i want a decent winchester style rifle. any thoughts or recommendations. thinking maybe savage or marlin
budget lever rifle
- Thread starter narativesoul
- Start date
what's your budget and what caliber? when I think of a budget lever gun I think of Henry, but since you said you wanted a Winchester style rifle why not buy a Winchester 94?
Define "budget"...a nice Marlin 336 can be had for $200 if you look fairly (not extremely) hard.
Keep away from newer Marlins. The quality control has gone down the tubes. Henry's are high quality, but cost alot. The best Budget Lever action available now is the "Rossi". These are basically made by Tarus and come in a variety of calibers, and run a little over $200. Mine is chambered in 357Mag/38 Special. I got this caliber for a couple of reasons. It matches two of my handguns in caliber, so I can concentrate on obtaining one caliber instead of several, and secondly, I is a big enough caliber to hunt for Deer or Boar, out to around about 150 yards.
http://www.thehighroad.org/
This is a good forum to ask questions on concerning rifles or handguns.
http://www.thehighroad.org/
This is a good forum to ask questions on concerning rifles or handguns.
+1
Makes a difference if you want a 22 or a 45-70 what you will get recommended to you
marlin 30/30 is an awesome lever action rifle.
I had a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington that I wish I had held on to.
I have owned the Marlin 336 in both .30/.30 and the .35 Rem. Both great, but far fewer .35s out there on the pre-owned market. However, there must be tens of thousands of used Marlin .30/.30 lever actions in gun shops and pawn shops around the country. They have been very popular for decades, and have probably taken more whitetail in the U.S. than the next five most popular rifles combined. That is not an exaggeration. Look for a good used one. Plenty still running around with nice black walnut stocks and good forged steel parts.
I would definitely second the recommendation for the marlin 336. I got one in a .30/.30 that i use in for a boars.
Marlin 336. I have one of the SC (sporting carbine) models in 35 Rem that my father bought back in 1952. With an old Lyman receiver sight it can't be beat.
You really need to define "Budget" and your intended purpose.
Used Marlin 30-30's can be found in the $250-$400 range and are excellent rifles.
Anything in pistol caliber (.357, .44 mag) is going to be much more expensive.
I have a Winchester 94 in .44 mag and it makes for a decent deer rifle and great paper puncher.
Used Marlin 30-30's can be found in the $250-$400 range and are excellent rifles.
Anything in pistol caliber (.357, .44 mag) is going to be much more expensive.
I have a Winchester 94 in .44 mag and it makes for a decent deer rifle and great paper puncher.
I'm rather fond of my old Mod 95 SRC in 30-06, but that would definitely NOT be considered a "budget" lever gun.
Pre-64 Mod 88 Winchesters are DAMN fine lever guns as are Savage 99's if you're looking for rifle calibers other than 30-30, 32 Win Special, and the like.
Otherwise, I'd go with the advice offered above about Marlins. They are side ejectors and it's easy to mount a scope in line with the bore axis.
Winchester and their clones require an offset scope mount as they eject out the top. Makes the scope kind of funky to use.
Pre-64 Mod 88 Winchesters are DAMN fine lever guns as are Savage 99's if you're looking for rifle calibers other than 30-30, 32 Win Special, and the like.
Otherwise, I'd go with the advice offered above about Marlins. They are side ejectors and it's easy to mount a scope in line with the bore axis.
Winchester and their clones require an offset scope mount as they eject out the top. Makes the scope kind of funky to use.
My favorite inexpensive lever rifles are the late 60's Winchester 94's, they usually fetch $300 or so and are very commonly found in good condition.
I had a Marlin 336 in .30/.30 and it was a really good shooting, (sorry I sold it) I have a Rossi in .45 Long Colt I picked up for SASS and it shoots pretty good but not one I'd pick first for deer hunting.
I am in the perennial search for the perfect used Marlin 336. The deciding point for me over a Winchester is the side eject. The top of the receiver is solid on the Marlin and you can mount a scope there without changing the zero. The top of the Winchester is part of the bolt and you cannot mount a scope there and maintain accuracy. The option is an LER scope way out front but I have never warmed to shooting that way. YMMV however.
I just popped on a .22 Henry 0001 (not the shiny brass one) on Gunbroker, and this new small game rifle will cost me a total of $340, which includes all fees, even the receiving FFL'd gentleman's. For a .22, I consider it a bargain.
Marlin 336(and variants), Winchester 94 and Savage 99 have all been mentioned. If you find any one of them in good to excellent condition it should be a gem.
I have models of all 3, mostly Marlins and have one comment. The Marlin is easier to clean, especially the generally recommended method of cleaning the barrel from the breech end. You can simply remove the bolt by removing the lever pivot screw, pull lever out and the action will slide out the rear. The extractor simply pops out of interior with fingers and is as easily replaced as it is held in place by the action bolt when it is in place.. Removing the bolt on a Winchester is a far more complicated process, and with a totally enclosed bolt is absolutely impossible on the Savage.
I guess I showed my preference for the Marlin, and it's true, having grown up with a couple of them, a M 39a 22 LR and dads old 336SC in 35 Rem. but have no problems with the other two.
I have models of all 3, mostly Marlins and have one comment. The Marlin is easier to clean, especially the generally recommended method of cleaning the barrel from the breech end. You can simply remove the bolt by removing the lever pivot screw, pull lever out and the action will slide out the rear. The extractor simply pops out of interior with fingers and is as easily replaced as it is held in place by the action bolt when it is in place.. Removing the bolt on a Winchester is a far more complicated process, and with a totally enclosed bolt is absolutely impossible on the Savage.
I guess I showed my preference for the Marlin, and it's true, having grown up with a couple of them, a M 39a 22 LR and dads old 336SC in 35 Rem. but have no problems with the other two.
Nothiing wrong with the older classic 250 or 300 Savage calibers either.
You won't go wrong with either a Marlin or Savage. Another option not often mentioned is a used Ruger lever. Don't know what caliber you are interested in, but there are many choices. What is your budget?
