Lever action dilemma

M

m_falafel

CGN Regular
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Sherbrooke Qc
I'm hesitating on how to spend my christmas money, like probably many of you hahaha...

I'm lusting for Chiappa's Alaskan takedown in 20'' .44mag. Thing is... it's not cheap! I'm wondering if it's worh it. Yes the takedown feature is nice and it would fit perfectly in my backpack. Oh and they have nice skinner sights with fiber optic front sight. It seems like you can shoot both .44mag and .44 special in this rifle.

My second choice is a Mossberg 464 Marincote. It's in 30-30, 20'' too but it's not a takebdown. From what I've read online, opinions are really extreme on this rifle, people either hate it or love it. Sights seem to be all metal and pretty cheap too.

I'd like to have your input on this... I was wondering, is there a big difference between how loud .44 special/.44mag is vs a 30-30 in a 20'' barrel? I'd like to be able to shoot not too far away from populated areas.

Also, do you think the Alaskan is really worth 800$ more???
 
If you want a 30-30, look for a used Winchester 1894, or a Marlin 336. I wouldn't even consider buying the Mossberg.

I can't really speak of the Chiappa, per say, but there are other 44 mag level actions on the market for significantly less than the Alaskan Takedown, I think Henry and Rossi both make ones that are significantly cheaper than the Alaskan.

I would think (Although someone else will have to confirm this) that neither one is going to be particularly quiet because 44 magnum and 30-30 will both be supersonic. 44 special on the other hand should be subsonic, and noticeably quieter.
 
Suther said:
If you want a 30-30, look for a used Winchester 1894, or a Marlin 336. I wouldn't even consider buying the Mossberg.

I can't really speak of the Chiappa, per say, but there are other 44 mag level actions on the market for significantly less than the Alaskan Takedown, I think Henry and Rossi both make ones that are significantly cheaper than the Alaskan.

I would think (Although someone else will have to confirm this) that neither one is going to be particularly quiet because 44 magnum and 30-30 will both be supersonic. 44 special on the other hand should be subsonic, and noticeably quieter.
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If someone can confirme that .44special is subsonic on a 20'' barrel it would be a deal closer for me!

tjsudbury said:
If your looking for something that is problem free and good value, stay away from Chiappa. Lots of threads on the poor quality of these
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From what I read here on CGN, there was one batch with horrendeous fisnish, but aside from that, all reviews on youtube are positives... I'm gonna look out for those problems, thanks!
 
m_falafel said:
If someone can confirme that .44special is subsonic on a 20'' barrel it would be a deal closer for me!



From what I read here on CGN, there was one batch with horrendeous fisnish, but aside from that, all reviews on youtube are positives... I'm gonna look out for those problems, thanks!
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Chiappa seems to have really really spotty quality control. While some are great, others are barely even functional. I wanted to get one of their 9mm M1 carbine clones, but just couldn't bring myself to take the gamble on it after the extremely mixed reviews on their QC.

44 spl shoots a 246 grain bullet at 755 fps in a 4" barrel. I doubt any amount of barrel length would be able to drive that up to 1100+ fps.
 
Follow the sales on the EE.
Marlin's and Winchester sell fairly quickly if priced accordingly.
And they always sell.
The other stuff............meh.
Marlin's have captured my interest, at least the older ones.
At least three here if me memory hasn't failed moi.
 
kamlooky said:
Follow the sales on the EE.
Marlin's and Winchester sell fairly quickly if priced accordingly.
And they always sell.
The other stuff............meh.
Marlin's have captured my interest, at least the older ones.
At least three here if me memory hasn't failed moi.
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Im quoting this, just to immortalize the fact that Kamlooky made a post that is readable without a Kamlooky-to-English dictionary!
 
I had one of the full sized Chiappa 1886's. Looked absolutely gorgeous. The three very deep gouges that ran all the way down the bore, cutting across the rifling (and deeper than the grooves) from one end to the other, weren't so pretty. Sent it back to the distributer (North Silva) and a year or so later it's replacement finally showed up. The vertical locking lugs on this one were out of spec and did not properly fit the grooves in the receiver, and the damn thing sounded like a baby's rattle when you carried it. North Silva would do nothing about this for me. I sold it at a loss.
 
I tried out the mossberg 464 with walnut and marinecote finish.The wood was very good.I didn't like the action near as well as a marlin.The gun handled well,had Williams's fibre sights,very accurate.Hansome rifle
 
Stay away from on Mossberg and Chiappa for sure.... Problem with YouTube reviews is you ally they are done by people that want to "showcase"..... So they do all they can to make themselves and their purchase look good....
 
What do you plan to do with the rifle? I have a marlin 336 in 3030 micro groove and it's hard to beat unless you want to shoot cast bullet or want that Winchester pride.
 
FWIW, I love the model 92 design. If on a budget, the Rossi's can be tuned up nice, or if you want to spend for quality, consider a real Winchester/Miroku.
 
You can get a used (post 64) Win 94 in decent shape for under $400, if you keep your eyes open. It will be better than either the Mossberg or the Chiappa. And it will hold its value well over time, whereas the Chiappas and the Mossbergs won't.

I think I paid a little over $300 for a 94 earlier this year (somewhere between $300-$350, can't remember exactly). It was a little rough around the edges but had good bones. It shoots remarkably accurately, and is 100% reliable. It's an early 70's production, so not collectible, but still a darn good gun, and I certainly don't regret the money spent. It's one of several designated beater bush/truck guns I have. It came pre-scuffed and scratched, so I won't mind a bit putting it through the abuse it was designed to take.
 
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