Buying a new Marlin Lever Action......what cal should I get?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Buying a new Marlin Lever Action......what cal should I get?

Posted: 9/19/2002 7:31:56 PM EDT

I've decided to buy one of the Marlin stainless steel models.... Question is should I get it in a 45-70 or a 30-30? I just want a nice shooter that's rgged enough to keep in my pick-up truck and still have the capability of shooting an animal or two, four or two legged. I don't know alot about these guns, I've always been more interested in assault type rifles. Any input or info. would be appreciated regarding the shooting charactoristics of these two calibers and guns.

Posted: 9/19/2002 7:48:36 PM EDT

[#1]

If you have never shot the 45-70 TRY ONE BEFORE YOU BUY ONE. That is one gun that will get your attention in a hurry. It is not unshootable or unmanageable by any means, but most people have the tendancy to think "oh, its just a lever gun and cant possibly kick".

WRONG.

They are fairly cheap up here on the used racks cause people think that, buy one, put in the stoutest load they can find and get hammered. They take it back for a loss and get something else.

I have one and love it. I shoot HEAVY hard cast loads (460 gr at 1650 fps) but I worked up to that load.

Posted: 9/19/2002 8:01:26 PM EDT

[#2]

Unless you want shoulder surgery or plan on shooting something really, really damn big get the 30-30.

Posted: 9/19/2002 8:04:18 PM EDT

[#3]

.45-70!

Versatile and has a LARGE hole in the end of the bbl., which LARGE projectiles emerge from!
Mild to Wild loads are available.
Scout type scope mounting kits will alleviate that pesky 'recoil eyebrow' phenomenon...
Yep. .45-70 is the way to go.

Posted: 9/19/2002 9:37:07 PM EDT

[#4]

Duke76.

Another vote for the 45/70, brownfam has it correct you will not ever regret firing a 45/70.
The 45/70 is very manageable, even my wife shots our Marlin. Cneck out wild west guns on the web, they hase some nice options for the Marlin 45/70

Please do not listen to Green_Furniture, these are fun rifles to shot. Get one and go someplace where you have some distance to shot out at, you will be able to watch the bullet come out of it's arch. Coolest thing in the world.

Posted: 9/19/2002 9:40:47 PM EDT

[#5]

Got a vote for the .30-30 here.

I have a 'ol Model 94 in .30-30 and think it's a great cartridge, you just have to be sure to put the shot in the right spot.

Posted: 9/19/2002 10:23:32 PM EDT

[#6]

I guess I should toss a coin or buy both! I was just at:

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/forums/56.shtml

and the people there spoke highly of both cartridges. Although the 45-70 sounds fun, I'm not sure I would be able to share this gun with my son who I would like to take shooting. If I buy the 30-30, I'll be wanting a bigger boom. I guess it doesn't matter which one I buy because I will be wanting the other one too.

My question should have been, "Which one do I buy first?" Damn this gun addiction........

Posted: 9/19/2002 10:24:59 PM EDT

[#7]

.45-70

Posted: 9/19/2002 10:48:03 PM EDT

[#8]

Ok. I've given this some more thought.

If I were you I wouldn't buy either one of them. I would buy a Barrett SA .50.

Posted: 9/19/2002 10:59:54 PM EDT

[#9]

I say get the 45-70. If you get Marlin's Guide gun with the ported barrel it doesn't kick too bad.

Posted: 9/20/2002 7:50:53 AM EDT

[#10]

Go with the .30-30. Unless you are shooting Moose, it's plenty. Besides, not owning at least one lever gun in .30 is downright un-American.

Posted: 9/20/2002 8:00:17 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Cneck out wild west guns on the web, they hase some nice options for the Marlin 45/70.

Dammit, Arcticbear, you shouldn't have posted that url. I'm gonna have to spend some money.

-hanko

Posted: 9/20/2002 10:50:50 AM EDT

[#12]

hanko.

Watch your wallet, you can spend a lot of cash there. I just had them do some work to my Marlin 45/70, and is is now a totally differant rifle. Had the trigger/action, ghost ring sight and the bigger lever, added or worked on. It is now a very fine rifle, and fun to shot. I will be working on a 500 grain load when I get home this weekend.

Posted: 9/20/2002 11:02:46 AM EDT

[#13]

30-30 is perfectly suited to the use you have intended for this firearm. 30-30 is a perfectly good 100-150 yard shooting deer etc type rifle. I'd guess the majority of the guys I hunt with own one and lots of deer have been shot with them, very easy cartridge to find almost anywhere.

45-70 is a BIG cartridge. I think it's based on an old comboy cartridge. Anyway it's got a bit of a bang to it and will probably bowl over a bear, moose, NFL lineman pretty easily. It's not as common as 30-30, but there are plenty of them around. The 30-30 is probably the better choice for your purposes I would get the 45-70 though since it is bigger and cooler. I haven't shot the marlin guide gun, but with the porting it might not be that bad...

Saw one at the gun show last weekend. I was suprised that a stainless lever gun could look so good. Very nice firearm, if I had not found that good deal on Glock hi-caps before I got to the marlin I would probably have one now.

Posted: 9/20/2002 11:13:22 AM EDT

[#14]

If your not considering any serious hunting beyond 100 yards or so and will do mostly plinking, you might consider the 44 Magnum. I believe Marlin has come out (or will come out) with one in stainless this year. The advantage of the 44 Magnum over the other two is that the ammo is cheaper (Go with the CCI non-reloadable ammo). For serious hunting, pick one of the other two calibers. For two legged encounters, all three calibers are sufficient to do the job.

Posted: 9/20/2002 2:55:15 PM EDT

[#15]

Here's another vote for 30-30. It's much like 9mm and 45acp. None of them rate that high on the cool scale but they do what they are meant to do with a minimum of fuss and fanfare.

Posted: 9/20/2002 3:12:57 PM EDT

[#16]

All's I can say is I own the 45 70 stainless and it is a very sweet shooter,it doesn't kick at all(it is magna ported from the factory).It also holds a very tight pattern right from the box.As far as this dam gun addiction,I'm now ordering one in 44 mag.....

Posted: 9/20/2002 6:20:08 PM EDT

[#17]

I have both, and shoot both but like the 45-70 better. The cartridge was the standard US Army cartridge in the trapdoor Springfield rifle used until the introduction of the 30-40 Krag bolt rifle.

More deer have probably been taken with the 30-30 than any other rifle. If you use the 180 grain bullet loads you gan go after larger game.

On the other side, the 45-70 can be used for anything you use the 30-30 on, and a whole lot more. Shooting a 45-70 is not unlike a 12 gauge double or pump, so don't be afraid of it. The Guide Guns with the short ported barrel are LOUD, so wear earplugs.

My vote would go to the 45-70, but you couldn't do wrong with the 30-30, either. Remember, the lever action rifle was the 19th century assault rifle.

Noah

Posted: 9/20/2002 6:35:05 PM EDT

[#18]

Got my vote for the 45-70, I shot a buffalo in February at about 100 yards. The hunt was a real kick in the butt and a true step back in time. I used open sites and old back powder loads for the South Dakota hunt. Anyone interested in a South Dakota Buffalo hunt just shot me a note.

Posted: 9/20/2002 10:10:34 PM EDT

[#19]

Thanks to everyone who contributed on this topic! It was a toss up for me so I decided to start in the most logical place. I went out and picked up the 30-30 today and had my dealer hold the 45-70 for me till payday. After handling both, I decided that I needed both.... anyone who entertains this hobby knows what I'm talking about.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/images/firearmImages/336SS.jpg

SO my logic told me that before I had the 45-70 I should own and shoot the 30-30. Then the natural progression to the 45-70 would take place. Damn....I was just looking at the Marlin catalog and see that they also have one chambered in 450 Marlin! Damn...Damn...Damn...A 350 grain bullet being pushed at 2100 fps and over 3400 fp of energy!

Posted: 9/20/2002 10:29:48 PM EDT

[#20]

I like the .444

Posted: 9/21/2002 1:42:59 AM EDT

[#21]

My dad has the .444, I really like that gun. I'm a small guy and the recoil is fine.

Posted: 9/24/2002 12:08:01 AM EDT

[#22]

I think the 30/30 kicks a hell of a lot more than the 45/70! I put a hawkins brass butplate on my 30/30,figured if it could tame a fifty cal 355 grain bullet with 100 grains black powder it could tame the 30/30 94 winchester,it did!

Go with the 45/70 hell the rounds are 12.99 per fifty,the 30/30 winchester rounds are 11.00 to 12.00 per same!

More bang for your buck,Its like the .45 acp cartridge just too straight to load up really high,unless you buy a rugar#1 drop bolt but (only one shot)verses five or six!

Bob

Posted: 9/24/2002 12:24:13 AM EDT

[#23]

Ok, seriously, a 405gr bullet. its all I gotta say. Get the 45-70 it dont kick too much more then the 30-30, and it'l shred a bowling pin.

Posted: 9/24/2002 5:29:13 AM EDT

[#24]

Excellent question! I LOVE those Marlins!

My wife and I have been Cowboy Action Shooting for over three years and we love the Marlins.

Her's is in .357 mag that we shoot .38's out of and occasionally use full mag loads for "long range shoots".

I use the .45colt model and handload all they way from mild to wild. I love THAT gun.

I'd have no regrets about being armed in a bad situation with even the .357 mag model as long as I have a pocket full of ammo.

As for the rifle calibers you can't go wrong with any of them.
The Marlin 45-70 is not bad on the shoulder with factory loads.
It gets "interesting" with hotter handloads.
I have a buddy that shoots 500 grain lead slugs with a compressed load of black powder substitute and he's dangerous all the way to 800 yards.
How much "Ooooomph" do you want?

If the rifle is for "general" purpose, consider the pistol calibers.
If you want to hunt "bigger 4-legged" critters then get the rifle caliber.

Bottom line: You cannot go wrong with any Marlin lever action rifle.

Posted: 9/24/2002 5:41:07 AM EDT

[#25]

get the 357/38 , 44mag or the 45 colt....The original assault weapon. very ease to shot, high capacity, no mags to loose or be outlawed.

a very fun/all around gun/

Badredfish

Posted: 9/24/2002 5:59:33 AM EDT

[#26]

I'll also chime in for the 45-70, specifically the 1895 Cowboy model with the octagnol barrel and 9 shot tube! Yeah, that's the ticket!!!

Posted: 9/24/2002 7:34:21 PM EDT

[#27]

You'll be glad to know that I picked up the 45-70 guide gun today! The 30-30 was looking lonely there in the gun safe. My dealer was showing me some different types of ammo. some of which ranged upwards of $50.00 per box of 20! WOW, I won't be plinking too much with that stuff. But anyways, I'm glad I have both guns now..... can't wait to shoot. Thanks again for all the input.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Buying a new Marlin Lever Action......what cal should I get?

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