Trapper, is it worth the money?

[dennie]

Been looking for a .357 lever gun for a while. Stopped in a local pawn shop last week. There were 4 lever guns in the rack, and all were .30-30. This is not unusual at this shop, nearly every lever gun that I have seen there is .30-30. It just seems odd to me that there are so many .30-30s in SW Ohio! No, I don't need one either. But wait, one of them was a Winchester Trapper, and it was so cute. Yes, it was in .30-30. It was in nice condition except for all the dents in the butt stock. It looked like someone had chained it down around the grip area! These dents didn't seem to break the wood, and could possibly be steamed out.
It is a late model with the tang safety. It also has a cheap sling installed. They are wanting $399.
I know they will deal a little, but how much? Would like some thoughts on the gun, and the price.
I thought perhaps it would be a pretty good "farm gun", if I could get it closer to $300.
I have a Winny .30-30 already, so definately not a "must have".
Any thoughts pro, or con, accepted.
Thanx for your time.
Dennie

[tman]

if it's a non angle-eject, no pushbutton safety, i'd say betweeen 350 and 300. how bad do you want it? in 5 years i'll go for 700 if the current trend continues.

[JReed]

I have a Win Trapper in .45colt it is the cats meow for heavy brush and as a walk around all day gun. At that price jump on it you wont regret it.

[two bit okie]

I had a winchester trapper in 44, I have a marlin 1894 in 44 and a rossi in 44 as well. both with 20" bbls.

The rossi is getting new wood. and as soon as that is done, it will get a nose job down to 16 1/4". As I can no longer walk to hunt or cas shoot (bad knees) the little carbine will be a toy.

That said, I would not recommend a trapper except as a toy. For serious hunting, I dont view the short barrrel as haveing the performance.

JMHO

[wecsoger]

Where at in SW Ohio? I'm in the Wilmington area.

That's a reasonably good price for a trapper. Pawn shops I frequent in E. Ky usual rule of thumb is Marlins about $250-$275 depending on condition and Winnies at $325 or there'bouts. That's cheapest, go to Gander Mountain or Cablelas and the price will be well north of that.

Short and handy, but be prepared for the muzzle blast.

[dennie]

Thanx guys. It would be mostly a toy. Maybe a coyote on rare occasions, or a HD gun if needed. Ohio being in the dark ages does not allow it for hunting anything usefull.
I do not hunt any more, but dispatching varmints on the farm might be handy.
It is not in like new condition, so it might like to ride around on the tractor, or behind the seat of my new F-150.
It has the tang safety.

[Warhawk]

I just picked up my first Rossi-Braztech Model 92 today, a stainless 357 trapper. It was $425 new. That would be my choice, the model 94 doesn't seem to work well with feeding the 357 cartridge anyway.

[J Miller]

Dennie,

Ummm, what's "need" got to do with it?
I've got two 30-30s, a carbine and a Trapper.
I've got two .45 Colts, a carbine and a Trapper.
And I'm looking for a full length rifle to complete each set.

Like I said, what's "need" got to do with it?

The 30-30 in a 16" Trapper barrel does not loose enough performance to hinder it's use as a hunting rifle. It is handy and easy to carry. My 1980 vintage Trapper in 30-30 will shoot just as small a group as any of the longer barrel 30-30s I've had. A few feet per second slower won't matter to the deer, he'll never know the difference.
They are definitely NOT a toy.

If you feed the want to own that little Trapper, by all means see if you can negotiate a better price. But realize this; if you want it buy it, it's only money and the next ones may not be as nicely priced.

Joe

[dennie]

Thanx Joe. May stop tomorrow and take a second look. Seems I always see something the second time that I missed the first! I will see just what price they must have.
And yes, need has nothing to do with it!
Isn't it about time for the fat guy in the red suit to pass out toys? I been real, well sorta, maybe kinda, good this year.
Gotta start carrying that empty gun case in and out of the house when I leave and return. She'll never know.

[JReed]

I had a winchester trapper in 44, I have a marlin 1894 in 44 and a rossi in 44 as well. both with 20" bbls.

That said, I would not recommend a trapper except as a toy. For serious hunting, I dont view the short barrrel as haveing the performance.

JMHO

Oh I don't know about that when I am stationed on the west coast my .45 trapper is my go to for pig hunting and it has droped pigs DRT at 100 yards. I dont see that one in 30-30 would do worse.

Dennie
For a tractor gun it would be perfect. Compact, Light, and fast to bring in to action I don't see a down side. For coyotes load up some 125gr pills the speed with the light bullets will be there and those dogs wont know what hit them.

[BenT]

The most accurate 94 win I have is my trapper. It will shoot clover leafs at 50 yards. It's in 32 special though.With 170gr bullet loads chronied at 1950fps it's a great brush and deer driving gun. Specialy with a saddle ring sling.

[Rifleman336]

Denni,

I live just up the road from you in in Springboro, OH. It's funny to see so many .30-30's and other "high-power" rifles that are not alllowed for major hunting. Yet, I own one also and a .357 Mag 1894C.

As for the velocity loss it loses only 150 FPS of a 20" barrel carbine. (does that make the 16" bbl model a carbine-carbine???? ) On this board a policeman tested both a 16" and a 20" carbines, with Federal's 125gr JHP and Winchesters Super-X 150gr JHP in ballistics gell. Both violently shattered regardless of the length of barrel. I'd say you wouldn't miss out on anything when using it in HD roll.

So if I had a vote get it!!

Rifleman 336

[L_Kilkenny]

If you reload then the .357 doesn't have much over the 30/30 in the fun department or shooting cost anyway. More ammo capacity and a little faster cycling is about it. Win Trappers are a lot of fun, for $300 you won't be disappointed. More than likely, you won't be for $400 either.

LK

[meanc]

I would really like to know where you people are seeing Winchester Trappers in 357mag for $350.

I'd buy 10 of them at those prices without so much as a blink.

I've got two and have been offered $600 ea for them.

Check on the auction sites for what they have gone for between $550-$600.

Even the "new" Marlin 357mags are $550 with well used ones bringing in $450 plus.

The way I look at it is $400 is a steal.

[Poohgyrr]

I've never regretted buying a Trapper 30-30. And I prefer that tang safety to the cross bolt found in the previous versions.

[salvo]

Snap it up!
I had to make mine.
http://onesticky.levergunscommunity.org ... rsion.html

[Idiot]

The 30-30 in a 16" Trapper barrel does not loose enough performance to hinder it's use as a hunting rifle. A few feet per second slower won't matter to the deer, he'll never know the difference. They are definitely NOT a toy.

Joe and a couple other posters are correct, the loss of velocity in the short Trapper barrel is of little consequence. In my tests I've clocked about a 50-70fps difference in velocity between a Trapper and 20" Carbine. You wouldn't be able to stop the bullet with your hand at either velocity.

As far as the tang safety rebounding hammer Trapper you're looking at, it's priced at about what they go for. If you can stand the terrible trigger pull and can control your gag reflex around the tang safety - go for it.

[jlchucker]

I used to have one, pre-angle eject. It had a bit of a tight chamber, so I swapped it in for an angle eject 44 magnum trapper that became my long-time truck gun. I have always wanted another pre-angle eject 30-30 trapper, and I ever got my old one back I'd have the chamber polished out to take care of that tightness. I should have done that with what I had, but the 44 is a favorite of mine as well. I've no experience with the 357 trappers. They were always very scarce around here.

[dennie]

Sorry guys, been too busy the last couple of days to check out the Trapper again. Maybe tomorrow/Saturday.
Thanx for the replys.

[Meeteetse]

I have three Winchester 30/30's. A 20" gun from about 1904, another 20" from 1958, and my favorite Trapper from about 1976. I also have other lever guns in .357 and .44 mag. The .44 gets a lot of use, but the Trapper is my favorite woods bumming rifle. I have no idea what I paid, but you can't go wrong even if it has a few nicks and scratches. My gun seems to like the lighter 125 and 150 gr. bullets best and shoots silver dollar size groups at 50 yds. for me and that is all I need.

[dennie]

I have never been very quick at most things, and this is no different. Today on the way home I stopped to see what kind of lever guns they had at the pawn shop. Again, the guy told me he only had 2 levers, both .30-30. I saw them in the rack. One was a blue 20" Winny, the other looked to be gold plated and engraved with brass nails in the forearm, and no price tag. I was not even interested enough in it to ask the price or brand.
I told him that I saw a .30-30 Trapper there back in mid November. He said, "wait a minute, it is behind the counter here"!
Well, after checking it out good it looked to be unfired! There were no marks on the metal. I have already mentioned the dings in the stock. It has a leather sling on it with suede on the under side that keeps it in place on your shoulder. Cool.
He made me an offer, I countered, and for $325 out the door it came home!
I only got to fire 2 rounds thru it but it hit where I aimed, worked fine, made me happy.
I do not mind the AE and tang safety, but gotta get used to the nearly half inch trigger travel before it goes bang.
It just may be enough to get me to try and post some pics. Gotta figger that out yet.
Thanx for your replies, she is home now!
PS, someone mentioned the muzzle blast of the short barrel. It is not that bad. Of course I am comparing it to my M-N model 44, THAT is loud!

[Stan in SC]

I just bought a push safety Trapper in 30-30 the day before Christmas.I'll never get rid of it.
Looks brand new.

Stan in SC

[Ysabel Kid]

Joe nailed it - "need" is in the eye of the beholder!!!

[Malamute]

Glad you found a little carbine you like.

If you're ambitious, you can swap out the rebound lower tang for a half cock setup. It can improve the trigger pull, or make it easeir to work on the trigger pull, and sometimes improve grouping. Many of us like the older style half cock function better in general.

[Noah Zark]

Dennie:

Congratulations! I think you did really well on the price, too. Consider:

Last weekend I saw two 94AE Trappers in 30-30, one at $500 and the other at $695, tagged as "NIB." The latter was perhaps unfired, but it's been in and out of the dealer's truck so much that it has a lifetime of handling dings.

I don't mind the tang-saftied models at all. The only gripe I have with the late-model 94AEs is the relatively sharp edges on the lever. IMO they need those corners broken or radiused and the lever reblued, and the gun's good to go.

Enjoy!

Noah

[RKrodle]

Good buy Dennie! I have a trapper in 45 Colt and really enjoy it. I bought it as a close in, carry around the woods/truck gun. I put a set of XS sights on it and it's fairly accurate, maybe more so with someone else behind the trigger. I did away with the cross bolt safety and filled the big hole with a case head, and put a plastic black plug in the other side. I got the idea from Tycer and 86er.

[dennie]

Thanx for the replies. It is so cold here in Ohio that our Democrats have their hands in their own pockets, for now! I hope to get some trigger time this weekend. Now I am just carrying it around inside the house. Guess only gun owners get a kick out of this! Is this a stage of "leveritis"?
I know, perhaps I will see if I can "iron" some of the dents out of the stock, not that cold in the basement.

[vancelw]

Thank the Lord you found a tang safety instead of a cross bolt safety. I love my Win 94AE trapper except for the CBS that will soon go away.

[Griff]

While I may eschew the AE models and the "useless" safety, I'm glad you got that .30-30 Trapper. I was told before I bought mine that it would be the loudest bark in the park... but, truthfully, I don't hear much difference between it and my other carbines. They're dandy lil' truck guns... and with proper feed, they'll do the job you need done.

Congrats!

[Streetstar]

Good deal and a great price I would snap one up in a heartbeat for the 400 even (that is, if i had the cash in the "fun time" account at the time --- )

[Poohgyrr]

You did well, congratulations on the Trapper and the price.