307 Win

oregon73 · Post by **oregon73** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:57 pm

Can anyone give me the lowdown on this cartridge? I saw a 94AE today chambered in 307 Win. and I was curious, because I didn't know anything about it. I have no interest in buying that particular gun at this time, just wanted to know more. Thanks.

Rob

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:59 pm

I have the same rifle, it is one of the most accurate arms I own. Imagine a tube magazine safe 308 Win.

edsguns · Post by **edsguns** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:41 pm

Well, it's darn close to what the new "wonderful" .308ME is today, but invented some 20 yrs ago. For whatever reason lever gun shooters never got the hint and acepted it and it's big brother, the .356 Win. Both rounds were basically rimmed versions of the .308(307) and the .358Win (.356). They were outstanding additions to lever afficianados, but again , NEVER caught on. I purchased a Marlin 336ER as soon as I knew one was being produced(actually after they had already discontinued the .307) and have been a VERY happy camper with that purchase since. I have allowed 2 .307 model 94s slip through my fingers since 1990 and deeply regret both those mistakes. To those who feel that there is room for some improvement with the original 30/30, the logical upgrade is the .300 Savage or .308. The .307 fits neatly in between! If you have any need or desire for a lever rifle for deer and this one is being offered at a decent price (say 300-400) I, for one, would smile all the way home as it rode in my F150 with me!

iceman · Post by **iceman** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:50 pm

I would have to agree with ED. Great round but nobody understood at the time. I use 307 to make 356 cases just the head stamp is wrong, the deer target can't tell at that range.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:49 am

Just an fyi,
I have 150 NEW UNFIRED winchester .307 cases for sale, in the classifieds.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:01 am

Layne Simpson, and I'm paraphrasing, described the 307 Winchester as the greatest cartridge ever put in a levergun. Ken Waters also had great things to say about the cartridge as well. Most that own the Winchester Big Bores that the cartridge was placed in find that the rifle/cartridge is fairly accurate. And with hand loads it gets even better. At 50yds using 150gr factory loads my own rifle will put three shots touching, or just over half inch.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:26 am

Here is the quote I was referring to.

On page 68 of the November 1998 issue of Shooting Times Layne Simpson stepped up again in his article: "Where Have All the Brush Cartridges Gone?" On page 70 Simpson says: "In my opinion, the .307 Winchester is absolutely the very best deer cartridge ever designed specifically for lever action rifles with tubular magazine."

Here is the source from which I obtained it.

http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=11920

Dakota7 · Post by **Dakota7** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:08 pm

Oregon73,
A friend of mine has been looking for one for awhile, any details on this one?

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:25 pm

oregon73
Great round but not enough publicity. See more input

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=1464

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:09 pm

Rarer than hen teeth over here and I passed on one 12 years ago. Dumb fool

I often wonder where it is and what it's doing. I think it was a ranger model

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:36 pm

Nath,
Think they never made a Winchester Ranger Model 94 in 307 Winchester. Til now I have only seen Winchester Big Bore in the XTR trim. In Switzerland they sold only a few and the pre safety models are very rare here.

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:52 pm

Ravenman, I am sure you are correct. Thanks

cas · Post by **cas** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:59 pm

I think the look of the Big Bore had a as much to do with it's lack of acceptance as anything else.

tman · Post by **tman** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:40 pm

when the .307&.356 first came out, i thought it was a dream. imagine, almost .308 & almost .348 wfc. performance in the model 94 platform. few others felt this way, they wanted long-range, bolt-action mega-blasters. great cartridges that will do everything your could ask a rifle to do in north america. you really need to handload, ammunition is hard to find and extremley expensive. i have enough 200& 250 grain .356wcfs' squirreled away to last me until i'm too old to hunt anymore. probabaly was introduced 60 years too late. if your a 94win fanatic and handload, don't let it get away!

oregon73 · Post by **oregon73** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:06 pm

Dakota7, it is at The Gun Broker here in Clackamas, Oregon. I'm not sure about the configuration of the gun or the condition--only noticed that it was a 94AE. They also had three boxes of factory ammo in the store--must've come in with the gun. Their number is 503.657.7203 in case your friend is interested.

Hope that helps.
Rob

oregon73 · Post by **oregon73** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:08 pm

Thank you everybody for the information. If I had room in my safe and some extra cash, I'd be thinking hard about it. As it is, it is good to know more about another somewhat obscure levergun cartridge.

Rob

Marlin .35 · Post by **Marlin .35** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:10 pm

Havent seen one of those at a gun show, pawn shop, or local dealer in years!!!! They are really very scarce here!! Art

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:53 pm

I think those 3 boxes were fired brass, not loaded ammo. I saw them in there last Thursday.

Lloyd Smale · Post by **Lloyd Smale** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:03 am

it amazes me that the 307 died and the .308 marlin is toted to be the best thing since sliced bread. I guess marlin just has die hard fans like ruger and they think that if it says marlin it has to be something special. Personaly id take a 20 inch 94 hands down over a 22 in 336! i guess too if im going to know my shooting is going to be over 200 yards id grab a bolt gun anyway. to me its about like entering a souped up vw in the daytona race. It may be somewhat fast but theres better things for the job.

Ravenman · Post by **Ravenman** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:00 am

Lloyd Smale wrote:it amazes me that the 307 died and the .308 marlin is toted to be the best thing since sliced bread. I guess marlin just has die hard fans like ruger and they think that if it says marlin it has to be something special. Personaly id take a 20 inch 94 hands down over a 22 in 336! i guess too if im going to know my shooting is going to be over 200 yards id grab a bolt gun anyway. to me its about like entering a souped up vw in the daytona race. It may be somewhat fast but theres better things for the job.

My thinking also! Only time will tell if the 308 Marlin will survive.
But one thing is sure I would bet that "Winchester" never will reborn the 307 Winchester cartridge and that's reason enough to buy a Big Bore. Collector item and amazing performer!

brucew44guns · Post by **brucew44guns** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:44 am

I just went to Gunbroker, Item # 89843784, that rifle ought to make a 307 guy squeal with sighs of want. Brand new one in the box. Looks like his reserve price is going to exceed the opening bid price of 995.00, sure nice one though.

edsguns · Post by **edsguns** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:47 am

Lloyd Smale wrote:it amazes me that the 307 died and the .308 marlin is toted to be the best thing since sliced bread. I guess marlin just has die hard fans like ruger and they think that if it says marlin it has to be something special. Personaly id take a 20 inch 94 hands down over a 22 in 336! i guess too if im going to know my shooting is going to be over 200 yards id grab a bolt gun anyway. to me its about like entering a souped up vw in the daytona race. It may be somewhat fast but theres better things for the job.

I used to feel the same way about barrels longer than 20" on lever guns... that is until I noticed that my .444 Marlin with 22" barrel was the SAME length as my wonderfully handy BLR .358 20"! So, everything is relative. I'd not want a 24" .308ME, but likely the 22" would still feel very lively in hand at only about 40" overall. I'd still like to witness the outstanding accuracy claimed in person though, before buying one. I'll admit tho that my .356/336 with 20" barrel is one great gun to carry/hunt with. Just my 2 cents...likely worth even less.....

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:12 am

edsguns wrote:
Lloyd Smale wrote:it amazes me that the 307 died and the .308 marlin is toted to be the best thing since sliced bread. I guess marlin just has die hard fans like ruger and they think that if it says marlin it has to be something special. Personaly id take a 20 inch 94 hands down over a 22 in 336! i guess too if im going to know my shooting is going to be over 200 yards id grab a bolt gun anyway. to me its about like entering a souped up vw in the daytona race. It may be somewhat fast but theres better things for the job.
I used to feel the same way about barrels longer than 20" on lever guns... that is until I noticed that my .444 Marlin with 22" barrel was the SAME length as my wonderfully handy BLR .358 20"! So, everything is relative. I'd not want a 24" .308ME, but likely the 22" would still feel very lively in hand at only about 40" overall. I'd still like to witness the outstanding accuracy claimed in person though, before buying one. I'll admit tho that my .356/336 with 20" barrel is one great gun to carry/hunt with. Just my 2 cents...likely worth even less.....

I have to disagree with some of this. Yes there are better guns than leverguns but that does not make them inaccurate. My own 307 Winchester will shoot all day with my bolt action 308 Winchester, using factory rounds. And my Marlin 1895G will keep 5 shots from a standing position in a very nice tight group that if I were to shoot at 200yds I would not worry about keeping a group together, but more with bullet drop. Again using factory ammo. Take it for what its worth but there are several shooters on www.marlinowners.com that are shooting the 308ME and getting very good groups. One person has shot a 2 inch group at 517yds, lasered. Also, several game animals have been taken using the 308ME that most would leave for a bolt gun to do, but the levergun is doing it. One can attribute this to the rifle, and Marlin has made soem inprovements in the 308ME rifles, but the 308ME has a different bullet construction than the same 30/30 Lever Evolution cartridge. Also some energy figures that I've seen indicate that the 307 Winchester and 308ME are plenty capable of killing at 200yds.

Johnny

oldmax · Post by **oldmax** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:03 pm

307 owners, does the Win 307 have the same problem as the 356W
IE: Rifle jamming by Bullet dropping under loading gate during
unloading????

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:26 pm

If your talking about a round shooting under the lifter, jamming the action, that issue isn't specific to the 356 Win. Big Bore....it CAN happen with any 94 Win. action, but once easily remedied, should no longer pose a problem.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:47 pm

Chris,

What is the solution?

Johnny

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:04 pm

Hey Johnny, I guess I'm talking about the classic "cartridge stop" fix. Some guys build it up themselves by welding and reshaping it from what I understand. Others peen it until it is in the correct shape to work. Me, I had a gunsmith fix mine back in the early 80's. I had done enough damage by that time