Which Levergun to get?

[dracphelan]

I recently had to sell my deer rifle and my AR15 to pay for AC repairs to the house. When I have the money, I am wanting to replace them with a levergun that I can use for both Cowboy action shooting and deer hunting. My other requirements are that it be the same caliber as a cowboy action revolver and cost less than $500. So what should I get and in what caliber? I have thought about a Taurus Thunderbolt, but I don't know how easy it will be to obtain one when I have the money to purchase it. So what should I get and in what caliber?

 

[geekWithA.45]

Friend of mine has a Puma in .45 LC / .454 Casull he likes a lot.

That fit your bill?

It's a pretty neat gun, and not expensive ($400ish, iirc)

http://www.notpurfect.com/main/puma.html

 

[minuteman1970]

How about a Marlin in .44 mag?

 

[bestseller92]

Marlin .44 Mag.

 

[taliv]

i have a puma in 480 ruger. it's a hoot to shoot, and plenty accurate for deer, but appreciably shy of impressive from the bench. for the money, it's not bad at all, but it's walmart quality, not a work of art.

 

[VeT|Us]

Marlin in .44 mag

 

[Limeyfellow]

The Marlin 1894 in .44 magnum is a really lovely rifle.

 

[onikuma]

another vote for the marlin in .44

 

[grizz]

+1 on the marlin .44 mag

 

[Hokkmike]

Given your requirements...another vote for the .44 mag.

 

[Freddymac]

You didn't say what cal. your pistol is.

I like the marlin 44, or maybe a win trapper in 357?
Just a thought

 

[dracphelan]

So far it looks like the Marlin 44 for the win. I don't have the pistols yet either. But, I am wanting the calibers to match.

 

[cookekdjr]

I'd ask the experts at:

http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/

RE: the .44 Marlin, I'm a big fan of Marlin, but many consider the rate-of-twist to be terribly slow (1 in 38", and, no, that is not a typo) and it key-holes bullets over 300gr's.

I'd also read the articles here:

http://leverguns.com/articles/Default.htm

You might consider one of these guns:

http://stevesgunz.com/SalesSG.htm

steve's sells a modified version of the Rossi-made 92 that geek's friend has. BTW, its a clone of the Winchester model of 1892 (which was designed for pistol-caliber-length cartridges like the 44-40 and 38-40) as opposed to the model of 1894 (which was designed for rifle cartridges like the 30-30, the 1894 being the 30-30's original platform). The action for the 1892 was designed to cycle shorter cartridges; the action of the 1894 for longer ones.

-David

 

[rich52us]

Puma 44 Mag

I have the Puma in .44 mag to go with my Uberti SA revolver. They are both great shooters. .44 mag is great because you can also use .44 spec. which is ballistically very similar to 44-40.

 

[Brian Williams]

I am going to buck the tide and suggest an 1894C in 357. Loading it with Lil' gun and either 158Gr or 180 gr it is amazing.

 

[cookekdjr]

Lots of folks echo Brian's comments among the levergun crowd. The .357 Marlin is generally considered the "best all-around" levergun. As in, "if you could only have one rifle..."
-David

 

[Just_a_dude_with_a_gun]

.357m is my choice.....

 

[Moonclips]

It's true that the Marlin 1894 in .44mag has a 1:38" rate of twist. I think, that's too slow to stabilize a 300-grainer. If you're only shooting up to 250-270gr it should be OK, I believe. (It should be perfect for 240gr.) Although I also have the 1894C in .357mag, if I can only have one, the .44mag would be it.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

Marlin 1894C in .357. You'll be glad you did.

 

[ArmedBear]

.357 Marlin. Upload it for deer (handload or a box of Buffalo Bore 158), shoot light .38 Special loads for CAS. Probably the same effective range for deer as a .44 Magnum, but a lot cheaper to shoot (except for the deer ammo, which you won't be shooting much of anyway).

.44 Magnum puts some severe limitations on your choice in CAS pistols. .38 Special does not. Everything from the matte finish Ubertis for under $300 new (I have one; with $20 of Wolffs it shoots wonderfully) to the nicest USFA Rodeos and cool Open Top replicas can be had in .38 Special and/or .357. And .38 can be had for a lot cheaper, if you buy box ammo.

 

[Sharpdogs]

I have the stainless steel Marlin in .44 and I love. I wish Marlin would make a stainless steel model in .357.

 

[apxpred]

Another vote for the Marlin 1894 44 mag

 

[DennisE]

1894 Marlin in .44 Magnum! Dennis

 

[Redhat]

I like my Rossi M92 in .357 Mag!

 

[CCWMAN]

THE ONLY LEVERGUN I WOULD OWN IS.......

HELLO LADIES & GENTS ,
The only levergun I would even consider is one with both a detachable or fixed BOX magazine ala the Wichester 1895 Teddy Roosevelt gun and with the takedown feature.

Reasons are as follows:

1.-The box magazine allows all Modern bullets

2.-The takedown feature allows cleaning from breach with a threaded boreguide so as not to damage the accuracy.

Make mine a Browning BLR in .450 Marlin custom converted to a takedown gun!