One Rifle Only

[steve185]

If only one, I would go with the Remington 870, If it had to be a rifle the Lee Enfield .303. All kinds of ammo for that in Canada.

[svandamme]

I say its cheating, 3 barrels here would mean 3 different permits and registrations.

so not allowed as 1 rifle/gun

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by svandamme

I say its cheating, 3 barrels here would mean 3 different permits and registrations.

so not allowed as 1 rifle/gun

Ah ha. Not if you buy a Sako Quad. You can unscrew a bolt and change the barrel to one of four types. It was intended to meet (beat) the Euro regulations.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by dlockhart

yipes the sticker will do that.

Yikes!

From what I'm seeing, though, even the more traditional new Marlins being produced by Ruger are bouncing off of that. They have gotten kind of expensive. The 39A is the worst of the lot, going over two grand, available only from the "custom shop". I never paid more than $500 for a new Marlin of any kind. Seems they have achieved some kind of a cult status, for whatever reason. I do think they are great rifles, and actually do prefer them over Winchester lever guns, but I think folks need to come back down to reality just a bit. These had always been just "workin' guns", never all that expensive.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Yikes!

From what I'm seeing, though, even the more traditional new Marlins being produced by Ruger are bouncing off of that. They have gotten kind of expensive. The 39A is the worst of the lot, going over two grand, available only from the "custom shop". I never paid more than $500 for a new Marlin of any kind. Seems they have achieved some kind of a cult status, for whatever reason. I do think they are great rifles, and actually do prefer them over Winchester lever guns, but I think folks need to come back down to reality just a bit. These had always been just "workin' guns", never all that expensive.

Yeah no kidding. Marlin I bought was 500ish and rusted by itself just sitting in the safe.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Yeah no kidding. Marlin I bought was 500ish and rusted by itself just sitting in the safe.

Interesting. I had my Model 1895 .45-70 with me on a two week hunt in coastal southeast Alaska, living in a wall tent. It rained every single day. We were less than a mile from the ocean, is heavy "salt air". Standard Model 1895, blued, wood stock. Not a spec of rust on it the whole time. Or in the 30 years since.

[Arizona_928]

I think I got mine within the last 7 years....

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Ah ha. Not if you buy a Sako Quad. You can unscrew a bolt and change the barrel to one of four types. It was intended to meet (beat) the Euro regulations.

Not a chance. each chambered barrel is by law registred firearm
with a seperate permit paper.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

I think I got mine within the last 7 years....

Therein lies the problem. The infamous "Remlin". The ones I've seen look like they are rattle-canned with flat black Krylon. I actually saw some in dealer's racks with some rust forming. No kidding.

[HardDrive]

Other than nostalgia, I have never seen the appeal of a lever action.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Therein lies the problem. The infamous "Remlin". The ones I've seen look like they are rattle-canned with flat black Krylon. I actually saw some in dealer's racks with some rust forming. No kidding.

Some great stories of guy getting those guns, and realizing that it was literally stitched together from B stock parts bins. Obvious signs of people filing malformed parts down to get them to fit.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Other than nostalgia, I have never see the appeal of a lever action.

To me (outside of an admitted penchant for firearms nostalgia), they are very application specific. In the afore mentioned coastal Alaskan hunt, we were after some rather large critters, in some very thick coastal cover. I alluded to this earlier in this thread - where a "long" shot is 30 yards. And, oh - these particular critters, as some guides like to say "hunt back". Especially when shot...

In other locales, I hunted these guys with my pet .375 H&H bolt gun, leaving my beloved single shots out of this particular equation - I want repeat shots on critters that "hunt back". With its 1.5-4X scope, 300 grain boat tailed spitzers, I had the ability to take one at some distance if the opportunity presented itself. And, hopefully, time to cycle the bolt if he didn't get the message the first time. That was much further inland, and they were a good deal smaller to boot.

Back to the coast - heavy cover, constant rain. Fogged up scopes, with no real need for one at 30 yards anyway. My "ghost ring" peep was ideal. And time to cycle the action, in the event that he didn't go down on the first shot - things happen a lot faster at 30 yards than at 200 yards. And finally, true big bore "stopping power". Having killed with heavy .45-70 loads and the .375 H&H, I can tell you which one I prefer up close. The .375 certainly has power, and range when needed, but right off the muzzle, give me 400 grain .45 caliber bullets every time.

I had a guide tell me one time of a close encounter of the grumpy kind with one of these critters. It stood up in front of him from behind a pile of driftwood at what he described as "conversational" distance. It was clearly displeased to see him. He claimed he had the third round in its chest before the first piece of brass even hit the ground. Try that with any other action type capable of being chambered in a round suitable for this duty. Nothing nostalgic at all about that, except for maybe the warm spot in his heart that rifle just earned...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Other than nostalgia, I have never see the appeal of a lever action.

I reckon old, slow sports cars aren't nostalgic either .

[jyl]

Lever actions are iconically American.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by jyl

Lever actions are iconically American.

Of course. Like I said, I get it from a nostalgia perspective. I did own a Henry .44 at one point. I just prefer a bolt or pump action.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by jyl

Lever actions are iconically American.

Indeed. Not many others have even been exposed to them. They are often seen as a somewhat quaint expression of "Americana".

Reminds me of a story I read many years ago in a shooting magazine. The writer, an Idaho cowboy, was heading to Africa to hunt some of their larger "dangerous" game. He brought the same model Marlin 1895 I have. He used it on both buffalo and lion. His guide, however, prior to seeing him use it, objected rather strenuously. Nobody on his watch was going to use some "cowboy gun" on such animals. He eventually rescinded, and reluctantly agreed.

Long story short - our Idaho cowboy wound up leaving that Marlin, and a supply of ammunition, with that guide. He called it "the best damn lion gun I've ever seen". Big, mean, aggressive, fast-moving animals in close cover. He had found the answer to all of those problems.

[jyl]

Do you like the Marlin lever or the Winchester lever better? Pros/cons?

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Other than nostalgia, I have never seen the appeal of a lever action.

Its just q fun action to rack a good lever
Makes ya feel like clint eastwood

Other than that. I agree.. never bought one myself.
The pistol or 22 calibers are meh

And for bigger boolits a mauser action will do better thankyouverymuch

[rusnak]

We have several lever action rifles. One is a Marlin 45-40 made by Ruger, and another is a .358 with a wood stock. I think it's made by Browning, but memory fades a bit on that one. You can HAVE quaint. It loses it's quaintness pretty quick for me. On the other hand, I am only shooting red paper dots at 200 yards purely for fun, and I like my baby sized .308 rounds just fine thank you. If I want to see a bear attack up close, I'll play The Revenant on Amazon Prime. I'm not that crazy or studly like you guys are.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by jyl

Do you like the Marlin lever or the Winchester lever better? Pros/cons?

I handled a Miroku lever action rifle at a gun auction once. What a beautiful action. As smooth as silk. Plus the gun was very nicely blued and finished.