Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General One Lever Action arsensal 357 vs 45 vs 30-30

If I didn't have an 1894 357 mag already, I would have no problem with buying one of the newer Remlins. they are producing some nice guns. I think far better than Marlin was toward the end of their run. Personally I don't see how a guy can pick just one. One thing most people don't think about is you put a descent handgun cartridge in a carbine and you have a very potent round. I think you should consider picking an 1894 and a 336. Maybe a 357 mag or 44 mag, and a 35 Remington. You would have the best of both worlds. Especially the 336's are not hard to find.
I have a couple of 35's and when ever I went to Canada, I would want to carry something so I always took the same 35 Remington with me so they had a record of it and knew it was mine.

Don’t you love it, give them a choice of 3 and they add 10. 30wcf in a 99 so you can load anybody’s bullets....

Yes. The pressure is immense. I feel the need to have three 30-30's, an 1894C 357, a 92 in .45 Long Colt with matching hogleg (which I picture myself hand loading for on a rock in the desert), and some kind of a 45-70.

You can't have too many leverguns.

I'm no damn help, when I want to hunt the creek bottom thickets, I throw one round from each of my lever rifles in a cap, reach in and pull one out, that's the one I hunt with that day.

I picked up a 1894C (357 Magnum) back in 2004 and have taken several Deer and 1 Black Bear with my 180 grain handloads.

All my levergun chores can be handled nicely by my 20" 45 Colt and a 94 Winchester in 30-30.

I like my Marlin 30-30 but mainly nostalgic reasons, as it was my grandpas and was the rifle I killed my first several deer with. If I were buying a new lever gun though, I’d go with a 44mag or a 45-70/444. I already have several good deer rifles, those 2 would give me a little something different, and would allow me to take the rifle to one of the midwestern states like Ohio that now legalized certain rifles for deer.

It's a wrap. Scored the circa 1989 blue light special 30-30 Guide Gun, aka Marlin 30TK for the win, and what is for now the only centerfire levergun I intend to own.
I just couldn't justify spendin a G for a 1894c in 357 for a little carbine that I might want to drag through the muck, and less power too.
.
This thing is pretty sweet. Straight stock, 2/3rds mag tube, and 18.5" barrel. Probably about six pounds bare and the same length as my 20" barreled 39M. The trigger might need some attention as it's a little heavy. Got a few of scuffs on the birchwood, but looks barely used otherwise.
Came with a Hubble, but I'm thinkin 1-4x20 turkey plex.

This is actually my third Marlin 30-30. First a '76 336 RC, then a cherry '67 Texan, and now this little jewel. I think it'll make a great combo plinker/hunter. Might even try some long range lobs just for fun.

A nice score on the Kmart Marlin model 30TK.....enjoy the rifle.

[quote=DollarShort]Came with a Hubble, but I'm thinkin 1-4x20 turkey plex.[quote]
Don't they all.

Thank you. I think this one's a keeper.

30-30 or 444, thats it.

.45-70s...lots of them.

I'd have recommended a 357, but nothing wrong with the 30-30. Easy to load both with specs from squirrel to HD to elk in timber. I've found the Marlin in 357 to be far more accurate and easy to find good loads for with all types of power levels than the Marlin 30-30. And if you imagine a 30-30 somehow has more power than a 357 out of a long barrel, well, it's just because you haven't seen them in action. A 180 XTP at 1700 shoots through 10 milk jugs with 4 1/2" plywood pieces spaced between them at 25 yds. And the milk jugs didn't just leak slowly. I was glad I had 12 jugs set up, because the slug, weighing 135gr, was in the 11th. Good luck getting any bullet 170gr and under to do that in a 30-30. 357 rifles are elk guns.

I would've taken a Marlin 1894c in 357 but the only one I saw recently was $1100 and it just wasn't worth that much to me.
And luckily, I won't be after any elk or milk jugs. Just the occasional hog or deer, maybe some paper plates, rocks, small to medium predator if they're a bother.😀

Besides, I got about 260 rounds of ammo in the 30-30. And will probably get a new mallet loader for it to load up some additional plinking loads and maybe some heavy hard cast.

In 30-30, I shoot everything from cast 115's to the RCBS 180 that weighs exactly 200 in my alloy with lube and gc. The 115's are easy to push to 2k with the slower pistol powders, and the 200 works best with a compressed charge of 4350 or a full charge of 760. The 30-30 is certainly versatile, particularly if you get your hands on cast bullets. For a Marlin, I recommend sizing at .311".

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably just get some kind of ball powder that might double for 223 if I get into that. Something like W748, CFE223, or Leverevolution, as I'd like to keep it simple.

Although I did read about some kind of flake powder for plinking loads with light boolits that I might give a try. I'll have to do some more research as I don't recall exactly what it was. Read about it when I was originally thinking about using Trail Boss, but the reviews I read weren't good on the TB.

It's not chambered per your wish list but don't overlook the neglected lever's...they clean up nice, chopped, crowned and re-finished at home.

Lee Loaders are fun!

That's a nice looking rifle. After the chop job, kind of like a better version of my little 30TK. But that's ok. I like it and don't really mind the birch, and I got a pretty good deal for a kind of rare dog that probably doesn't have much more than a couple of boxes of shells through it as the rings on the bolt are very visible and the blueing is pert near perfect. I might try and jazz it up with a lace on leather buttstock cover with ammo loops😉

I don't recall which one has the drop in the stock like that. Must be a 444, which is what I always thought I wanted when reading the ballistics charts in the back of the Shooters Bible. But now I've grown to appreciate the old 30-30😀

I'd still like a pistol caliber carbine with more magazine capacity. But now that I've got my scoped short rifle, I won't mind a 92.
Dang...this one lever action arsensal is going to be harder to stick to than I had figured. Maybe I'll just get some nice quick detach rings instead.