What would your choice be in a lever action rifle in a deer/hog rifle under 150 yards?

As much as I love my 30/30's, and I do love them, when it comes to boars it's comforting to have a little bigger hole in the end of the barrel I think. My pick would be a good 300 grain bullet in a 444 Marlin. Recoil is a little less the than the good old 45/70. Come to think of it, I really love my 375 Winchester also.....

Hard to picture anything more accurate than the 444 Marlin I owned for many years? And it smacked stuff pretty damn hard, too.

I love a M-'94 Winchester in 38-55 WCF a 265 gr Beartooth hard cast flat nosed bullet with a max charge of RL-7 shoots very flat and hits very hard out to 200 yards through a Lyman receiver peep sight.

Have had three '94's so chambered, they have all been accurate shooters with the above combo, penetration is phenomenal as well.

Gunner

A 444 Marlin shucking out 310 grainers of 30/1 alloy will flat knock chit flat!

It would be hard to go wrong with an older Marlin 336 in 35 Remington using the Remington 200 grain factory stuff. That bullet expands well at just about any velocity and penetrates very deeply. It kickes less than the 444 or 45-70 and comes in a rifle that weighs less.

I have never hunted hogs, but if you can find a .356 Win I would guess they would work. Mine shoots into 1.5" with 250g PP

I was going to say .356 as well,although mine prefers the 180gr Speer,with the 220's doing almost as well.Either way I'd feel quite confident.

Browning BLR in 358 Win at that range is tough to beat.

The several BLR's I've seen and handled have shot better than most Winny's and Marlins. You can get them chambered in a great assortment of cartridges too. I prefer the SA chamberings though as the LA variants have a longer lever throw and are not as silky as the SA BLRs.

I love mine in 358Win.

Most accurate? Varies rifle to rifle. Anything but a 94 has potential to be a tack driver. 94's would work great to the range you mentioned though.

A .308MX is quite the accurate rifle/cartridge combo. The extra velocity never hurts energy levels either. The .338MX has to be a little "mo betta."

Ditto 356 !!!

I've hunted hogs with a Marlin 444 and 1895 45-70. I've used the Hornady XTP 240 gr (at 2400 fps) and 265 gr FP (2200 fps) in the 444 and both will flatten a hog in it's tracks, but the 240 is too frangible and will send shrapnel everywhere. I load Speer Unicor 300 gr at 2200 fps in the 45-70 and it is just a little more of the same, but no deadlier than the 444. The accuracy will surprise you at first. I've owned five or six Marlin big bores (still own a couple) and all would shoot at MOA or better (some cloverleafs) at 100 yds with my handloads and scoped. All my loads are chrono'd.

A very good bullet. It holds together at that speed very well, and matches the trajectory of my .30-30 close enough not to worry about any difference to 200 yards. As for the .444, I would much prefer the 265 you mention over the 240 XTP. The new Speer "Plinkers" are Unicor construction, but I've not tried them at .444 speeds. They are doing pretty good at .44 mag speeds in a rifle, though.

Vic, it was you that turned me on to that bullet 2 or 3 years ago. Thanks again! It's the only bullet I load for my 45-70s and at 2200 fps, my MPBR is right at 200 yds. Unless I was going after the great bears, I can't see a need for anything heavier.

You didn't mention price.

Probably a Winchester model 88 in .358 Win.

DF

Savage 99 nuff said!

Good deal, and you're welcome, glad they worked out!

I've played with some 540 grain LBT-style bullets at 1550 or so fps, and my first thought was "who's gonna get the worst end of the deal here, me or the bear?". But off the bench and in field position, they aren't so bad. On me, that is. Them things penetrate!

Sorry for the hijack and now back to our regular programming.

This.

Yep! Too easy!

Dunno.. Gotta say I've got Savage 99's that shoot better than I can, only Winchester 94 I ever had sucked, BLR's are just too ugly to be seen with, and only Marlin 336 I've had shoots 1" groups.

But given a choice, I'm not fond of using 30-30 out in the open plains or mountains, so I've got to rule the Marlin out. So I'd have to go with the Savage 99 in your choice of 250 Savage, 300 Savage, 308, or 243.

Lots of good levers over the years. I carried a .444 Marlin for years working in Alaska. I like .348, .358, .33 winchester, .38-55,.45/90, and .50.

How about a model 88 Winchester in .308 or .358. Maybe an 1895 in .30-06.

I've got three, 45-70 Winchester, a Winchester 1895 in 30-06 and a Winchester 1895 in 405 Winchester. Any one of the three with cast bullets should settle any pig or deer's hash.

Jim

I once saw a browning blr in 308 that was pretty accurate. Don't know if the guy got lucky on sight in day but the groups impressed me.

My dad loves his levers in .308 (Sav 99, Win 88 etc) I was his load developer and reloader growing up so along with the ones I've owned, I've played with more than my share of those. Hands down the most accurate lever guns I've ever seen were the Sako Finnwolves. I think .308 is a pretty good deer/hog caliber.

Winchester 88

I've had very good luck with my Savage 99 in .308 for wide variety of big game animals.

Sherwood

Here's my ugly BLR. So far I've been lucky enough to have no one see me carry it.



Not a fan of how it shoots either...

Marlin 1894 44 mag with 250gr jsp

marlin 1895G with 1.5-4.5x20 and 325 grain hornady LE ammo.

Model 88 in 338-08, or my Model 99R in 358, both will shoot MOA with my handloads.

My 444 would have to my most accurate. I have 336w 30-30, a 44 mag, a 250-300. I also have a BLR in 30-06, I have never grouped that one.

my 336 marlin puts three 160 gr hornady ftx bullets at 2350 into an inch at 100 yds.
my 1895 in 450 marlin wont do quite as well,but pretty close with the 350 gr hornady

Well said. +1

Here's my favorite. 1952 Marlin waffle top 336 SC .35 Rem. Shoots Hornady 200 gr. interlocks in 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards.

Yeah, me too! I got rid of my pretty 99 .358 and kept the old ugly BLR after I shot them both for a while. The BLR handles better, more accurate, and will handle loads that gives the 99 indigestion.

Savage 99 358. Don

This right here....

A 30/30AI with a peep rear and globe front sight.... <G>

(Kinda an inside wisecrack there)
Actually, if you use the Barnes 170gr Flatnosed X bullet for the 30/30, that would be quite the wicked combo. Give a look at one of those bullets sometime. It'll give one pause...

Good hunting!

MARK

Savage 99 in 358 win or Marlin 1895 in 45/70.

99 Savage in 300 Sav.

a XLR pick your round

My Dad's very old 336 in 30-30 is amazing. Better than a lot of bolts I've had. Seriously 1" groups at 100 are very common. I also had a BLR in 243 that was pretty good, inch groups weren't common but not unheard of either. The 30-30 doesn't seem to mind the ammo much but the 243 sure did, had to be a good handload for it to do much.

the savage, pre 1 million, 308, .358

I love my 1894 Cowboy in 45LC but for 150 yard shots, there's no doubt a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 would do you all kinds of good. All my Marlins are accurate and topping them with XS ghost-ring sights is just more of a good thing.......

The Sako Finwolf in both 243 and 308 has a reputation for being pretty accurate.

Winchester 88 thus far but never used a finnwolf. Bet they are tough to beat.

I shoot on a private lease in Florida, and for hogs close in or very early/late in the day, an open sighted .30-30 is hard to beat. I've shot a Marlin .444T for years, but really don't see the need for either the heavy bullet or equally heavy recoil. The old .30-30 still does the trick with a shot to the neck. If I'm shooting along a right of way (gas or power lines) I'll use my .260.

Nebraska - Very nice rig!!

My 2 most accurate levers have been my 444 Marlin with 300 gr bullet with H335.

My 308 Finnwolf shoots 165 Accubonds at 2730 fps with Varget. Accuracy is well under .5"

1917 Sav 99 250 Sav take down, fitted with Shilen Select match bull barrel chambered in 6mmBR with 65 gr Vmax bullets, drilled and tapped for scope, with 6.5x20x50 scope.

The 444 Marlin is really tough to beat. Mine was well used when I bought it, and it flat out stunned me with how well it shoots the Hornady Lever Evolution 265's.

http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj568/TroynSara/Hunting%20pics/pig1.jpg?t=1358953005

.308 99c.

I also say the BLR in .358 Win. The takedown model is quite nice...

I like/own lots of nice leverguns.

For sheer accuracy, the Win 88 has a very deserved reputation, and would be my pick.

The Finnwolf also rates high on my list.

IMO their 1-piece stock designs are more conducive to accuracy than the 2-piece designs of the others, and it shows.....

The lack of a barrel band and tubular magazine also contribute to their accuracy, IMO. And the Savage 99s, as well......

I am extremely happy with my .308 Marlin Express. It is very accurate and fun to shoot. I've never had the opportunity to shoot a hog with it but deer just drop in their tracks!