Posted here and GD, a great article from Gabriel Suarez, of Suarez Int'l.
I remembered an article about a Marlin 'Tactical' rifle, and it was on his site. We've e-mailed each other about it and he dug it up from an archive somewhere for all of us to enjoy. If he finds the picture, that'd be even better!
Anyway, here's the link to the page:


www.suarezinternational.com/leveraction.html

Check it out.

Maybe it is because i grew up shooting lever guns , but I definately look at them as a very viable and versatile firearm....

That article pretty much sums it all up... no matter what whiz-bang high-tech shooters I have in my collection , I think there will always be a lever gun (or more than one)...


t

Very interesting article.  I can't help but wonder, though, how hot that rifle got after 200 rounds.  I know the .44 mag carbine I had was unbearable after 150.  I mean I couldn't hold it.

Nothing like the Mexican Assault Rifle. I have my 94.
GG

The lever is a great rifle to keep in the trunk. Seeing one of those around my area is no big deal. Won't draw attention like a black rifle will, but it is still plenty effective.

That's why my Marlin 336 will not depart from me. Ever.

I have always thought my .30/30 as a viable combat weapon.   Glad to know that other folks feel the same way.

Well so I get 2 questions from this:

1) Would you keep the rifle's mag loaded? Would the spring suffer from being compressed for that long?

2) How would you store this gun, say in the truck of a Sedan? Just let it lie in there in a scabbard or?

Quoted: Well so I get 2 questions from this: 1) Would you keep the rifle's mag loaded? Would the spring suffer from being compressed for that long? 2) How would you store this gun, say in the truck of a Sedan? Just let it lie in there in a scabbard or?

I kept a Mossberg shotgun loaded for several months one time and when I went to empty the magazine the spring was dead.  It wouldn't feed the last 2 rounds.

Quoted: Quoted: Well so I get 2 questions from this: 1) Would you keep the rifle's mag loaded? Would the spring suffer from being compressed for that long? 2) How would you store this gun, say in the truck of a Sedan? Just let it lie in there in a scabbard or? I kept a Mossberg shotgun loaded for several months one time and when I went to empty the magazine the spring was dead.  It wouldn't feed the last 2 rounds.

Point in case.

My Remington 870 stays loaded with 6 rounds in the tube all the time, that way all I have to do is work the pump to chamber a round for a fight.

I have kept my Remington this way for over a year now. It has never even had the slightest indication of a problem.

Spring movement wears them out, not tension. You can safely keep a spring of decent quality compressed and it will work just fine.

For a good laugh maybe someone here could pimp out a lever gun.With foreward pistol grip, Tac,Light Red Dot sight,and laser beam.

Yep, at the moment my 30/30 is my SHTF/survival/food/hunting rifle. I don't think my .22WMR is quite up to "defending the homestead". LOL Marlin is once again producing a 16" bbl "spikehorn". 150 grns of .30 lead and copper will leave quite a mark.

I work for a small PD in the Midwest and we have Mossberg shotguns in the cars.  I just checked them and the shells in both guns chambered without a problem.  I know one has been loaded up for over 1 year.  It is an older Mossberg without ghost sights, so everyone enjoys using the Mossberg 500 with GS.  I wouldn't hesitate to use either one if the problem required me to.

T2

i remember reading a similar article in guns mag. in the 90's.
ive had a 94 since i was 18.  its the only rifle i really use for hunting. ive bagged my fair share with it, and with only one shot too. i would not feel underpowered at all if it was all i had in a SHTF situation.  i can shoot it fast enough to get the job done.  and the 30 30 has one shot knock down power that you cant say about some others.

of course id fell a little better if i was carrying my black rifle too.  you cant have too much fire power.

Quoted: Marlin is once again producing a 16" bbl "spikehorn".

I wonder if the 12.5" LOP is long enough.

The author tries to make a point (which I somewhat agree with) but notice he fails to support his point or back it up with anything of substance.

From the Author's argument any long gun, and perhaps even a broom handle, would make a poor man's AW.

Ahhh, lets see:
It has a 16" barrel.
You can saw the barrel off if it is greater than 16"
It shoots.
It's cheap.
You can put a butt-cuff on it.
It fits in your trunk.
It's sites suck but they can be modified.
The trigger is acceptable because it is a hunting rifle.
It makes a better baseball bat than a AUG or a M4.

Well holy shit!

What a brain-dead article.

Quoted: Quoted: Marlin is once again producing a 16" bbl "spikehorn". I wonder if the 12.5" LOP is long enough.

Good question. I'm not quite 5'6" tall so I probably wouldn't have as big a problem with LOP as say someone 6'4". I like my 336 a bunch, it's compact, fairly light weight, and packs a punch. If it was a little smaller I still don't forsee any issues/problems that I couldn't work around. JMHO YMMV

Would it work for you?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Marlin is once again producing a 16" bbl "spikehorn". I wonder if the 12.5" LOP is long enough. Would it work for you?

I'm not sure, but I do prefer Commie stocks on my AK's and A1 stocks on my AR's.  I believe those are 13.5".

I had a Win 94 that I sold because I couldn't get the damn thing to group well at 50 yards and the recoil from the 16" barrel was insane.

It made for a decent home defense gun as you could easily load a half dozen rounds of 30-30 in it, but you had to be careful not to fully insert a round in the tube until you had the next one started. Consequently this made tac-loading it impossible.

What Gabe doesn't point out is that these guns have lots of small moving parts and a fairly tight tolerence that isn't condusive to shooting a few hundred rounds through them. They heat up, parts expand, then they stop working.

Though an AR is more expensive, it was designed to be shot alot, loaded easily and taken apart to be cleaned quickly.

Any semi-auto military rifle also has a safety that blocks both the hammer and the sear which is far superior to a cross-bolt trigger safety found on most of the current lever actions of today.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think they are effective weapons, but I just believe there are better choices available that don't cost much more.
-Luther

Ill stick with my AR, thanks.

I read an article about 20 years ago based on the same thesis. A lever gun is a good substitue if you can't get a semi-auto.