Considering a lever in 30/30

Longarms
1

G’day gents,

As the title suggests I am considering a lever in 30/30 for a bit of scrub work chasing hogs. Marlin or Winchester? What say you blokes?

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Just to confuse the issue, Henry now have some nice side loading levers in 30/30 :grin: For me personally i’d go a Henry or Winchester over a Marlin, for no other reason than the actions just feel nicer to cycle. Coincidentally i was comparing all three makes in a shop about two weeks ago.
Henry also had the best finished lever which had nicely rounded edges & felt better on the hand (which may matter by the end of a big day).

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I was just going to suggest to take a look at Henry, but for me I’d go Marlin and Henry over Winchester, because they feel more solid and if you are going to scope one, it’s going to be a lot easier to do that with these two over Winchester.

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Thanks for the input gents. Appreciate your time. Has given me a few things to think about.

5

I have not had any experience with the new Henrys but side-gate loading model is, by all accounts, a very nice rifle.
Of the other two, my pick is the Marlin. One screw will release the lever and no other tools required to dismantle for cleaning from the breach.
Winchester? Well, they’re just not that simple.
YMMV

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Coincidently I was in the process of selling a S/S Marlin 336 XLR 30/30 if you’re interested.

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Thanks mate for the offer mate, however I was looking for something a bit shorter, one of the models with 20” barrel.
Nice looking bit of kit though.

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I have heard that the Marlins (Remington) these days aren’t as good as they once were. I have nothing to back that up though, just hearsay.

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I don’t think anything is as good as it once was!

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You are right on that, which is why JM proofed rifles generally carry a premium price :smiley:.
Remlins / Marlingtons were atrocious attempts to copy the real thing :-1:. Cerebus failed miserably because they tried to make a product within time constraints set by the bean-counters. Didn’t work out too well for the brand.
If Bretts’ rifle has a serial number that is not prefixed with MR, you would be looking at a great buy. Laminated stock (impervious to moisture), s/s metalwork and a “proper” length barrel :+1:

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11

Don’t rule out a Marlin 1895 in .45/70 or one of the Henry Side-Gate Loaders in .45/70 either. It does the same sort of work as .30-30 but hits harder and is pretty cheap to reload.

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Thanks for the suggestion mate, to be honest I had not considered a 45/70. In saying that I know nothing about the cartridge either. Will do some research.

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13

This is true unfortunately mate.

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…said the 18th century blacksmith to the boomer.

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Winchester make a nice rifle. I have a Miroku Winnie. Very, very nice. You pay a premium. Can’t be scoped with any ease or practically. In reality , rule it out if you want a scope.
Henry - I have two. They are very good and nicely finished. Not quite as nice as the Winchester, but nice. Strange hate from a lot of Marlin owners, side gate or tube load is easy.
Marlin- Don’t own one, shot and handled quite a few. They seem fine. Quality control has improved since the Remington take over debacle. Out of the box, definitely not as smooth or nicely finished as a Henry. Not far off. Premium Marlins equal or exceed Henry quality.
Puma/Rossi - Mixed bag, quality control is shite. You may get a butter smooth tack driver or a hessian bag full of chisels. Often require work to function nicely. Essentially Winchester clones with a few minor variations. Cheap. I’ve shot a few , one was ok, one was terrible.
Not overly budget conscious?
The Henry and Marlins are realistically very similar and both perform well. Get the one you like the look of, or feels best on the shoulder.
New Winchesters are not real Winchesters but are excellent premium quality.
Shit if you want a scope.
Old Winchesters range from awesome to crap.

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Mate budget not a real concern, would prefer to have a good product and pay for it. Not super excited about putting a scope on it. Will prob just use open sights.
Great information mate. Thank you.:beer:

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I’ve got a later Remington-made Marlin 1895 in .45/70 and I’ve been really, really happy with it. The wood fit isn’t 100% (but not far off enough to matter, at least to me) and the metal parts are very good.

I had it out hunting on an outback property last year and the place was was just red dust everywhere, yet the rifle didn’t miss a beat - it shot well, hit hard, put a couple of goats down and was really good to handle in the scrub too. It also loves PPU ammo and shoots really well with Trailboss loads behind an HRBC or Spartan cast projectile. I only have iron sights on it because they’re really good for much beyond 100m or so and I’d rather have the field of view than the magnification at that range in a hunting situation.

A mate of mine has a Marlin 336 in .30-30 and it’s a good rifle too, but his HATES PPU ammo, which makes it quite expensive for him to run factory ammo.

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Thanks for sharing your personal experience mate. Perhaps the bad rap the new Marlins sometimes get is not always warranted.

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Have been putting some thought into this over the past few days and now thinking that considering I already have 3 x 30cal, perhaps a 45/70 might be in order instead of the 30/30 option.

Probably a gross overkill for pigs however I guess it will give some flexibility should I be afforded the opportunity to hunt buff in the future.

I know I will probably use the 30/30 a lot more than the 45/70 at the expense of my existing 30 cals, however I fear that a 45/70 would become a safe queen perhaps.

Anyone on here hunting And reloading with / for the 45/70? Anyone else able to offer their thoughts regarding this “terrible” conundrum I am facing?

I have a 300AAC for close range pigs and although I understand this cartridge is a fair bit different from the 30/30, I would probably use for the same thing, being pigs off the quad bike, back of Ute etc.

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I have a few 30 calibres… 45-70 is in a class of its own. It’s so much fun to shoot. I just shoot it, I don’t hunt with it, but it’s a really enjoyable hand cannon.

Reloading… If you just hunt with it, it’s no more expensive than anything else. Plinking, it’s up there… Factory projectiles can go for $1+. Personally, I cast and brass seems to hold out well. Factory ammo, definitely not cheap, even cheap stuff is not cheap.

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