*sigh* Another caliber and another mouth to feed...

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Glock 'em down

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
27,269
Reaction score
15,395
Location
South Central Oklahoma.
Well...now I went and done it! :rolleyes2


All my life I've watched John Wayne movies and in damn near every one of them, he carries a Winchester Carbine with the big loop lever.

Like this one that I just bought from riley007 (thanks man! :D)

[Broken External Image]
[Broken External Image]

While The Duke's was chambered either in .45 Long Colt, 45-70 or 44-40 (I can't remember which :scratch:) this one is chambered in good ol' 30-30. I've never "owned" a 30-30 in my entire life. Seems like I shot dads once or twice, but I've never owned one.

Until now. :naughty:

What's a good round for this little carbine? What's the best bullet weight? I've always been under the impression that heavier and slower is better than lighter and faster. What do y'all think? What kind of performance can I expect out of this little guy and about what is the maximum range for it? About what distance will the slug start to tumble?

Most everybody here knows how old school I am. In this world of plastic, evil, black guns, I just wanted something more "traditional" looking than an assault weapon that all the gun grabbers want to take away from us.

Anyway...anybody else love lever actions? What's your favorite caliber?
 

Glock 'em down

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
27,269
Reaction score
15,395
Location
South Central Oklahoma.
I was surprised at the recoil mostly. Very lightweight rifle and very little felt recoil with no rubber pad on the back. Really pretty pleasant to shoot.

Yeah, it ain't got much more thump than a 7.62x39 I wouldn't think.

About a 100 yard gun.

Hell, I can't see no further than that anyway. :rolleyes2
 

dennishoddy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
84,545
Reaction score
61,820
Location
Ponca City Ok
Well...now
this one is chambered in good ol' 30-30. I've never "owned" a 30-30 in my entire life. Seems like I shot dads once or twice, but I've never owned one.


What's a good round for this little carbine? What's the best bullet weight? I've always been under the impression that heavier and slower is better than lighter and faster. What do y'all think? About what distance will the slug start to tumble?

Most everybody here knows how old school I am. In this world of plastic, evil, black guns, I just wanted something more "traditional" looking than an assault weapon that all the gun grabbers want to take away from us.

Anyway...anybody else love lever actions? What's your favorite caliber?

this jewel (I'm Impressed with your find) is maybe your first center fire rifle other than your duty rifle?
There is a lot of misconception about heavier and slower.
But, first, since its a 30-30 I'd seriously look into the Hornady Lever revolution ammo. ( I hope I'm not telling you something you already know, and if I am, I apologize in advance)
It has a plastic tip to prevent recoil detonation in the sleeve magazine. They say it approaches .308 ballistics.
The 30-30 has the reputation of being a "brush buster" because it is slower, with a rounded tip that will "slip" thru the brush. This is an old husbands tale.

Several studies have been done about the brush busting abilities of the 30-30.

One I saw put up a series of 1/4" dowell rods in front of a bullseye. They shot every thing from a .22RF to a 458 Win mag, to see if it could bust the brush.
What they found that was everything from 220 swift at 4000+fps to the big bores were deflected by the dowell rods. Two things weren't. The 12 ga slug, and the .458 win mag. The 50BMG wasn't tested along with some of the newer big bore military rounds.

On game, I've taken lots of deer and use a different caliber almost every year, until I have to start the cycle over again. Have done MANY field dressings and get to see the damage that a bullet does to anatomy.

My go-to round of choice is the 30-06 Sierra 165 grain HP.
But, I've taken and field dressed deer with other calibers and what I've found is the 06 puts them down. The .22-250 at 4000+fps puts them down too with about the same internal damage. Pretty much turns all the innards into jelly. Same with the .243WSSM.
I guess bottom line of this is that you have to use the correct bullet for what ever your gunning for, and look past some of the old time stories and consider that the new technologies in bullets and powder blow that old stuff away. (This is coming from an old timer that is not afraid to change)
This season I'll be using a WWII Arisaka action that has been rebarreled into a 300 Savage that I picked up at an auction.

I don't have a lever gun, and envy you for the one you have...but have been looking at the Marlin .460 really hard. Laminated stock,and stainless:D
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom