Best lever action plinker?

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I'm thinking of getting a fun lever action plinker.

Requirements:
1) more bang than a .22LR
2) similar "bang for the buck" ammo cost as a .22LR (as close as possible)

I hate plinking with .22LR because the bang is so quiet and there's no recoil, so it's not really an enjoyable experience for me and therefore I really want something with more bang! but nothing as huge as a 45-70. I'm thinking the upper limit for recoil would be a 30-30 type recoil, but the ammo for 30-30 is about $16 for 20, so not really cheap enough to be a plinker. I think I'd want the ammo cost to be 50c/round or less.

I'm thinking a .223 would be nice if it came in a lever action, because the ammo cost is fairly cheap. The .17 HMR Henry rifle is a good option too, but the Henry factory was flooded out so they probably won't come into Canada for another year.

Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
You're not going to find anything as cheap to shoot as a .22, but I think one of the Winchester 92 clones (i.e. Chiappa ) in .357 or .44 mag would be a good place to start.
 
I was thinking the .38 special / .357 magnum, you can shoot /.38 pistol ammo or and you can shoot larger bullets. Marlin 336, or maybe a lever action 94.

The .22's would be cheaper though, nothing else will touch the .22 for plinking, but a .22 does get boring sometimes for its lack of power, but I guess could shoot pop cans from dusk till dawn with it for $15 or something.

I never bought a box of .38 special ammo, but I suspect you could get it fairly cheap in larger quantities through one of the site's sponsors.
 
I think Henry and Chiappa have levers in pistol calibers(?)
My Mossberg 30-30 is about 80 cents a round to shoot, so it's not cheap and kicks nicely. Almost twice the force of an SKS, for reference.
 
Try and find a Henry Mare's leg .22lr.
The short barrel will increase the "bang" and the lighter weight will (ok barely) increase the recoil.

Next cheapest to shoot lever action with more bang would be a .22 mag then a .357mag
 
Another method of increasing the "bang" would be to decrease your hearing protection until you are satisfied with the volume of your "bang".
:)
 
Sorry OP it doesn't exist!

There are 22 mag and 17hmr options but they don't offer much except a large price increase in ammo.

A 357/38 lever is the closest thing which can shoot 38 special at around $18/50 rounds, but 38 special has hardly any recoil anyways. Then there is the fact that a 357 is a marginal hunting round at best and you are left with a pretty silly gun IMHO.

My suggestion is to give up the lever action idea and pick up a decent little bolt gun in. 223. There are a few cheaper options with iron sights like CanAms Nor inco JW105 for $300 or if you'd like something a little nicer Savage has a Hog Hunter for around $550.

Then again if you want to scope it there are tons of options.

Good luck!
 
Sorry, but can the Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30 fire .38 special? The only 336 and 1894 I can found sold in Canada are both chambered for 30-30? Thanks!
 
Cheapest next to a rimfire caliber I would have to say is a 223.

Hand gun caliber Lever would be my next choice because you can get 50 rounds close to what 20 rounds of 30-30 would cost you (buy the Hand gun round in caselots for best price)

Look into Rossi Levers. Amazing quality and great price point. Wanstalls and P-D carry them regularly and a few others have had them.


http://www.rossiusa.com/product-list.cfm?category=8
 
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Do you reload? I make my 30-30 worth 30ish cents a round. If you cast your own bullet and have lot of brass already even the 45-70 can be cheap. If you don't reload 38spl/357 is your best bet, but you would have a little recoil only from a 357 hot load. But even if the 38spl doesn't have much recoil it will knock off bigger object than a .22lr would do and that's a lot more fun!

I know how you feel about the .22LR. After 30 rounds from my bolt-action I get bored.

Also, if you REALLY want a levergun, get a levergun: they are so much fun to shoot! Sometime it's worth it to spend a little bit more money to get what you want instead of finding a compromise.
 
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