Practicality went right out the window with this one, but it's just quirky enough that I couldn't not buy it. Should be a great javelina or treed cougar rifle, not that I'll likely ever get to hunt either. I'll probably try to shoot a close range doe with it just to say I did. I have some of the new Hornady FTX loads that look promising.

That is very cool! It should be more fun than a .22 for popping cans and probably not a bad home defense gun if you changed out the sights.

That is the most accurate 30 carbine rifle ever made. I'm not sure why that excites me.

but what is it?

It's a Marlin model 62. Also made in the 256 Winchester magnum. Fun guns.

Ironically, one of my first posts here on the 'fire back in 2003 was about one of these very rifles that I saw at a gun show. Now, 11 years and a couple days later, one lives at my house...

If you're still having a hard time determining what to do with it, then I'll house it for you for a few years till you decide,,,,,,or forget.

Hmmm...you're in Alaska. It might make a good wolverine rifle. That's a void most hunters don't fill!

A guy's gotta have the right tool for the job. I'm thinking you're right on track. Seems to me like a lever 30 carbine would fit the bill perfectly as a wolverine gun. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch to push it into service as a lynx rifle.

would be a great rifle for calling coyotes in the woods with the right ammo

slightly ot but the first deer I ever saw shot was with that cartridge. out of a surplus carbine. think I was 11 yrs old and my oldest brother zipped open the belly of a fork horn muley. deer ran half a mile down the hill with out any thing but heart and lungs. flopped down in the shade of our pickup, waited till we got there and then went over the side of the logging landing, another half mile into the bottom of the canyon before giving it up. have never shot another 30 carbine but dearly want one.

With cast bullets think of it as a re-loadable .22 LR alternative .............

That is odd, i've never run across this rifle chambered in .30 Carbine. Sweet find, just for the WTF factor!

I've got one of those but not near as nice as yours. Got it in a trade for nothing years ago when I was a gun dealer and doing shows every weekend. Couldn't give it away and the "purists" made fun of me. Refinished the stock but it still looks homely. Found it in my safe a year or so ago and put an old Weaver 3x straight tube scope on it just for grins. It shoots lights out at 100 yards. The action is very fast and slick and my old lady can sell it or give it away when I'm gone. I wouldn't hesitate to pop a deer here with one where I live because they are small, the ranges are short and I can put it in the right spot. Your rifle is very nice.

I would love to have a .256. Been trying to find one but they are very pricey.

I shot it at 50 yards the other day. It did not like the old Remington FMJ loads I tried first. This ammo is probably at least 25 years old and newer stuff might do better. I then tried some Hornady FTX Critical Defense and it perked up. After a couple of sighters, it put two in one hole and then I had a wild flyer so may have wanked it (the trigger is atrocious). Shot number four went back into the same ragged hole as the first two so the potential is certainly there with good ammo. I didn't shoot any 100 yard groups because the 2 1/2x scope wasn't enough for the small targets I had with me. There is a small hanging steel plate at the 100 yard line and I rang it 3 out of 3 with the 50 yard zero. I'll not attempt a shot on a deer at much over 50 yards anyway so I was satisfied. I'll carry it as a second gun into some of the box stands we hunt and see if the right opportunity presents itself.

That's just a cool rifle! Cor-Bon sold a load using a Barnes 100gr X-Bullet that would work well on deer at reasonable range.

Yeah, I want to try those too. I've always been leery as to whether the various .30 Carbine soft point loads would actually expand enough to be effective. The Winchester hollow point would probably expand most readily but would it offer enough penetration? The Hornady FTX loads I have should surely expand well seeing that they are intended for defense against two legged varmints, but again, I'm wondering about penetration. Hope to find out. I have no intention of using this rifle for general deer hunting and only intend to shoot a doe or two if I can get a clear broadside lung shot at something around 50 yards. Any of the expanding loads should suffice under those circumstances. That Cor-Bon load would probably be the best and I intend to get a box or two when my distributor gets them back in. The Speer Gold Dot load is another one I intend to try, although it "looks" like any of the other standard soft points.

You can "magnumize" it with these-

https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/8005/308-85-gr-RN

A thread on them in a 30 carbine-

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-451348.html

Cast up some of those Lee 115 grain RNFP GC or 120 grain RN PB projies and start plinking at things near and far.
Betcha if one loaded them right, that the 115s would not bounce off of the skin of a deer.
If the gun does not like those, then the 110 RN SP bullets should work for the project at hand.

One does not often see one of those and seldom in LN condition

The .30 Carbine got a really bad reputation in the 50's and 60's due to being misused. Surplus carbines were cheap and readily available and carried like a dream.

The unfortunate part was that the only readily available ammo at the time was military ball...not a great choice for deer hunting. Couple this with the fact that most shooters were fairly gun/ballistic ignorant at the time and you had a reputation for disaster.

The .30 caliber bore size made many think this would be a great deer rifle (after all the .30-06 worked and the carbine was the same bore size). Never mind that it came in a marginal velocity round.

Combining non-expanding bullets with an underpowered cartridge meant a lot of lost game. The fact that the little carbines were quick handling and had a large capacity magazine just made things worse. I remember a close relative who put a full magazine (15 rounds) into a big buck crossing a field and didn't find it until two days later (nearly a half-mile away).

This wasn't so much a failure of the .30 Carbine (although at best it is marginal) but more a failure of the full-patch bullets he was shooting.

With proper soft-point bullets and a limited range (maybe 75 yards) the .30 Carbine can be very effective on deer size game. Larger hogs are probably pushing things, but 125 pound deer (and hogs) are well within the capability of the Carbine.....hell, I've taken deer with the .32-20 from a revolver and the carbine is at least as good.

When the Ruger .44 Carbine was discovered (by me at least) the reason for the .30 Carbine disappeared. It was as easy to carry and was MUCH more effective as a deer/hog round.

With that said, the .30 Carbine (particularly in the very accurate Marlin 62) can be an effective deer rifle. Keep ranges reasonable and place your shots carefully and there is no reason it can't work. To me, it would be a GREAT trap line gun. Small game or to dispatch a trapped animal it would be great and in a pinch (with proper care) could even take the occasional deer or hog that happens along.

65 yards or so is about the farthest I've ever killed a deer out of about 30 or so. I like to hunt in the woods! I'd use it on deer with no fear

Mike

What a neat rifle!

I wonder how it would do with 110 gr VMax?