308 Lever

[passinthru]

I'm looking for thinking of buying a 308 lever action. Can't spend a fortune but want one, can't help myself, already have marlin 30-30 but want a 308. Any suggestions.

[Old Time Hunter]

Savage 99, BLR, Winchester 88, or possibly a Finn. Don't think they ever made a 95 Winchester chambered for it, but it probably could be done since you can get 'em in .30-06.

[Don McDowell]

Browning BLR , look around for one of the steel recievered 81 models.

[Bogie35]

The Marlin 308MX in 308 Marlin Express is a perfect choice if you're looking for a "traditional looking" levergun instead of a Savage 99.

bogie

[Borregos]

Don McDowell +1

[passinthru]

Going to gunshow next weekend what price range should I look for? Also on the Marlin express do you think it will last market wise and what aboutthe availablity of ammo for it down the road?

[TCB in TN]

I love my little .308 BLR its a great compromise between the traditional lever gun and a bolt rifle. I have seen them local go in the $500-550 range. Not cheap, but certainly a fine rifle for the money.

[BenT]

BLR 308 straight grip. They handle like a Win or Marlin 30-30 . You should be able to find them in the $400 range. The local shop had one for $350 all summer. The older ones are steel receivers and newer are an alloy.

[Don McDowell]

Going to gunshow next weekend what price range should I look for? Also on the Marlin express do you think it will last market wise and what aboutthe availablity of ammo for it down the road?

Generally 500ish$ should put you into one of the older steel reciever in decent shape, and sometimes with a scope.

[Modoc ED]

Browning BLR , look around for one of the steel recievered 81 models.

Nothing wrong with the newer alloy frames.

Bogie35 said:

The Marlin 308MX in 308 Marlin Express is a perfect choice if you're looking for a "traditional looking" levergun instead of a Savage 99.

The only thing I'd be hesitant on when considering the Marlin 308MX is ammo availability not only now but in the long run. With the .308, ammo is much more plentiful and the sources for it are numerous.

[PaperPatch]

Since I own one...I recommend the Savage 99. It is a 308, and is extremely accurate.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[passinthru]

Well Ben T and TCB in TN, they're going for 600-700ish for used if you can find themaround here. I looked @ 1 gun show recently and there was only 2 they ranged 695- 800 (800 was belguim). I don't mind 500 ish but I may hafta do a side job to go over that. Ain't saying I won't but I'd preferr not. Never bought a gun online before is it a pain in the butt or fairly easy?

[azzhandler]

I have a blr in 308,I thought I really liked the gun until, I got my grubby paws on a blr in 284 winchester, now the 308 collects dust, im not bashing the gun or caliber in any way, I just happen to like the 284 better.now to find one in 257 roberts

[O.S.O.K.]

Buy a used Marlin 336 in 30-30 and a 30-30 Ackley Improved finishing reamer and rechamber the Marlin to AI. That'll get you very close to a .308 Win - 2500 fps 150 grain loads from a 20" carbine. Close enough for me.

That'd be the most cost effective answer. And it leaves you some money for a good mount/scope combo.

Plus, you can still shoot regular 30-30 Win in it - that's how you fireform the AI cases anyway. Can't do that with a .308!

[Old Time Hunter]

Buy a used Marlin 336 in 30-30 and a 30-30 Ackley Improved finishing reamer and rechamber the Marlin to AI. That'll get you very close to a .308 Win - 2500 fps 150 grain loads from a 20" carbine. Close enough for me.

That'd be the most cost effective answer. And it leaves you some money for a good mount/scope combo.

Plus, you can still shoot regular 30-30 Win in it - that's how you fireform the AI cases anyway. Can't do that with a .308!

Then you might as well find a .307 Winchester '94 BB, considered a "rimmed".308.

[Don McDowell]

I really like my 30-30ai, but its no 308 , not even in its wildest dreams.

The wifes blr with its preferred load of 748 behind hornady's 165 gr interloc, trips the chrono at 2750. The loads not max either. No way would I try to push the ai that hard.

[Rexster]

I'm looking for thinking of buying a 308 lever action. Can't spend a fortune but want one, can't help myself, already have marlin 30-30 but want a 308. Any suggestions.

Welcome to the forum! You being new, we do not know your level of experience, so I thought I would mention that .308 Winchester and .308 Marlin Express are two different animals, not interchangeable. The .308 Winchester cartridge is widely available, one of the most commonly chambered and widely-beloved cartridges extant. The .308 Marlin Express is only chambered in certain Marlin rifles. If Marlin stops supporting it with rifles, it will fizzle commercially.

I bought myself a .308 Winchester-chambered Browning Lightning BLR in 1997, and while it has not seen heavy use, it is a big favorite. Based on liking that one, when Browning released a limited run of less than 400 stainless-finished BLRs with laminated wood stocks a few years ago, I grabbed onto two of them. They stay stored in two different places, for future use.

[BenT]

Sorry to hear that they are not common in your area. BLR's are very common around here I know of 2 in 30-06 for $450. If I see one in 308 for under $500 I'll Pm you with the shop info. Figure an extra $20 for shipping and $20 to $25 for the FFL at your local shop.

[t.r.]

Savage built their famous model 99 for nearly 100 years with many improvements along the way. I took this dandy mule deer with a long cross canyon shot. The 99 has always had an excellent reputation for accurasy because of strong stock to receiver bolt and fast trigger time. These rifles hold their value quite well. You should be able to find a good used one in .308 without much difficulty. Try Gunbroker.com

Good luck!
TR

[brucew44guns]

The 308 MX is relatively new, and I havn't seen any sales #'s to have a feel for how well they are getting into gun pwners hands. I well imagine that thousands of Marlin buffs got one, as I did. Hornady has no doubt put many thousands of dollars into the ammo project themselves. Both companies have quite an investment in the 308MX, so I guess I would not be fearful even now to buy one, fearing ammo availability and such. Get 10 or 20 boxes of 308 MX's and you're set for a long time no matter what happens. I think I saw it on this forum where some of the guys are reloading the round.

There's been a lot of praise for the 308MX's power and long distance ability. I would choose the MX over a standard 308, just a preference based on opinion.

[JohndeFresno]

Touching on what BruceW44guns said, but looking at it from another angle, I was interested in the .308 Marlin levergun with the neat ammunition UNTIL this (last) year.

But with the way things are developing, If I ever get one, it will now be one with a box magazine (like the currently available BLR) so that I can load any number of standard .308 bullets. Since the .30-30 fills the bill quite well with the flat points, a pointed bullet is more in order for the longer range capabilities of the .308; and of course one cannot load up a tubed magazine with the standard pointed rounds. The soft plastic tipped component may not be easy to get in the near future; and I prefer to be able to handload any firearm that I own (except for the .22 LR).

[tman]

i highly reccomend a blr pre 81 steel frame gun. i also have a savage 99a straight grip,20" barrel. both of these guns will do everything in north america and most of the world. had a bb94 win bigbore in .307 wcf. let it go in bad times. for a tradional levergunner, this one might have been the best allaround hunting carttidge/94 combination. when finances allowed, replaced it with a bb .356wcf. love this one

[Lastmohecken]

Between myself and my brother in law, we have 4 Older Steel Framed BLR's in .308Win. He is now looking for a third and has been trying to buy my spare. It seems his two boys prefer the BLR's to everything else, which leaves him having to hunt with something else, and they have plenty to choose from.

I myself have used a BLR in .308 as my main hunting rifle for 18yrs or so now. If you want a scoped leveraction in 30cal that can handle about anything, then you can't hardly beat a BLR.

My personal favorites are what I call second generation BLR's. They have a steel frame, and a more or less flat bottom magazine, and a non folding hammer. The folding hammer was a poor fix for a problem that didnot exist. And the really old BLR's with the rounded magazine that stuck out of the bottom of the receiver, were pretty good guns, but the magazines themselves are not quite as a reliable as the later magazines, espacally in .358win.

Most people seem to be quite happy with the newer lightweight models, but I personally like the handling qualities of the older steel framed ones better. But that is just me.

[passinthru]

I'm not overly experienced with the ends and outs of each of the rifles we've discussed here but I was pretty sure the Marlin would only use the hornadady ammo. My soninlaw has a BLR 308 that he wantes to give me at Christmas but I nipped that in the bud. Not that I don't like free but he had traded for it for my grandson when he was born and he killed his first deer with it (he turned 8 this year, my first grandchild), needless to say I told him he was crazy as a lunatic if he thought I was gonna take the boy's gun. I appreciated the thought it just wasn't well thought out . That being said I have one spoken for as of today, and should have it in the next few days . My wife don't understand my need for guns cause I ain't been hunting in a lotta years but that don't quench my love of guns, as my gun safe will attest to. She says the only difference in me and a boy is the price of my toys. On another note things a looking up that I'll get my granddad's winchester 30-30 that my ex-sisterinlaw has had since I lost my brother in 95. Ain't life grand !!