Firearm BS thread

My fil wanted to get a couple of lever guns to leave/give when they get old enough my daughter and his grandson. He doesnt know a lot about rifles but i couldnt get him off a lever action but i did steer him clear of 30-30's (i know its a classic but if that was the only rifle left to deer hunt with id just shotgun hunt cant stand that round mostly due to its 1 dimensionality) anyway he got a pair of marlin 1895 in 45-70 and they look pretty good.

 

Anybody have the G.P.S. Tactical Range Backpack? I'm looking to pick up a backpack to take to the range and would like some reviews or suggestions.

http://www.goutdoorsproducts.com/products/tactical-range-backpack/

 

My range ruck is a Maxpedition Condor

 

Just got an email that Sportsmansguide is having a gun builder's sale through Sept 6th.

 

What one dimension would that be? Killing everything inside of 150yds you shoot at? Not a bad dimension I'd say. It's a classic for good reason. I'd take an average shooting 30-30 over any shotgun made for deer hunting any day.

 

Thats pretty much the one; the one that come with poor trajectory and energy. Im not saying i would choose to deer hunt with a shot gun; but the fact of the matter is sabot in a rifled barrel will out perform a 30-30 in every aspect (even as a brush gun if u get a home defense barrel if ur into that) aside from recoil, and on that note there are several rifle rounds that way out perform the 30-30 with basically the same or less recoil.

 

I'm betting you haven't used one much or a sabot shotgun either. The 30-30 stills kills just as well today as it did 100 years ago. Funny you talk about rainbow trajectories while talking up a couple of 45-70s. Yeah, I've hunted several of those too. Great guns for limited purposes. Almost every animal I've killed in the last 40 years could have easily been killed with a 30-30. In fact, many were.

It's cool you don't want a 30-30, but to dismiss it as an ineffective, useless round just speaks of a lack of experience. It wouldn't be my first choice as my only gun, but I can promise you I could hunt a lifetime successfully with one if I had to.

Anyway, nice 45-70s. They probably won't be as useful as a 30-30, but still very nice rifles. I'm sure they will enjoy owning them.

 

Well to be fair i did my best to talk up a .308 i also realize the limitations of leveraction in general, another thing i tried to steer him from, and how almost regardless of caliber shots 250 yards + are generally ill advised just due to the nature of the beast. I actually havent killed a deer with a 30-30 or shotgun but have hunted with both and seen deer killed with both and there isnt a comparison. And i never said it wasnt a deer killing round, i simply said its very limited in what it can do, also it kills me when people bash a .243 a first time hunters gun because its so "under powered" and just barely enough to kill a deer if you dont somehow manage to hit both lungs the heart the spine and have an exit hole; while those same people with say a 30-30 is the best round for beginners neglecting the fact felt recoil in more, energy is less accuracy is less (as in a bolt action will out group a lever in almost every normal circumstance) new gun prices goes to a bolt over a 30-30. And if a hunter decided they ever wanted to hunt out past 150 yards it would still be ethical to use any round on a .308 case out to 400 yards with the right bullets so they can grow as a hunter without having to buy a new gun.

 

I think many make far too much of paper ballistics and not enough of actual hunting. I get as close or as far as I need to with the weapon I have in hand. I haven't seen many deer that could hold a 30-30 bullet, so much of the energy is wasted anyway. I see no reason for a scope on one, but if I did I'd have no problem with shots to 250 yards if the gun was accurate enough. My farthest kill has been a little over 175yd with open sights and that was stretching my abilities. The deer went a few yds, bullet did exit, so it had plenty of energy.

I've hunted deer with a lot of levers over the years. 32-20, 30-30, 32spc, 35rem, 45-70. They all worked but the 30-30 is the only one I've kept. For most deer hunting, a 30-30 is more than enough. Almost every deer I've ever killed was inside 100 yards. Loaded with 170s it is enough for almost any black bear or mule deer. I'd even poke an elk with one if it was all I had.

Yeah, lots of better options if you only have one gun, but it still works.

Anyway, as I said the 45-70s are nice. I used one for many years in Alaska and knew several other people who used them regularly. One nurse I worked with used hers successfully on mountain goat several times. Talk about stretching the usefulness of a round. Enjoy!

 

30-30 is (IMO) the best common center fire cartridge for lever action rifles, the capabilities are good, ammo is common and inexpensive, and it's a classic.
30-30 is a moderate recoiling cartridge compared to 308, my ~8 lb Marlin 30-30 is just as soft shooting as my ~14 lb 308.

The best light recoil medium game cartridge I have though is 6.8spc, I have one built with a 16" barrel and plan on building one with a 12.5" barrel to suppress.

 

Too bad they don't make a lever action 50 Cal, talk about an all-around, good round. You could hit anything! dear, squirrel, UFO's,
whatever you wanted


You know this argument has no end, right !

 

Any ddm4v7 LW owners here? Curious on your feedback on the system compared to other ARs you've shot besides the typical DD comments "fit and finish is amazing" "its my go to rifle" etc, more shooting impressions- recoil, muzzle rise etc.

 

I don't mean to keep the 30-30 argument going, but I have a lot of experience hunting whitetails and have killed many deer with many calibers (.243, .270, 30-30, 308, 12 gauge, 300 savage, 30-06, .50 muzzleloaders, etc.) and my "go to" round is hands down a 180 gn. .30-06 bullet. I've shot deer at less than 10 feet to 300 yds and if that bullet connects that deer goes down. I've seen 3 guys hit a buck with 5 shots of various 12 gauge slugs/sabots and that deer went a country mile before dropping. I do love a 30-30 lever gun and I've done a poop ton of experimenting with my reloads but if I could only own one...a bolt action .30-06 would do anything I need it to on any continent on this planet.

 

If you had to give a lever gun to your 10 year old grand daughter, which caliber would you want for her?

 

A .22

 

At 10 I'd start with a .22 and let her shoot the barrel out of it. By 14 I'd probably give her a .30-30 (my first deer gun). Then eventually get her into a .308. She could stop there if she stays a hunter.

 

22

 

The only lever gun I own is a Win 94 44mag '69 model year.
Don't it shoot much, but it's a fun gun to shoot.