.308 Marlin...picking up steam?

SuperCub said:
A looooooong time ago the Savage 99 and Browning BLR pretty much wrote the book on modern lever action rifles with the .308 based cartridges. Pointy bullets, detachable mags, modern cartridges, easy scope mounting, etc, etc. It's pretty hard to imagine any new developments even coming close to eclipsing them.


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Super Cub. Generaly, I agree, but You missed Win mod 88, the king of all levers. Savage 99 has growing headspace problem ( rear locking ), and Browning BLR, has problem with rack and pinion skipping often enough, to be worrysome.
 
I heard the same ole song and dance

I bought my 300wsm before they got very much attention and also have a 260. You wont be able to buy rounds for them (I reload), wont find brass in 10 years (already have enough for life probably), it's no better than the 30-06 or 300 winmag or the 6.5 x 55 or 7-08.
I bought them BECAUSE not everyone has them, they are NOT that popular. They are both easy to load for, very accurate and between the two have dropped about 16-18 deer.
I enjoy my choices and will recommend them to most people...but I will NOT tell you that they are better than your choice, or you are an idiot because you don't take my advice.
Buy your choice if it fits and enjoy it!
 
SuperCub said:
You're kidding, right?

No lever action is easier and safer to manipulate for a beginner shooter than a modern bolt action and there are many better cartridges for that same new shooter. Right off the hop, the 260, 7mm08 and .308 comes to mind and many more not far behind.


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OK your Fuddness I'll bite, explain to me please how difficult and dangerous a tube fed lever gun is compared to a 'modern bolt gun' .. (whatever that is). .. :yingyang:
 
Salty said:
OK your Fuddness I'll bite, explain to me please how difficult and dangerous a tube fed lever gun is compared to a 'modern bolt gun' .. (whatever that is). .. :yingyang:
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I'm kinda curious about that myself, seeings how with a tube fed lever you can load the mag without chambering a round, whereas with a bolt with an internal mag or hinged floorplate you can't close the bolt without putting one in the pipe.
 
Edward Teach said:
I'm kinda curious about that myself, seeings how with a tube fed lever you can load the mag without chambering a round, whereas with a bolt with an internal mag or hinged floorplate you can't close the bolt without putting one in the pipe.
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You can't??
Just press down the round in the mag and slide the bolt ahead.
Works every time.
 
gunrunner8 said:
Super Cub. Generaly, I agree, but You missed Win mod 88, the king of all levers. Savage 99 has growing headspace problem ( rear locking ), and Browning BLR, has problem with rack and pinion skipping often enough, to be worrysome.
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Well first, the 88 is a bolt gun, that just happens to use a lever. I really don't consider it a true lever like the others and sure not the king.

I own both a 99 and BLR. And I have developed a hate for both, but the 99 is a far better made gun.
 
Stuck on my 99c 308. Also have a Marlin 30-30 and a Ruger 30-06 but the Savage is a FUN gun and the one I got is a "carried lots shot little" gun so pretty tight for a 50yr old rifle. Im going X2 with Supercub on this one.
 
SuperCub said:
You're kidding, right?

No lever action is easier and safer to manipulate for a beginner shooter than a modern bolt action and there are many better cartridges for that same new shooter. Right off the hop, the 260, 7mm08 and .308 comes to mind and many more not far behind.


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I dunno, like i said this will be my first rifle.

BUT the lever action seems pretty drooler proof to me. I shoot lefty and find bolts a bit slower, seems there is a lot more muscle memory involved than with a lever action.

I don't plan on going to the gun range every weekend. I'll take my rifle 4x4ing and backpacking and a bit of fun plinking in the back country. Correct me if i'm wrong but i just dont see where the lever action really falls short.
The Lever evolution ammo gets rid of the round nose short reach, so the only problem i can foresee with this gun is that it does turn out to be a flop and they stop readily producing said ammo. In that case i'm out 800 CAD and i go to a guide gun or .30-30. :rolleyes:
 
Well if they stop making .308 marlin ammo I am sure that there are enough people out there that have saved brass and bought the dies, myself included. So selling it for a decent price would not be a problem.
The only ##### I have about this caliber, is that they have "special" powder, so I have heard not to expect the same vel. in reloads.

On a side note, can the .307 be resized to the .308 Marlin?
 
savage express said:
The only ##### I have about this caliber, is that they have "special" powder, so I have heard not to expect the same vel. in reloads.
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Yah i've read this too...

Maybe I'm being overly simplistic, but the way i see it is, when i started gun shopping i just wanted a basic old .30-30. The 308 express is just a step up from that. All I need to know. With a bit of luck and this new hornady pointed tip ammo other people will see it the same way I do and invest.

I would have been happy with the performance of a .30-30 but this shoots farther and flatter with more power. For those nay sayers who immediately jump in and scream bolt action at me... If I ask what model of Landruiser is best rock crawling dont tell me its a Jeep. Lol.
 
Salty said:
OK your Fuddness I'll bite, explain to me please how difficult and dangerous a tube fed lever gun is compared to a 'modern bolt gun' .. (whatever that is). .. :yingyang:
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I don't think my Fuddiness has anything to do with it. Any true Fudd would probably prefer a lever action 94 32special over a boltgun anyways. :D

Anyways ..... I'm not saying that a lever is "difficult or dangerous" to use, I just think that a modern bolt action is a bit simpler to use and thus safer. Dropping a hammer to half #### is just one thing that could cause problems to a new shooter as well as checking for safe is as easy as opening the bolt and seeing into the chamber and the magazine at the same time.

I would go the boltgun route for my kids is they were shooters. Later on when they achieve a higher sense of what's true and right in the shooting world, I would expect them to start shooting pumpguns. ;)


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Guns&Ammo Review said:
My shot was at a running buck that dropped in his tracks when struck by the 165-grain bullet at 129 yards. The longest shot was made by Mike Martin, who anchored his antelope at 361 yards, using a blued XLR in .308 with a 22-inch barrel. To be honest, we were clearly overgunned for antelope with the .308 Marlin Express, but I have since learned that on a later hunt, Dave dropped an elk with the .308 Marlin Express with a single shot that penetrated 30 inches into the bull's chest after breaking shoulder bones and ribs.
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They seemed to feel that this gun was basically just a 308 that happened to miraculously also be a lever. No real changes other than the action. Balistics and punch were all the same.
 
SuperCub said:
I don't think my Fuddiness has anything to do with it. Any true Fudd would probably prefer a lever action 94 32special over a boltgun anyways. :D
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Or a dubble bareled shot gun :agree:

his Fuddness said:
Anyways ..... I'm not saying that a lever is "difficult or dangerous" to use, I just think that a modern bolt action is a bit simpler to use and thus safer. Dropping a hammer to half #### is just one thing that could cause problems to a new shooter as well as checking for safe is as easy as opening the bolt and seeing into the chamber and the magazine at the same time.
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The new lever guns have addressed this non existant problem with a cross bolt safety :p

I would go the boltgun route for my kids is they were shooters. Later on when they achieve a higher sense of what's true and right in the shooting world, I would expect them to start shooting pumpguns. ;)
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I rest my case :runaway:
 
Salty said:
The new lever guns have addressed this non existant problem with a cross bolt safety :p
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I've got no axe to grind with lever actions, but my point was that a bolt was a bit simpler for a new user, that's all. Many, many users have no problems at all with either action, but I once saw a fellow drop the hammer on a loaded BLR 243 not more than 3yds from where I stood. The rifle was safely pointed to the ground and no hunters were injured in this accidental discharge.

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I have a 308 Marlin and to tell you the truth this gun seems to be the one that just ends up in my hand everytime and no it isnt my only gun. It is a great handling gun that shoots well with that extra distance. Nice shooting and accurate looking forward to the 338 coming out. And just a question if you cant handle a lever gun safely can you really handle a bolt gun safely?
 
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