg 500 with 3" mag 00 buckshot and slugs as primary home defense with the CCW handgun I have on me. I have a Marlin lever carbine in 444 Marlin. It is surprisingly accurate at 100 yds with Nosler partition HP's. This would be a good candidate for HD work. I have a scope on it, but not a long eye relirf scope. This is a light gun and a normal scope will hit you on the eye brow! Open sights would probably be best for HD work. Got to get a long eye relief scope before shooting it again!
 
I had a scope on my Marlin 1894C but it just looked wrong. Much nicer to just go with iron sights on a lever gun.

caliber729, .357 Mag is a good choice, but pick a good bullet. .357 Mag velocity is up there and if you want good penetration, you don't want a bullet that comes apart on contact. Speer Gold Dot and Hornady XTP bullets seem to be among the best HP bullets out there, but even they weren't designed for impact velocities of 1800 FPS.

That said, I chose Black Hills' 158 gr load which uses the XTP-HP bullet. I don't expect the bullet to stay in one piece unless the target is outside 125 yds. From what I've determined, in close, when fired from a carbine the impact velocity of the bullet exceeds the design of the bullet which was for impact between 700 & 1400 FPS. From a carbine, velocity should slow to about 1400 FPS at 125 yds. I'd love to see a gelatin test of this load fired from a carbine.

BTW, micro-groove rifling works much better with longer (heavier) bullets, avoid the lighter and even faster loads. $.02
 
After you break in your lever if you feel the need of a better trigger. I'd like to recommend the after market one by Wild West their (Happy Trigger). It is noticeably superior to the factory trigger and also removes that annoying play " The Marlin Flop". Midway and Cabelas are two places that stock them.

HAPPY TRIGGER:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=5960

DISASSEMBLY/REASSEMBLY:

It"s an easy drop in installation. The link below should help with the disassembly/reassembly even though it's for a Marlin 94

http://www.marauder.homestead.com/files/Marlin94.html


flatdog
 
I keep a Marlin .357 with stuffed with corbon 110gr Magnums. Highly recommend XS ghost ring sights. The 18in barrel is very handy, my wife has no problem handling as well. The great thing about this gun is the variety of ammo choices. 110gr .38 specials to 180gr .357 mags.
 
Among the arsenal of heavy barreled, large scoped, small caliber rifles that I use to keep the dreaded woodchuck population at bay...covering the entire eastern seaboard...sits a Winchester Wrangler (16 inch barrel, large loop, saddle ring) Carbine in 44 magnum.
It is less offensive to the "Eastern Handgun Fearful" when I am traveling...and at home it hangs on the wall as part of an old west display.

10 rounds from a lever action 44 mag. will be faster to deploy than a 5 shot scattergun and speak with more authority than my choice of handgun...although I can reaload my Sig faster if I have need too!
 
I don't yet own any lever guns (imagine I will someday) but if we were to end up buying a home farther up in the hills, I plan on hanging a lever action 30-30 above every exit door of the house.

1st I think they look cool, and 2nd if you live up in bear/mountain lion territory you should be prepared.
 
Before I stopped deer hunting with a rifle, I had a Marlin 336 in 3030.
That was absolutely one of the best woods rifles I'd ever used in the Appalachian mountains for hunting and general hiking/adventuring. Solid, reliable, accurate. I'm rethinking my choice of house guns now. May go get another.
Good thread.
:D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Navy87Guy
  • Locked
Carbine for Home Defense??
2 3
Replies
66
Views
4K
strat81
S
I
  • Locked
Ruger 44 carbine for home defense
2
Replies
31
Views
2K
Gordon
Gordon
B
  • Locked
Home Defense Course Richmond & Columbus
Replies
1
Views
440
Brian@ITC
B
B
  • Locked
personal defense magazine
2
Replies
25
Views
3K
MikeKeyW
M
Mr.Revolverguy
  • Locked
Discreet Urban Carbine
2 3
Replies
69
Views
4K
kBob
K
Back
Top