I need something to shoot...

[Panzercat]

...help?

With my plans to collect a Rossi R92 .454 falling through (stainless models being nearly nonexistent) I'm reluctantly turning to other forms of entertainment that involve launching modest projectiles across long distances utilizing mechanical lever movements and small quantities of of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate, and am hoping the denizens of this fourm may be of some assistance once again.

Simply put, i'm looking for something fun to shoot; the primary requisites of that being a budget of $700 or less and need for a long range plinker usable out to 300 yards. I imagine the classic 30-30s and 308s fall within the catagory, or if i wanted to have a harder time hunting down ammo, the 45-70 gov. .50 caliber is a nice round number but I only know of one lever action for that being well out of my price range.

I guess I should qualify "usable" as "It may actually drop something under normal shooting conditions", not "maybe once in a while if conditions are absolutely perfect". Kind of the reason I've bypassed .45LCs unless somebody can make a reasonable argument for them or another pistol caliber.

All that said, I'm open to nearly any suggestion because I am a sad panda and am at your mercy. I guess I could get a mossberg 930 and shoot slugs... That gets hard after a bit Thanks in advance

[J Miller]

Panzercat,

Well, don't sell the .45 Colt short. Lots of Indians, bad guys, and others have laughed at the big old slow punkin roller bullet until it smacked 'em deadern than fossil.

Last year at a Leverguns get together in IN I was smacking the 200 yard ram regularly with my Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .45 Colt.
Not with hot and heavy +P loads, but with normal pressure ammo.
Had I used some more appropriate ammo and adjusted my sighs a bit I would have really banged it.

For your price range, I'm going to suggest any of the Marlin 1894s in 44 Mag, .45 Colt, and .357 Mag. All will do what you mentioned and all will take deer sized game.
Also check out the regular Rossi 92s in the same caliber.
If you run across a Marlin 336 in any of the larger calibers you can use that.
Wind and his friends are using a Marlin 336 Cowboy in 38-55 to shoot 800 yards. There's a thread about it on this page.

Lots and lots of choices.

Joe

[jnyork]

The early (1950-ish) Marlin 336a .30-30 with 24" barrel and receiver sight might be of interest to you. I shoot sillhouette out to 200 with mine using gas check bullets, have never tried 300 but should be fun. These old rifle were made back in the days when they made real barrels and the accuracy is excellent. About $400+/- on GB.
Works for me.

[olyinaz]

Marlin .444.

Cheers,
Oly

[jdad]

Well it looks like "ARJUNKY" beat you to it, but this would do what you want....
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displ ... &oh=216543

[pokey]

you don't say where you are located, so i will suggest a trip
to your local preowned firearm emporium [pawn shop].
it may take a few visits to find something that blows
your skirts up, but the hunt is the fun part. with 700$
in your pocket, a deal should not be hard to strike.

be flexible, as stated, lots of choices cover your wish list.
try them all.

good hunting.

[Blaine]

An 1895 Cowboy shooting modestly powered 300 grain hardcast or jacketed would float your boat if you can guesstimate range pretty dang good. A 300 @ 1800 would have about an 11-13 inch drop at 200 yds if sighted in 2 inches high at 100......I have not worried about anything past that, but it's highly doable. After that, a 30WCF or 38-50 in a 336 would be neater than heck.

[AJMD429]

Search this website right here for 'long range shooting' or similar phrases, and you'll find out pretty darn near any cartridge can be used for some pretty FUN long-range shooting.

If you really lust for a .454 Casull, consider a BLUED one (Gander Mountain in Indinanapolis/Greenwood had them last month, and would transfer to another Gander Mountain, or probably to any FFL near you). Check BudsGunShop.com if you haven't already.

ALSO consider that although there ARE serious differences in design between the Rossi .45 Colts and the Rossi .454 Casull's, the .45 Colts are strong enough that you can shoot better-than-.44-Mag loads from them.

ALSO consider that the .454 Casull in a Rossi 92 is primarily "better" (maybe) than the .45-70 or .444 Marlin merely because it is a "short compact magnum" version of those rounds - useable in lighter guns, shorter actions, but ultimately not much different in payload. A .444 Marlin or .45-70 can be had with a 6-round magazine, and if you 'need' more shots than that, you should have brought a .50 BMG, so consider something like the .444 Marlin XLR - already set up for long-range as much as most any 'factory' levergun is. Same gun available in .450 Marlin and .45-70, as well as smaller bores.

Anyway, lots of other good options for slinging heavy chunks of lead a long way from a levergun, with equal or better accuracy, if that's your goal...

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/xlr/444.asp

.444 Marlin - 42" 7.5 lbs, 24" barrel, pussycat recoil, excellent long-range accuracy - $651 at BudsGunShop.com


.454 Casull - 37.5" 6.1 lbs, 20" barrel, some say stiff recoil, unremarkable accuracy - $600+ if you find one.


.444 Marlin - 40.5" 7.5 lbs, 22" barrel, moderate recoil, pretty good accuracy - $505 at BudsGunShop.com


.45-70 - 37.0" 7.0 lbs, 18.5" barrel, fairly stiff recoil, maybe unremarkable accuracy - around $600


.45 Colt - 37.5" 6.1 lbs, 20" barrel, some say stiff recoil, unremarkable accuracy - $424 at BudsGunShop.com.


Note that if you don't mind shortening a barrel and/or adding a longer magazine tube, you could make the longer-action Marlins even handier - like a 'Guide Gun'.

[Tycer]

Marlin 1895, $450-500
100 Starline brass, $43
1000 Large Rifle primers, $30
Pound of Unique, $23
405 grain cast bullets $20 per 100
Lee loader, 45-70 $22
Scale, $30
Manual, $20

All for under $700.

[Streetstar]

Well it looks like "ARJUNKY" beat you to it, but this would do what you want....
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displ ... &oh=216543

Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh -------- That and a .307 Winny from the same time period would seriously help round out my eclectic and weird collection of AE period model 94's Seriously, i wish i had seen it first


With a moniker like Panzercat, and a jones to get into some long range plinking --- why not go give in to your German nickname heritage and pick up a CETME or a PTR-91 ? (I guess a Blaser straight pull bolt rifle with a Mannlicher stock and a butter knife bolt handle would work too -- or something like that )

(i only mention because i have been flirting with a few HK-91's on GB myself --- i want to steal one almost though, i dont need to spend $2500) -- plus , if anyone gets a chance to handle some of the real German sporting rifles --- man, they are nice , like they were built to last a millenium,(hammer forged barrels, quality receiver materials , excellent fit and finish ---but still kinda weird

[olyinaz]

Simply put, i'm looking for something fun to shoot; the primary requisites of that being a budget of $700 or less and need for a long range plinker usable out to 300 yards.

Well, another way to go would be an old military rifle like a .303 Brit Enfield or, my favorite, a German K98. Stoke it with nice, modestly powered, U.S. made 8mm and have a ball all day long. Man I love Gew98s and Kar98s!! Can't say enough good stuff.

Shoot, for that kind of dough you can get a very nice M1 Garand from the CMP also but hurry - they're almost gone. Just got an email today that the M1 Carbines have dried up - no more left.

Cheers,
Oly

[Mokwaw]

Not a lever, but how about a single shot H&R in .500 S&W magnum. Seems to be a selection of bullet weights from 275 grs. up.

[gak]

"Plinking" I usually don't equate with things beginning in .4__, especially in the longer "rifle" rounds, and not so much in the shorter pistol rounds unless reloading or you have a cheap off-the-shelf source. 300 yds is also a limitation in what guns you'd be looking at. "Dropping something..." Is another limiter. I like the .44 Mag (or .45 LC)--as in an octagonal Rossi--in the longer 24" barrel for a bit more reach'em, though 300 is still effectively out of the question. A spitzered .30-30 out of a bolt might do it (a 7.62x39 bolt with decent ammo would be similar, and a 6.8 bolt would be interesting as well) Between the 30-30 and .44, operationally I see the .44 (or again .45) as more a plinker. Then you have .223 bolts that'd get you out there, but you shouldn't be trying to drop anything bigger than a coyote or jackelope--though some mis-use, IMO, for deer. .223 is the only factory spitzered "rifle" round I'd consider appropriate as a plinker (while taking into account amo cost as well). Beyond the .223, 7mm-08 in a featherweight Win, Rem Mt. Rifle DM (disc but worth looking for) or Rem Model 7 is an enormously capable/versatile round...but still no "plinker." I like the 7mm more than the .243 for it's increased range and quarry versatility with relatively little recoil penalty, but better than the .308 in that regard.

[Panzercat]

Awesome. Quick question though... can that rifle chambered in the 7-30 also fire the old 30-30s? Not much experience with the 7-30, but my gut is saying 'no' if its that much smaller.

Loved all the suggestions and i greatly appreciate them. On the side note, I called Gander Mountain a few weeks back and while they have every other darn caliber .454s were out, just like they've been pretty much everywhere else on the internet. gunbroker literally has the only two that I've seen purchasable and I'm this close to breaking down and buying a blued one... Even as I throw my pity party for stainless :p

It's gotten to the point where I almost want to buy a dozen myself just so they can be available to SOMEBODY -__-

On that note, I'm still lusting after this, even if just getting ammo for it would run me broke, let alone buying it
http://bighornarmory.com/products/photo ... arbine.jpg


Oh, almost forgot... What are those purdy pieces Oly has in his avatar?

[Tycer]

At somewhere around the $2K level, that's some spendy hp.

You can load the Winchester 1886 (Miroku mfg) pretty darn near what they claim. I shoot a .458" diameter 450 grain bullet @ 1675 in my Extra Light. I've had it hotter, but accuracy suffered. 350 grainers at 2K are easy peasy (not on your shoulder from the bench).

You can pick up a Miroku 86 for less than a grand.

[Griff]

Being the extremely impartial type that I am; I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest a Winchester mdl 94 in that excellent long range cartridge, the .38-55. When I typed in "Winchester 94 .38-55 in the search field and hit the "SEARCH" button... imagine that... 19 of 'em for sale on Gunbroker.

[Tycer]

"Plinking" I usually don't equate with things beginning in .4__,

Enter the 45-70. 13 grains of Unique under any bullet.

Long range? Maybe not 38-55, but 600+ should be doable.

[quietman]

300 yards?

308 or 338 marlin express.

The down range ballistics on the 338 leave the 444, 45/70, and other levers in the dust.

There's a chart here to look at
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/inde ... 804.0.html

If you truly want a long range plinker then the 308 marlin express is a great one. Can shoot that puppy all day with only a modest recoil pad on it.

the MXLR's come in stainless with a laminate stock, and the MX's are blued.
Hinterland outfitters have the MXLR's for $665


The MX versions are usually between 520 and 560


Dies, components and bullet molds are available for both guns.

If you want to blow your budget you could get a 308MX SDT from Davidsons.