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Posted: 10/8/2016 1:35:35 PM EDT
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Greetings, Gents! I come humbly seeking advice on a lever gun for Whitetail Deer. The property I usually hunt on offers a fairly small fire zone that doesn't put bullets in the paths of houses, farms, livestock, etc. The farthest shot I can take is probably inside 75 yards; the deer I took last year was at about 40-50 yards. My .270 may be a little hot for that distance, so I was considering stepping down to a lever gun in .357 or .44 magnum.
Anyone else here hunt deer in those calibers? What bullet weights should I consider? Any particular brand of rifle to stay away from? Thanks! |
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No disagreements with anything anyone else has said but a 45/70 with trapdoor type loads (405 lead going about 1150-1200fps) are pretty much the equivalent of a slug gun but easier to hit with generally . A big slug that slow will kill like a bolt of lighting but will not go much extra distance if you miss .
I am not a fan of most of the currently available lever guns for various reasons (fit finish price and so forth) and would recommend you grab your cash and start searching the auction sites and used gun stores for a used original Winchester or Marlin . For your close up type of hunting all the mentioned calibers can work so I would let that decide itself if/when you find a gun at a nice price / condition |
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Thanks for all the responses, guys! LOTS of .30-30s (and a couple .35 and .32 Winchester Specials) on my local Armslist and local shops. A .30-30 would be easiest to find. However, I was more curious about the .357 or .44...for as light carrying and shooting a carbine as possible that could also be paired with a revolver for the woods and used for plinking here and there. Biggest game for me would be a Whitetail (maybe even Wild Boar someday) at relatively short distances of 100y and in.
I was considering Marlin, Rossi and Henry. |
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At that range an iron sighted, lever action carbine in 30-30, 44mag or 357mag would each do just fine. A Rossi 357mag carbine shooting Buffalo Bore Heavy 158grn, 357mag loads will produce 2,153fps; near 150grn 30-30 performance. For shots under 100yds, that's enough energy for a humane White tail deer hunt. |
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I've taken a bunch of deer with 20" Rossi Carbine in .44 mag, 240 XTP at about 1900 fps. All my shots have been under 100 meters, all but two were broadside heart/lung shots that dropped them DRT. the two exceptions were a neck shot (shattered the spine and dropped the deer; took it about five minutes to die but it never moved from the spot). Other shot was straight on, hit left center chest, exited rear right hip. Dropped the deer and it rolled downhill about fifty yards, I think it was dead before it stopped rolling. Made a nasty mess in the guts, had to rinse it out really good with a hose when I got home.
From a benchrest, a Rossi in .44 or .45 will easily shoot 3moa at 100 meters with any decent load. I've never felt shy about taking a shot at 75-100 meters offhand. My 20" guns have fatory semi-buckhorns, 24" rifle in .45 has a Marbles tang. Another option is the Buffalo Arms copy of the Lyman side-mounted peep sight, by Providence Tool Co. it's pricey but looks really nice on a rifle or carbine. |
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45/70, 35, even the 30-30 are over kill.
The 357 will do you ok, the 44 mag will get out past 200 yards, and will keep going, and going, and going. I have 3 levers, a 45/70 Marlin for 2 legged varmints, and hogs. A 1949 Winchester 94 in 30WCF, because its cool as hell. and a 1971 Winchester in 44 mag. It rings the 200 yard gong, with the 30WCf and 45/70. Get the Elmer Kieth 44 mag hollow point mould, and anything and everything in the woods will go down. |
Wish I had added bullet weights:
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| We don't use levers much anymore since Ruger released the 77/357 years back (its lighter than our 1894's). We load a HC 158gr SWC Keith out to 2150 and have taken loads of deer, sheep, oryx, as well as elk with no problems at all. Just mind your range and ability. |
I won the bid on a new in box Marlin 1895GBL I just went to my LGS and bought a box of cartridges  $49.95 ! Im going to use it the remainder of the season for whitetails, sometimes in young planted pine cover / palmettos etc.. 100 yds or less. Does anyone have any experience with Federal Fusion 300 gr. How do they group in your rifle?
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| Any of the so-called pistol caliber lever guns will do the job you're asking of it... provided you can hit the proper real estate. I might balk at the 25-20, but the .32-20, the .357, .38-40, .44Mag, .44-40 and .45 Colt will all perform well on deer sized game at under 100 yards... from the .357 up, ranges up to maybe 150 yards. Don't forget, they'll travel and provide decent accuracy to about twice that... The .38-40 & .44-40 have been killin' deer and predators for 140 years! Deer haven't developed iron sides yet! Just because some gun writer sez that they can't, doesn't make it so... dead deer have proven them wrong since well before they ever wrote that! Remember, the .30-30 was advertised early on as grizzly medicine! |
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