Deer/Bear carbine

cpynch said:
....I don't reload, I would LOVE to, but I'm a student paying for university out of pocket - and it's not easy. .....
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Then sell one of your present collection to fund the reloading setup for the rest. Seriously! The money you'll save over buying factory ammo once you're set up will more than pay for the reloading setup if you shoot much at all. With your collection of high priced ammo hounds the break even point would be ridiculously short term for a simple setup as described above given the cost of the rounds you're buying at present. Basically you can't afford to NOT to get into reloading.

But I hear you about the lever gun. They really do have a sense of class all their own. When plinking it's not just about the shots themselves, it's about how you have to interact with the gun to achieve the shots. For some of the ability to just squeeze quickly gives the giggles needed. For others there's something magical about the feel of levering the next round into place. Or the historical connection of bolting a round of .303British into an honest to God WW1 or WW2 Lee Enfield. Or the reverence of sliding that torpedo like extra long 45-70 round into a single shot falling block Sharps. THAT is what plinking is all about. If you're not a semi sort of fellow then it doesn't matter how cheap it is since it won't give you the grin that the right sort of gun will give you. You need to figure out what you want out of a plinker and go that way.

But in the meantime really stop and take stock of how much you've shot those other rifles over the past couple of years and what it has cost you. Then look around at simple reloading setups and add up what they cost. Then add in what you'll pay for factory ammo for an often shot plinker and that'll tip you if nothing else does.

But part of me wants to say that if you're a struggling student with that sort of rifle collection then I'd suggest that you've got your priorities a little mixed up or you're not as hard up for money as you say. Even if you got the guns for cheap it costs plenty to feed them more than a few boxes per year. And since .30-30 at $17 for 20 didn't scare you financially I have to consider the old Shakespear quote of "I think he dost protest too much". Most starving students would be happy to have a semi decent .22 and money to buy ammo for it to go out plinking.
 
rossi lever action in 454 casull .
yo should be able to get new one in the 500-600.00 range
same hp as factory 45-70 rounds , holds over twice as many rounds in the mag as a marlin in 45-70 .
will also shoot super cheap .45colt rounds .
mine with a 20 inch barrel weighs around 5 pounds , is super compact and very quick to handle .
 
You need a 7600 Carbine in 30/06 topped with a Leupold 1.5x5.

It will look like this and will be the best bush gun you'll ever own.

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cpynch said:
What's a box of 30-30 go for? $20-25ish?

Why did I think Pistol ammo would be cheaper? lol.... would .357 ammo be cheaper? And if I got a .357 couldn't I also use .38 ammo?

<--- Carbine/handgun noob be nice :)
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$15.36 + taxes for Winchester Power Points 150 or 170 grain (I prefer 170's) at Le Baron's.
 
Marlin 336 in .30-30, .32WS or 35Rem and learn to hand load for inexpensive ammo. For cheap plinking ammo learn to cast bullets.

A Win 94 in .30-30 or .32WS would work just as well
 
BCRider said:
Then sell one of your present collection to fund the reloading setup for the rest.

But part of me wants to say that if you're a struggling student with that sort of rifle collection then I'd suggest that you've got your priorities a little mixed up or you're not as hard up for money as you say. Even if you got the guns for cheap it costs plenty to feed them more than a few boxes per year. And since .30-30 at $17 for 20 didn't scare you financially I have to consider the old Shakespear quote of "I think he dost protest too much". Most starving students would be happy to have a semi decent .22 and money to buy ammo for it to go out plinking.
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I wasn't ALWAYS a student lol.... The model 7 has got to stay, the 7mm could go, and the TV encore has a good home :)

I could sell one of my shotguns I suppose, I didn't know it was so cheap for a Lee Loader - I will most certainly investigate.

thanks for all the awesome info guys, I really appreciate it - looks like the search begins now

EDIT: I have a Cooey .22LR that was my fathers - it's from the 60's I believe - just not what I'm looking for in a rifle for now.
 
Ah, I see.

The single position loaders are quite cheap as already said. But there's a lot to be said for looking around. For example I found an old big and heavy cast iron Lyman turret loader that has 6 positions on it as well as a primer loading arm. For rifle this means you've got room for 3 sets of dies to be set up at all times. Another used option that I like is the Lee or similar replaceable three or four position style indexing plate with the non progressive action. Just a manual indexing. With these plates you can again adjust once and then keep them set up. A setup like this that uses 4 position plates will allow you to keep two sets ready to go. And all this sort of stuff is quite inexpensive if you find the right person that is upgrading to some fancy progressive machine or is getting out of reloading. Keep your eyes open and be patient and you'll find all you need for under $200 less dies. For dies I suggest you bite the bullet and buy new. I've gotten two sets of used dies that I had to replace because somehow they had become damaged and were marking the brass as a result. Nothing I could do was able to clean them up. If you do buy used it's a bit of a craps shoot. MOSTLY you'll get good dies but you still run the risk of a bad one as happened to me. Oddly enough both bad sets were freebies so it's not like I could ask for my money back... :D
 
I am in the same boat as you my freind and realistically there are 2 things that make the difference here. Are u gonna reload, and what do u want the gun to do. My situation was that I already reload and wanted a fun gun that I can bring camping and also shoot a deer or bear if I decide I don't want to lug the .308. So if you are thinking about reloading then here is my reasoning for the .44 magnum. First of all it is comparable to a 30-30 out to 100yds. It will take deer or black bear in that range no problems. Now as far as plinkin goes the cartrifge still provides enough range and power to make it fun to shoot and a marlin 1894 is plenty accurate and fun to shoot. So what about reloading and costs. Well first of all it is a lot cheaper to reload then most rifle cartridges, casings and powder charges are economical. If using cast bullets they are very cheap comparing to jacketed rifle rounds. Also time is money and as a student with a GF I don't have a lot of time to lock myself in the basement and reload. I chose the .44 because it is a straight walled pistol cartridge that requires no case prep like trimming cases and chamfering and lubing. It is very simple to reload and I enjoy that. Now like I said before if u aren't gonna reload 38 or even 44 special would be ur best bets for cheap plinkin then just buy the magnum rounds to sight in and shoot game. Good luck
 
"...cheapest non surplus ammo..." It's not about how cheap ammo is. It's about how well that particular ammo shoots out of your rifle. If you do find, say a Ruger Deerfield or an SKS, you'll still have to buy a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo that shoots the most accurately.
"...a Marlin in 44 mag..." A Lee Loader(the hammer powered loader) with a scale will load perfectly good ammo for a .243 or a Marlin .44 Mag. Won't cost you a ton of money you don't have either. (No good for an SKS though. Lee Loaders neck size only. Semi-auto's require full length resizing every time.) Started with one in .243, long ago.
Using cast bullets out of a .44 will reduce your ammo cost and you'll still be able to take deer. Reloading will let you shoot more using ammo tailored for your rifle, as well.
Mind you, if you're out plinking(considered to be hunting in Ontario, hence a licence for whatever game is in season, is required.) during deer season, you won't see any deer.
 
sunray said:
"...cheapest non surplus ammo..." It's not about how cheap ammo is. It's about how well that particular ammo shoots out of your rifle. If you do find, say a Ruger Deerfield or an SKS, you'll still have to buy a box of as many brands as you can to find the ammo that shoots the most accurately.
"...a Marlin in 44 mag..." A Lee Loader(the hammer powered loader) with a scale will load perfectly good ammo for a .243 or a Marlin .44 Mag. Won't cost you a ton of money you don't have either. (No good for an SKS though. Lee Loaders neck size only. Semi-auto's require full length resizing every time.) Started with one in .243, long ago.
Using cast bullets out of a .44 will reduce your ammo cost and you'll still be able to take deer. Reloading will let you shoot more using ammo tailored for your rifle, as well.
Mind you, if you're out plinking(considered to be hunting in Ontario, hence a licence for whatever game is in season, is required.) during deer season, you won't see any deer.
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Still on the misconception that plinkin = hunting are we. So just curious there is several months of the year where in many places in ontario there is no hunting and your license is invalid. So if you go plinking even with a valid hunting license what then. According to your statement u would be considered poaching. If there is proof that you are indeed target shooting, like targets or beer cans set up, and you are shooting into an appropriate backstop there is enough proof that you are not hunting and you will have no problems. I have spoken to several CO's from different areas and have been told that camping with a firearm, and doing some target shooting is not an issue and never a mention of having a hunting license.
 
burnt_servo said:
rossi lever action in 454 casull .
yo should be able to get new one in the 500-600.00 range
same hp as factory 45-70 rounds , holds over twice as many rounds in the mag as a marlin in 45-70 .
will also shoot super cheap .45colt rounds .
mine with a 20 inch barrel weighs around 5 pounds , is super compact and very quick to handle .
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Neet thought , are you sure its a Rossi? I was thinking you might mean a Puma M92.
I wonder if this model could be adapted to reliably feed 460 S&W cartridges as well? Hmmm...
 
RUPZUK said:
Neet thought , are you sure its a Rossi? I was thinking you might mean a Puma M92.
I wonder if this model could be adapted to reliably feed 460 S&W cartridges as well? Hmmm...
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i thought puma's where made by rossi ?

what is marked just behind the hammer is " amadeo rossi s.a.- made in brazil . "

left side of barrel , just behind rear sight " .454 casull"
on the bottom of action is the serial number

this isn't my rifle , but looks just like mine ( the one in the pic looks like it may be stainless , mine is blued , other than that it's the same rifle )

hxtp://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/LE/454combo-edited.jpg

.460 looks like it might be 1/4 too long , not sure how easily the .45 colt would chamber after the action was modified to actually fit the .460 s&w

a extreemly skilled gunsmith might be able to make it work .

that said if a guy cut the 460 case back a bit to make it fit in the action and made a wildcat out if it that would work . but seating the bullets out farther in the .454 cases would do the same thing ( similar to seating the bullets out farther in .45 colt cases to the same oal as the .454 and using .454 load data .... assuming the colt case heads are the same thickness as the .454 cases ) .


how many marlins in 45-70 are sold each year ?
if rossi reworked their '92 to the .460 chambering they would have a rifle that has more power than a 45-70 with factory rounds , lighter weight , holds more rounds and if pricing was similar to the 454 rifle , roughly 3- 4 hundred dollars cheaper ....... and with the possibility of using 45 colt , 454 casul and 460 s&w as ammo ........
there maybe a untapped market here ?

the rossi i have is just one of those guns that people can't seem to keep their hands off of ( myself included ) it just feels good to hold it , the steel even smells nice
 
You may be right on the manufacturers, I was just looking at Epps website, they showed Rossi making shotguns and Pumi making a lever in the caliber you mentioned.
If they made a stainless one in 460 I'd be on it like a fat kid on a chocolate bar!
 
I've got a Ruger M77 MkII in 7.62x39. Not a lever or semi, but a good deer/bear rifle. and ammo is cheap. Old SKS/AK Milspec FMJ with steel casings run about $10/box for plinking.
 
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